California students speak with NBC Los Angeles about appeal of attending UMaine
NBC Los Angeles reported on the recent expansion of the University of Maine’s Flagship Match financial aid program to California. UMaine’s Flagship Match is a competitive scholarship program that guarantees academically qualified, first-year students from several states will pay the same tuition and fee rate as their home state’s flagship institution. The program, which was initially offered to students in six neighboring states with higher in-state tuition rates, is now also being offered in Rhode Island, California and Illinois. The offer may make a lot of financial sense for some of those “squeezed out of the UC System,” NBC Los Angeles reported. Jose Cortez, who has never been out of California, told the station he likes the idea of moving to another part of the country to experience how other people live. Ventura County Star and Los Angeles Daily News also reported on Flagship Match being offered in California. Jeffrey Hecker, UMaine’s executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, told Ventura County Star the offer may especially appeal to students who love the outdoors. “It’s a different lifestyle here,” Hecker said. “We don’t even have a traffic report. It’s a wonderful and beautiful part of the world.”