Quite a few of our friends’ kids only applied to the UCD and above ranked UCs in desirable majors (i.e. CS, Engineering, Bio etc.) and were shut out despite 4.0/4.5+ GPAs, great ECs etc.
But since the kids were top 9% so have the ELC guarantee. Should they be proactively contacting the UCM, UCR, UCSC admissions office and stating which major they prefer? Any guidance how to handle this appreciated.
I believe that all ELC guarantee students are referred to Merced rather than the other schools you mentioned. I think it wouldn’t hurt to contact Merced and ask about how the process works.
ELC guarantee is for the current default campus UC Merced. UCM is the only campus where their UC application will be referred and the only UC campus without a waitlist since they accept the ELC eligible referrals if they have room.
The other UC’s mentioned UCSC and UCR will pull from their waitlists for any open spots and do not accept referrals.
The ELC students will be contacted by UCM when their application is referred and the steps to apply if they are interested.
Not all majors may be available for the referrals so the decision to accept depends upon the student and if they feel UCM is a good fit. 97% of the referrals were admitted in 2022 but only 449 enrolled.
Using this link you can select Freshman referrals and see the admit rate by major: Undergraduate Applicants, Admits, and Enrollments | Center of Institutional Effectiveness
The admit range for all majors and referrals range in the low 80% to low 90% so the majority of referrals are admitted into their choice major.
Here is the link to the program which is still being updated. The referral information has been available around April 8th. It is called the Count Me In Program.
As a practical matter, no major at UC Merced requires GPA / grades higher than 2.0 / C to change into: Changing Major or Declaring Minor | Bobcat Advising Center . So it does not matter what major or undeclared a student enters UC Merced as – the student just needs to complete the desired major’s prerequisites with C or higher grades and a 2.0 or higher GPA to declare the major.
If this changes in the future, the question about admission to major may be more relevant for ELC referral admits.
Is there a difference between ELC and Statewide Guarantee. After my son submitted his application he saw a message that he qualifies under the Statewide Guarantee because be is in the top 9% of the state based on some index. There was no message about ELC and his school does not rank. I assume he is not in the top 9% of his school but is in the top 9% of the state - is that an accurate way to thinking about this.
Here is the index: Statewide Index
From the UC website:
The Eligible in the Local Context (ELC) pathway is determined strictly by an applicant’s GPA in comparison to the GPAs of other students at their high school. The Statewide Index is separate from ELC and is one of two pathways available for California residents to secure a guarantee of admission.
I believe that the UC application web site might only show one guarantee, so if your son qualifies under both ELC and Statewide Guarantee, it might not show both.
As far as the actual guarantee of admission is concerned, it is equivalent. Your son has the same guarantee as someone qualifying under ELC.
Thank you