How your high school affects your chances of UC Admission: The better the school, the worse your chances.

[Anonymous]

From a hiring perspective, companies may feel justified in passing over candidates who were admitted to American colleges with any sort of leg up or masked meritocracy (grade inflation for example)

With offshore offices, firms can often find local candidates who have gone through highly rigorous and competitive admissions processes at top universities in their own countries. For U.S. companies—especially those operating globally—the question becomes why they should risk productivity and profitability by selecting less-prepared candidates when stronger alternatives may be available elsewhere before AI is ready?

[Anonymous]

I honestly don’t see how the current college admissions approach benefits the middle and lower class families. It often feels like schools are more focused on protecting their yield rates or monetizing their “prestige” than on genuinely serving students. In that system, what are students really to them—learners to be developed, or assets for branding and revenue?

If students attend top schools primarily for networking rather than for rigorous learning and innovation, it’s hard to see how the U.S. maintains long-term competitiveness. Simply circulating the same capital within stock market doesn’t drive progress. Without prioritizing the most creative and capable students from American high schools, where will meaningful innovation or societal progress come from—and what does that mean for the middle class or lower class families? Waiting for UBI?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When public services are used for social engineering and students who aren’t prepared and spoon fed the mediocre education system from K-12 and colleges, the likely outcomes aren’t good. Many probably end up dropping out or unemployed or burdened with student loans. They can’t repay and ultimately seek loan forgiveness.

No level of charity will be enough if a large portion of the population ends up relying on unemployment benefits.

The system is broken.

The system works well in California. Free community colleges, very low cost Cal States, and UCs have free tuition for families who earn under 100k.

And that my friend is why kids stay in California.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When public services are used for social engineering and students who aren’t prepared and spoon fed the mediocre education system from K-12 and colleges, the likely outcomes aren’t good. Many probably end up dropping out or unemployed or burdened with student loans. They can’t repay and ultimately seek loan forgiveness.

No level of charity will be enough if a large portion of the population ends up relying on unemployment benefits.

The system is broken.

The system works well in California. Free community colleges, very low cost Cal States, and UCs have free tuition for families who earn under 100k.

And that my friend is why kids stay in California.

Are you suggesting rich people to leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When public services are used for social engineering and students who aren’t prepared and spoon fed the mediocre education system from K-12 and colleges, the likely outcomes aren’t good. Many probably end up dropping out or unemployed or burdened with student loans. They can’t repay and ultimately seek loan forgiveness.

No level of charity will be enough if a large portion of the population ends up relying on unemployment benefits.

The system is broken.

The system works well in California. Free community colleges, very low cost Cal States, and UCs have free tuition for families who earn under 100k.

And that my friend is why kids stay in California.

+1

UMC and upper class families, increasingly frustrated with the cost and difficulty of gaining admission to elite privates, are now upset that publics like UC don’t prioritize their kids more than they already do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When public services are used for social engineering and students who aren’t prepared and spoon fed the mediocre education system from K-12 and colleges, the likely outcomes aren’t good. Many probably end up dropping out or unemployed or burdened with student loans. They can’t repay and ultimately seek loan forgiveness.

No level of charity will be enough if a large portion of the population ends up relying on unemployment benefits.

The system is broken.

The system works well in California. Free community colleges, very low cost Cal States, and UCs have free tuition for families who earn under 100k.

And that my friend is why kids stay in California.

Are you suggesting rich people to leave?

I am not

[Anonymous]

And to the bozo arguing that public services shouldn’t be used for “social engineering”:
the greatest social engineering programs have led to decades of American prosperity.

Read up on The Great Society and social welfare programs that benefitted veterans, students, children and families.

A country that invests in its people is one that will prosper.

[Anonymous]

I’m not sure how you can praise a system where the state runs large deficits, exports many of its most qualified students to other states but admit academically questionable students, and the UC system continues increasing its quota for international students—and still call that a system that works well.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand how you can defend a system that deliberately lowers academic standards and constantly indoctrinates students, and still claim that it’s working well.

