<p>Hey everyone.
I applied to four UC schools in November, and when I applied I made note that I was going to be taking an art class at my local community college.
I live in Nevada, and there is no fine arts requirement for graduating high school. I found out too late than a fine arts credit is required, so I did not take a course first semester.
Now, I am faced with the unfortunate reality that the class I planned on signing up for is about $300. I definitely cannot afford this, so I tried to take a class at the local college, but it is simply more expensive there.
I do not meet the requirement for out of state students to simply bypass reqs through test scores and a total UC score (a few points off).
I could possibly take 'Arts/Humanities' online through virtual school then take 'Art I' at my school, but they are not the same class, and Arts/ Humanities focuses on art as well as politics, religion, etc. (more of a social studies class).
My question is: Is there any way possible for my apps to still be considered, or should I simply withdraw them?</p>
<p>Why are you asking us, ask the admissions office</p>
<p>I was pretty much in your situation, and the sad thing is, they are nearly completely inflexible when it come to their requirements. I’d email or call them anyways to inquire about this and to tell them your exact situation. If they don’t accept your application as is, then withdraw your applications (don’t bother going completely out of your way to accomodate their requirements at your loss, unless the UCs are your dream schools)</p>
<p>no need to withdraw…even if accepted, it’s provisional on completing the VAPA course. If you do not complete it, you acceptance will be withdrawn. However, if accepted you could always write to that campus and offer to take the class in the summer. </p>
<p>As far as I know, online courses will not satisfy the VAPA requirement. Could you take Art History at a local community college?</p>
<p>bluebayou gives good advice.</p>
<p>For matters like this, though, you should call the admissions office and ask. I suppose it’s also a possibility that you could ask that the requirement be waived for you given financial constraints. That’d be the “by exception” caveat to UC admissions.</p>
<p>I echo others: call or write to admissions. If you call, feel free to do so anonymously.</p>
<p>I’ve known people to be accepted to UC’s and take a required course in the summer after their senior year. You could wait to see where you’re accepted and decide whether or not a summer arts course would be worth it (so if your top choice school doesn’t end up being a UC, don’t worry about it, but if it does, then take the class over the summer). Check to make sure that this would be fine, but it should be. This would also give you a few months to try to earn the money for the course (even without a regular job, if you’re able to find a few interested families, you could make $300 babysitting over the next few months), or to negotiate a loan from your family.</p>
<p>Also, you say that you can still take Art I at your school. Is the UC requirement two semesters of art, or just one? Obviously, if one, your problem is moot. But if you can still sign up for Art I, is it also possible that you could add Drama or Choir (if these fulfill the requirement)? If you could take Arts/Humanities and Art I, that should be fine…I don’t think you’d need two semesters of the same course. Again, check (and also check that Arts/Humanities would actually fulfill the requirement).</p>
<p>Basically, try to get in touch with UC admissions, but don’t worry too much yet. You’ll likely be able to solve this problem.</p>
<p>Thanks. I have planned on calling the admissions office, but people on CC tend to know quite a bit, so I figured I could pick your brains to see if anyone has ever been in a similar situation. Plus, a friend of mine completely freaked me out about calling the UCs. She said they are terribly inflexible and don’t like clarifying things to out-of-state students. That really frightened me, but now that I’ve heard what you guys have to say, I’ll give it a shot!!</p>
<p>Wait for the letter to come. If they’re rejections, whatever. But if you’re accepted, the school suddenly becomes much more lenient and will be easier to talk to. They rarely rescind admission offers, but it’s very easy to throw away the app before you are admitted.</p>
<p>agree with kyledavid, in that any UC campus can waive the requirement, but in practice they rarely will do so for non-hooked applicants but they will for special cases (e.g., athletes, scion of a world leader). Moreover, waiving the VAPA is a big system no-no, since they put that requirement in for a reason.</p>
<p>Disagree with krazycool: it’s all a numbers game, and they won’t become any more lenient once accepted. </p>
<p>Student: it’s a one-year requirement of the same subject, so an applicant can not mix and match band with ceramics, for example. But, it’s a one-year HS requirement, which some colleges complete in one semester.</p>
<p>Got it. Either it changed or (more likely) I didn’t pay close enough attention back when I applied. Thanks for the clarification!</p>
<p>But if you are allowed to complete it the summer after senior year then what was the point of the requirements?</p>
<p>The point is still that they need to be completed before matriculation.</p>
<p>I imagine that completing things in the summer after senior year is pretty uncommon, a sort of last-ditch effort, but I have known it to happen (with chemistry, specifically). I don’t know if the students have to do any special paperwork, declaration, or what. Certainly their matriculation would be dependent upon completion (and passing) of the summer course.</p>
<p>I’m no authority on this subject…I can only speak anecdotally.</p>