State Senate Proposes Phasing Out Middle Class Scholarships

DEREK WU
Staff Writer

In recent times, the tuition for Universities of California (UCs) has increased. However, according to the Los Angeles Times, tuition for in-state students, around $12,200, will be raised in the next few years as much as 5 percent a year. In the last 10 years UC tuition rates have increased 190 percent and Cal States 145 percent, according to the official Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) website.

State Senate leader Kevin de Leon’s solution to this problem is to phase out MCS. The first year scholarship program provides money for students whose family income is between $150,000 and $800,000, which is too high to receive need-based financial aid. If this scholarship is cancelled, each UC and Cal States will receive an extra $75 million to be directed to creating more courses and expanding enrollment, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

“Since this year I am a junior and I do plan on applying to Cal States and UCs, I think cancelling middle-class scholarships would benefit me, especially since tuition is becoming more and more expensive,” junior Ivan Ly said.
According to San Jose Mercury News, cancelling MCS may be difficult since half of UC students have all their tuition paid by federal grants and scholarships.