University of California: Is this the right choice for my child and family?
by John H. Wilson, III, PARTS community member and Director of Education and Enrichment, West Angeles Church (see: www.mathinkers.org)
After my first 40 college planning meetings and taking over 100 calls from the parents of Class of 2014 students, there are a few things that I need to make sure are well understood concerning the college admissions and financial aid process – in the areas of affordability and sustainability. Today, I will share insights and information on University of California admission and affordability information.
The Realities of the University of California (UC)
We are blessed to have a system of well-known public research universities known as the Universities of California (UC). The State of California Master Plan for Higher Education states that UC’s are for the top 12% of 12th Grade high school students. See the document at the following link.
http://ucfuture.universityofcalifornia.edu/documents/ca_masterplan_summary.pdf
This12% figure usually means GPAs of 3.5 or above and SAT Scores of over 1600 and, in the case of UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles and UC San Diego, 3.8 and above 1800 on the SAT. Please note this is a NON-RACIAL barrier; it’s an academic performance barrier about which 12th Grade students who wish to attend UC need to be reminded. In my opinion, this a proper barrier since UCs are RESEARCH SCHOOLS. At a large state research school like our UCs, there are very large classroom sizes in general education and oftentimes self-educational expectations and extensive interaction with teaching assistants (TAs) for the facilitation of learning.
Which Students Do Best?
That said, UC is a great educational experience for the high GPA and SAT student who: (1) learns efficiently on his/her own without parental reminder and/or interaction; (2) are independent in their opinions and thinking; (3) did well (mostly A’s and no "C's") in AP/Honors Math and other AP Classes; (4) will be "go-getters" in regards to their careers and internships, since 80% of UC students go back to college and do not enter the workplace; and (5) without diagnosed learning process deficiencies.
Cost Considerations
For those students who meet these personal and academic behavioral qualities and have the grades/SAT scores in the top 12% of students, the next challenge is the COST of UC education. For a family of 3 with incomes of less than $46,000, UC is free other than the $5,500 direct loan. Those students who meet the admissions standard for UC can credibly apply to UC and affordably attend college. However, typically about 3% of my students meet the GPA/SAT and academic behavioral qualities and also have the reduced family income that allow for successful and affordable admissions and enrollment in UC.
Those students whose families make above $55,000 are usually close to or fully exposed to the $29,000 to $34,000 per year cost of UC or $116,000 to $136,000 for 4 years. Fortunately, for students who are admissible to UC, there are also Private Colleges and even California State Universities that are far more affordable and good "fits" for your student. This is why it’s important to ensure affordable private colleges and other colleges are on the college list – especially if the income is above $55,000. At these other “non-UC” colleges and universities, the academic behavior issues previously are not as much of a factor as in a very large research college, such as UCs.
Please provide me feedback to let me know if you would like to be added to my email list and receive future emails on college admissions topics. Join my mailing list at http://www.mathinkers.org/get-info.html
After my first 40 college planning meetings and taking over 100 calls from the parents of Class of 2014 students, there are a few things that I need to make sure are well understood concerning the college admissions and financial aid process – in the areas of affordability and sustainability. Today, I will share insights and information on University of California admission and affordability information.
The Realities of the University of California (UC)
We are blessed to have a system of well-known public research universities known as the Universities of California (UC). The State of California Master Plan for Higher Education states that UC’s are for the top 12% of 12th Grade high school students. See the document at the following link.
http://ucfuture.universityofcalifornia.edu/documents/ca_masterplan_summary.pdf
This12% figure usually means GPAs of 3.5 or above and SAT Scores of over 1600 and, in the case of UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles and UC San Diego, 3.8 and above 1800 on the SAT. Please note this is a NON-RACIAL barrier; it’s an academic performance barrier about which 12th Grade students who wish to attend UC need to be reminded. In my opinion, this a proper barrier since UCs are RESEARCH SCHOOLS. At a large state research school like our UCs, there are very large classroom sizes in general education and oftentimes self-educational expectations and extensive interaction with teaching assistants (TAs) for the facilitation of learning.
Which Students Do Best?
That said, UC is a great educational experience for the high GPA and SAT student who: (1) learns efficiently on his/her own without parental reminder and/or interaction; (2) are independent in their opinions and thinking; (3) did well (mostly A’s and no "C's") in AP/Honors Math and other AP Classes; (4) will be "go-getters" in regards to their careers and internships, since 80% of UC students go back to college and do not enter the workplace; and (5) without diagnosed learning process deficiencies.
Cost Considerations
For those students who meet these personal and academic behavioral qualities and have the grades/SAT scores in the top 12% of students, the next challenge is the COST of UC education. For a family of 3 with incomes of less than $46,000, UC is free other than the $5,500 direct loan. Those students who meet the admissions standard for UC can credibly apply to UC and affordably attend college. However, typically about 3% of my students meet the GPA/SAT and academic behavioral qualities and also have the reduced family income that allow for successful and affordable admissions and enrollment in UC.
Those students whose families make above $55,000 are usually close to or fully exposed to the $29,000 to $34,000 per year cost of UC or $116,000 to $136,000 for 4 years. Fortunately, for students who are admissible to UC, there are also Private Colleges and even California State Universities that are far more affordable and good "fits" for your student. This is why it’s important to ensure affordable private colleges and other colleges are on the college list – especially if the income is above $55,000. At these other “non-UC” colleges and universities, the academic behavior issues previously are not as much of a factor as in a very large research college, such as UCs.
Please provide me feedback to let me know if you would like to be added to my email list and receive future emails on college admissions topics. Join my mailing list at http://www.mathinkers.org/get-info.html
