<p>Mom of 4:
How frustrating to aspire to both academics and arts and have to choose between advanced ensembe and ap us!!!
My d, also an arts h.s. grad in the o.c., got into both ucla and berkeley. She did college classes in addition to aps. She is going to UCLA in 2 weeks (her dream school). I can share some info we collected with you:</p>
<p>One thing I listened to at the berkeley admissions presentation and later found out was true at UCLA too was that they are most definitely looking for the number of semesters of ap/IB/certified honors units grades 10-12. Not all honors classes count, only those designed for 11-12th grades. Here's what I am guessing you'll find will count as certified honors semesters when you look up your h.s.'s certified list:
Bio H, Chem H, Pre Calc H, Calc H
Eng 3 H, Eng 4 H
IB Spanish 4
IB Global studies
and Physics H
= 18 semesters certified honors units
Frankly, this is 2-4 semesters less than I think the published UCLA admittee average # of semesters. I don't know about the euro his ap test without the class. Here are some thoughts:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Berkeley admissions rep said to make sure one of the app essays mentioned that because of arts program participation, d had limited options to take additional ap/ib classes. She did this on one of the shorter writings. She also talked about what she had done academically outside of school (college classes).</p></li>
<li><p>Your d is taking what UCLA said was the hardest AP they look for, Calc. Taking the tests for AP/IB classes is important to UCLA-- you get something better than if you take the class but not the test.</p></li>
<li><p>re: IB requirement for Global Studies to take the AP US Hist this year would this be waived if she went to the local JC during the school year or over the summer and took us history? Classes taken the summer after jr year count into uc gpa as full year weighted courses. Therefore, if she took 2 courses next summer, she would have 22 honors/ap/ib semesters. </p></li>
<li><p>Sustained participation in the arts is definitely a possible hook, and pay special attention for her to gain opportunities to compete or get awards at the regional, state and national level. Performing as a soloist or having a lead in a play is scored highly also. These are scored on the apps as major awards.</p></li>
<li><p>I hear repeatedly that UCLA is a crapshoot, but at d's school, it was very logical. That is, they say that the app is scored in 3 categories and those in d's class who applied were in top 20, had strong curriculum of aps and college classes, had strong leadership/ecs/community service. In fact, at UCLA welcome day, they said 92% of admittees had comm service. The announcement today that UCLA will be making admissions even more comprehensive than before and studying how Cal is doing it makes the Berkeley Hout report on Berkeley admissions even more important. Put into your browser "berkeley comprehensive admissions" and you will get a link to the pdf of this report, which is full of specific info on how apps are scored. Look specifically at the last 10 pages for definitions of app scoring. </p></li>
<li><p>Has your d heard about the World Arts nad Cultures Dance major at UCLA? You must audition and they take a very low number. However, we know some dancers who have been accepted with lower academic records for that major, which is in the school of arts and architecture. Acceptance here seems to be kinda like school of theater acceptances-- talent is first, academics second. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope this helps!</p>