What's a holistic approach

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

<p>I heard some or all the UCs are using this new selection method. Can someone explain how it works and how it's different from before?</p>

2

<p>holistic approach just means that everything is taken into consideration. Before, selection was strictly based on gpa and SATs. Now its more of the essay, activities, gpa, sats, etc.</p>

3

<p>Also, instead of having separate people read separate parts of your app, it's all read together by one person, so something on one part of the app can influence how an adcom views another part, so coming to the US at the age of 14 could somewhat explain a low CR and writing SAT score.</p>

4

<p>To some, it was UCLA's way of saying they'll consider ethnicity more closely (after only 96 blacks matriculated, supposedly).</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
holistic approach just means that everything is taken into consideration. Before, selection was strictly based on gpa and SATs. Now its more of the essay, activities, gpa, sats, etc.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>actually, before UCLA and Cal used a point system which the other UCs (to my knowledge) still use. there're certain categories, and each category counts for up to so many points. when the admissions official reads your application, they give you points for whatever category and add up the total at the end. i had a paper with the categories and how many points each were worth, dunno if i threw it away already. i'm reasonably sure that my mom printed it off the UC site though.</p>

<p>holistic approach is what everyone else said.</p>

6

<p>wasn't that point system ruled like unconstitutional or something in some popular court case?</p>

7

<p>yeah, but the point system gave the most points to GPA and Sat scores; i have the chart for UCSC.</p>

<p>and yeah, i dont think colleges use it anymore. Esp since Umich gave like 20 points for being a minority.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
wasn't that point system ruled like unconstitutional or something in some popular court case?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>that was for affirmative action, i believe. reverse discrimination? think that was the term.</p>

<p>i dunno if colleges still use it, but people on this board have mentioned it in (current) admissions, and my mom printed out and gave me a sheet with all the UC points and categories last year</p>

9

<p>I know that Davis and SD openly use it, not sure about the others.</p>

10

<p>toxic_waste: where did you find that UCLA and Cal used the point system? I hadn't known that Berkeley did...</p>

11

<p>i found it safe to assume that if all the other UCs did, why wouldn't Cal have at some point in its history, considering how it's in the same system</p>

12

<p>
[quote]

where did you find that UCLA and Cal used the point system? I hadn't known that Berkeley did...

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</p>

<p>There is no explicit point system that is out for public beside UCSD and UCD, that I know of. The other UCs, I'm sure, used to have some form of this but it was and never will be revealed, for obvious reasons.</p>

13

<p>I think this is the one for Davis.</p>

<p><a href="http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_selection_process.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_selection_process.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This is the standardized test /UC score part.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I'm not seeing the "obvious reasons" HERE.</p>

14

<p>I've always heard that Berkeley never used the points system, but I know other UCs do.</p>