According to UCR admissions, the number of freshman applications to UCR for fall 2017 has risen by 4.5 percent which amounts to more than 3,000 applications compared to applications for fall 2016. This rise occurs as more students within California are applying to UC schools, while out-of-state and international student applications are declining. Tuition hikes have been raised as a possibility for why non-resident student applications are declining in numbers since their financial aid opportunities are different than resident Californians.
This week, the Highlander interviewed various students from around campus to get their take on the increase in freshman applications.
Femi Adeyemo, a first-year economics major, thinks tuition hikes will hurt an increase in applications for future classes. “College prices have been continuously going up over the years so naturally people are going to question whether they think it’s worth it or not.” He went on to say that the reason UCR is growing so quickly is because even though “it is underlooked compared to the other UC’s such as UCLA and Berkeley, UCR was rated one of the best schools by several magazines and it was the most affordable.”
Cyra Taheiri, a second-year psychology major, is a little more optimistic. When asked about whether people will shy away from the UC’s despite their prestige, “Anyone who gets accepted into one will most likely want to attend. They may choose between the UC’s because I know people who got accepted into UCLA and UCR and they chose UCR because they got more financial aid.” She went on to say that she does not think prospective students will shy away from the UC system “but they might be more picky with the ones they choose.”
Alexandra Artinian, a fourth-year business economics major, described the possibility of higher tuition to pay for more residence halls for the students. “We’re going to have to start paying more money because they need to pay for more housing opportunities for these students.” Artinian cited the issue of Pentland Hills study spaces being used as classrooms saying, “They already need to start expanding and making room for classes on campus and (begin) paying professors to handle more students which increases tuition already.” Artinian also described that UCR’s reputation is growing with it and the perceived stigma is falling away. “UCR is growing because the education we’re getting here is better than what it used to be and the stigma UCR has is fading away and the true nature of UCR being a great campus from what I’ve seen in the past four years is coming out.”
