<p>Icarus, I assume you grew up in a supportive home? This young women has a parent who does not understand the value of education.</p>
<p>I’m not going to debate the illegal issue or whether state schools should be educating illegals.</p>
<p>My question is, how can UCLA accept a student with this background without offering concrete support? This kid does not have a computer at home to log onto for emails regarding what’s available to help her. Either offer the proper support or don’t accept her.</p>
But there are plenty of computers at UCLA she could have used after she arrived and before that she could have (I assume) accessed computers for free in her local public library as well as possibly her HS. I doubt lack of access was the issue - it was lack of just doing it which could be due to lack of guidance or just plain unfamiliarity of what to do although I’d put most students in this latter category.</p>
<p>From Icarus’s statements it looks like there’s plenty of support available but it’ll require some effort on the part of the student to actually consent to and accept the support. Although this student wasn’t at the top of her HS class she was nowhere near the bottom either. I wouldn’t consider her ‘unable to navigate’ the campus. Again, her first quarter results aren’t as bad as the author of the article seems to be trying to imply and in fact, were quite acceptable.</p>
<p>I did, but I was responding to your statement that even people who come from supportive families have trouble navigating the UCLA system - this is simply not true. Its not even true for people who didn’t have supportive families (as I had many friends for whom this was the case - and they didn’t have any trouble dealing with these things at UCLA). </p>
<p>Again, the support is offered - it is there for the taking and it is well publicized. The problem here seems to be that she never should have been admitted in the first place based on grades and test scores.</p>
<p>If this young woman had come on CC last year asking for advice, would anyone have counseled her to go to UCLA? Probably not. I’ve seen stories like this in the LA Times for years. Usually, the students they profile are the type who have the GPA and test scores and AP courses that make them typical UCLA freshmen. It’s still a challenge for them to go through UCLA because of financial issues, the lengthy commute, and having to take quarters off to work fulltime to earn enough money to pay the registrar for another quarter. I’m horrified that UCLA didn’t assign any sort of peer mentor to show the young woman the ropes. </p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad, yes, a B- average is not doing too badly in raw numbers. She’s certainly doing well given all the enormous obstacles she’s facing. However, that C was in a class that other students told the young woman would be “an easy A”. I hope she gains her sea legs fast.</p>
<p>The article suggests that she was offered concrete support, but she neglected to log into her college email, and so did not know about it until months later. I assume that she is getting more support now, and I hope that she succeeds as a result.</p>
<p>Goodness, hmom is so far left, her inputs make me questioning her intelligence.<br>
Your apparent hate for the UC system and often misunderstanding of the real issues consistently is really mindboggling. I’m glad you decided not to pursue any teaching job at the UC or future Californians are in bigger trouble than Ms. de la Cuz.</p>
<p>I have worked with kids who read a lot like this one for more than a decade. I’ve seen them go to every ivy and top LAC and mostly do well. The schools accept kids who have what it takes and give them what they need to be successful.</p>
<p>Why don’t these kids proactively seek out help? Because they come from environments where help has rarely been available. This kid is going 40 miles each way on a couple of buses. How is she supposed to get to the public library? And while there are computers at UCLA, maybe if she doesn’t catch a bus right after class she risks walking home in the dark in a bad neighborhood. Or maybe she needs to cook while her mother works 2 jobs.</p>
<p>These kids have issue most of us and our kids can’t imagine.</p>
<p>I’m most impressed with a program Cornell has for some admits. It’s mandatory. Then the kid is given a trained faculty advisor. Hand holding? Sure. But these kids can’t compete if these programs are not presented to them.</p>
<p>And middsmith, I really can’t speak to my intelligence as it’s in the eye of the beholder, but trust me, no one ever accuses me of being far to the left! And yes, for me this is just another example of the UCs doing a crappy job. Woe to CA, I have indeed accepted a teaching job there among many great colleagues who have left UCs in disgust.</p>
If she can manage to navigate her way to UCLA on the buses I’m sure her local library, which I’m assuming is no more than a few miles away, would be a nit to her.</p>
<p>
Chances that she doesn’t have some kind of break between classes where she could use a computer is minimal.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that she doesn’t have some challenges. The commute alone is one and the lack of support or worse, possibly the desire for her to fail on the part of her mother, are certainly challenges. Yet despite this, she’s doing okay so far and she even has other options like transferring if it gets to be too much. </p>
<p>I’m sure the author of the article could have found examples of students who were actually failing but for some reason the reporter chose to use this example of someone who’s actually succeeding and not failing. I could have written an article about the same person that would have had an uplift and inspiring beat but for some reason this author chose not to. Maybe they have some other agenda or point they’re trying to make surrounding her being an illegal.</p>
