@LadyMorgan and @worriedmomucb
Whoa… slow down. My intention was not to argue, but to show that different systems, UC’s & Texas, all have nuances. Pros & cons. Kids learn how to play whatever game.
Of course, there are benefits to all kinds of classes. Of course, kids should take the classes that interest them. Of course, certain classes might be easier for certain types of kids.
What I meant was that kids KNOW who the “easier” teachers are & what classes are “easier” at their own respective schools. For example, at my kids school, the AP Ceramics teacher gives A’s to all students who do the work. All of the work is done in class… no homework. This is not the case in AP science & math classes. This matters for auto admit systems, like Texas.
I am not for or against either system. I was just highlighting a couple of differences. I think college admissions is crazy. We are all just doing the best we can in the system/game that we are forced to play.
Yes–although I know some AP classes are REALLY hard for some students, I looked at them as “better” classes for the more serious high school students who weren’t just goofing around in class and so encouraged them regardless. (That said, my kids’ HS regular US History had them memorize states and capitols which I liked, and had an excellent teacher too, while their APUSH didn’t).
And requiring all students to be equally good at all subjects leaves no room for the quirky, “pointy,” chess-obsessed, coding obsessed, ragtime-piano-playing-with-no-lessons-ever ADHD musician who is actually very valuable to society (ie, CS majors) even though he has no interest or aptitude in GEs and is essentially just very skilled in pattern recognition. Not something UC wants at all. (I have one such kid.) And it’s a pity. But I guess that’s what “coding camps” are for.
The UK takes a different approach: 3 year programs focusing only on the major and no GEs/electives at all. My DS1 went to school in the UK as an Econ major and pretty much only took Econ classes. Very specialized.
My kids’ high school didn’t require even basic physics and somehow my DS2 managed to slither out of it altogether (he did take 4 years of science, but not physics). And he never took it in college either so I consider that a hole in his education.
My DS3 ended up never taking Econ in high school for pandemic-related reasons, and so I asked him to try to take it in college as a GE and he’s indeed taking it now.
Back in the dark ages I got through HS taking only Bio, Physics, and a science independent study. Assiduously avoided taking Chem, but it was good enough (clearly not applying for math or science majors!) to get into Cal and UCLA plus ivies. That would never fly now. But I do not regret for one second not having taken Chemistry. My 8th grade science class was enough to make me understand that Chemistry was not for me.
Poor D - and I’m sure many others of the class of 2023 - had to take Chemistry online during the pandemic - all of the memorization and formulas, with none of the fun hands-on experiments.
Can I ask a dumb question - is it the UW or W UC GPA that matters for admission? (we are OOS applicant - boarding school in NE) but in state resident for tuition
Some schools state that they only look at capped GPA. For example, in the UCSB videos, they say that the GPA is capped. In a recent podcast from UCI’s Admission Director, he said that the GPA they look at is capped.
Because it was mentioned up thread, the UCI Admissions Director also said that he looks for specific courses to indicate if a student is prepared for certain majors.
So, for an AP course and some other honors courses or college level courses, you get a bump on your GPA calculation for that. We cap that so it’s not sort of an infinite number of bumps for an infinite number of AP courses. That’s capped at eight semesters. And so there’s a sort of maximum to the GPA a student can earn. We also consider, for certain majors, we also consider the success in those courses to be appropriate preparation for the major at UCI. So, AP calculus, and, you know, calculus demonstrates that a student is ready to be a math major, for example, depending on the scores, of course, on their exam. It also demonstrates that they have some abilities in the kind of thinking that goes into computer science. So, I don’t want to give the impression though, that those are guarantees or requirements, but it’s an indication of a student’s ability or preparation or readiness for the major at UCI.
It is interesting that the UC Counselor conference posted admit rates by College for UCSB and they were listed as the Fully weighted Uncapped UC GPA.
L&S admit rate 27% and admit GPA average of 4.40.
Engineering admit rate 22% and admit GPA average of 4.52.
CCS admit rate of 21% and admit GPA average of 4.37.
I know. I’m trying to find where they mentioned it in a video.
In the meantime, I linked to the spot in this video where they explain to counselors how they choose between top students for limited (engineering) spots.
Same for my daughter. It. Was. Terrible! And the source of her only B (one semester grade) in high school. AP Chem was torture for her during that pandemic year.
You can get an excellent education at any of the CSUs. People only mention CalPoly and SDSU as the “top” CSUs bc they are more competitive, but it’s interesting to me that at those schools the white student population also is the highest. Just an observation, because there are highly rated programs at many other campuses besides the two always mentioned.
I wouldn’t make any assumptions here about desirability of colleges based on % of whites at a given college. San Luis Obispo and San Diego are frankly magical locations and therefore desireable, and they are not commuter schools which is also desirable, and those with $$ (whites and Asians more likely, although Asians don’t seem drawn to CSUs) are perhaps more likely to be able to afford dorms while lower income families might opt for commuter schools with those students living at home. An exception might be Chico State which I think is majority Latino but is nevertheless NOT a commuter school. Cal Poly Humboldt has LEAPED in desirability now that it is a Cal Poly. I think CSUMB is a hidden gem too. . .hopefully more students of all races discover its charms sooner or later. . .
And he never took it in college either so I consider that a hole in his education.
That would never fly now. 
But I do not regret for one second not having taken Chemistry. My 8th grade science class was enough to make me understand that Chemistry was not for me.