Brag Sheet: What UC is What You Get

The Los Angeles Times: "Every college has its brag sheet. But the University of California has taken it to a whole new level with a 123-page report of exhaustive detail on jobs created, research performed, start-up businesses launched, tax dollars generated and students served." For example: "In 2018, UC graduates earned an average $88,066 — $9,333 more in average annual earnings than other California employees with bachelor’s degrees ... About 40% of UC students are the first in their families to attend college and earned at least $52,800 more annually in 2018 than Californians with only a high school degree."

"UC averages five new inventions a day, with nearly 11,000 active U.S. and foreign patents ... UC Berkeley produced the most startups funded by venture capital among undergraduate campuses in the world except Stanford as of June 2020. (Famous companies founded or cofounded by former UC students include Apple, Gap, Tesla, GoPro, Uber and Lyft)."

UC President Michael V. Drake comments: “UC’s economic ripple effect is so large that it touches every region in the state, including those without a campus or medical center. Beyond economic impact, the University’s contributions in health, innovation and social equity are even more important to the lives of Californians.”

SAT Nixes Subject & Essay Tests

The New York Times: "The College Board, which administers the SAT college entrance examination and has seen its business battered by the coronavirus pandemic ... will drop the optional essay section from the SAT and stop administering subject-matter tests in the United States." The board will "also continue to develop a version of the SAT test that could be administered digitally — something it tried and failed to do quickly with an at-home version last year after the pandemic shut down testing centers ... The changes to the SAT come as more and more colleges are dropping the requirement that students take the test, as well as its competitor the ACT, a trend driven in part by concerns about equity that received a boost during the pandemic."

"Critics of the College Board said the decision was almost certainly driven by financial considerations. The SAT has in the past represented a substantial portion of the College Board’s more than $1 billion in annual revenue." Jon Boeckenstedt of Oregon State University comments: “The SAT and the subject exams are dying products on their last breaths, and I’m sure the costs of administering them are substantial."

"David Coleman, the chief executive officer of the College Board, said the organization’s goal was not to get more students to take A.P. courses and tests, but to eliminate redundant exams, thereby reducing the burden on high school students applying to college."

Which College Cities Are Tops?

Pennlive: "A Pennsylvanian city has been named as one of the top college places in the U.S. However, it’s not the home of Penn State University, State College. According to a new study conducted and published by WalletHub, when ranked by size, Pittsburgh is the fifth best large city to attend college in. The other top five largest cities are Tampa, Fl. (fourth); Seattle, Wash. (third); Raleigh, N.C. (second); and Austin, Texas (first). State College comes in ranked 89th overall. According to the study, it has the 20th best 'social environment,' but ranks 359th out of 415 cities for “academic and economic opportunities.”

"The top five college towns and cities in the nation regardless of size would be Ithaca, N.Y (fifth); Irvine, Calif. (fourth); Provo, Utah (third); Austin, Texas (second); and Ann Arbor, Mich. (first). And the college towns and cities you should avoid? Those would be Kendall, Fl. (number 411); Montgomery, Ala. (number 412); Hialeh, Fl. (number 413); Bridgeport, Conn. (number 414); and Miami Gardens, Fl. (number 415)."

"In order to come to these conclusions, WalletHub assessed the following three key categories to see where each town or city fell on the list: 'Wallet Friendliness;' 'Social Environment;' and 'Academic & Economic Opportunities.' From there, WalletHub weighted each category’s relevant metrics (such as housing costs) to find out which area would be the most attractive to burgeoning minds."