My D got in. OOS . Biology
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S21 was accepted into the Engineering Honors Program
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Thank you for correcting me I forgot about the case, but I still stand by what I said about there being good reason to have the test blind policy. I think standardized tests will be fazed out in the future anyways as they aren’t very indicative of someone’s ability to do well in college and in life for that matter.
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And so glad that the judge did. It should have been all or none everywhere not test-optional. Because when you go test optional, you are submitting scores that drastically bias the curve to those who would submit high scores only. This year was not ideal and it is understandable why it will hurt to not get admitted despite a stellar score and it is easy to blame the test-blind/test optional policy specially for those who put a lot of effort to get high scores or were just smart enough to get one. Long-term a test blind policy is the right one as it allows kids to focus on so many other interesting and enjoyable activities than paying hundreds and thousands of dollars and hours to get that perfect score.
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This class of kids was told that test scores were required so many of them prepared, took the tests, and got good scores. I understand that Covid prevented many other kids from testing or retesting. If not for the lawsuit, test optional not test blind would have been fair to all.
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Let’s not diminish the accomplishments of others 
Good luck to your daughter as her stats are definitely impressive but the applicants who were admitted this year are not in any way less qualified than the ones admitted in the previous years
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My daughter too Great GPA, tons of EC, NHS, Leadershio etc tried 4 times to take SAT/ACT no luck now hoping to get in somewhere
What major?
Guys how do we get to know about our aid package and all
D accepted UCSB pre-bio, UCI (w Regents), Calpoly SLO & Pomona. In state
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I’m not sure how you see test-optional as being fair for all but regardless I’m sure AOs can look at a person’s application and get a good feel for what their ACT or SAT score would be. I also don’t that a good test score would necessarily push an applicant into an acceptance considering all the other factors there are too look at, and if the decision really was that close, I’m sure more information would have been requested. Again, these test scores don’t really define your intelligence or ability to do well in college and beyond and AOs know that.
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If stats alone were what got people in, your daughter would’ve been accepted due to her GPA. UCs build a specific type of class with who they decide to admit, based on who they think will be a good fit
For what it’s worth, the UC system is test blind for the next 4 years. So you will run into the same issue next year. There’s a lot of arguments on both sides and for every person upset there is another that’s happy. Since the circumstances were leveled on everyone, there’s not much to be done.
Even in past years a 35 ACT or 1580 sat were not guarantees of admission at the UCs. They really do look at holistic factors. Almost every applicant to these schools would do well academically if enrolled but unfortunately limited resources means they have to make tough decisions on how many students they can admit and eventually enroll.
The Admissions process is an imperfect solution to an impossible problem.
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I feel your pain too. My DS21 has been outright rejected at UCI and UCSB. Not looking good for the other UCs now. He had 35 ACT w/perfect 36 on a couple sections (one sitting), and needed that to balance his GPA which is lower due to a learning disability. Great ECs (Eagle Scout, Robotics, started his own LLC) and internships, but I’m thinking they probably didn’t look at much past the GPA. He is highly gifted - it just doesn’t show in the GPA and unfortunately that’s weighing heavily this year and hurting the non traditional applicants like him. If I had a dollar for every time someone has told me he’ll be the next Bill Gates…So much potential waiting to be tapped in him, he just doesn’t fit the traditional “high stats” mode that they look for. It breaks my heart to see the rejections.
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Thanks for your thoughtful response. I agree the UC system had good reason to do away with testing. And to the other poster, yes, technically it was the court order, but UC was going to do it themselves anyway in the next year or two, the courts just forced them to do it a little sooner. Test blind certainly gives more students from more varied backgrounds a better chance of admission, something we can all get behind. The main purpose of my post was to make the observation, by example, of how admissions decisions have become much more unpredictable with the new test blind policy. There had been a lot of speculation about how the new policy would affect admissions this year, and now we are finally starting to get some real data coming in.
Of course they were no guarantee but they were an important part of the puzzle/consideration previously. And I am sure that the evaluation process was more flawed than we will ever know since they were forced by the courts to turn on a dime without careful consideration of a new rubric of acceptance.
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@Pusheen1 Sorry to hear about your son. Was that learning disability noted in the additional comments section or within a personal insight question? If not that would be one of the few grounds for an appeal
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@jntwinmama That coupled with the sheer number of applicants makes it a real crapshoot.
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I never meant to diminish the accomplishments of others or suggest that those admitted were less qualified. I apologize for coming off that way in my earlier comment. I was only intending to point out that starting this year as a result of the new test blind policy, there has been a significant and consequential change in the way UCs now make their admissions decisions.
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