Gah... Just calculated my points...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
1

<p>with a 4.1 gpa and 2010 sat reasoning, 750 sat chem, 750 sat math and some leadership roles and community service, i'm no where near the cutoff!</p>

<p>this has got me really worried... i know the cutoff for this year will be even higher than the one on the points chart for 2005 </p>

<p><a href="http://www.geocities.com/kisasong/UCSDComprehensive.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.geocities.com/kisasong/UCSDComprehensive.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>What does </p>

<p>"The number of A-G semester courses beyond the minimum specified for UC eligibility</p>

<p>33-39 courses: 250 pts
40 or more courses: 500 pts"</p>

<p>Mean?</p>

<p>Do </p>

<p>"Special talents, achievements and awards: Single 150, Multiple 300. Examples are Talents/Achievements outside of school - Black belt, creative entrepreneurship. Awards outside of school setting - Must be first, second or third in a league, regional, citywide or wider competition, i.e. Boys’ & Girls’ State, RYLA, science fair, sports teams, academic decathlon, academic league, Hugh O’Brien award."</p>

<p>Have to be out of school? Or are those just some examples???</p>

<p>Also, I did 100 hours of community service in 9-10th grade... I didnt think that was alot, but apparently i get points for that, but I don't have any proof that I did 100 hours!!!!!! what do they ask for???</p>

<p>OH man, I thought I had a chance at UCSD, but it really seems like i don't... if I squeeze out all the points I possibly can, I can BARELY pass the cutoff for 2004... and now it's 2006...</p>

2

<p>With GPA 4.1 and your SAT score, you are already really close to 7000 points. Number of a-g course are semesters of classes you took that fits in UC's a-g category.(<a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/subject_reqs.html)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/subject_reqs.html)&lt;/a>. Awards/talents, I think those are just examples. I would just list everything down and let them decide if it worths any points or not. As for the volunteer work, just put it in. If they want to verify, they can call the place that you volunteer at. I have the cut off points for UCSD for the following years:</p>

<p>2002 ---> 6686 (Wow!)
2004 ---> 7465
2005 ---> 7483
2006 ---> 7421</p>

<p>Don't worry. I think you'll be fine...</p>

3

<p>... hmmm i really dont think it works on a point system....
ppl i know didnt get into ucsd with enough points...
but seriously.. ucsd is not a hard school to get into...</p>

4

<p>2004 ---> 7465
2005 ---> 7483
2006 ---> 7421</p>

<p>where did you pull this 2006 number from... they are supposed to INCREASE it this year... not lower it...</p>

5

<p>The cutoff for 2006 is indeed 7421. However, there is a different process for engineering majors.</p>

<p>First, an engineering-major-intended applicant is accepted to UCSD. Then The Jacobs School of Engineering does a second round of acceptance that is also points-based. If you do not get accepted during the second round, then you are put in your second choice major. If your second choice major is also engineering, then you get into UCSD as undelcared. This may sound rather difficult, but really it's not. It's straightforward with no curve balls. You know exactly what to put on your application that gets you the points as opposed to UCLA and Cal.</p>

6

<p>WOW THANKS SO MUCH TheRighteous!!! I'VE BEEN WONDERING HOW IT WORKS FOR ENGINEERS...</p>

<p>I wasn't sure if I should put both majors as engineering because I was afraid they would say no, and I would get totally rejected. However, if what you say is true, I can put EE and ME as my two majors, and if I don't get in for those... I can still be admitted into UCSD as an undeclared major!</p>

7

<p>Seriously, when you're doing the application, don't think about the point system. Just be yourself and not look like a person who's hungry for every point they get. Trust me, it'll look obvious if you're desperate for every point. When I did the application, I had NO idea UCSD admits students via a point system and I still got it in. I guess the old saying still holds: Ignorance is bliss.</p>

8

<p>WHOA, jackpot!!!
What about the essays?? I've been working so hard on them. They dont fit anywhere on this point system. T.T
Is this website even credible?? I mean...its on geocities... And if it is, where can i get the point system of other UCs!??!?!</p>

9

<p>UCSD and Davis are the only ones that use, or at least announce that they use, a specific scoring system
<a href="http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_selection_process.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_selection_process.cfm&lt;/a> for Davis'</p>

