My son–who was admitted to College of L&S and Honors Program, received the official email from College of Creative Studies today that he was admitted for Physics! He is super excited because they start physics research with professors right away as freshmen and graduates get accepted to grad schools like MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, CalTech, etc. and often to multiple grad schools because the CCS Physics program is so well-regarded! Super proud of my son!
@crknwk2000 our D got the same email. Accepted to CCS Chemistry and Biochemistry. Congratulations!
D accepted into biology. 34 ACT. AP Bio, English, Spanish, Chinese, Physics, Marco, Calc AB. 3.95 GPA unweighted.
@Noliwat Thank you! We live in Santa Barbara, so that’s in the mix too. Central coast towns are beautiful, we’re are very fortunate in that way. I guess the other consideration is that the likes small classes, and as for SCU, how is life for a fairly religious Jewish student given that it is Jesuit?
congrats @chiquitatontita
@BeCheap4me2 SCU is quite secular. Except for the Mission Santa Clara church that is in the center of the campus, you wouldn’t know at all that it is a Jesuit school. You do have to take 3 religion classes I think, but there are a lot of choices in many different areas and religions. There are a couple of synagogues within a mile of the campus if I’m not mistaken.
@BeCheap4me2 I agree with @ProfessorPlum168 about SCU’s secularity. In addition, the Jesuit philosophy of embracing spirituality – no matter which religion a student may be – creates an inclusive environment. Another bonus to SCU (from a parent’s perspective) is an active neighborhood around the campus that is rather intolerant of rowdy college shenanigans. SCU also strongly encourages community service, which can enrich a student’s experience (and resume).
UCSB was so hard to get into this year. Crazy the amount of qualified people getting rejected. I got ACCEPTED 34 act 4.2 W GPA. good stuff!!
Thank you for the information. @Noliwat and @ProfessorPlum168
My school had 15 acceptances, which was much less than the normal 45 and around the same number as UCLA and UCB admits.
Rejected, and I’m at a total loss as to why.
In-state, white female
Applied for Computer Science with Data Science as alternate major
Will have completed linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and discrete math by graduation
Lots of STEM CC Courses
1400 SAT, 22 Essay
4.23 GPA
690 Math II (pretty weak, yeah) and some APs (one 5, two 4s)
ECs and work experience ncluding a data science job with a medical software company whose technology is in 1,000 hospitals worldwide, worked at my city’s IT department and made various software widgets for them, tutoring, lots of computer science side projects, signed a record deal (electronic music production), performed in Sydney Opera House with choir, leadership roles in clubs, made various art tutorials that have been used in the cirricula art schools all over the world
I was proud of my essays, very quirky and unique, one of them was about feeding my 60 pet rabbits daily and how it connects to my instincts.
I’m pretty disheartened and I no longer have hope for UCSD, UCI, UCLA, and UCB. I was very qualified and I have no idea what they wanted. I wish this was a mistake…
@camille004 We as parents feel your pain. I wouldn’t give up hope yet. Any school would be lucky to have a student whose made such an effort as you have. That’s the best way to look at it, and take away some positive from this crazy process. No Matter what school you get into you’ll do great. There is no true recipe for what they are looking for, and you are 1 of 90-100,000 applicants. Sadly, not everyone gets in. My D is at a 50/50 right now 4 yeses and 4 knows, and she got UCSC and seems to be very happy. UCSB was a long shot, SDSU was her first choice, but you know what she will make the most of UCSC and probably become a star based on her effort not on the school 
stay Positive.
@camille004 FWIW, my kid applied to 12 schools, all reaches and matches, and had 3 acceptances, 5 rejections and 4 waitlists. Each rejection and waitlist was pretty painful, but I would say that things will work out in the end, each UC has their own holistic evaluation and being rejected at one school has no bearing on another school.
@thatinvisibleman where did you find those statistics?
@camille004 I would just add to the comments above that you never know if the school was trying to protect their yield since you have such amazing qualities and experiences. No doubt there will be many, many opportunities for you- don’t despair because you will have other doors that open and different paths to choose from
@camille004 are you sure you applied for DS major, UCSB do not have DS major, you may confuse with UCI or UCSD?
@camille004 u r 100% justified to feel the way u do. unbelievable and disappointing. California UCs seem to highlight the saying “life is not fair.”
have faith there is a reason and u will see it in hind sight. try not to waste anymore of your precious time. put ur big girl pants on and charge ahead as my friend would say. or even better:
“Make sure you don’t start seeing yourself through the eyes of those who don’t value you. Know your worth even if they don’t.”
-Thema Davis
Next!
@camille004 , yes, don’t despair. At this point, it is almost like a numbers game. The sheer number of high stats applicants vs the spots they have make it like a lottery. Two years ago, my overachieving daughter got 2 acceptances (UCSC, USF), 2 waitlists (NYU, USD), and 7 rejections. That’s only 2 yes out of 11 schools!
@Vibes4me Daughter is now at UCSC - not her top choice, hated it at first as she wanted to be in an urban campus setting. But it turns out, UCSC was the best fit for her. She is thriving, working at the campus coffee shop, an officer in her school club which she helped raise $17,000 in an online fundraising within 48 hours, and is finding the campus very therapeutic as she is surrounded by redwoods, ocean views, and gentle deer everyday on her way to class. She constantly texts me photos of baby deer she meets on her way to class.
My current senior D got waitlisted at UCSC but got accepted at UCSB yesterday (along with UCI, SDSU, CSULB, SFSU, SacState, St. Mary’s), with the hopes of double majoring in Music and Education. While we are happy and excited and it looks like UCSB is where she will go, it is going to be a wait-and-see until mid-freshman year to see if it will be the right fit for her, too.
@camille004, Share your gifts and talents, make your mark and make a difference wherever you go or end up. Things will work out!
Daughter waitlisted. 35 ACT 4.15 UC GPA. Lots of extracurriculars, some leadership and volunteering. Very good essay. The only thing I can think of is that she only took, I think, 5 or 6 AP classes, while her high school offers a lot more than that. Accepted at UC Davis, UCSC, and UCR. Still waiting for UCLA, Berkeley, UCSD, and UCI.