@calmom2016 My DD used different approaches for essays for UCs and for Ivy’s and such. The UC’s essays were about leadership. And it correlates with all UC Alumni scholarship prompts to be leadership related. The most intellectual essays went to Ivys. Will it work? This is something to see.
@Ballerina016, How do you know only UCB and UCLA look at uncapped GPA.
@Ballerina016 It’s possible your dd will get into both UCI and UCSB, but for whatever random reason just didn’t get the early notice. The letter from UCI says that CHP enrolls about 220 out of 5,700 freshman. It looks competitive, and I don’t think a top student should be upset if they didn’t get it.
@FarWestCoast That’s exactly what I wonder too. I think that the UC GPA itself is only used for calculating admissions eligibility, but then the fully uncapped and weighted 10-12 GPA, as well as unweighted, is looked at for actual admission. On many sites, including the UC site itself, it says that the UC GPA is only used for determining eligibility, ELC status, and such. I am fairly certain that campuses other than Berk and LA will also see uncapped…otherwise it is just unfair, as someone who took 8 APs/honors could have the ‘same’ GPA as someone who took 15. Hope this helped.
I have only seen documentation from UCLA and UCB indicating they use uncapped UC GPA but that doesn’t mean the other campuses do not use it for admission purposes.
If you look at CalStates they also cap GPA at 8 semesters and the maximum CalState GPA is 4.2 if I am not mistaken. UC capped GPA is going down if a student has more then 8 semesters of honor classes. I also find it ridiculous. My child took 16 APs and few DE class so her capped GPA is low.
You go to a school that offers 16 APs! Wow, that’s a lot. They say the reason they cap it is because not all HSs offer a lot of APs. She will still get a lot of credit when they are looking at rigor with that many APs - as she should! Why would her capped GPA go down because of more APs? Because she takes a zero period?
@calmom2016 No. This is just the way UC GPA works. Google UC GPA calculator online and try to play with it. Our school offers 20 APs. She will probably get very limited credits for all those APs, since only UC give some credits and it is also not straight forward.
I understand how the calculation works. I just don’t see how the GPA would go down strictly because of the # of APs. The only way it would go down would be if a student got a B in an AP, or took a larger number of classes than necessary in order to take more APs (why I asked about zero hour). I completely understand the frustration of taking an extremely rigorous schedule, and only having 8 semesters of grade bump for it, or having the GPA go down for a B in an AP, when an A in a regular class would have been easy. ( which is why they also heavily consider rigor). But the GPA doesn’t move unless there are Bs or more credit hours taken (diluting the effect of the 8 semesters counted)
It’s not exactly taking extra APs that lowers the capped GPA, it’s taking extra classes. If you kept your number of a-g classes to the minimum required (and have at least 8 semesters of AP/IB/dual-enroll in 10th/11th), that would maximize your capped GPA. But, if you take extra classes beyond that (except PE, health, and other non a-g classes), you are lowering your capped GPA.
I’ve noticed that 6-period days are common at California publics, but not as common in other states. I think that’s because fewer classes maximizes the UC GPA. But it makes it harder to take the 4 years of core subjects that highly-ranked privates prefer, particularly if you want any electives.
Actually my DD school has 7 periods schedule. For the past two years 6 out of 7 periods were AP classes. She received A on all her AP and not AP classes and her capped GPA went down with every A after 8 allowed. Try UC GPA online and you will see how it works.
balllerina016,
asking why UCB and not another UC is like asking why Harvard and not Princeton or Yale.
NO. ONE. KNOWS.
EACH UC admissions office makes independent decisions.
In 1991 the IVY’s were successfully sued by the US Dept of Justice for antitrust violations that occurred during the admission process. They ended up having to agree not talk to each other about a host of issues.
“The nine colleges, according to the charges, sent financial aid officers to meetings of “the Overlap group.” There, officers allegedly exchanged information about needy students whom they were admitting and compared notes on what aid those students were to get.”
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-05-23/news/1991143102_1_league-colleges-student-fees-eight-ivy
Do you REALLY think UC admission depts would be stupid enough to risk anything like that happening to THEM, when there are tens of thousands of other applicants to pick from??
Not. a. chance.
@menloparkmom Actually the question I had was not why UCB, but not UCI. The question was do they see that applicant got into the top level UC and realize that it is very unlikely that this applicant will be interested in mid-tier UC.
I think she still answered your question.
"The question was do they see that applicant got into the top level UC and realize that it is very unlikely that this applicant will be interested in mid-tier UC. "
NO. are you kidding? think about it. …
NO admissions office that receives ten of thousands of applications has the time to cross- check admissions decisions of other UC’s or any OTHER colleges for that matter. They make admissions decisions INDEPENDENTLY.
Stop trying to “read” into the minds of admission officers.
The evaluate EACH application on its own merits, MAKE a decision, and then move on to the next one. period.
Then it doesn’t make any sense.
life is a mystery sometimes…
you can either fixate on trying to solve a puzzle that you will never be able to understand, or move on.
I suggest the later course…
It’s a mystery to me why so many on CC seem to think UC admissions is a mystery. We’re in a big highly ranked public school in CA and our Naviance shows very clear graphs for admission. UCSB for instance hasn’t rejected a single kid in the last 5 years who had at least a 3.8uw and a 32. This is a sample of hundreds. The other UCs show similar lines. There is a little bit of mystery for mismatched kids and borderline kids but the majority are in or out based on GPA and test scores.
I also think a lot of you are misinterpreting the UC GPA system. Do you really think they would punish someone for taking 15 APs and having their capped GPA be lower than someone who took fewer classes? They are going to look at your whole transcript not just your GPA.
Then it doesn’t make any sense". Why? Because one UC chooses their Honors / Regents scholars for different reasons than others might choose them? If they stated that those awards are based strictly on GPA / test scores, then maybe it wouldn’t make sense, but that is not the case. When they have many qualified applicants to choose from, it is just a institutional preference.
I know a lot of people think there is a “formula” for the ivies or other top schools. The issue is, that once so many are following that “formula”, everyone tends to look the same. Essay topics that have been shown to be effective in the past are suddenly all the rage and repeated over and over. ECs and volunteer hours are all based on what “looks good” to universities. (Note: I am NOT saying this is the case for your child)
I don’t blame adcoms for finding someone who is quite different from the “formula” and having them stand out in their mind for an Honors program, perhaps even in spite of slightly inferior stats. I read an article regarding essays written by a woman that read essays as a part of admissions at a high-ranking school. Her #1 tip was: Try to remember that to be honest, we are bored. We read the same application with small variations all day long.
the other factor, that few are aware of, is that the UC’s admissions offices have decided that they are “putting a finger on the scale” for first generation students starting this year. .
These are the APPROXIMATE %'s of first generation applicants that these UC’s are planning on admitting.
UCB- 40%
UCLA- 33%
UCI- 50%
I learned this from a long time college counselor on the Peninsula, whose clients are for the most part students whose parents graduated from college. Believe me, there was a HUGE uproar among the college counselors who heard this.
If I were a long time Calif resident, AND a college graduate AND my kid was a great student AND was applying to ANY UC this year, I would be up in arms. SERIOUSLY.
\ There- I have thrown the bomb.