About the editor: I sympathize with high school graduates like Jonathan Cornejo who worry that despite their admission they won’t be able to go to their “dream campus” at the University of California. However, I disagree with the implication that these students will significantly lower their standards by attending a California State University campus.

Because UCs typically target students pursuing advanced research degrees, undergraduate or graduate students are often better off on a Cal State campus. Classes are usually smaller and taught by professors rather than teaching assistants.

There are also 23 Cal State Schools, so students can often live in cheaper or cheaper locations.

As a UC graduate who has taught for many years at a Cal State School, I have no excuses for our undergraduate and graduate programs.

John Lane, Stanton The author is Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and Computer Science at Cal State Long Beach.

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About the editor: When asked about the lack of financial support that would prevent Cornejo from attending his “dream school” at UC San Diego, he replied:

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bluntly honest: “You’ve done all these things, you’ve done your best. Then you look at the money aspect and see that you can’t afford it.

Cornejo cited his fear of student loans as the main reason for considering community college. How many other brilliant young minds is the UC system willing to lose because higher tuition means many people now have to go into massive debt to have a fair shot at the American dream?

The UC system was once free; in the late 1960s, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan changed that. In addition, our state is riddled with a degree of unaffordability at every level, and we pay for it with extreme poverty, homelessness, and out-migration.

Before we join the bright young minds of the hundreds of thousands of Californians venturing into states where opportunity is actually an option, let’s fix the man-made inaccessibility of higher education.

Lisa Ansell, Beverly Hills

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About the editor: A message from your article is that attending a community college is a disappointing necessity for many people. What it should be is that the tens of thousands of deserving California students in this situation do not have to give up their dream in any way.

The community college is a very effective bridge to UC. Students can graduate well prepared academically and save themselves and their families tens of thousands of dollars.

Tragically, students often fail to understand this and make damaging financial decisions as a result.

Scott Howell, Murrieta