Hello there, I recently discovered that I was amongst the top 9% of my class according to UC standards. I got sent a letter home asking to include my stats as data for the ELC (Eligible in Local Context), so I know that I’m in it. My question, however, is: How useful is being in the top 9%? I heard that UCM is the only school that takes these kids. I plan to apply to other UC schools. Will ELC put kids in other UCs and not just UCM? If you were in ELC and you got into a UC other than UCM with that, please detail your knowledge surrounding my question. Thank you all!
The letter notifies you that you are in the top 15%, or 9% according to your own school’s calculations, which may differ from UC calculations. You will only know if you are ELC when you submit your UC application, and the automatic system calculates to let you know if you are indeed an ELC student. The default campus for ELC students is UCM, so it is unlikely that you will be put in another campus. Of course, exceptions exist, but normally UCM is the campus that you will be guaranteed admission. If you are lucky and other campuses end up under-enrolled in your year, you might be offered a spot in another UC other than UCM. However, chances of that happening are really low.
On the bright side, the UC’s take ELC status into consideration when reviewing applications. Usually, ELC students get some advantage/priority in admissions, so it is still very good! It is pretty unlikely that an ELC student end up being accepted nowhere, so I would say you can rest fine!
@myfavoritepet thank you so much for this useful information!
As stated above, if you are not accepted into your choice campus, ELC will guarantee UCM if spots are available. Some ELC eligible applicants have been notified by UCR in the past, but with increasing competitiveness of all the UC’s along with UCR’s admit rate probably falling below 50% for the first time this year, UCM will probably remain the main default campus.
@Gumbymom thank you!