UC Protests

On Sept. 24, thousands of students at University of California campuses protested peacefully against the relentlessly rising costs of public education systems such as the UC system. Students carried signs with sayings such as, “Budget Cuts = Death of Public Education,” demonstrating their frustration on the state’s decision to keep cutting funds from the UC system.

With factors such as higher standards for AP classes and exceptional grades, more pressure to do well on the SATs and ACTs, and the increasing competition amongst prospective students, the rising cost of public education does nothing at all to reduce the hardships students need to overcome in order to get into a college of their choice.

Among the factors students are protesting against are the availability of fewer classes, higher fees, and most striking, a 32% rise in tuition. This isn’t great news for middle class families with average incomes, because most rely on public universities like the UC system for affordable tuitions but quality education. However, the main complaint among students was the rising fees for tuition but decreasing quality of education. Ironically, university officials say that the hiking fees are needed for maintaining the quality of education of the UC system.

Anyhow, UC officials say that they are not directly responsible for the rising costs. They say that students should direct their frustration towards state lawmakers, who have reduced funding for the UC and California State University systems by 20 percent in order to close a massive state budget deficit. Additionally, in November, the Board of Regents will vote on reducing undergraduate enrollment and raising tuition by 32% for most students, on top of the 9.3% raise approved in May. These student fee increases will make up roughly a quarter of the budget shortfall. A spokesman for the UC system says that they have seen a steady decrease in funding.

*will add paragraph on how this affects Arcadia after counselors reply*

On Sept. 24, thousands of students at University of California campuses [across the state] protested peacefully [switch peacefully and protested] against the relentlessly rising costs of public education systems such as the UC system. Students carried signs with sayings such as [like], “Budget Cuts = Death of Public Education,” demonstrating their frustration on [at] the state’s decision to keep cutting funds from the UC system.

With factors such as higher standards for AP classes and exceptional grades, more pressure to do well on the SATs and ACTs, and [not to mention] the increasing competition amongst prospective students, the rising cost of public education does nothing at all to reduce the hardships students need to overcome in order to get into a college of their choice.

Among [Some of] the factors students are protesting against are the availability of fewer classes [available], higher fees, and most striking [importantly] , a 32% rise in tuition. This isn’t great news [awk. phrasing, rephrase, please] for middle class families with average incomes, because most [have come to] rely on public universities like the UC system for affordable tuitions but quality education. However, the main complaint among students was the rising fees for tuition but decreasing quality of education. [Repetition - rephrase] Ironically, university officials say that the hiking fees are needed for maintaining the quality of education [repetition - rephrase] of the UC system.

Anyhow, UC officials say that they are not directly responsible for the rising costs. They say that [According to them,] students should direct their frustration towards state lawmakers, who have reduced funding for the UC and California State University systems by 20 percent [%] in order to close a massive state budget deficit. Additionally, in November, the Board of Regents will vote on reducing undergraduate enrollment and raising tuition by 32% for most students, on top of the 9.3% raise approved in May. These student fee increases will make up roughly a quarter of the budget shortfall. A spokesman for the UC system says that they have seen a steady decrease in funding.

*will add paragraph on how this affects Arcadia after counselors reply

With factors such as higher standards for AP classes and exceptional grades, more pressure to do well on the SATs and ACTs, not to mention the increasing competition amongst prospective students, the rising cost of public education does nothing at all to reduce the hardships students need to overcome in order to get into a college of their choice. On Sept. 24, thousands of students at University of California campuses across the state peacefully protested against the relentlessly rising costs of public education systems. Students carried signs with sayings like “Budget Cuts = Death of Public Education,” demonstrating their frustration at the state’s decision to keep cutting funds from the UC system.

