University of San Francisco officials said they hope it will induce more community college students to transfer to its main campus. "Frankly, it will benefit us in the long run. It will enhance our pipeline for the transfer population," said Elizabeth Johnson, vice provost for academic and enrollment services.

Because they are heavily dependent on tuition, private colleges often are more consumer-savvy than public schools, according to William G. Tierney, director of USC's Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis. So highlighting public college woes makes "good sense" and will improve the privates' chances of luring more applicants, he said.

At recruiting fairs around the state, private institutions stress that many will accept transfer students in the spring, which most Cal State campuses no longer do.

At a recent fair at Long Beach City College, more private colleges than usual set up booths and more students visited them, according to Ruben Page, a counselor who helps students transfer. "I feel more of a full-court press from the privates and the selling of their universities is getting easier because of the problems at UC and Cal State," Page said.

But he said his students, many from low-income families, are not flooding private institutions, because even with the prospect of financial aid, "the price tag is a stigma."

Cindy Munoz, a Long Beach City College student who has finished her associate's degree, said she wants to transfer to Loyola Marymount University or Mount St. Mary's College. Yet the communications major from Long Beach said she also plans to apply to public campuses and will compare financial aid. "The money might be an issue," she said.

Some more nationally oriented private campuses in California, including USC and Occidental College, say they discuss only their own schools' strengths in recruiting and not their rivals' difficulties.

Richard Vos, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid at Claremont McKenna College, said he has noticed parents asking more questions about whether students typically graduate in four years.

His office details its success on that score without comparisons to other schools.

"We are not trying to capitalize on the unfortunate budget woes of the state of California," Vos said. Besides, he added, he wouldn't want "to hit a man when he's down."

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larry.gordon@latimes.com