<p>I heard more schools are using holistic approach this year. Whyyyy , it just will take longer now and makes it more competitive. I would think they would implement it starting in a year where there are more transfers rather then a lower percentage year.</p>
<p>I thought it was only for ucla and UC Berkeley</p>
<p>^^UCI also moved to it last year.</p>
<p>@OP
Why move to a holistic approach? Because it allows them to be more thorough and admit the best, most well-rounded students that are the most likely to succeed after transferring. Why would a university want the best students it can get? Well I think that answer is self-evident, so I’m not even going to bother. Probably similar to why we all want to attend the best university we can. </p>
<p>Regardless, it shouldn’t be an issue as long as you put some effort into your personal statement and are capable of demonstrating you have a decent amount of interest in what you’ll be studying, which isn’t asking all that much. Also, they like to see more motivated, well-round individuals that they’re confident will do well in a social, academic environment that can present you a lot of challenges. Ultimately though, the PS and ECs that are looked at more critically in the holistic process are still only going to be a minimal factor in your admission decision, so as long as your GPA is competitive and your prerequisites are taken care of. It’s not like they’re going to reject you just on the basis of your PS and ECs (unless the applicant pool is super-competitive like for an impacted major at UCLA/Berkeley). Otherwise, the holistic process shouldn’t drastically change the admission process for the majority of the applicant pool at any of the UCs.</p>
<p>Yea I’m just worried about my personal statement. That’s why I’m worried about holistic review negatively affecting me. A lot of the P.S. I read were pretty stellar, made me feel iffy about mine…</p>
<p>I don’t think UCLA is that holistic, actually. I was told GPA factors in far, far more than anything else last time I visited.</p>
<p>^ this is probably true in my case because i received an email from UCLA admissions with a logical question. it needed a simple answer, and this same answer was also included in my personal statement. so i can assume that they did not read my personal statement. </p>
<p>it was nice to hear from them! at least they are looking at my application and getting answers to questions they have. good luck everyone. it is nice to be waiting, with all that hard work of qualifying for admittance behind me.</p>
<p>Actually yeah, despite the wait time, holistic might be better for everyone because the lower GPA’s will be more considered if the4y have great ECs or maybe if something is explained in the PS which is key, the PS would be the determining factor. You know?</p>