Students Head Out of State to Avoid College Gridlock : Education: More are paying the extra costs so they can finish in four years. Private schools also try to capitalize.

Cassandra Collis, an 18-year-old from Corona, wants to complete her college education in four years. That is why she said she decided not to attend a public university in California and enrolled recently as a freshman at the University of Colorado campus at Boulder.

“Obviously, it is more expensive to go to school here,” Collis said, referring to hefty tuition surcharges for out-of-staters in Colorado. “But I think it will average out because it would take at least an extra year in California with all the crowding and classes being canceled.”

In the highly competitive world of college admissions, one school’s losses are seen as another school’s potential gain. So, as Cal State and University of California campuses face staff cuts and fee increases borne of the state’s budget crisis, more students such as Collis are at least considering public colleges out of state and private schools nationwide.

At Colorado’s Boulder campus, 430 Californians enrolled as freshmen this fall, up 110 from last year, said William Hathaway-Clark, acting admissions director. Although that increase was part of an overall rise in out-of-state enrollment, part of it can be attributed to Californians’ worries about education at home, he said.

“We definitely have had more interest from California,” Hathaway-Clark said.

The University of Nevada at Reno has 1,088 Californians attending this fall, a 52% jump from last year, contrasted with an overall enrollment rise of about 2%, officials said. The University of Oregon reports that telephone and mail inquiries about admissions for Californians are running 24% higher than a year ago. Based on campus tours and recruiting meetings, state universities in Washington and Arizona also expect more applications from Californians for the 1993-94 school year.

Private or independent schools in California also are seeking to gain from well-publicized budget problems in the public sector. The Assn. of Independent California Colleges and Universities recently printed 100,000 copies of a brochure that suggests large annual tuition differences may not matter if it takes five or six years to graduate from a lower-cost public college instead of four years at a higher-priced independent.

Jonathan Brown, the association’s president, said: “Higher education, especially in California, has this tradition of good-natured competition, and I don’t think we violate that. We like to play ethically and reasonably. But at the same time, we are not going to ignore differences when they exist.”

Based on preliminary figures, the 65 independent colleges estimate that their total fall enrollment this year increased 5% among freshmen and about 7% for undergraduate transfers. That comes after several years of relatively flat or slightly lower numbers, averaging about 102,000 undergraduates, analysts said.

But other experts doubt that there will be a massive exodus from Cal State and UC to private or out-of-state public colleges. Some states have formal or informal quotas on non-resident students and charge them relatively high fees. Even with the recent 24% rise, UC fees average $3,036 a year, excluding room and board, while tuition is often four times that at an independent school if a student receives no financial aid.

What’s more, California’s public universities are not alone in experiencing budget cutbacks and fee increases. There is also some concern that California students may be needlessly scared away from home state campuses when UC and Cal State still offer quality educations at decent costs, supporters of the state system say.

“I think the reputation of both UC and CSU should be held in high regard and students should know they are going to get a good education in spite of the increases in fees,” said Darryl Yagi, a counselor at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma. Yagi, a past president of the California School Counselors Assn., stresses that reports of overcrowding at California public universities have been exaggerated, particularly at UC campuses.

UC analysts are anxiously awaiting studies on whether overall enrollment has dropped from the 166,247 students counted in fall 1991. The 20-campus Cal State system, which eliminated 1,500 courses this year, estimates its enrollment is 347,000, a decline of about 15,000.

Spokeswoman Colleen Bentley-Adler said Cal State does not know how many students transferred or dropped out. Ironically, because of the enrollment drop, there is now more room than expected, she said, and urged students not to turn away. “I think it’s a little negative now, but I don’t think it’s going to stay that way.”

One student unwilling to wait was Darlene Chan, who left San Diego State after she had trouble getting into upper-division courses. She transferred this fall as a junior to the University of the Pacific, an independent institution in Stockton. The 21-year-old business major is willing to pay extra for smaller and more available classes. Pacific’s annual tuition is $14,430, contrasted with $1,308 in fees, including a 40% increase, at San Diego State.

Carrie Besnette, West Coast recruiter for the University of Arizona, recalled her recent talk at Chatsworth High School in the San Fernando Valley. About 60 students attended, three times more than in previous years. “The most frequent questions are not so much about the cost of tuition, but ‘If I’m going to pay for it, am I going to get my classes?’ ” Besnette said.

The number of freshmen from California has increased 8.7% this fall, to 527, at the University of Arizona. “That’s a pretty significant jump out of one state,” said Loyd Bell, interim admissions director. “But it’s not unbelievable. I don’t know that it shows any great flight.”

Arizona and Colorado universities have no formal restrictions on out-of-state students but try to limit them to about one-third of undergraduates, officials said. The University of Washington allots 10% of its undergraduate space for non-residents, and University of Nevada welcomes many Californians because the higher fees they pay bring in desired revenues.

Out-of-staters pay $5,535 annually for full-time tuition at the Reno campus, $3,900 more than Nevadans do, although Californians from some northern border counties get discounts. Annual tuition for non-residents is nearly $7,000 at the University of Arizona and $11,332 at University of Colorado at Boulder.

However, many Californians who attend public colleges in other states meet residency rules for lower fees in two years. Plus, recruiters from other states stress that their charges for room and board can be half those of some UC schools.

Carla Ferri, UC’s director of undergraduate admissions, said she is concerned about increased recruiting by rival schools. Undergraduate course offerings at UC have not been significantly affected by the budget cuts, although other services have been, she said.