OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Mahershal Adams would like to go to college, but what he's getting is a lesson in Catch-22 logic.

He wants to get a better job and make more money. But for that he needs money to pay for classes, costs that are expected to go up under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget.

"It's really bad, especially for people who don't have family to support them," said Adams, a certified nursing assistant who says he can't afford to pay the higher prices of college classes. "You're just kind of stuck."

In his budget released Friday, Schwarzenegger is proposing raising undergraduate student fees 10 percent and graduate fees by 40 percent at the University of California and California State University systems. His budget also reduces the amount of financial aid available to middle-income students.

Administration officials say the cuts are necessary given California's multibillion-dollar deficit. They point out that higher education is still a bargain in California - undergraduate fees for prestigious UC would average about $6,000 a year, even with the fee increase. That is hundreds of dollars less than other major public universities and a quarter of what some elite private schools charge.

At CSU, average fees would be about $2,800. Community college, meanwhile, would cost $26 per unit, up from $18.

The final decision on fees will be made by the boards of the college systems, decisions that aren't expected to come until later this year.

Schwarzenegger is proposing a long-term fee policy of limiting hikes on undergraduate fees to no more than 10 percent a year, to avoid sharp increases in bad economic times. He also said he is committed to funding a 10th UC campus, in Merced, which is expected to expand access to Central Valley residents and had been delayed a year because of the state's fiscal troubles.

Still, officials are concerned about the cuts - especially with the state's economy stuck in the doldrums.

UC President Robert C. Dynes acknowledged that the governor is making "difficult choices," but said "it should also be understood that these cuts, coming on top of deep previous budget cuts, would have a very serious impact on the University of California and its tradition of providing a top-quality, accessible, affordable education for Californians."

Earlier budget cuts prompted fee increases of about 40 percent over the past 13 months for students at UC and CSU. Meanwhile, community college costs have increased from $11 per unit to the current $18.

CSU officials say the governor's proposed budget cuts 9 percent, or $240 million, from their 2004-05 funds, leaving a state-funded budget of $2.4 billion, and could mean cutting enrollment by 20,000 students.

At UC, which has nine campuses and about 200,000 students, officials say the governor's proposals would cut funding by $372 million and would also mean enrollment cuts. UC's net state-funded operating budget would be $2.7 billion, 8 percent less than the current $2.9 billion.

Of particular concern is the governor's proposal to cut funding for college outreach, $33 million for UC in 2004-05 and $52 million for CSU.

Outreach programs link campuses and low-performing public schools in an effort to prepare disadvantaged students for college. The programs have existed for years, some going back to the 1970s, but drew more attention after UC dropped affirmative action admissions in 1998.

While outreach programs can't target specific races, they are serving low-performing schools which generally have high percentages of black and Hispanic students, two groups underrepresented at UC.

State outreach funding reached a peak of about $184 million at UC following the economic boom of the 1990s, but has been decreasing.

Officials at UC and CSU say they will fight to keep at least some level of state funding for the programs.

Supporters say cutting outreach would be a huge mistake.

"It's so heartbreaking," said Mayra Canizales, a 16-year-old senior at Hayward High who has been involved with a UC outreach program called the Early Academic Outreach Program.

The daughter of immigrants who work as janitors, Canizales isn't the most likely candidate for college. But since 7th grade she's been getting advice and encouragement, meeting on Saturdays with mentors, taking SAT prep courses and practicing applying to college, even taking some summer courses on the Berkeley campus.

Canizales' two older sisters have both graduated from Berkeley and she's confident she'll get a degree, too, possibly from Berkeley where she has applied for fall.

"If it wasn't (for the program) I would not be going to college because I just wouldn't know," she said. "I just can't imagine doing it myself. It's just really heartbreaking to think that (others) are not going to get the same help that I did."