University of California - The Price of Education

I was fortunate enough to complete my undergrad at the University of California, Irvine. I walked away with a B.S. in Computer Engineering, no debt in loans, and a few thousand in credit card debt. Both my parents worked to help put me through college while also supporting my two other sisters. My dad even took up a second job when things got tough. And even with my parents’ financial support, I worked a part-time job throughout college, even working full time the last quarter of my senior year. Looking at the recent vote by the UC Regents to increase tuition by 32 percent, I am glad that I got my Bachelor’s degree back then, because I’m not quite sure how we’d be able to afford it now.

The UC Regents voted 20-1 to raise fees. The lone vote against the fee hike was from the only student regent, Jesse Bernal of UC Santa Barbara. Students across multiple campuses protested; upset and angry, they wondered how they would be able to afford a UC education.

UC President, Mark Yudof, left the vote under escort. He told reporters that students simply didn’t understand that most low-income students won’t be affected by the fee increase. He stated:

"There will not be any students who won't be able to afford a UC education. If someone slips through the cracks, send me an e-mail and we'll take care of it."

He was referring to the UC’s Blue and Gold program. This university program picks up the entire tuition (excluding living and campus costs) for students who families earn $70,000 or less and who qualify for other financial aid. UC officials say that about 30% of UC students are eligible for this program.

So does this mean there is light at the end of the tunnel? I’m not sure. And here’s why:

To be eligible for the Blue and Gold program, your household income must be lower that $70,000. To some, that may seem like a lot of money and easy to fall below. But that means (if you have two parents) that both parents need to make less than $35,000 a year. Also, if your parents still claim you on their taxes because they help to support you, then you have to add in your income as well. Even if you were working, say, a weekend part time job, and generated like $1000 a month, you’d be adding $12,000 to that total income.

So how about taking out a student loan? Everyone says it's “good” debt; That you are making an investment. I mentioned that I escaped undergrad with no loan debt, however, I did have to take out a loan for my masters degree. A big one. I thought that once I graduated, this degree along with the prestigious name of the private university I went to (USC) I would land a job right away, make money, and start paying off the loan. Needless to say, that’s not the case. And according to Vanessa’s Sallie Mae blog, it’s going to be harder and harder to get subsidized loans. It looks like those borrowing in the future for school may have to take out private (higher interest) loans.

I don’t have a solution for the UCs to cover the $535 million budget gap nor the more than $800 million in state funding that was lost since last year. But to pass this onto students and feel that other programs and student loans will help ease the stress of paying for school is not reasonable.

I stand in solidarity and full support of my UC friends. If any of you would like to send Mr. Yudof an email saying you can’t afford a UC, I’d love to hear about it. It would be really interesting to see how they would “take care of it.”

-Rae is a blogger for The Daily Vine. Check out her bio to see where her view comes from.

Source/Related Articles

University of California students protest 32 percent tuition increase, CNN

UC regents approve steep tuition hike, SFChronicle

University of Calif. approves big fee hikes, AP