College admissions scandal: some non-locals seem to think UCLA and USC are mediocre "state" schools? (San Diego: day care, transfer)

[bostonguy1960]

Reading tweets and such since the college admissions scandal broke yesterday, it appears that some or most people wonder who has to bribe, especially tens of thousands of dollars or more, in order to gain admission to UCLA and USC? After all, they're not Yale or other ivy-league schools....

It seems that most of the country sees both as easy-to-get-into mediocre state schools? Are they wrong? I believe so.

Now, from what I know here on the "snobby (?) east coast, both schools are very rigorous, and usually only the top students gain entry. But...here in the Northeast and maybe other parts of the country, it appears that many or most think all state schools are far inferior, to any private school. That's not true, as many private schools have higher acceptance rates than some state schools. But it's a perception, and that's why some folks likely believe only mediocre students attend your USC and UCLA?

In reality, they're similar and likely much harder, it seems, to gain admission vs. Boston College and Boston University here where I live, as well as Northeastern University, Babson College, Bentley University, Wellesley, and Brandeis here in the Boston area, never mind Universury of Massachusetts-Amherst, OUR state school. But since all of these Boston-area schools are private, save for the University of Massachusetts, many in my region seem to deem them far superior to any state school nationwide.

People are asking, "how dumb" can this celebrity's girl be if her parents had to bribe UCLA or USC with high dollars?! In other words, any average or worse student can gain admission, as they're seemingly only mediocre "state" schools. Obviously, they're not familiar with the University of Michigan, University of Virginia and other elite STATE schools...Yes, state schools can be Hugh quality...

Well, they're not officially Ivy League schools -- so east coasters and other elite must feel why would anyone need to bribe -- or want to bribe -- to gain admission to those two California schools. No offense, but oftentimes, we've never heard of your elite Claremont colleges, Cal Tech, and don't realize Berkeley and Stanford are elite, much more elite than most of what east coast schools can offer. Similarly, you've often never heard of our elite liberal arts colleges...

I read last night that UCLA is very hard to get into if from out of state. Thus, it's mainly Californians? Really? I just
simply assumed that UCLA and USC draw from a large international student body, many of whom likely pay full tuition for the honor of attending these prestigious schools, and international students are likely targeted as desirable vs. a local student of similar performance but who likely needs all kinds of scholarships and financial aid?

This dissing of UCLA and USC by some non-locals irks me, as they know nothing about them other than they're "just" state schools, not worthy of bribes. Most Americans could not gain admission, correct?

Please educate me.

[NewbieHere]

So much rambling on, but it’s much harder lately to get into a UC. A state school in California is not the same as state schools in the Northeast. In my kids time, it was not too hard to get accepted to Boston University and Wellesley. But some of these kids don’t want to go to school in the East Coast for whatever reason.
According to US news ranking, most of the UCs are in top 50 National universities, can you say the same about other state schools, most likely not.

[Bitey]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

It seems that most of the country sees both as easy-to-get-into mediocre state schools? Are they wrong?

Where on earth do you get this from? USC isn't even a state school.

The common dig on USC is that it's a decent school but it fancies itself an Ivy League caliber school when it's not.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Reading tweets and such since the college admissions scandal broke yesterday, it appears that some or most people wonder who has to bribe, especially tens of thousands of dollars or more, in order to gain admission to UCLA and USC? After all, they're not Yale or other ivy-league schools....

It seems that most of the country sees both as easy-to-get-into mediocre state schools? Are they wrong? I believe so.

Now, from what I know here on the "snobby (?) east coast, both schools are very rigorous, and usually only the top students gain entry. But...here in the Northeast and maybe other parts of the country, it appears that many or most think all state schools are far inferior, to any private school. That's not true, as many private schools have higher acceptance rates than some state schools. But it's a perception, and that's why some folks likely believe only mediocre students attend your USC and UCLA?

In reality, they're similar and likely much harder, it seems, to gain admission vs. Boston College and Boston University here where I live, as well as Northeastern University, Babson College, Bentley University, Wellesley, and Brandeis here in the Boston area, never mind Universury of Massachusetts-Amherst, OUR state school. But since all of these Boston-area schools are private, save for the University of Massachusetts, many in my region seem to deem them far superior to any state school nationwide.

People are asking, "how dumb" can this celebrity's girl be if her parents had to bribe UCLA or USC with high dollars?! In other words, any average or worse student can gain admission, as they're seemingly only mediocre "state" schools. Obviously, they're not familiar with the University of Michigan, University of Virginia and other elite STATE schools...Yes, state schools can be Hugh quality...

Well, they're not officially Ivy League schools -- so east coasters and other elite must feel why would anyone need to bribe -- or want to bribe -- to gain admission to those two California schools. No offense, but oftentimes, we've never heard of your elite Claremont colleges, Cal Tech, and don't realize Berkeley and Stanford are elite, much more elite than most of what east coast schools can offer. Similarly, you've often never heard of our elite liberal arts colleges...

I read last night that UCLA is very hard to get into if from out of state. Thus, it's mainly Californians? Really? I just
simply assumed that UCLA and USC draw from a large international student body, many of whom likely pay full tuition for the honor of attending these prestigious schools, and international students are likely targeted as desirable vs. a local student of similar performance but who likely needs all kinds of scholarships and financial aid?

