A couple of thoughts:
1. Yes, colleges love the out of state & international students because they often pay the full tuition price and get no financial aid. But the flip side is that, without these students, tuition prices for in-state students would be even higher.
2. Most universities these days are seeing a decrease in the student population. So, there likely ARE open slots at state universities, maybe just not in the top tier ones.
3. Except for the elite schools, the bottom third of the college/university students today should not be there. Many students in the middle third could make something out of college, but are not that motivated.
4. There are way too many administrators vs. faculty. At the school where I teach, they keep getting rid of faculty and adding administrators. Class sizes just keep getting bigger. I’ve lost track of the number of people with the title “Director”. It just boggles the mind.
“Yes, colleges love the out of state & international students because they often pay the full tuition price and get no financial aid. But the flip side is that, without these students, tuition prices for in-state students would be even higher.”
What evidence is there that this is true? At the University of California, the ability to ATTRACT foreign students was proffered as the explanation for exponential tuition rate increases in the 1990s.
And when you give a slot to a foreigner, it doesn’t “increase slots for others because (the foreign students) pay more money” — it deprives a Californian of his slot at UCLA.
“Most universities these days are seeing a decrease in the student population. So, there likely ARE open slots at state universities, maybe just not in the top tier ones.”
Not true at the University of California. Enrollment continues to increase every year, and thousands of QUALIFIED California residents are turned away from the flagship campuses of UCLA, Berkeley, San Diego and Santa Barbara and steered toward the campuses increasingly reserved for Californians (Riverside and Santa Cruz) so the slots at UCLA can be reserved for top-dollar foreigners.
“Except for the elite schools, the bottom third of the college/university students today should not be there.”
Nonsense. The University of California has high standards of admission across the board. If you meet them between GPA and test scores, you are perfectly qualified to attend; and you should be admitted to the campus of your choice before a resident from another state or another country.
I’ve had it up to here with the “Foreign kids are smarter and study more, so they DESERVE to be admitted to American universities more than Americans.” No, they are study prisoners who’ve come out of a freakazoid study system that we should not import to our shores. We’ve managed to lead the world in science and technology for two hundred years without it, thanks.
What other country in the world penalizes its own kids for achieving less than what foreigners say we should be achieving to be admitted to OUR OWN schools?
The “for-profit” state university mentality has taken away California kids’ right to an education at the schools our parents and grandparents BUILT AND PAID FOR. BY CALIFORNIANS, FOR CALIFORNIANS.