Some of the factors students are protesting against are the availability of fewer classes, higher fees, and most importantly, a 32% rise in tuition. For middle class families that rely on the UC system to provide quality yet affordable education, it seems as if the UCs are slowly drifting away from their reach. UC San Diego sophomore Melanie Chan agrees, saying “Continuing this trend of rising fees will put even the working middle-class (in addition to the poor) in a more perilous situation…many people [who are] returning to universities because of the horrible economic climate but the way it’s going now, those people desperate for a higher education and better jobs have no more chances left for them because since they cannot afford the tuition.” However, the main complaint among students was the rising fees for tuition but decreasing quality of education. Ironically, university officials say that the hiking fees are needed for maintaining the high quality of education at the universities.

UC officials say that they are not directly responsible for the rising costs. According to them, students should direct their frustration towards state lawmakers, who have reduced funding for the UC and California State University systems by 20 % in order to close a massive state budget deficit. Additionally, in November, the Board of Regents will vote on reducing undergraduate enrollment and raising tuition by 32% for most students, on top of the 9.3% raise approved in May. These student fee increases will make up roughly a quarter of the budget shortfall. A spokesman for the UC system says that they have seen a steady decrease in funding.

These factors will affect any seniors applying to any UC schools. Ms. McQuaid, AHS’s college and career counselor, says that AHS students typically meet or exceed the state average admissions rate to the UC system. Additionally, because we are at or above the state’s average admission rate, AHS is one of the higher feeder schools into the UC system. However, this doesn’t mean that AHS students will be exempt from the rising tuitions and the decreasing admissions rate. Ms. McQuaid says, “It is predicted that fewer of our seniors will be admitted to UC schools this upcoming school year, or admissions cycle for next fall. We are expecting the admissions prospects for our seniors to be very difficult across the state. Also, the same goes for Cal State/Cal Poly schools. The UC's have been directed to cut admissions.”

What advice does she give to students wishing to gain a better chance of getting into the UC system? McQuaid says, “During this budgetary fiscal crisis, the UCs and Cal States have encouraged all students to 'apply broadly' (apply to schools that might typically be your 'safety' schools, as well as the 'reach' school.) Additionally, consider the option of attending a community college and enrolling in an honors or transfer program to the UC. Students can take classes at a community college for a fraction of the cost of attending the UCs for the first two years. The UCs and and the Cal States have made a huge commitment to transfer students in this era of budget crisis.”

Even when faced with these obstacles, senior Linda Luo’s attitude still remains optimistic. She says, “I just have to hope for the best and trust that my scores are sufficient for the schools…As for financial issues, it certainly is discouraging, but there are so many ways to get help.” This statement is reinforced by Ms. McQuaid’s advice; even if the UCs are lowering their admissions rate and raising the tuitions, there are still ways to get into the UC of your choice.

With factors such as higher standards for AP classes and exceptional grades, more pressure to do well on the SATs and ACTs, not to mention the increasing competition amongst prospective students, the rising cost of public education does nothing at all to reduce the hardships students need to overcome in order to get into a college of their choice. On Sept. 24, thousands of students at University of California campuses across the state peacefully protested against the relentlessly rising costs of public education systems. Students carried signs with sayings like “Budget Cuts = Death of Public Education,” demonstrating their frustration at the state’s decision to keep cutting funds from the UC system.

Some of the factors students are protesting against are the availability of fewer classes, higher fees, and most importantly, a 32% rise in tuition. For middle class families that rely on the UC system to provide quality yet affordable education, it seems as if the UCs are slowly drifting away from their reach. UC San Diego sophomore Melanie Chan agrees, saying “Continuing this trend of rising fees will put even the working middle-class (in addition to the poor) in a more perilous situation…many people [who are] returning to universities because of the horrible economic climate but the way it’s going now, those people desperate for a higher education and better jobs have no more chances left for them because since they cannot afford the tuition.” However, the main complaint among students was the rising fees for tuition but decreasing quality of education. Ironically, university officials say that the hiking fees are needed for maintaining the high quality of education at the universities.