This dissing of UCLA and USC by some non-locals irks me, as they know nothing about them other than they're "just" state schools, not worthy of bribes. Most Americans could not gain admission, correct?

Please educate me.

I think that most people know that UCLA and USC are top-tier schools. I think a lot know that USC is private too. However, I have to agree with most people, it strikes me as pretty ridiculous to bribe your way to the tune of $500k into USC. Not Harvard, not Yale, not Princeton—, but USC. There are so many equally prestigious schools to USC that it simply isn't worth bribing your way into it.

[Taiko]

The sports programs at USC and UCLA have been so successful that many perceive the schools as just a cover for minor developmental leagues for the big money sports.

Then there is the general elite bias the culture has. It is not good enough for your fictional character to have been a soldier, he had to have been a Ranger, not just a Marine but a Special Operations guy, every Navy veteran was a fighter pilot or SEAL. As an example. Translated to schools only Harvard and secondarily Yale really count and the rest of the Ivy league along with the other top schools around the world which only accept the top ten percent of applications are just young adult day care in relation.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Reading tweets and such since the college admissions scandal broke yesterday, it appears that some or most people wonder who has to bribe, especially tens of thousands of dollars or more, in order to gain admission to UCLA and USC? After all, they're not Yale or other ivy-league schools....

It seems that most of the country sees both as easy-to-get-into mediocre state schools? Are they wrong? I believe so.

Now, from what I know here on the "snobby (?) east coast, both schools are very rigorous, and usually only the top students gain entry. But...here in the Northeast and maybe other parts of the country, it appears that many or most think all state schools are far inferior, to any private school. That's not true, as many private schools have higher acceptance rates than some state schools. But it's a perception, and that's why some folks likely believe only mediocre students attend your USC and UCLA?

In reality, they're similar and likely much harder, it seems, to gain admission vs. Boston College and Boston University here where I live, as well as Northeastern University, Babson College, Bentley University, Wellesley, and Brandeis here in the Boston area, never mind Universury of Massachusetts-Amherst, OUR state school. But since all of these Boston-area schools are private, save for the University of Massachusetts, many in my region seem to deem them far superior to any state school nationwide.

People are asking, "how dumb" can this celebrity's girl be if her parents had to bribe UCLA or USC with high dollars?! In other words, any average or worse student can gain admission, as they're seemingly only mediocre "state" schools. Obviously, they're not familiar with the University of Michigan, University of Virginia and other elite STATE schools...Yes, state schools can be Hugh quality...

Well, they're not officially Ivy League schools -- so east coasters and other elite must feel why would anyone need to bribe -- or want to bribe -- to gain admission to those two California schools. No offense, but oftentimes, we've never heard of your elite Claremont colleges, Cal Tech, and don't realize Berkeley and Stanford are elite, much more elite than most of what east coast schools can offer. Similarly, you've often never heard of our elite liberal arts colleges...

I read last night that UCLA is very hard to get into if from out of state. Thus, it's mainly Californians? Really? I just
simply assumed that UCLA and USC draw from a large international student body, many of whom likely pay full tuition for the honor of attending these prestigious schools, and international students are likely targeted as desirable vs. a local student of similar performance but who likely needs all kinds of scholarships and financial aid?

This dissing of UCLA and USC by some non-locals irks me, as they know nothing about them other than they're "just" state schools, not worthy of bribes. Most Americans could not gain admission, correct?

Please educate me.

Well for those snobby east coast residence they need to get educated themselves. UCLA is an outstandin public university with very strict requirements for attending and even stricter for out of state students but the funny and yet sad part of your post has to do with state schools. USC is one of the most expensive private schools in the country. It is not a state school or state university. People need to have a clue before making statements. Let me also add, there is a difference between a state school and a state universtiy. Though now days many are under a similar umbrella state schools, those with the name "state in them" are usually rated a little lower than school without the "state" in the name. an example would be: San Diego state university versus University of California.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Bitey

Where on earth do you get this from? USC isn't even a state school.

The common dig on USC is that it's a decent school but it fancies itself an Ivy League caliber school when it's not.

Yes it is, depending on your chosen field of study. And let me clear something up people keep saying, as I mentioned in my post a minute ago: there is a difference in the name "state" and "university" Cal, for instance is a university, which, normally is a step up from a state school like San Diego State university. I say this as an alum of San Diego State University.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

it appears that some or most people wonder who has to bribe, especially tens of thousands of dollars or more, in order to gain admission to UCLA and USC? After all, they're not Yale or other ivy-league schools....

"Most people"? You mean insecure celebrities? They are hardly most people.

UCLA is one of the top ranked universities in the world.

UCLA ranked No. 1 public university by U.S. News & World Report | UCLA

Where Stanford, USC, UCLA and Berkeley rank in this year's U.S. News Best Colleges ranking:
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/...a-cal-usc.html

USC is a private school which has become much more difficult to get into in the last couple of decades.

[stan4]

I am from out of state and I KNOW how hard UCLA is to get into.

People also don't realize how many smart in-state Texas kids and parents covet a spot they will never get at UT Austin.

Quite a few of my friends have kids applying to college now. They harbor no delusions.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Please educate me.

Both UCLA and USC are relatively easy to get into as a transfer student from one of the local community colleges...
UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP)
UCLA TAP and Transfer Resources