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By Camille Smyth
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Feb. 22, 2008 |
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A record-breaking amount of applicants this year to the University of California system led to another record at many high schools: rejections. UCs and California State Universities reported a 9-percent decrease in acceptances this year.
According to an article in the Oakland Tribune, UC-Los Angeles had a
2-percent decrease in acceptances this year. At UC-Berkeley, two-thirds
of the applicants with a 4.0 grade-point average were rejected, causing
a 0.5-percent increase in the school’s rejections. Overall, the years
2007-2008 turned out to be the most competitive for students seeking
out spots in elite universities.
Currently, the California Master Plan for Higher Education ensures that
every eligible freshman is guaranteed a spot in one of the 10 UC
campuses. However, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed state
budget cuts put this plan in jeopardy. “The University very much wants
to meet our historic commitment to offer a place to all UC-eligible
students in 2008-09, but we are also wrestling with the serious funding
problem we face,” undergraduate admissions director Susan Wilbur said.
“At this time, no decision has been made to reduce the enrollments of
new students for the 2008-09 year.”
According to an article in Dateline, Davis Larry Vanderhoef, the
chancellor of the University of California, said that the governor's
office envisions that many of the students being turned away from UC
schools will attend community colleges. "They're the top eighth (of
graduating high school seniors). They have other options," Vanderhoef
said.
Lowell counselor May Choi estimated that 80 percent of this year’s
senior class applied to UCs. “If students want to get into a UC, they
need to apply broadly to most of the campuses,” she said. “Many of our
students seem to restrict their applications to the most popular ones
such as UCLA, CAL, UC-San Diego, UC-Davis and forget that there are
others that may be less competitive but are equally good.”
Choi expressed sympathy for students disappointed by this year’s
results. “The sad thing is that when the UCs drop their admit rates and
fewer students get in, our students feel depressed, hurt, and they have
doubts about their personal worth and self esteem,” she said. “They
wonder why they work so hard at Lowell when they cannot even get into
their dream college.”
Overall, the proposed educational budget cuts would reduce UC funds by
eight percent and CSU funds by nine percent. Lowering acceptance rates
is “one proposal of many on how to handle state budget cuts,”
UC-Berkeley associate director Georgia Webb said. “If enrollment
reductions happen, it would be a system-wide decision.” According to
the Dateline article, CSU-Sacramento president Alexander Gonzalez
believes that budget cuts could also decrease course offerings and lead
to part time faculty layoffs.
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