Looks like we are back to the confluence of wishes that cannot all be satisfied together, listed in reply #301:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21414633/#Comment_21414633
Is the UC’s that have changed or the attitude of the students and their parents?
Because it never occurred to me that “prestige” would be a factor in opting to attend a state U. (And I am a UC grad.)
@Fisherman99 @TTdd16
Last year(2017-2018), UCR had 43,682 applications and accepted 25,001 students (57.23% acceptance rate). For the acceptance rate to drop to 45%, they would need 55,556 applications (a 27% increase), while keeping the number of accepted students at 25K.
Back in December, the UC released data on the increase in this year’s applications. UC Riverside’s increase was 12.4%.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/NE/20171214/NEWS/171219822
https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/12/14/uc-sees-record-number-of-applications-for-fall-2018-admission/
I can’t find any data on this year’s class, but it most be for “admitted” students. We will not have a tentative stats on “enrolled” students until later this summer, and a final # doesn’t come out till October (after students are in class). The admitted stats can be much higher than the “enrolled” stats, especially at a school with an 18% yield rate.
At least in our neck of the woods in NE Ohio, the California schools have a reputation for impaction/longer graduation rates, and with OOS costs so high, not many students apply. I know of only one from my daughter’s high school this cycle. That said, it seems great if you are instate to have some wonderful options.
The UC’s and CSU’s seem to think they have a funding/budget problem…
In addition, the UC is still dealing with the fallout from last year’s state auditor’s report:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/State-auditor-says-University-of-California-12883157.php
The UC system is meant to serve California residents — so honestly, I don’t see how the opinions of folks in NE Ohio could be given much credence – nor how they are relevant. I mean, I’m sure that California students and parents have all sorts of misplaced impressions and assumptions about universities in other states. (You know, like thinking Miami University must be in Florida). One is much more likely to get accurate information from people who actually are in a position to regularly visit and observe campuses, and know and communicate with actual students and faculty.
Or… rather than opinions, we can alway look at data:
4 year graduation rates for entering freshman at the UC’s have improved substantially over the past 20 years – from 46 percent for the 1997 entering cohort to 62 percent for the 2010 cohort.
UC 4-year graduation rates are also significantly better than 28 out of state AAU publics. (AAU = Association of American Universities) The 4 year graduation rate for Ohio State is 59%, 3 points lower than the UC average and subtantially below the California campuses with the highest 4-year graduation rates - Berkeley, UCLA, Irvine & Santa Barbara.
Private colleges do better – but 4 year graduation rates from UC Berkeley are close those of 26 private AAU colleges (around 80%).
https://accountability.universityofcalifornia.edu/2015/chapters/chapter-3.html
So the “reputation” doesn’t bear up – but I would agree that OOS tuition is prohibitive-- so that is likely the primary reason that out-of-staters in their right mind don’t apply… and if they want to add a sour grapes rationale to justify that decision, so be it.
@stardustmom the facts that UCLA has been the country’s most-applied-to university for the last 20+ years, and that four UCs had 100,000+ applicants this cycle sugggests otherwise, despite what you and your circle think.
The UC system is a tremendous institution. My daughter was accepted to one of the top three UC campuses a few years ago and turned the spot down to attend one of the top liberal arts colleges in the northeast. Great decision. I would advise students to attend a UC for graduate school not for undergraduate.
How did this thread go from “The UCs are so desirable, I am justifiably miffed that my native multi-generation California kids can’t get into their own flagship!” to “The UCs are so horrible, the smart kids are justifiably going elsewhere!” …???
@stardustmom Underfunding is not what I see in California. U of Cal campuses, the LAND, alone are worth more than all the Colorado system in entirety, your land values are very very high. The amount of federal funding (DARPA, NIH, NSF, NASA, DOD, DOE, NEH etc ) pouring into U of California system is tremendous, so your math, science, medical, engineering and law curriculums out there are second to NONE.
I still sing praises to your system, and will continue to do so, but then the idea that everyone needs a four year college degree is a very new idea, so yes, the system cannot absorb all of your children out there. San Jose State is fabulous though too. Can LA kids just enroll up at San Jose State or do they limit that school to locals? San Jose State is possibly better than the best flagship in my state for outcomes, I mean jobs at the end of four or five years of hard study. I am so impressed with San Jose State’s professors too, its amazing, just an amazing engineering education for the price. I am not familiar with other majors at San Jose State though and cannot comment on that. The California system though has excellent law, business and medical education overall, one of the top states all those fields as well. Just look at your research hospitals in San Diego and LA, and UCSF is now the very top for medicine as well. I am so so impressed with California for higher education in the sciences and engineering, business, law and medicine.
And you need that top education system to fuel the huge CA economy you enjoy. So what if some rich CA kids
go out of state? Good for them. It all works out in the end.
