Letters to the Editor: Out-of-state students are getting a bargain at UC. That’s ridiculous

To the editor: Does anyone actually believe that enrolling more out-of-state students to University of California campuses increases diversity? To afford the $29,000 tuition premium, these students are almost certainly from wealthier families. (“A bold plan for UC: Cut share of out-of-state students by half amid huge California demand,” May 25)

US News & World Reports ranks UCLA and UC Berkeley the top public universities in the nation. Out-of-state tuition at the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia (ranked third and fourth, respectively) is about $10,000 more than what nonresidents pay at UC.

California taxpayers are effectively subsidizing families who pay no state taxes. So, I suggest that UC raise tuition for nonresidents to about $53,000 (the same as in Michigan and Virginia), plus an additional $10,000 for international students.

This could actually increase diversity by resulting in more California students from less-wealthy families being enrolled.

Linda Iverson, Pasadena

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To the editor: Your article mentions students who were not admitted to their first-choice UC campuses. Students you have featured in past articles were, in fact, admitted to UC schools, all of which are world-class, California taxpayer-supported institutions. Some just didn’t get into schools that they considered prestigious enough.

If there are a large number of qualified students who really are shut out of the UC system, the answer is to build another UC campus. Expensive? Yes, and worth it.

But any new school would probably not satisfy students for whom only Berkeley or UCLA qualifies as an acceptable UC.

Susan Woolley, Altadena

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To the editor: Isn’t there a state mandate to admit the top 12.5% of all California high school seniors to some UC campus? Is UC complying with this mandate?

Furthermore, there has been a continuing movement to encourage more students to attend a community college for two years (for free!), then transfer to a UC or a California State University campus. Compared with the freshman admission rates, those for transfer students are much higher.

Finally, the pandemic has forced colleges to quickly improvise online educational modalities. Much has been learned under duress, and new mixes of on-site and remote classes are being fabricated as I write. As a college professor, I have been told to expect a mix of online and in-person sections of each course going forward.

This will support a larger student body, as on-campus resources can still be limited.

Jeff Drobman, Chatsworth