These poor kids trying to get into UCs. It's not enough that the average GPAs for the kids they admit are over 4.0. The success of these campuses as a hub for activity, research, new businesses, and - of course - education has made them some of the most expensive areas to live in California.
The median home price in California is $635,000. Home prices in some UC neighborhoods are about 2 to 3X that.
Median home prices are
$1,850,000 around UC Berkeley
$1,500,000 around UC Los Angeles
$1,875,000 around UC San Diego
$1,050,000 around UC Irvine
$1,300,000 around UC Santa Barbara
$1,100,000 around UC Santa Cruz
My mother moved from Montana to Berkeley in the 1950s. She told me about one guy she'd met who had inherited money, tried work but found that boring, so he'd just been going to UC Berkeley for years and years. They don't let you do that now but what a lifestyle. And what an income you'd need to do that even if they did let you.
In 1968, the UCs first began charging tuition ("to keep out the riff raff") of $300 a year. Back then median home prices in Berkeley were $23,000.
Last year at UC Berkeley, tuition, health insurance, and room and board was $35,000. That's if you could get a place on campus.
No comments:
Post a Comment