UC officials say that they are not directly responsible for the rising costs. According to them, students should direct their frustration towards state lawmakers, who have reduced funding for the UC and California State University systems by 20 % in order to close a massive state budget deficit. Additionally, in November, the Board of Regents will vote on reducing undergraduate enrollment and raising tuition by 32% for most students, which, if approved, will make the total increase of tuition fees a grand total of 42.3%. These student fee increases will make up roughly a quarter of the budget shortfall.

These factors will affect any seniors applying to any UC schools. Ms. McQuaid, AHS’s college and career counselor, says that AHS students typically meet or exceed the state average admissions rate to the UC system. Additionally, because we are at or above the state’s average admission rate, AHS is one of the higher feeder schools into the UC system. However, this doesn’t mean that AHS students will be exempt from the rising tuitions and the decreasing admissions rate. Ms. McQuaid says, “It is predicted that fewer of our seniors will be admitted to UC schools this upcoming school year, or admissions cycle for next fall. We are expecting the admissions prospects for our seniors to be very difficult across the state. Also, the same goes for Cal State/Cal Poly schools. The UC's have been directed to cut admissions.”

Even when faced with these obstacles, senior Linda Luo’s attitude still remains optimistic. She says, “I just have to hope for the best and trust that my scores are sufficient for the schools…As for financial issues, it certainly is discouraging, but there are so many ways to get help.” This statement is reinforced by Ms. McQuaid’s advice; even if the UCs are lowering their admissions rate and raising the tuitions, there are still ways to get into the UC of your choice, such as applying to more ‘safety’ schools or enrolling in a transfer program at a community college.

Nonetheless, it seems as if this is “‘just the way it is’, [because] the UC system is still one of the best public university systems in the world,” says senior Aaron Tse. Even during this time of economic downfalls, all students can do is remain optimistic and hope for the best. As senior Lixue Chang says, “These are merely more obstacles for us to overcome as potential students of the UC system.”

FINAL

With factors such as higher standards for AP classes and exceptional grades, more pressure to do well on the SATs and ACTs, not to mention the increasing competition amongst prospective students, the rising cost of public education does nothing at all to reduce the hardships students need to overcome in order to get into a college of their choice. On Sept. 24, thousands of students at University of California campuses across the state peacefully protested against the relentlessly rising costs of public education systems. Students carried signs with sayings like “Budget Cuts = Death of Public Education,” demonstrating their frustration at the state’s decision to keep cutting funds from the UC system.

Some of the factors students are protesting against are the availability of fewer classes, higher fees, and most importantly, a 32% rise in tuition. For middle class families that rely on the UC system to provide quality yet affordable education, it seems as if the UCs are slowly drifting away from their reach. UC San Diego sophomore Melanie Chan agrees, saying “Continuing this trend of rising fees will put even the working middle-class (in addition to the poor) in a more perilous situation…many people [are] returning to universities because of the horrible economic climate but the way it’s going now, those people desperate for a higher education and better jobs have no more chances left for them because since they cannot afford the tuition.” However, the main complaint among students was the rising fees for tuition but decreasing quality of education. Ironically, university officials say that the hiking fees are needed for maintaining the high quality of education at the universities.

UC officials say that they are not directly responsible for the rising costs. According to them, students should direct their frustration towards state lawmakers, who have reduced funding for the UC and California State University systems by 20% in order to close a massive state budget deficit. Additionally, in November, the Board of Regents will vote on reducing undergraduate enrollment and raising tuition by 32% for most students, which, if approved, will make the total increase of tuition fees a grand total of 42.3%. These student fee increases will make up roughly a quarter of the budget shortfall.

These factors will affect any seniors applying to any UC schools. Ms. McQuaid, AHS’s college and career counselor, says that AHS students typically meet or exceed the state average admissions rate to the UC system. Additionally, because we are at or above the state’s average admission rate, AHS is one of the higher feeder schools into the UC system. However, this doesn’t mean that AHS students will be exempt from the rising tuitions and the decreasing admissions rate. Ms. McQuaid says, “It is predicted that fewer of our seniors will be admitted to UC schools this upcoming school year, or admissions cycle for next fall. We are expecting the admissions prospects for our seniors to be very difficult across the state. Also, the same goes for Cal State/Cal Poly schools. The UC's have been directed to cut admissions.”

