UCs admit most diversified student body in UC history and raise tuition
As usual, the University of California is stirring up controversy in its policies for admissions and tuition hikes. Last year, the UCs broke their own record when they received over 200,000 freshmen applications. That was the first year they did not consider SAT or ACT scores in admissions decisions, which made it possible for students who didn’t have the resources to boost their standardized test scores by paying for prep programs to be considered for admission based on their GPAs and essays.
This year, 43% of admitted students come from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. This was the most diverse undergraduate group in UC history.
37% Chicano/Latino (31,220 students)
34% Asian American (28,402 students)
20% White (17,024 students)
5% African Americans (4,608 students)
.045% American Indian (380 students)
Across all of the 9 UC campuses, 45% of admitted freshmen were the first in their family to attend college, and not surprisingly, 45% of all admitted California freshmen come from low-income families.
Just last week, UC Board of Regents announced that they will be raising tuition for incoming students beginning in fall 2022. This has caused an uproar from UC students. The UCs plan to raise the tuition up to 5% based on inflation plus other campus fees (approximately 2%) every year. They claim that they will face a $694 million shortfall by 2026-2027 without these increases.
Because over half of UC undergraduates receive 100% free tuition and fees, this tuition plan only affects students whose parents have higher income. The students whose parents are in the middle income range are the ones who ultimately get squeezed the most. These families claim that it will be impossible for them to attend because they don’t qualify for financial aid and they’ll be subject to a 7% increase in tuition.
The one positive thing about the new tuition policy is that once a student starts a UC as a freshman, their tuition will be locked in at that rate for 6 years. Curious to see if these policy changes will negatively or positively affect the quality of education at the University of California.