Now that the UC application submission filing period has opened, I have posted a thread for discussions regarding the UC campuses. Please post any questions of interest in regards to the specific UC campuses and the UC application process.
Best of luck to all.
Did you all get a general email today addressed to parents from UCSB titled ‘Parent Updates from Santa Barbara’?
We did.
Yes, got it to remind students to verify correct info and to check portals end of March. Fingers crossed! 
We did as well
If past announcements are consistent with this year the UCSB non-scholarship decisions will come out on the third Tuesday of March which will be March 16 around 3pm PST
we did. Hoping for the best!
What is the chancellor’s scholarship? I watched some YouTube videos, and some kids received the Chancellors scholarship in February, meaning they found out that they were accepted in February. Is it UCSB specific scholarship? Other UC schools also let kids know if they are accepted in February?
Yes, Chancellor’s scholarship is UCSB specific. My D19 received two years ago in Feb which means they are admitted into UCSB as well. Other UCs have similar early announcements as well, like Regents for UCB arrives around Feb first or the second week and similarly for UCLA.
Oh! Thanks for the info.
@Gumbymom Son applied UCSB first major CS second major Statistics & Data Science. He took many AP courses but had a few Bs so his UW gpa is 3.82 but full W gpa is 4.5. Good EC and good essays. He is worry that CS is too competitive and thinking of change major at this time. Does UCSB guarantee to review second major if the first major is computer science? If yes, does he have the same chance as those who listed Statistics & DS as first major?
@akmom33: CS and the College of Engineering is a small department at UCSB and can be highly competitive. Out of the 340 enrolled Freshman students in the College of Engineering, 104 were CS majors. He will be reviewed for his alternate major if he is not accepted into the CS major. If he will be happy attending UCSB with the Stats/Data Science major, then I would not pursue the change of major.
Just be aware that if accepted into Stats/Data Science changing into CS later is difficult and not guaranteed. Since Stats/Data Science is in the College of Letters and Sciences, Freshman are not admitted by major so they are free to change majors at any time and he has the same chance as all Freshman applicants in this College.
@Gumbymom Thank you for the reply. That is very useful information. Son is OK with Stats/DS major so we will not bother to change now. I know UCs look at all 3 GPAs but do they like applicants who took more APs but get a few Bs (thus low UW but high W gpa) or those who took less APs but get all As (thus high UW but low W gpa)?
@akmom33: The age old question; Better rigor with possible lower grades or less rigor with higher grades. Unfortunately it usually is the highest rigor with the best grades. You son looks competitive but with test blind admissions this year, he just has to wait and see how his GPA compares. The UC’s have always been GPA focused but in the past UCSB specifically states that EC’s, essays and other non-academic criteria is weighted more than some other campuses.
UCSB puts more weight on ECs, Essays and non-academic criteria MORE than others? I am curious about this… Which UC campus do you think is the most HOLISTIC in this regard?
@scoalgb: Previous years UCSB stated on their website that for their Freshman application review that 50% is academics (GPA, HS course rigor and test scores) and 50% Non-academic such as EC’s, community service, personal insight essays etc… Since test scores are not an option this year, they may emphasize GPA and HS course rigor more but they still consider other parts of the application important also.
I believe (my opinion only) that UCB is probably the most holistic since they will consider LOR’s from a small percentage of applicants along with the general UC criteria outlined here: How applications are reviewed | UC Admissions
However I also think many of the campuses will look for fit, especially true for UC Davis. For every UC, what is Very important in their application review is Academic GPA, HS Rigor and the application essays.
I have an unweighted UC GPA of 3.73, a 4.09 capped weighted, and a 4.18 fully weighted. Along with being ELC due to my ranking in my class. Do I have a decent shot at UCSB?
Obviously this is very little information, but I just hope that my GPA is within the school’s range so I’m considered. I’m also in-state.
Some UCSB admit data based on GPA only.
UC admit rate for UC Capped weighted GPA 3.80-4.19: 32%
UC Capped weighted GPA 25th-75th percentiles: 4.03-4.27 average- 4.15
Thanks for giving me some data!
So it seems like UCSB admits a smaller number of students with my GPA, but it’s not impossible for me to get in. Hopefully everything goes well.
@teenager146: Although UC’s are GPA focused, your whole application will be taken into consideration including intended major (if applying for Engineering/CS) so it can be hard to determine where you stand without seeing the whole picture.