Tuition at the public schools in CA is still cheap, compared to most other schools in the US. But that's not the issue for students at the UCs. The issue for the students at the UCs isn't how their tuition compares to people's tuition in Florida; it's how much their tuition is going up versus last term, and the term before that, and the term before that. It's relative to what they've been paying, and what they were expecting to pay.
Tuition is going up 32%. That's a big hike. Imagine if you thought you'd be paying $7500 for the year (tuition alone, not including room and board), and now you need over $10,000? Don't think of the $10,000 compared to what you pay in Florida; think of it compared to what the UC students used to pay, and you can see the issue.
And there's a problem with your "start at a cc and transfer" plan, when it comes to California. CA's ccs are woefully underfunded and amazingly oversubscribed. Last term, they were so poorly funded that they cut the classes kids needed for graduation - leaving a lot of kids unable to transfer to the UC of their choice, because the UCs specify what classes you need to take at the cc before you can apply to transfer - if you don't have the classes, you can't transfer. There were also a ton more cc students last term, due to the budget issues in CA, but the ccs weren't able to add more sections to classes, also due to budget issues. There were students who didn't get into *any* of the classes they needed for the term. Classes were so overenrolled that there were sometimes 100 students waiting outside in the hall on the first day, hoping to get in. I'm not even exaggerating on that one - literally, 100 kids standing outside the door; all the seats inside filled, kids sitting in the aisles.
While normally, going to a cc first and transferring might be a good idea, in CA right now? It may not work. So a student in CA, who can get directly into a UC, may be smart to go there - at least they are in, and they may be more likely to get the classes they need at the UC than they would at a cc.