[Anonymous]

It is evil. Pure evil

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is evil. Pure evil

Are you the same troll from the Nancy Guthrie thread? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:It’s sad that in California, high-achieving students often have to leave the state to find fair educational equity.

Despite the claims in this thread, the vast majority of California teens stay in state. We even have data on this. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/cgr.asp

According to this, only 14.2% of CA students who completed HS in 2023 attended a college in another state.

Please don’t believe everything you hear on Fox News or Facebook groups. At my child’s affluent public school, about 2/3rds of the students stay in California.

The majority, almost 60%, of high school kids are Latino. Only 25% of them meet even basic proficiency on state math tests and only 38% meet basic proficiency on the English state test. This is the real challenge for CA. There are tons of kids who should be repeating high school and then doing a year or two at community college before going to college. They fail out of the UCs or get shuffled into an easy major scraping by with a 2.0. It’s extremely expensive as these kids rely on full rides or loans to cover housing which is expensive at all UCs.

UCs are research and scholarly institutions. They don’t really teach undergraduates let alone provide remedial education. It’s a terrible environment for these kids and no they don’t blossom. They do stay in California.

Affluent white and asian students are more apt to go out of state as they know UC doesn’t want them and they can afford it. UM
C and MC white and Asian students will do community college and TAG or TAP to get into as transfers to the top 5.

White and Asian students stay in-state too. UCs are highly desirable and very popular in California, as are a few of the Cal States.

Some do, many don’t, far more than one would expect given the interest in the UC system. Was discussing this with my D today while sitting a beautiful small city in New England as we visit her on the long weekend. She’s an Asian kid from one of those Bay Area privates and of the white kids at her school with top stats she could only think of 1 who went to UCB and one who went to UCLA. The others all went to top privates. A far larger number of her Asian friends went to the UC system but not the white kids. We understand how the system works, it is what it is, and it isn’t appealing to many.

Are you saying the white students at your private don’t want to attend the UCs because there are too many Asian students? Or..? I don’t understand what you are implying.

For UMC public high schools in California, the UCs are still the top choice for most students - regardless of their race.

They prefer them for the exact same reasons Virginia parents like UVA, VT and W&M. Why spend $95k a year when you can get an excellent education for $40k? Parents would rather save their money for graduate school.

Bay Area CA families live in one of the most diverse areas of the world. Asian kids at the UCs aren’t an issue to them. The issue is the admissions process but these same families are the ones most likely to understand the why behind the process and the wide variety of options in the US education system. They may not like it but they accept that the system isn’t really set up for them. UCB doesn’t hold the allure for them that is does to the immigrant community. They pay more attention to things like class sizes and realize the top privates tend to provide a better experience. So they are just quicker to opt out rather than rant and rage against the system.

I suspect you are talking about wealthy families who have every choice at their fingertips. For regular UMC California families, whose parents may earn $200-$500k, UC’s are the priority.

It’s no different than any other state, really. UMC kids in Georgia like UGA, Virginia kids like UVA, Florida kids like UF or FSU, etc.

The cost of private universities is prohibitive. It’s truly an easy decision! Plus these public flagships offer enormous opportunities, events, exciting campus life, great college towns.

Small schools are for particular students, definitely not for everyone.

Definitely true for the UMC kids at my son’s HS. UC enrollments outnumber private ones by at more than 5 to 1. Add Cal Poly (very popular for STEM), closer to 10 to 1.

Definitely a public. Just checked the 2024 class of my kids Bay Area private. Only about 25% go into the UC/CSU system. Another 25% OOS public’s and 50% private. More kids to USC than Cal, more kids to the Ivies than UCLA, two of the top 10 to NESCAC, C5 also popular.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From a hiring perspective, companies may feel justified in passing over candidates who were admitted to American colleges with any sort of leg up or masked meritocracy (grade inflation for example)

With offshore offices, firms can often find local candidates who have gone through highly rigorous and competitive admissions processes at top universities in their own countries. For U.S. companies—especially those operating globally—the question becomes why they should risk productivity and profitability by selecting less-prepared candidates when stronger alternatives may be available elsewhere before AI is ready?

Nonsense, utter nonsense.