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<p>UC in-state financial aid is actually a lot better than the in-state financial aid at many other state universities (PA, IL, and TX seem to be among the worse ones, based on net price calculator experiments). But there are probably many upper-middle to lower-upper income families who have high spending lifestyles or other situations consuming their money (e.g. divorce lawyers or medical expenses) so that they cannot afford their EFC (FAFSA-only-based for UC), meaning that their students need either merit scholarships or a low list price to afford (any) college.</p>