The University of California to Play the Waiting-List Game
By RACHEL GROSS
For the first time in its history, the University of California is expected to institute waiting lists for incoming applicants, possibly starting this spring. More than 1,000 applicants may be affected.
It’s a turning point for the university, with real symbolic heft. The practice is more often associated with private universities and tightly limited space.
The decision to adopt waiting lists, pending final approval by the university’s office of the president, comes after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed to restore $370 million to the university and put 10 percent of future budgets aside for state colleges.
The governor’s proposed support includes $51 million to fix the university’s chronic problem of over-enrollment. This is good news, because there are 15,000 undergraduates in the ten-campus system — which has a total of more than 200,000 students — for whom state reimbursement is lacking.
The immediate problem may now be remedied. But all the recent changes,
