<p>I’m not sure if this pertains to the UCs, but generally speaking, large state schools HAVE to give preference to in-state students (even though a school such as UCB has had some cutbacks from state funding), because some of their funding is from taxes. Therefore, they have to meet a certain quota of in-state students before selecting out-of-state and international applicants because they owe it to the taxpayers to pick more in-state kids. It’s the case for most state schools. </p>