<p>I heard a rumor is this true??</p>
<p>No, the UCs that use the ELC program are Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside.</p>
<p>@Hopelessstanford, this is what I heard at the UC Counselor Conference last week:</p>
<p>The individual campus guarantee will not happen this year (well, the campuses are fairly certain, but the situation may change, so maybe they are not sure … go figure).</p>
<p>The Merced campus representative hinted that the guaranteed acceptance of UC-eligible students may no longer be a guarantee (what complicates things is that “UC-eligible” is being redefined to top 9% of ELC school or statewide for Fall 2012). Apparently last year Merced went with a sort of invitation or opt-in process for the UC-eligible students. I didn’t push for clarification, but it sounded as though not all UC-eligible students got an invitation/opt-in. So while the UC system is promising “all eligible students will be accepted on referral,” if you are serious about attending Merced you should apply to the campus directly so you don’t get left out in the cold.</p>
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<p>That is exactly what my daughter heard yesterday when her school held a UC application session. The UC rep said it is no longer guaranteed the top 9% at each school will get into a UC (fine print says it is based on funding availability). In the past, if an applicant in the top 9% was not admitted to the UC of his/her choice, the application was forwarded automatically to UC Merced. This year it won’t be; you would need to apply directly there. This is all part of trying to boost OOS admissions to raise revenues…</p>
<p>Waw. That sounds like a huge shift! I know last year Riverside made it clear they were not offering spots to students that didn’t apply.</p>
<p>the way I’ve been interpreting it, the UC’s will apparently take the top 9% of students and will give them ELC to either Merced, Santa Cruz, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Irvine, and/or Davis based on stats such as GPA and SAT scores, and that if accepted you MAY be guaranteed to one or multiple of these as long as you have applied there, with how many and which one(s) depending on the factors mentioned. I also think I heard although you may be considered “eligible for ELC” you don’t get any guarantees till Janurary when they look over GPA and SATs and determine you are one of the top 9% overall students applying (not just in ur school) and it will be then where you are told IF you get UC guarantees and if so which one(s).
Does all this sound right or am I misunderstanding anything or maybe even everything?</p>
<p>@collegecondor, Merced is the only UC campus guaranteeing ELC at this point. Santa Cruz, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Irvine, and Davis have all said that ELC is no longer guaranteed at the campus level. Granted, ELC students are highly competitive and many will be admitted, but that is far from a guarantee.</p>
<p>I’ll understand that if I am qualified for ELC the most they can guarantee me is merced. But is it possible for me to potentially get ELC for the other schools mentioned depending on the strength of GPA/SAT combination? (meaning if I’m just the plain 9% I’m only assured Merced but If i’m a potentially stronger candidate I still MAY recieve an ELC offer from 1+ other schools.)</p>
<p>UCs are supposed to consider ELC as one of the 14 criteria for admission evaluation. But I’ve heard from one Berkeley reader that all applicants are so competitive that ELC plays next to no role in swaying admission decisions. A UCLA reader flat out said they don’t look at ELC. Since most UCs are switching to holistic review this year (Berkeley/UCLA review model), there is a possibility that ELC will go the way of the dinosaurs.</p>
<p>I think for most UC’s it is best to think of ELC as one of three or four pathways to eligibility for admission (along with statewide, and by testing). Not unlike having a 3.0 UC GPA, the right A-Gs , and taking the SAT, it allows you to apply; the rest is up to your profile.</p>