Like many other Californians,
I think your post was cut off.
Hmm, you’re right. I’m too lazy to edit it because my computer’s gone all wonky on me, but I’ll post my actual response:
Like many other Californians, I believed the UC System was stringent. Foreboding. Straight-lined and universally-defined in their admissions process. When I applied to UC San Diego, I tucked that university in the back of my head and promptly forgot about it. I didn’t believe I could ever get in, especially with the UC’s dwindling acceptance of Californians for international applicants.
Yet, here I am, with a provisional acceptance that doesn’t really make a difference to me because I already graduated anyways. Sure, my major is undeclared because I was vying for capped degrees, but the fact that I got admitted all the well means that my previous assumptions had to be deemed incorrect.
I got into the UC System without even fulfilling my A-G requirements. I got in, when the rest of friends and family who stuck it all the way through public high school didn’t.
Here’s what was so strange and iffy about my secondary records:
- I homeschooled myself for a semester. I heard UC’s HATE homeschool.
- ^ I only got half of those classes accredited by the charter school I enrolled in junior year. I was missing credits for half of three classes (Pre-Calculus, World History, Japanese)
- I didn’t take a physics class. It wasn’t available.
- I didn’t finish my A-G requirements for foreign languages. I took a semester of Japanese, which wasn’t available to the school I later transferred into. Then I took a year of Spanish and a half-year of French. I didn’t manage to take two years fo the same language, which is the requirement.
Here are my redeeming factors:
- ACT: 31 (Highest is 34 in Science) - considered average, right?
- GPA: 4.23 weighted (3.89 unweighted)
- Great application essays, according to my English teacher
- Tons of volunteering. I even took a drop year to volunteer with Americorps.
- Graduated valedictorian of my charter school (Class rank: 1 of 259)
- Did dual-enrollment at my community college
Unique points in my application (not sure if they would make a difference):
- Raised by a single mother
- Career plans: interest in environmental protection and working in Central Valley
- First-generation Asian-American
- Interested in gay rights
- Will work during college
- Will not join sorority unless honors
- Did Winter Percussion/marching band
(All of these were options I clicked on in my UC application)
It’s not that I feel that I’m undeserving of my acceptance, but I know my abilities aren’t accurately represented on paper. I just didn’t think, with my strange high school records, that the UC System would actually give me such a chance to prove myself.
They (and others) may be more understanding of missing subjects for applicants with home school or otherwise unorthodox educational backgrounds, as opposed to students in regular high schools who choose not to take some subjects that are offered.
I think UC really seeks a diverse student population, and with the competition in the applicant pool, there is room to be selective about that. You obviously bring a unique perspective to their campus.
UCs are very numbers oriented. That can be proven by looking at naviance. Above certain gpa and ACT/SAT and you have almost certainty of getting in. Below those numbers the admissions plummet.
You got into UCD because of your high numbers. A 3.9/4.2 and 31 is like 97-98th percentile. It’s nowhere near “average.”
UC has “admission by exam” and “admission by exception” for those who were unable to fulfill the a-g requirements.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/examination/
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/admission-by-exception/index.html
It looks like these are intended for those with home school and other unusual backgrounds, as opposed to students in regular public or private high schools who just chose not to take the a-g courses offered to them.
If these were equivalent to high school level 2 or higher, or you had proven proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to high school level 2 or higher, you would be counted as having fulfilled the foreign language requirement. Note that if your foreign language courses were college courses, they count for a lot more than high school courses (in some cases, first semester college foreign language is counted as equivalent to second year high school foreign language).
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/a-g-requirements/index.html
Thanks for the responses, guys! So far, It’s helped me get a clear picture of this mystery. It seems like they granted me an exception-based admission on account of my high test scores? They probably put me in a different pool than usual applicants to those with unusual circumstances. I just didn’t think it would warrant that because I DID graduate with a public high school degree in the end.
I just randomly decided to post this because while I had gotten admitted into UC San Diego, the only UC college I applied for, my cousin, who held great grades in his public high school and also regularly volunteered, was not admitted to any of the four UC colleges he applied for.
I would not consider myself academically-better than him (maybe slight variances in GPA), but he has had a lot of leadership experience in comparison to my own and more AP credits than I ever bothered to apply for. Compared to me, he probably held a more sturdy, more legitimate academic build and he also came from a more reputable school than my own. I was sorely upset he didn’t also make it in.
I’ve done some quick research on UC admission statistics. Looking at UC San Diego’s profile for reference, rejections were all across the board, from the typical lowest SAT/GPA combined to some of those who received top numbers in both. It makes me wonder what exactly is it they’re looking for. If I got in based on good grades, why were those, including my cousin, who received similar or even higher grade points, rejected?
I realize this is a question prevalent in many highly-reputed colleges who use the “holistic” approach.