UC Davis has teamed with three community colleges and the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office to address misconceptions that higher education is too costly for the average student. As part of that effort, committee members recently produced a PowerPoint presentation called "A University Education is Affordable."
The presentation (online at http://ugaos. ucdavis.edu/download) was created mostly for the benefit of transfer-ready students and incoming freshmen. Its purpose is "to realistically portray the total costs of attending a community college compared to a UC and to provide a deeper understanding of financial aid eligibility across family income ranges," said Mike Dang, committee chair and associate director of undergraduate admissions at UC Davis.
"The committee felt that an inadequate understanding of financial aid and budgeting kept many highly qualified transfer students from considering completing their undergraduate education at UC," he said. "Our goal was to provide practical advice and examples to inform and motivate community college students to study at the university."
American River College, Sacramento City College and Solano Community College worked with UC Davis for about a year on the project. Dang said that the presentation would be used by UC Davis outreach staff on visits to high schools and community colleges and by college counselors.
The presentation shows that a university education is not that much more expensive than a community college education and, more importantly, that someone with a bachelor's degree from UC has much more earning power than someone with a high school diploma or associate's degree.
According to the presentation, the average annual income of someone with a bachelor's degree is more than $24,000 higher than that of someone with only a high school diploma and $16,000 more than someone with an associate's degree.
The presentation further notes that the cost of attending community college -- including the cost of dorm or apartment living -- is about $11,500 a year. The annual cost at UC is estimated at $16,810.
Dang said that it is important that students realize that "careful budgeting of financial aid, savings and summer work enables them to study at the university."
A large part of the presentation is devoted to making it clear that financial aid is available, even if a student's parents are financially secure. Aid is determined not only by parents' income, but by the number of dependents in a family as well.
Notice has been sent out to California's 108 community colleges alerting them that the presentation is available. Based on reactions the committee has received so far, it seems that they have succeeded in accomplishing their goal, Dang said.
"I have received positive comments from the community colleges indicating the information is in a format that is understandable, not too technical, nor too complex," he said.
For more information:
A new UC Web site, "You Can, We Can Help," provides real-world stories describing how current UC students finance their college education. The profiles demonstrate the range of financial aid resources available and show how students meet the challenges of paying for a UC education. The profiles are online at: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/youcan/.