Thanks Gumbymom.
Some characteristics may not be easy to match. For example, UCs tend to be mostly residential, but most CSUs have substantial commuter populations. While UCs tend to have most students in liberal arts majors, CSUs tend to have most students in preprofessional majors.
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I know that my daughter’s SAT score is not being used in admission decisions, but should we send it anyway? It’s a good score- when she got it, her 1st reaction was, “UCLA, here we come!” I had to burst her bubble and remind her the UC’s are test-blind. But are they really? Should we save the $12 per score-send and not bother? Will the scores if we send them sink into some AO’s subconscious and help her chances? Or will they be annoyed we send them?
Yes, they really are test blind. Scores sent won’t make it to the AO or the file.
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I would not send any test scores until your student is accepted and enrolls in a UC. The UC’s will use test scores for course placement only so save the money.
From the UC Website:
Exam requirement
UC’s will not consider SAT or ACT test scores when making admissions decisions or awarding scholarships. If you choose to submit test scores as part of your application, they may be used as an alternative method of fulfilling minimum requirements for eligibility or for course placement after you enroll.
I was hoping someone could answer a question for me. In the UC GPA calculations they allow 8 semesters of credit for Honors/AP courses with grades of C or higher. My son took a credit grade for one semester of his AP World class during Spring 2021 when we were virtual. I’m assuming he can’t get credit for that semester in the AP points calculation. Is that correct?
Correct, Credit/No Credit or Pass/Fail Grades on AP/Honors courses will not get the extra weighting in the UC GPA calculation.
The UC’s will consider all 3 UC GPA’s: Unweighted, Capped weighted and Fully weighted so just not the Capped weighted.
The UCs will use SATs for minimum eligibility requirements or for placement? Wow…didn’t know that.
Does this have any practical significance for an admitted UC student?
will not use
The quote above says it “may” use SAT/ACT scores for eligibility or placement. I had never heard that.
When the UC’s state that test scores can be used to meet minimum eligibility requirements, they are actually using admission by exception which is rare.
Or certain A-G course requirements can be met using SAT scores. Ie. English
SAT Subject Examination: Literature: Score of 560 satisfies the first three years of the requirement.
**Admission by exception
Sometimes even the most creative, focused and intellectually passionate students aren’t able to fulfill our admission requirements. Even these students have a chance to attend UC.
Some students are home-schooled and don’t have transcripts. Others have life circumstances that have prevented them living up to their promise. The list is endless.
If you believe you have the ability and potential to succeed at UC, you could be considered for admission by exception.
Each UC campus can offer admission to a few students who do not meet all of the A-G course requirements or minimum GPA requirements. You may use the personal insight questions or additional comments section of the admission application to explain your unique story.
Also as noted by @LionsTigersAndBears, the ELW can be satisfied by SAT/ACT scores.
All students entering UC as freshmen must fulfill the Entry Level Writing Requirement, either by demonstrating proficiency through qualifying test scores, UC-transferable college English composition courses or by following your campus’s instructions for meeting the Entry Level Writing Requirement.
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I’ll defer to @Gumbymom, but an alternate possibility is that it’s referring to the Entry Level Writing Requirement, which allows for an admitted student to use an ACT/SAT score to fulfill certain graduation requirements.
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Thanks very much!
D23, in state, very interested in public policy, government, and environmental science (so appreciated an earlier thread on UC’s strengths in environmental policy! Would love to go to Berkeley for env.policy, but who knows… UCLA, UCSD and UCSB all look great too. UCSC and Davis should be safe…er…)
UC Unweighted GPA: 3.78
UC Weighted GPA: 4.57
UC Weighted/Capped: 4.13
Her highschool is a top 30 CA public highschool
About 10 APs – all 5s so far except a 4 in Bio.
4 year varsity water polo, but not a recruited athlete
EC: Major leadership role (elected) for southern california student organization (>2500 students)
Individually worked with local city council to get $300K allocated for climate action plan for our community.
Worked to get an ally elected to city council; interned with state senator
4 year high level choir, with international tours and professional performances.
Great writer but struggling with writers block/stress from prepping the applications and PIQs. The whole process is wildly sinusoidal between excitement and anxiety.
Appreciate the admission data published so far: bummer her weighted capped GPA is just below that 4.2 that really seems to improve admit rates, though as @Gumbymom says they should look at all 3 and hope that context helps.
good luck to all. The site’s been helpful for reality correcting my own early 90s experience…
My friend’s daughter attends Berkeley in a multidisciplinary program at Rausser College called Environmental economics and policy:
She really likes it. She was accepted at both cal and ucla and it was a hard choice, but Berkeley’s EEP program won her over.
thanks. looks fantastic and I’ll let her know about it. The question is whether she’ll get into Berkeley – lottery odds… fingers crossed though.
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Rausser tends to have better admission odds than the rest of UC Berkeley, which can be a bonus if that turns out to be her first choice program!
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Asking for a friend’s kid who is Class of 2025 kid. She came in from abroad and is doing Math2 at her school in 10th grade. the standard progression being Math3 in 11th grade and then Precalc in 12th grade. Will she able to secure admission with a good GPA with this Math progression, she is aiming for CS major at UCs/CSUs. Appreciate any help and advice on this.
Yes, normal math level is sufficient to start college as a CS major.
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I would think the UC most similar in vibe to Cal Poly Humboldt might be Santa Cruz.
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