Zoë Newcomb
Editor-in-Chief

The California State University (CSU) will turn away more than 10,000 applicants from the system this year and raise tuition by 15.5 percent in an attempt to weather the $500 million budget cuts proposed by the state for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

“The cuts will impact the quality of the schools,” college counselor Rebecca Wandro said. “They will be cutting faculty, increasing the number of furlough days and making it more difficult for students.”

The proposed changes will attempt to scale back the projected $900 million budget shortfall for the University of California 2011- 12 fiscal year.

The system will also cut $250 million from faculty and staff payroll, decreasing to the shortfall to around $400 million.

While the changes will decrease budgetary demands, the number of impacted CSU campuses will increase as more students are turned away and the tuition hikes will make affording college that much more difficult.

“It isn’t worth it to go to a CSU because it is so expensive now and difficult to get the classes you want,” senior Sima Daniel, who applied to several UC/CSU schools, said. “It is so competitive to even get in now, and you it takes five years to graduate because it is impossible to get classes.”

The students who apply to CSUs as a “safety” school or more affordable option will be in for a surprise, Wandro says.

“A lot of people look at CSUs as backups,” Wandro said. “The reality is that they are not, and are becoming a lot more competitive.”

California Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed putting tax extension up for a vote, but if it is voted down or left off the ballot the University of California system will the effects of a statewide budgetary shortfall.

“For future students it means that housing and campuses will be impacted and students will have less opportunities,” Wandro said.

For seniors who are considering attending a CSU in the fall, the financial shortfalls are a daunting part of the decision-making process.

“I’m worried about getting classes, especially because the school told me that I’d have to be there for five years to graduate,” senior Starlet Perkins said. “[CSU East Bay] surprisingly gave me good financial aid, but I don’t want to stay there for five years.”

While Perkins will likely begin at East Bay in the fall, she plans to transfer to another school after getting her requirements out of the way. When asked if she would even consider attending for all five years she responded simply “No. Never.”