This column is the latest in a series about raising children in the later years of high school, “Emptying the Nest.” Read the previous installment, about the grief of the last first day of school, here.
My children exist in part because of the University of California system.
It was Governor Pat Brown's Master Plan for Higher Education, designed to guarantee every high school graduate in the state the opportunity to attend college, that helped my father-in-law convince his wife that they should move away. his small hometown in Indiana to the planned community of Lakewood.
Of course, there were a million factors that led me to meet my husband of 26 years. But one thing's for sure: It wouldn't have happened if he'd stayed in Indiana.
That's why I have many reasons to be grateful to the UC system. Reasons I try to remember as our family faces, for the third and final time, the stomach-churning experience of trying to be accepted into it.
As millions of parents and students know, the college admissions process has become increasingly terrifying. Gone are the days of my youth, when, after a reasonable assessment of one's budget and ability as a student, one could apply to a handful of in-state and out-of-state schools, including mandatory “reach” and “safety” ones. , and Expect to be accepted into several.
Now that research is a years-long process that requires spreadsheets of tuition and potential aid, acceptance rates (overall and for your student's preferred area of study), and housing availability and costs.
According to US News & World Report, over the past 20 years, national college tuition and fees overall have increased, unadjusted for inflation, more than 100%: in-state tuition and fees at public universities by about 133%.
And forget about a handful of college applications. Most counselors now advise students to apply to at least 10, with several safeguards in place. As for those “reach” universities, well, even for California grads, that now includes most UCs.
I know many people whose children have attended even the most popular members of the system: UCLA (acceptance rate: 9%), UC Berkeley (11.6%), UC San Diego (26.8%), UC Irvine (28 .8%), UC Santa Barbara (32.9%).
But I know many more who, years later, are still baffled by the fact that their 4.0+ son, who was captain of the volleyball team/president of the student council/founder of a thriving nonprofit, wasn't even in the waiting list.
Reddit is a cacophony of angst when it comes to questions about how to even YeahYou can enter most UCs. The most experienced high school and private college counselors advise high-achieving California students not to count on getting into the UC of their choice, unless that option includes Riverside (76%) or Merced (91%).
Both are good schools, if they have strong programs in your child's area of interest. Which, in the case of my third child, is not the case.
After watching his high-achieving older brothers receive their multiple rejection letters from UC while being accepted, with scholarships, to out-of-state colleges (my son was accepted to UC Davis but chose the University of Missouri), my youngest son He initially promised to avoid the entire painful experience. But then he realized that most of the best schools for his choice of major were UCs. So he applied to five of them, as well as two California state schools, one of which accepts only 34% of applicants.
The amount of time you've spent preparing your proposal for each of them—writing essays, putting together portfolios, and getting letters of recommendation—has essentially become a part-time job. Which he already has, along with all the extracurricular activities necessary to prove that he will be an asset to any university that deigns to accept our tens of thousands of dollars in tuition, room and fees.
He also applied to a number of private and out-of-state colleges, none of which we can afford without significant help. When did $70,000 a year become the norm?
But all of their top options are UC, so here's hoping. You have a high GPA, good AP scores, and a true passion for your desired area of study. More importantly, growing outrage over the high rejection rate among California applicants forced UC to limit the number of out-of-state students to 18% on most of its campuses and attempt to grow its collective student body.
This year, as the Times' Teresa Watanabe reported, UC admitted its largest and most diverse freshman class, including a 4.3% increase in freshmen from California. UC officials hope to add 3,600 more next year, although even with the proposed tuition increases, budget shortfalls may make that impossible.
Still, the fact is that a generation from now, the beacon of the system that attracted my husband's family and thousands of other families like them to California is nothing more than a dream for most.
Originally, UCs were intended to be research centers offering advanced education to the 12.5% of the state's graduating seniors; CSUs were to offer broader learning to the top 33.3%. The state's growing population, which has more than doubled since 1960, and the widening disparity in secondary education, make this kind of simple math impossible.
But for families who have invested their tax dollars in the state, sending a child who meets the historical standards of a UC to the campus that best fits their educational priorities should not require the kind of multi-year planning and concern anguished about entering MIT. or jump to the Ivy League.
Increasing admissions should be a priority for a state that has experienced its first major population decline in decades. UCs should develop more three-year programs, like those at UK universities, and offer more off-campus semesters, either abroad or at home, and work to ensure graduation within four years.
And if creating new campuses or expanding old ones remains too costly, perhaps the state should focus on developing the programs and reputation of Cal State universities. Under the Master Plan, only UCs could offer doctorates, a sign of research focus and prestige. But in 2005, CSUs began offering them in certain programs; Two years ago that number was expanded.
Cal Poly, San Diego State and Long Beach State are already on many “Best” lists, but with 20 other campuses in the system, perhaps it's time for California to reconsider its Master Plan with less focus on tiers and more on ensuring Ambitious and qualified high school graduates are forced to leave the state to find a university of their choice that will admit them.
Just as important, our collective opinions about college must change. Although I keep scrutinizing them, all those “Best” lists do as much harm as good, calcifying the notion that the lower the acceptance rate and the higher the price, the better the school. Which is not always the case.
After my father-in-law used the California university system to convince his family to go to the Golden State, his three children made the most of it and, over the years, attended Long Beach State, San Francisco State, UC Irvine and UCLA. My husband was accepted to Berkeley, but ultimately chose San Francisco State because of its writing program: the system was less hierarchical then and movement between campuses was more frequent.
At our house the latest round of applications has been sent out. Now comes the agonizing wait (just in time for Christmas!) and once again, I've told my daughter that if a certain college doesn't want her, it's their loss, not hers. But since she is the first of my children who really wants to stay in California, I hope California allows her.
