<p>Does anyone know exactly what is the fine arts admission requirement for the University of California system?
I have been reading here, albeit a while ago, that 1.5 credits from the SAME discipline are required.
I checked Berkeley's website today and it states 1 credit.
Can someone clarify this for me?
Thanks.</p>
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<li><p>The UC website says 1 year of 1 discipline.</p></li>
<li><p>The A-G course requirements are irrelevant if you average 690 on the SAT I components and two SAT IIs, or get a 32 on the ACT, or ranked in the top 4% of your California high school class.</p></li>
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<p>The requirement is one full year. The important thing to know is it needs to be in one area as JHS states. For example- 2 semesters of Ceramics=good to go. 1 semester painting,1 semester drawing= no good.</p>
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<p>I don’t beleive that is correct. ELC’ers must complete the a-g requirements.</p>
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<p>[Student</a> Eligibility](<a href=“http://www.ucop.edu/sas/elc/eligibilityinfo.html]Student”>http://www.ucop.edu/sas/elc/eligibilityinfo.html)</p>
<p>You are probably right, bluebayou, although I note that the 11-course requirement for Eligibility in the Local Context seems to differ from the 15-course A-G requirements, and that it is not clear at all from the language quoted that you have to meet the full A-G requirements.</p>
<p>^^yeah, UC likes to make it difficult for kids and their families. UC tends to hide all the excellent fine print behind the counselor’s tab:</p>
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<p>Of course, if one is ELC and meets the test requirements…?</p>
<p>Maybe it’s 11 courses by junior year and 15 courses by the end of senior year.</p>
<p>By “test requirements,” don’t they mean taking the tests (either SAT I or ACT with writing, plus 2 SAT IIs), not the requirements for qualification by examination (i.e., high test scores)?</p>
<p>So all “Eligibility in the Local Context” means is that you have to meet all the criteria for “Eligibility in the Statewide Context” except getting a high-enough combination of grades and test scores. As long as you have at least a B average and you are in the top 4% of your class, and you have taken the right tests and the right courses, it doesn’t matter what your test scores are.</p>
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<p>One possible confusion factor is that I think it used to be a ‘semester’ a few years ago but was increased to a full year from the same discipline so if you’re reading references make sure they’re current. Also keep in mind that if you google a university’s website there can be a lot of hits on old out of date information. </p>
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If you mean SAT/ACT tests then yes, if they’re ELC then they’re guaranteed a spot at some campus but if their SAT/ACT scores aren’t up to par that campus would likely not be one of the top 3 UCs.</p>
<p>Goodness gratious…I wonder how many people the California system has working to figure out this fine print of A-G courses and whether a student is not qualified because they took heaven forbid a drawing and a ceramics instead of two drawing or of they have this test score then they don’t have to do such and such… LOL. Sorry I love to poke fun at California and I just couldn’t resist on a Monday.</p>
<p>momofthreeboys- the public high schools at least in our area do a great job of making sure the students know the UC and Cal State requirements. Most of the art classes in our school have been expanded to year long courses. The HS also knows which courses the UC’s will give added weight to as well.
In our area if you had a B average there is no way you would be anywhere near the top 4%.</p>
<p>momof3:</p>
<p>feel free to poke away, but the one year of the same VAPA course requirement (visual and performing arts) is just as easy to explain as two years of the same foreign language. What makes it easier for GC’s (and families) is that the minimal course requirements are exactly the same as those for the Cal State Unis.</p>
<p>My S’s GC did a good job of explaining the requirements … in the end. Although initially, I was unclear why she pressed on getting the VAPA done before senior year, until I started delving into what ELC status was all about.</p>
<p>VAPA CAN be confusing. I’m not sure I’ve ever figured out why the one year course in film photography DID meet UC VAPA requirements, but the one year course in digital photography did not. Go figure. S took the correct one and used down time while waiting on the dark room to tutor other students who need assistance with their math classes.</p>
<p>momof3:</p>
<p>I actually had to explain the UC A-G requirements to a HS GC my D had - this GC didn’t know about them and this wasn’t a brand new GC. I told her how to get to the UC Pathways website and where to look. It was apalling IMO. I switched my D to the one decent GC at that school (who also is sometimes one of the admissions reviewers for a UC so he has a clue what he’s doing). This was at a medium sized (2000-2500 students) public HS.</p>
<p>I got curious and checked out the site. The browser was slow so I gave up after a small preview. Talk about the UC’s micromanaging HS courses. Ballroom dancing not acceptable while another kind is… I don’t get how taking one arts class over another will affect a student’s ability to do the academics. I couldn’t get to an academic do’s and don’t’s site- it is more plausable to make sure everyone has read some Shakespeare, I guess. So much easier here- even if they do call it a “foreign language” instead of being more correct about nonenglish languages.</p>
<p>actually, UC does call it ‘Language Other than English’. I just typed the un-PC ver bcos it was easier. :)</p>
<p>Buried in the Counselor section of the UC site:</p>
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<p>My Soph D was told she was lucky to get the art class she requested. The school has many seniors who waited till senior year and they get first dibs on the art classes. Art is something my D loves and we are hoping the school will allow her to take some form of art all 3 yrs.</p>
<p>Modern dance I would guess has an element of creativity, but how much beginning ballet does? I guess students have to wait until college to take ballroom dance for credit. Seems like some high schools must be playing freely with the rules for the system to need to be so specific.</p>
<p>Since I am from CA and have nearly put two kids through the CA public high school system (DS graduated in 2008, DD is a senior), let me defend the UC entrance requirements. One hour reading the material sent home by our hs was enough to make it really clear what to take. Our HS course catalog clearly indicates what counts and what doesn’t. </p>
<p>Honestly, I wish that all school would adopt the UC model. It is really clear what to take and what not to take. Since those same requirements are used for computing your UC GPA - the only GPA that they consider - this also removes much of the uncertainty around what is my GPA and how does it compare. </p>
<p>Lastly, and this is the smartest thing of all, the UCs do not require transcripts with your application. The student self reports their grades - and they validate those grades only for the students who chose to matriculate there. The 80% of applicants who are either rejected or accepted but chose to go elsewhere - their grades are never processed. A very smart paperwork reduction imho.</p>
<p>Thanks for that, scualum. It’s clear there is a method behind this, and not madness.</p>
<p>We just won’t get into the ongoing saga of the UC’s and what they want regarding the SAT, subject tests, etc. :)</p>