10

<p>That's not exactly true. All UC's except Cal and UCLA use a distinctive point system. No one really knows how the admission process works at Cal and UCLA, but I've seen point system rubrics for every other UC except for UC Merced (It was brand new when I applied to UC's last year, so I didn't know much about it). The reason most people only hear about UCSD's rubric is that it has a higher cutoff point than UCSB, UCI, UCD, UCR, UCSC, UCM. So, if you can get past UCSD's cutoff point for admission, it's highly likely you can get into the other UC's listed above.</p>

<p>Anyway, back to the question regarding the essays. The thing with the point system is that it's very straightforward. If you get above the cutoff points, you are automatically accepted. Therefore, if your SAT, GPA, ELC status, number of A-G courses, income level, etc. gives you enough points to reach the cutoff, then your essay isn't even read. If you don't have enough points alone based on your stats than the admission committee will read your paper to look for other criteria where you can gain points.<br>
For example, you have 4.3 GPA, 2300 SAT I, 800 IIC, 780 Bio-M, ELC, 42 semesters of A-G courses. Then based on the rubric system, you'll have:
4300 + (0.8)(2300+800+780) + 300 + 500 = 8204
Your accumulative points is well above the cut-off, so your essay isn't even read. </p>

<p>So here comes the question: does that mean I can write about anything in my essay if I have 4.5 GPA, 2400 SAT, 800 IIC, 800 Chemisty, 800 Physics LOL !11!111!?
Not exactly. This is a hard question to answer.
To put this question in perspective, I have to resort to an anecdotal reference. I have a friend who had similar stats to what I listed above. He's smart, but a little confused sometimes. These are stats that can guarantee him a spot in almost all UC's, but he didn't get into UCLA or Cal. Why? He BS'ed his essay. He wrote his on how he likes to stay at home and study. Bad idea. Come March, he got accepted to UCSB, UCI, UCD, and UCSD all with Regents interview. He got flat out rejected by Cal and UCLA even after appealing to both of them.</p>

<p>So what does that tell you? If you are only shooting for UC's with point systems, then by all means go ahead and mess around on your essay. You'll sure impress them with your high GPA and scores, but you're not showing much of your character in your essay.</p>

11

<p>thank you sooo much. Its a bummer how CAL and UCLA dont use the point system though..cuzz im an immigrant and has not taken the initiative to learn a lot of english(my fault) and that really shows thru my essays and my SATs for english...T.T so...since they do read your essays...im really screwed...</p>

12

<p>hey i just found out that my counselor told some girl at school that the point system is old and illegal and that they dont use it anymore. true/false??</p>

13

<p>confuscius, the essay isn't judged on your grammar or your writing techniques but the content. Sure, it would help to have good flow and structure, but they are not the primary focus of the essay.</p>

<p>Likely false. UCSD used it last year and many years before as well, that's how people found out about the cutoff points for admission. I don't see why they would stop this year.</p>

14

<p>i went to the website and got 8507 including those leadership, extra curricular stuff. does that mean im over the cutting line?</p>

15

<p>interesting. i got 8710, but unfortunately that's only for ucsd which i do not plan on attending...anyone know a point system for berk/la?</p>

16

<p>ucb and ucla have a point system, but it is not put for the public to see. also, cal and ucla's point systems are bendable..so u cant really tell wat u will get. i think that is where the essays come in :[</p>

17

<p>i was just curious - for UCSD and their point system what in the world does taking more than 33-39/>40 a-g beyond uc req mean? I know that someone has already answered this but I took 7 classes my sophomore and junior year and summer school for one summer and I dont even come close to 40 semesters. Is that including senior year? It seems almost impossible to take more than 40 a-g semesters. Also for the demonstrated leadership criteria, it says "two or minor roles" what if i have like 3 like..president of key club, president of science club, captain of varsity girls tennis?</p>

18

<p>The a-g includes classes you take in 9 to 12 grade that meets the a-g requirement. If you took Algebra and geometry in 8th grade, you add those to the a-g too. As for the leadership role, even if you have more than two, you still get the max point which is 300. you can transfer one of those roles to me since you don't need it. :-)</p>

19

<p>i did the summer course under ATDP at berkeley so does it count as 1 year or half a year under the point system...do i just divide it by 75pts?</p>

20

<p>Dont worry too much about the essays just as long as it is all true. They won't judge you on your writing skills. I wrote them all a few hours before the deadline, yes, the final deadline, and got into UCLA and UCSD.</p>