<p>re: UC's eligibility in statewide context: if she doesn't get into any of the ones she checks off on her app, do they just automatically put her in whatever one they have room in for her? (phew, what a sentence....:rolleyes: ie Merced??
is that why some posters say they got into Merced and didn't even apply there?</p>
<p>wow, that seems kind of under-handed of the Ivy's! unbelievable...</p>
<p>yes, any other LAC suggestions out there?</p>
<p>I'm not certain of how it works if she's ELC and doesn't get into any of the ones she's applied to. I do know that this year UCSB accepted all ELC students who applied. I'm fairly certain UCR and UCM would have also. There's a good chance UCSC would have also. I recommend just checking off one or more of these (also consider UCD, UCI) on the app in addition to the others she's trying for. It's very easy and just costs the app fee.</p>
<p>Some of the schools may send a letter offering acceptance if they will apply. I think these schools are triggered by the ELC status they receive. This is all before the apps are actually sent in.</p>
<p>Wecandothis,</p>
<p>As I read more of your posts, there may be similarities between our son's experience and your daughter's. First, like your daughter, our son had a good idea of the academic area he wanted to pursue and that helped him narrow his choices. Second, he was primarily interested in 2 colleges that didn't seem to have much in common: an in-state public university honors program and an Ivy League college. Third, we live in Texas and you live in California. The California public university system has more choices and higher quality choices in top-tier colleges than Texas, but there are also more applicants that reduce the odds of admission. However, because our son was only interested in the honors program at the in-state public university, his admissions chances in that program were substantially less.</p>
<p>At the beginning of the applications process, our son was anxious to decide between his top 2 college choices. I think this resulted priimarily from the stress of the application process - he wanted to end the stress by making a final decision. We all understood there is no guaranteed admission to any college but it was important to our son to mentally rank his choices. As parents, we were more focused on helping our son expand his options so he wouldn't regret his decision later in life. Therefore, parents and son were working at cross purposes early in the college application process because we were trying to expand his choices and he was trying to narrow and rank them.</p>
<p>Fortunately, our son was accepted by his top 2 choices so his method worked. Had he not been accepted at either of his top 2 college choices, he would have attended his safety. Our son would have been disappointed but he always understood that he might end up at his safety so he picked a safety that he could live with. Ultimately, I think applying to a safety that he was willing to attend was the key for our son because it freed him to be selective with his choices and not rely on a shot-gun approach.</p>
<p>Our son chose the honors program at the in-state university. He never seemed to have a moment's doubt that it might be a mistake to pass on an Ivy League education. We were not as sanguine about his decision and occasionally (and privately) wondered whether he made the right decision. By the end of his freshman year we realized what he knew all along: He made the right decision. Our son is a junior now and doing well.</p>
<p>I'm not sorry we probed and questioned our son during his college application process. I know it's important to support a decision once it's made but I also believe it's important to fully consider major life decisions. Thus, I like that you are thinking about this, asking questions, and reviewing what you learn with your daughter.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Are the UC's a bit provincial, in terms of being mostly composed of Californians?
[/quote]
I really think that the UC's are just about the most diverse colleges of all, because of the extreme diversity within the state. California residents come from all corners of the world; many are immigrants or the children of immigrants, with just about every language and culture represented. I disagree with Zagat -- I can't see how she can say that a school that has a majority of nonwhite students is not diverse, for one thing. I agree that the colleges need to enroll more black students, but you aren't going to find diversity at most small LACs -- both of my kids were quite frustrated with visits to LACs in that respect. In fact, lack of diversity is one of the reasons my daughter shifted focus to urban schools, as she did find the urban universities to be far more diverse.</p>
<p>
[quote]
re: UC's eligibility in statewide context: if she doesn't get into any of the ones she checks off on her app, do they just automatically put her in whatever one they have room in for her?
[/quote]
Yes, but with her stats she is not going to have a problem getting into UCSC. The ones who are getting denied at all their choices are either kids who make the mistake of only applying to the most selective UCs (Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD) -- or the ones who are on the lower end of the applicant scale. Remember, everyone with a 3.0 and very minimal SAT scores is UC eligible.</p>
<p>Ok, UCdad and calmom-thanks for clarifying the ELC info...</p>
<p>DRJ4- Wow, it must have been hard to "let" your son turn down that Ivy, but in this case sounds like he knew best. Glad it all worked out so well!</p>
<p>calmom- seems there are different ideas of diversity---I think to my d she especially enjoys meeting people who actually live in other countries, I think she may like a different mix than what the UC offers (altho Berkeley had it)...meaning different from what she is used to in the local high school population</p>
<p>I'm coming down on the side of applying to some out of state, and just see what happens in April, or sooner with EA's. Hopefully some growth will occur in the decision-making thought process for d between now and then, if I don't loose my mind in the process...</p>
<p>I just think its going to be so hard living with uncertainty this year...like most people, I like to have a plan a, b and c mapped out!</p>
<p>now back to that humongous list-- going to try to get some app waivers, we're going to need them when we apply to 10 schools ( and thats counting UCs as one, even tho I know, its a separate ap fee for each)</p>
<p>Calmom, how diverse is a school that's over 50% Asian. Yes, I know all the arguements. There are different Asian cultures....Yet the kids I know who are at these schools, Asians and non Asians, do not feel they are in a diverse environment. My Asian next door neighbor left Irvine after a year for this reason. She went to a NE LAC where she is happy to be among kids from 50 states and 30 countries that is 11% black, 7% hispanic and over 20% Asian.</p>
<p>Katliamom, it does seem in some California circles that leaving the state is unusual. However, when you look at the fact that California is often the third or so most represented state at many top NE schools, someone is leaving!</p>
<p>While the UCs are perceived as a good value, they continue to go up in price faster than most colleges. This while cutting services because of California's budget crisis. Many of us house poor Californians were choosing UCs for value. In my community I'm watching fewer people dismiss privates because of cost as they estimate $125K expense (our high school's estimate for the class of '11 at a UC) for a UC education.</p>
<p>Wealthy Californians who could not get into Stanford or Pomona have long left the State. In the know families that qualify for good aid have also as UCs have never been generous with grants. I think we're about to see the the middle class follow.</p>