THE RISE
AN UPWARD-MOBILITY MACHINE
UC San Diego earns accolades for aiding social mobility .
BY CHRISTINE CLARK , ’ 06
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA is a good investment , not only for students and their families , but for the state and federal government . This according to the Department of Education , which recently released its first College Scorecard , a value ranking that gave high marks to UC San Diego , as well as its sister campuses throughout California . All 10 UC campuses excelled in areas that included tuition , graduation rates and student debt levels .
The new Scorecard was created to offer “ clear , reliable open data on college affordability and value ,” said President Barack Obama in a September 2015 weekly address . Calling for the nation ’ s colleges to “ focus on affordability and supporting all students who enroll ,” the president also emphasized the importance of higher education to the country ’ s economic future and praised the “ colleges dedicated to helping students of all backgrounds learn without saddling them with debt .”
One such student is UC San Diego freshman Felipe Soltero , who wanted to go to college but lacked the means to do so . “ I wanted to come to UC San Diego , but I had no idea how I would pay ,” he says .
That all changed when Soltero learned he was awarded a Chancellor ’ s Associates Scholarship , one of the many campus initiatives designed to promote upward social mobility .
18 TRITON | WINTER 2016