<p>I really don’t see a failure on UCLA’s part so far. They admitted her, she accepted, and she’s doing okay so far. What’s the problem?</p>
<p>If she is an illegal immigrant, she and her family have some problems that should not be bandied in the newspaper. She is liable to get the immigration on her case. She is really putting off more serious problems with her illegal situation. Even with a degree she is not going to be able get jobs without valid identification and papers. Forging them is a big problem and a crime. I think she should go on leave and tackle the immigration issue. I know several folks here in NY that have gone through this problem, and have been faced with it myself regarding family members.</p>
In all fairness, I’d expect an expensive Ivy league school to have a few more hand-holding resources pushed to the student than a huge state university.</p>
<p>Here in NY anyone who can prove he was in state for 3 years with rental, bank, school transcript records is eligible for in state tuition at the state colleges and unis. They are not eligible for any financial aid from the government. However, any independent sources can give money if they so please.</p>
First of all, the article did say she lives with someone else in order to shorten the commute time. So a 40 min bus ride & cook for a mother who works 2 jobs are results from your active imagination. Poor girl isn’t exactly Olivia Twist.</p>
<p>
barring hmom.</p>
<p>
Weren’t you very insistent on promoting more URMs at the UC, then add on unnecessary programs to help these URMs even in this tough economy? I say this is way left, Frank Rich left. Woe is CA, indeed.</p>
<p>About the posts above referring to Cornell’s programs, I am not at all sure that these would jump out at students without legal residency in this country. The COSEP program, which involves URM students, has support programs, but I believe that many of these students have passed the financial aid gauntlet in terms of Pell grants and aid from NYS. Does anyone know of any student receiving such support who is in the country without legal documentation?</p>
<p>While the State of California may have a compelling interest in admitting URM students, I am sure that many other equally qualified URM students who are US citizens with 380 Sat scores or better are out there. This admission reeks of social engineering gone awry. In a sense Hmom is right, don’t let her in if you are not going to hold her hand all the way. Naturally I think that she must have had a substandard HS education. However, none of my former work study students from poor neighborhoods who were hardworking and bright (and also received a less than stellar HS edu.) received admission to such a high ranking college. They were citizens and taxpayers. Frankly, I think she got in because she did not have legal papers. This is a perversion of diversity and affirmative action. Line jumping at its worst.</p>
<p>Apparently you weren’t paying attention to the posts above yours. As an illegal immigrant she won’t get her college paid for by your tax dollars because she qualifies for exactly ZERO dollars in FA. A condition precedent to qualifying for FA is having a social security number, namely being here legally! So don’t worry, none of your tax dollars are going to pay for her FA.</p>
<p>As one of the other posters indicated above, her bigger concern is what to do if/when she gets that UCLA degree. There’s not a big job market for people without social security numbers out there, at least for professionals with a UCLA degree.</p>
<p>If this situation offends any of you, you should be lobbying your local congressman to finally pass the DREAM ACT. Do a Google search to learn more about it, but this young lady would be a classic candidate who could become such a productive member of society but for the fact that she lived the first four years of her life in another country and then came here with her mom illegally.</p>
<p>I noticed that the student in the article was also accepted at one of the CSUs. The CSUs have a program for disadvantaged students. The EOP program: </p>
<p>What Is the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP)?</p>
<p>The Educational Opportunity Program is designed to improve access and retention of historically low-income and educationally disadvantaged students. EOP students have the potential and demonstrated motivation to perform satisfactorily at a CSU, but they have not been able to realize their potential because of their economic or educational background. The program provides admission and academic assistance to EOP-eligible undergraduate students. In many cases, the program offers financial assistance to eligible students. Campuses tailor their programs to accommodate the needs of their student population. </p>
<p>I helped a student with college applications and focused specifically on the CSUs because of this program. Just getting the student admitted isn’t enough. Students who do not have parental support need other support facilities available on the campus. It is unfortunate that she was unable to connect with a similar program at UCLA if it exists (I do not know whether it does).</p>
Actually, she does get her college subsidized to some extent by the taxpayers in California as does anyone who goes to a California state school. Whether her mother has paid any income tax to pay part of a share or not it’s hard to say since many illegal workers get paid in cash and don’t pay any income taxes.</p>
<p>Middsmith, woe is CA if your lack of empathy is typical of it’s youth.</p>
<p>Not to mention that the illegals are here to stay. Not helping educate them and stopping an entrenched underclass is key to the survival and competitiveness of the state.</p>