Even when faced with these obstacles, senior Linda Luo’s attitude still remains optimistic. She says, “I just have to hope for the best and trust that my scores are sufficient for the schools…As for financial issues, it certainly is discouraging, but there are so many ways to get help.” This statement is reinforced by Ms. McQuaid’s advice; even if the UCs are lowering their admissions rate and raising the tuitions, there are still ways to get into the UC of your choice, such as applying to more ‘safety’ schools or enrolling in a transfer program at a community college.

Nonetheless, it seems as if this is “‘just the way it is’, [and I still believe that] the UC system is still one of the best public university systems in the world,” says senior Aaron Tse. Even during this time of economic downfalls, all students can do is remain optimistic and hope for the best. As senior Lixue Chang says, “These are merely more obstacles for us to overcome as potential students of the UC system.”

FINAL [cut down]

With factors such as higher standards for AP classes and exceptional grades, more pressure to do well on the SATs and ACTs, not to mention the increasing competition amongst prospective students, the rising cost of public education does nothing at all to reduce the hardships students need to overcome in order to get into a college of their choice. On Sept. 24, thousands of students at University of California campuses across the state peacefully protested against the relentlessly rising costs of public education systems, those of which will definitely affect all students wishing to land a spot in the UC system.

Some of the factors students are protesting against are the availability of fewer classes, higher fees, the decreasing quality of education, and most importantly, a 32% rise in tuition. However, UC officials say that most of the blame should be directed to state lawmakers, who have reduced funding and increased tuition rates in order to close the budget deficit. Unfortunately, for middle class families that rely on the UC system to provide quality yet affordable education, the UCs seem to be slowly drifting away from their economical reach. UC San Diego sophomore Melanie Chan agrees, saying, “Continuing this trend of rising fees will put the working middle-class and poor in a more perilous situation [because] many people [are] returning to universities because of the horrible economic climate. The way it’s going now, those people desperate for a higher education and better jobs [cannot] afford the tuition.”

These factors will definitely affect all seniors applying to any UC schools. Ms. McQuaid, AHS’s college and career counselor, says that AHS students typically meet or exceed the state average admissions rate to the UC system, which makes AHS one of the higher feeder schools into the system. However, this doesn’t mean that AHS students will be exempt from the rising tuitions and the decreasing admissions rate. Ms. McQuaid says, “It is predicted that fewer of our seniors will be admitted to UC schools this upcoming school year, or admissions cycle for next fall. We are expecting the admissions prospects for our seniors to be very difficult across the state. Also, the same goes for Cal State/Cal Poly schools. The UC's have been directed to cut admissions.”

Even when faced with these obstacles, senior Linda Luo’s attitude still remains optimistic. She says, “I just have to hope for the best…As for financial issues, it certainly is discouraging, but there are so many ways to get help.” This statement is reinforced by Ms. McQuaid’s advice: even if the UCs are lowering their admissions rate and raising the tuitions, there are still ways to get into the UC of your choice, such as applying to more ‘safety’ schools or enrolling in a transfer program at a community college.

Nonetheless, it seems as if this is “‘just the way it is’, [and I still believe that] the UC system is still one of the best public university systems in the world,” according to senior Aaron Tse. Even during this time of economic downfalls, all students can do is remain optimistic and hope for the best. As senior Lixue Chang says, “These are merely more obstacles for us to overcome as potential students of the UC system.”

Cut to around 400 words

With factors such as higher standards for AP classes and more pressure to do well on the SATs and ACTs, the rising costs of public education does nothing at all to reduce the hardships students need to overcome to get into the college of their choice. On Sept. 24, thousands of students at University of California campuses across the state peacefully protested against the relentlessly rising costs of public education systems, which will definitely affect all students wishing to land a spot in the UC system.