I think 18 year olds have no perspective on federal funding and would need a lesson or two to begin to understand higher education funding.
A high school kid saying “I don’t want to stay home for college” is not a real assessment of the very high quality education system you have in CA.
U of California was one of the first large state systems to hire women in big numbers as well. There is a pipeline from MIT and other east coast colleges into the U of California tenure track system. Thats another good thing about your system out there, very top professor talent works for your system, developing the very latest curriculums that other state systems copy. My son at GaTech says they use the exact book and home work sets from Berkeley for their Artificial Intelligence classes!
A few months ago President Napalitano announced goals of having automatic community college transfers to all UC’s and she wants that to start 2019. She also has directed the campuses to improve improve 4 year graduation rates. The plan still needs to pass the academic senate, but there is a recognition that the schools need to be responsive to California residents. The question I have is will the transfer plan have the negative effect of forcing more top freshman students OOS if there are more spaces allocated to transfers. It might be offset by the push for getting more students to graduate in 4 years, I don’t know.
@KTJordan78 Students are now casting a wide net and applying to vastly more colleges than they used to. There’s a whole thread on CC about colleges that are no longer considered safeties. I’m not so sure that the increased number of UC applications is a reflection of how desirable UCs are, or an attempt by students to get in somewhere “acceptable”.
I really just want to address the condescending attitude I’ve seen expressed on this thread toward students who don’t get into UCs. As though they are lesser candidates. There are some great candidates who don’t get in (these are the people this thread was directed to), but there are also those who do get in and decide to go elsewhere, as well as those who don’t even bother to apply. Many of those who don’t bother to apply are doing so because they have other options, not because they are afraid of failure as some posters have suggested. Many families have been planning years for college and either have the savings to consider various college options (like OOS), or are able to get good merit aid to make costlier options more affordable. Those who don’t have resources and did not get into UCs are the ones struggling, and it’s not necessarily their fault for a number of reasons.
@gator88ne…appreciate your UCR stats analysis in Post #1022 above. Yes, the numbers are still tentative until October. Should hold close to what was listed on GPA, ACT, & SAT… The student acceptance rate will significantly drop from that current 57.23%. To go down to 45% would be a huge drop. Would be suprised if it decreased that much…I saw a 45 to 48% range stated somewhere…we shall see soon. UCR plans to increase student population to 40,000 so the only discrepancy in your numbers is the assumption that the campus wants to hold student population to 25,000 as it plans to go way above that. All other numbers accurate. All stats will improve…anxious to see exactly how much in October!
“I’m not so sure that the increased number of UC applications is a reflection of how desirable UCs are, or an attempt by students to get in somewhere “acceptable”.”
Either way increased number of applications is good for a number of reasons, every college, including the highly selective ones want more applications. Refer to the ivies, Stanford, MIT et al send the 16,000 NM semifinalists mail encouraging them to apply knowing only a few of those will get in.
Graduation rates around 60% in 4 years. Those are truly abysmal stats, what a massive waste of resources.
Increasing the number of applicants is good for the school, but not so much for the applicants 
@Fisherman99 Sure! But keep in mind that if you increase the number of accepted students, you impact the acceptance rate (drive it up).
On the other hand, as UCR becomes more appealing, it’s yield will increase, and they would start accepting fewer students, driving down the acceptance rate.
@theloniusmonk
“Refer to the ivies, Stanford, MIT et al send the 16,000 NM semifinalists mail encouraging them to apply knowing only a few of those will get in.”
ahem-
the MARKETING companies hired by those universities are the ones who send out all of the "apply to ME " mailers, NOT the staff of the admissions offices, because they are paid for an increase in the # of applications. The Admissions officers at the tip top colleges, on the other hand, dont care who is or is not a NMSF when deliberating admissions decisions, especially if the college itself doesn’t sponsor NMC.
I am still not sure I can wrap my mind around “prestige” other than “a group of people think this place is better than that place.” DD1 turned down UCSD and UCSB to attend an LAC. Right choice for her. DD2 will attend UCI this fall and did not apply to LACs. Right choice for her. Six of the 60+ AAUs at UCs. In the US News 6 of the top 12 publics are UCs. They receive a ridiculously absurd amount of applications. So…I guess they must be okay (insert prestige if want to) for some people.
It is better for my eldest to attend an LAC. It is better for my youngest to attend a UC. If it is better for a young adult to attend an OOS public or OOS private, that is fine too. ASU has a very strong music program and was a top competitor for my DD2 attention. I wouldn’t judge people about their choice of where to go to school and I certainly wouldn’t disparage a university or a whole system…or a student who makes a choice that they think is best for them.
I do imagine that for a California parent who’s kid has a 4.0+ and over 30+ it is difficult to dealt with the reality that they might not get into Cal or UCLA or any other UC (if their major is competitive). Nothing wrong with feeling upset about that.