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University of California ...

R

RainCityMacFan

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 10, 2007
930
5
NC
Couple of my underclass friends are now applying to universities around the States and some of them are thinking of UCs. Seeing that the state of California is bankrupt (or is on the verge of bankruptcy), is it a good idea to even think about UCs? For those who live near UCs or attend them, how are the state of things right now on campus?

Is it as bad as the media makes it out to be...?
 
LA, SD, Davis, and Berkeley are fantastic schools if you can afford them. Public universities are getting routed across the country, though. So I wouldn't worry too much about a specific state.

Are you talking about undergrad or grad?
 
Though it is doubtful they would be shut down. The problem is one of less funding. So the general quality of education, security, maintenance and student services go downhill when the state is no longer able to keep borrowing money.

Y'all should look at state universities in your own state and save your parents a boat load of money. Also look at ones just outside major cities. Then your parents can buy a small townhouse or small regular house in nice neighborhood. With a monthly payment about half that of a rental house or apartment on a 15 year mortgage. Just a quick search on Zillow shows a lot of brick houses from the 50's and 60's in the suburbs in the 50K range in NC.

Heck the savings on tuition would probably pay the monthly mortgage and part or all the utilities. If they got a three bedroom and you rented rooms to two friends in college. Their rent would pay the cost the houses mortgage, insurance, and property taxes. While the savings in tuition by going in state would pay your utilities and food bill at the least.

Unless you any of your friends are going into one of the few fields where the prestige of your university matters or some specialized degree not offered in your state. It is just wasted money. As for most fields all that matters is you have a four year, masters or Ph.D. from an accredited university in your field. Heck a lot of jobs just require a four year degree and don't care what the field of study actually was.
 
Thanks for the advice guys!

It's for undergraduates studies and the problem is that I currently go to school in NC but my friends go to a school outside the U.S. (but are US citizens so they will get financial aid, probably not much of it).

So in a sense all public schools in the States are out of state. My fear is that the UCs are in one of the worst positions as tuition goes up and as velocityg4 said the quality of education, security, and maintenance will go downhill.
 
There are a lot of other options out there that may be a lot cheaper for you, and at the out-of-state tuition for UCs you could probably even get into a good private school.

What kind of major are you considering studying? Do you plan on going to graduate school? Which UC campuses are you interested in? Those are all questions that you need to think about - there are thousands of extremely motivated students in California competing for admissions in the UCs and that always makes things more interesting.

That, and UCB is definitely worth out of state admission.. UCM? Not so much..

I'd get into the political debate about the budget, but it'd probably end up being a waste of time. I don't think you have much to worry about, but rate hikes are a very real thing :(
 
I have a cousin who just got accepted to UC Davis who says everything around the campus and the vibe feels fine. She just got in so I don't think she knows much about it but she said the actual campus looks fine.

I also know my friend's sister is at UC Berkeley and said that classes are getting cut and tuition has been going up. I know personally that every time I hear about Berkeley in the news, it's always student protests and clashes with police/administrators.
 
I'm speaking as a product of UCLA, so I may be a bit biased. I was there from 2000 - 2004. I lived on campus and it was the best experience of my life. It made me the person I am today and I couldn't be happier.

There are differences among the UC system and definitely in State University. Among the High Schools, everyone knows that you only apply to the State University if you can't get into the UC system or they have the program that you really want. This was something that was discussed heavily during my junior and senior year of High School. In the UC system, there are several "safety" school in terms on which one will accept you. Truth be told, the UC system has an unofficial or may be an official ranking system. Berkeley/UCLA tend to flip flop, San Diego, but this one has a several "colleges" that may or may not accept you. It's a bit complicated. There's also Santa Barbara, Irvine, Davis, then Santa Cruz and then Riverside. And well, there's also San Francisco, but that's only for graduate students. This is how it was looked at before and it still sort of is now when I am asked by my nieces/nephew and cousins.

Also note that the cost will be more if you are not an in-state student. There's a significant surcharge for an out-of-state. For a being a resident of California, it's definitely cheaper compared to it. As far as California being "bankrupt" I highly doubt it will affect the UC system to the point it will fall apart. These Universities are necessary for California.
 
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