Cody Luk
Photo Editor
The season of college admission results is already stressful enough for seniors every year, and the news of the California State University system’s plans to freeze enrollment for the next spring and waitlist all fall applicants definitely causes more worries for underclassmen.
Governor Jerry Brown’s plan to raise sales tax by one-quarter cent and to increase levies on annual incomes of over $250,000 can raise about $6 billion for California. If the plan does not pass, eight Cal States will accept only a few hundred students from community colleges and the rest of the 23 Cal States will not be accepting new students for spring 2013.
This will affect the average 70,000 students that apply and the 16,000 students that enroll in the spring. Community college students waiting to transfer to a Cal State will have to postpone their plans if they do not apply or get into the eight Cal States that are accepting some students.
For the fall 2013 term, Cal States will waitlist or reject an average of 700,000 applications and final admission decisions will be based on the tax proposal, government funding and state budgets. Chancellor Charles Reed also has the power to reduce enrollment anytime without the California State University Board of Trustees’ approval.
“It concerns me because I have a little brother, and it may lessen his chances of going to a school other than a community college,” Senior Darren Yang said. “I feel like Cal States give a good education to students, and if they freeze enrollment, then students will have to choose between a community college or a UC, and there is a big gap in between the two.”
The California State University system is the largest in the state, but on top of the $750 million budget cut for 2011-12, there is a risk of an additional $200 million budget cut if the tax proposal fails. Tuition has also increased every year for the past six years. A 9 percent increase for 2012-13 was finalized in Nov. 2011 and the tuition for most Cal States is now at almost $6000, excluding campus fees, housing, books, transportation and personal expenses. Tuition for 2002-03 was a little over $1500, which marks a $4500 increase within the past decade.
“I’m concerned for the state budget because those not getting into UC’s and Cal States will be going to community colleges, which are already crowded,” Guidance Counselor Ms. Martine Gonzalez said. “This also causes more students to be interested in private universities, which is good for those that can afford it or received enough financial aid, but if not, then there will be more debts and that is a big burden as well.”
Current juniors are concerned about next year when they apply for colleges. Most students choose to apply to public colleges instead of private colleges because of lower tuition.
“The news of Cal States waitlisting applicants in the fall makes me feel concerned and also because they may be raising tuition again and making it even more expensive,” Junior Brittany Bravo said. “I don’t want to graduate from college with a lot of student debt because it will be difficult to get a job while being stressed with loans.”
However, out-of-state students will most likely be unaffected because Cal States charge them more and will not benefit from decreasing their numbers. They pay about $15,000 versus in-state students’ $6000 cost.
The University of California system is also looking into reducing fall 2013 enrollment if the tax proposal fails.
They admitted 43 percent more out-of-state and international students than the previous year due to budget cuts as well. Like Cal States, out-of-state UC students pay a much higher tuition than Californians. UC’s are also looking into increasing the percentage of out-of-state students to a 10 percent within next few years.
“It is bad for the incoming seniors, and I feel that Cal States shouldn’t do this because when they bring in students, they are bringing in money,” Senior Terrence Sun said. “I feel it’s unfair for everyone because out-of- state students are probably facing the same problem in their home states. For California students, they are either facing a harder time getting into Cal States or [will have to] risk paying more to go out-of-state.”
Whether Cal States will freeze enrollment and waitlist qualified applicants will be based on voters’ decision on the tax plan. The tax proposal does not yet have enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. If the proposal does not get on the ballot or if it does not pass, California public schools will be facing a $5 billion budget cut.