Some of the factors students are protesting against are the availability of fewer classes, the decreasing quality of education, and most importantly, a 32% rise in tuition. However, UC officials say that most of the blame should be directed to state lawmakers, who have reduced funding and increased tuition rates to close the budget deficit. Unfortunately, for middle class families that rely on the UC system to provide quality yet affordable education, the UCs seem to be slowly drifting away from their economical reach. UC San Diego sophomore Melanie Chan agrees, saying, “Continuing this trend of rising fees will put the working middle-class and poor in a more perilous situation [because the] many people [who are] desperate for a higher education and better jobs [cannot] afford the tuition.”

These factors will definitely affect all seniors applying to any UC schools. Ms. McQuaid, AHS’s college and career counselor, says that AHS students typically meet or exceed the state average admissions rate to the UC system, which makes AHS one of the higher feeder schools into the system. However, this doesn’t mean that AHS students will be exempt from the rising tuitions and the decreasing admissions rate. Ms. McQuaid says, “We are expecting the admissions prospects for our seniors to be very difficult across the state. The UC's have been directed to cut admissions.”

Even when faced with these obstacles, senior Linda Luo’s attitude still remains optimistic. She says, “I just have to hope for the best…As for financial issues, there are so many ways to get help.” This statement is reinforced by Ms. McQuaid’s advice: even if the UCs are lowering their admissions rate and raising tuitions, there are still ways to get into the UC of your choice, such enrolling in a transfer program at a community college.

Nonetheless, it seems as if this is “‘just the way it is’, [and I still believe that] the UC system is still one of the best public university systems in the world,” according to senior Aaron Tse. Even during this time of economic downfalls, all students can do is remain optimistic and hope for the best. As senior Lixue Chang says, “These are merely more obstacles for us to overcome as potential students of the UC system.”

-I cut it down to about 460 words. the best I could do /:

Hey can you cut off 60 more words? I know it's difficult, but you know your article a lot better than we do, so just filter out whatever you think is least important. Thanks. (:

actually cut down to 340. Thanks

With factors such as higher standards and more pressure to do well, the rising costs of education does nothing to reduce the hardships students need to overcome in the college process. On Sept. 24, thousands of students at University of California campuses across the state protested against the relentlessly rising costs of public education systems, which will affect students applying to the UC system.

Factors students are protesting against are the availability of fewer classes, decreasing quality of education, and a 32% rise in tuition. UC officials say that blame should be directed to state lawmakers, who have reduced funding to close the budget deficit. For middle class families that rely on the UC system to provide quality yet affordable education, the UCs seem to be drifting away from their economical reach. UC San Diego sophomore Melanie Chan agrees, saying, “Continuing this trend of rising fees will put the working middle-class and poor in a more perilous situation [because the] many people [who are] desperate for a higher education and better jobs [cannot] afford the tuition.”

These factors will affect seniors applying to UC schools. Ms. McQuaid, AHS’s college counselor, says that AHS typically exceeds the UC system's average admissions rate, making AHS one of the higher feeder schools. However, this doesn’t mean that AHS students will be exempt from the newly developed obstacles. Ms. McQuaid says, “We are expecting the admissions prospects to be very difficult across the state. The UC's [will definitely] cut admissions.”

Even when faced with these obstacles, senior Linda Luo remains optimistic. She says, “I just have to hope for the best…As for financial issues, there are ways to get help.” This statement is reinforced by Ms. McQuaid’s advice: even if the UCs are making it harder to be admitted, there are ways to get into your ideal UC school, such enrolling in a transfer program.

Nonetheless, it seems as if this is “‘just the way it is’, [and] the UC system is still one of the best,” according to senior Aaron Tse. Even during this time of economic downfalls, all students can do is remain optimistic. As senior Lixue Chang says, “These are merely more obstacles for us to overcome as potential students of the UC system.”

370 words. I'll try to see if I can cut it down any further later.

thanks, ashley. you don't need to cut anymore.

ok