<p>Hi CC! I have a quick question about ELC.</p>
<p>So this week was the last week of school (I’m on summer break now). On the second to last day of school, the counselors handed out an ELC form to those in the top 4% (is it?). I’m feeling a bit down because I did not receive the form. Is the GPA for ELC weighted? Two of my friends who received the ELC application both only had 1 AP Course and they had a few B’s also (Friend #1 had a “B” in drama class and pe, but pe doesn’t count. Friend #2 had a B in pe and B in Spanish last semester and currently has 2 B’s this semester). I don’t mean to sound pretentious or anything but the thing is… I feel like it is a bit unfair. I calculated my weighted GPA and it is higher than both of theirs. Also, since the counselors sent out the letters before the second semester grades were finalized/input, could there be a chance for me to be admitted into ELC? My second semester grades were significantly higher than my first semester. I am a junior btw. Thank you for your time!</p>
<p>sincerely,
sad and depressed
(well, to an extent)</p>
<p>Hi! Thank you for your response. I read it over and i see that it’s the top 12.5% this year. The thing is, I don’t know if my counselors based it off the grades including the second semester of this year (my junior year).</p>
<p>They always rank and evaluate the top 12.5%. The top 4% (this will change to 9% for 2012) will get ELC letters and the rest will get “On track to statewide eligibility” letters. Also, depending on the school, it is possible for many students not evaluated for ELC to be Eligible in the Statewide context.</p>
<p>Yes, ELC evaluations always include both semesters of 10th and 11th grade.</p>
<p>oh, but the thing is, grades weren’t finalized until a few days ago – after the ELC letters were handed out. should i bother inquiring within? i’m not sure if my counselor (or any other one, for the matter) will be available at this time, though.</p>
<p>From a practical standpoint, whether you were/are 12.5% or 12.6% really doesn’t matter for ELC since it would be virtually impossible to achieve from 12.5% to top 4%. (It would require all those achievers at your HS to suddenly fail second semester.)</p>
<p>initially i thought it was top 4% but the links provided above from alamemom suggest that for the 2011 class, it’s the top 12.5%? i’m not sure. but i compared my grades to two friends of mine and mine weighted gpa is higher due to my course load (i know it isn’t much, 3 aps versus their 1 ap) and the fact that i received pretty decent grades in the classes, whereas they have only taken one ap course and had a few b’s last year and this year. and yes, the gpa stemmed off the 10th and 11th grades, all four semesters. if i do not count the last semester of junior year, my gpa is lower and i think that is how the counselors calculated it at my school because they sent out elc letters before second semester was finalized.</p>
<p>They evaluate the top 12.5% at each high school. Only the top 4% will receive ELC letters. (This will increase to 9% in the 2012 cycle.) The rest will receive “On track to Statewide Eligibility” letters. Depending on the high school, many students not in the top 12.5% of their individual high school will have statewide eligibility. For statewide eligibiltiy:</p>
<p>-Complete all A-G requirements by end of senior yesr
-3.0 or higher UC GPA
-Take the SAT or ACT plus writing
-Take two SAT subject tests in two different areas (requirement disappears in the 2012 cycle)
-Graduate from high school</p>
<p>Your high school has total control in terms of how the GPA is calculated and what criteria to use, as long as the calculation method and criteria are applied across the board. Your school also has discretion to “swap out” candidates depending on a set of circumstances, so you may make an inquiry regarding your eligibility and see if perhaps your school made a mistake.</p>
<p>But again, it doesn’t matter if you are not even close to ELC status. When you apply in the fall, each app reader will see your exact rank of those that apply to UC (based on UC criteria).</p>