College price tags soar in California, with some elite schools nearing $100K

[ECCA2026]

@blossom

So who is worse off- the kids you are describing who can’t afford Harvard but who can afford their own state flagship (and are strong enough students to get into those schools- or comparable “merit award” private colleges) or the low income kid who isn’t Harvard/Stanford smart but is absolutely four year college material, who ends up getting an AA for Pharm Tech from their close by Community College instead of a BS in chemistry, because the public U’s close enough to commute to are unaffordable?

I agree with what you say in this post, but just want to point out that the low income kid may actually be Harvard/Stanford smart, but just not get picked. Lots of kids smart enough do not make the cut because of volume, packaging, a whole host of things. Not intending to nit pick, but rather further highlight how not envious the low income student position in this whole thing actually is.