I’ve got S23 twins about to board the ACT crazy train!! Y’all pray for me!!!
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We are in the wide open spaces of West Texas. Very clear night . D went out with her boyfriend to enjoy the “the Christmas star” and driving around looking at Christmas lights.
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I tried, but couldn’t locate…
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To UC (univ of CA) parents, if your kids are designated as top 9% of their graduating class (also called as ELC, which can be seen after the UC applications are submitted and if you click on how your application is viewed), did yours submit SAT/ACT scores as well? I’m just wondering if ELCs are calculated using GPA and SAT/ACT, what about those kids who do not want to submit their scores or go test optional? Or is this year any different that ELC is determined only by the GPA? FYI, my S21 is termed as ELC in the top 9% of his high school and he did submit his SAT as well. Just curious if anyone has info on it.
The UC’s are test blind, but at least a few will use test scores for class placement such as UC Davis.
For the record, we sent D21’s test score but not an ELC as far as I know.
Ok, that means ELC is determined only by the GPA I believe. Thanks for your reply 
Oops I didn’t answer your question. Yes grades only.
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I have a freshman and we live in CA. By the time she’s ready she will prob have to take whatever CA comes up with AND the SAT/ACT for non UCs. 
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For financial aid/CSS, my hubby managing this (I gave it all I got with being in charge of essay reviews). I read there IDOC and some universities will want you to upload tax filings. If this is true, will they take pdf files that aren’t signed? We submit or taxes electronically. I just want to be prepared for when S21 and hubby come running to me for help. Thx!!
This just means an automatic admission to UC Merced
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Yup, if the student is not admitted to any of his choice of UCs, UC Merced offers admission.
Yes, they will. I submitted TurboTax PDFs through IDOC for D21 and myself.
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I wonder if readers devote 7 mins (or whatever) to every application, or whether 7 mins is an average. Maybe some applications are very obvious and can be rejected (or moved to accept pile) even more quickly, leaving a minute or two more for apps that leave the reader on the fence.
I also wonder if 7 mins (or whatever) is the total time spent on an application. Maybe 7 mins is what’s spent moving apps into different piles as a first sort, but then more time is spent shuffling some fraction of apps between the piles.
Maybe your Cornell reader friend can do a guest lecture here. 
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ELC is based just on high school gpa this year, and it’s based on an uncapped UC gpa. This is mentioned in the UC application ‘how to’ document. My kid shows top 9% and has no test scores.
I also am pretty sure you can also qualify for statewide 9% this year with gpa plus test score if you submitted one. You can not qualify this way without a test score. I don’t have a source for this part, I forgot where I found that, I think on the general UC site.
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It offers UC Merced admission, but I also think the AOs check to see if you are top 9% as a admissions point also, you can see it in their 14 criteria.
So crazy that all the work the kids put in to the apps comes down to 7 mins or less. I wonder how some of these schools with numerous supplementals carefully review apps in so little time.
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@MommaLue That sounds reasonable. Unfortunately I can’t trust mine to do things reliably. It’s like having a fourth child at times. 
I think it’s good to know that AOs don’t have a ton of time. In order to stand out, the app has to paint that picture of a student they think fits and can’t be all over the place. There’s sometimes push back on CC about kids who are “packaged” but one doesn’t have to hire a private counselor to figure that out. Think about how an AO would present a student to a committee if he wanted to fight for him to be accepted. What will be the quick notes the AO will have in the margin to tell the committee when he get his five minutes to speak?
A student with a few unrelated ECs and a GPA and/or score at the 50th percentile doesn’t stand out. A student who is truly interested in something and shows commitment gives the AO something to talk about. What the student’s story? We knew D’s story and made sure it showed on her app. That second part is important. The AO does not know the student. They only know what is in the app.
I also think we need to give AOs some credit. Seven minutes is fast but we know there are probably apps they read that they know are a “no” within the first two minutes. Maybe some that are a “yes” that quickly too and then others that take more time.
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“I also think we need to give AOs some credit. Seven minutes is fast but we know there are probably apps they read that they know are a “no” within the first two minutes. Maybe some that are a “yes” that quickly too and then others that take more time.”
100% agree with this. I think it’s like going through resumes for a job. Having done screenings of hundreds (thankfully not thousands) of job applicants it’s pretty easy to do a first pass and get rid of the ones that don’t match. Less than two minutes.
Some applications are just not going to get a second look, others are no brainers for consideration, and then the in the middle ones will get a more thorough read before going into one pile or the other.
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Me too and my D24 is more likely to want to stay in Cali and attend a big UC.