@eyemgh, in my experience, there is also a subtle bias amongst the counselors and school administrators I have worked with. The primary focus of our instruction is college-preparatory. EVERY student in our district (60,000+) is expected to finish an A-G curriculum and be college ready. Obviously, that doesn’t happen, but a sincere and diligent attempt is made. This then leads to an emphasis on UC readiness in an “Aim high and you won’t fall as far” kind of thinking. Counselors constantly push for UC-readiness and administrators trumpet the UC acceptance numbers in an almost competitive manner. This can then lead to a status-oriented mindset amongst some parents and the top 20% of students. It’s almost a mark of shame to go to Sac State. Even UC Merced takes a beating for not being “UC” enough. It is unfortunate when I see students taking out far more significant student loans than necessary to attend a UC over a CSU, especially when they major in a non-research oriented field.