<p>I was never familiar with the UC’s 3.0 GPA instate/3.4 GPA oos eligibility requirement until about 10 minutes ago, and I was ENRAGED.
My sister is applying OOS to UCI, and she is an AMAZING PERSON, however her GPA is 3.0. To the UC’s, does that mean that she’s “not even good enough to be given a chance?” She gives school her all… it’s the best she can do!</p>
<p>Do they even realize that there may be some amazing applicants who don’t meet the 3.0/3.4 requirements that may have some, maybe, EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES? Or maybe their best work isn’t a 3.0 or a 3.4… maybe they struggle to get a 2.5! But it’s still the best they can do! I now feel GUILTY for getting accepted to UCLA. Thank god I didn’t go there.</p>
<p>EVERYONE deserves a chance. If you worked hard, and think you belong at a UC, you should have the right to follow that dream, and not have a bunch of snooty adcoms AUTOMATICALLY slam the door in your face, and not giving you a chance with your application or essays, because they are trying to remain “elite,” regardless of your GPA!
The UC’s probably say: “We have so many applicants and so little time to review…,” and all that does is show how purely lazy they are, and unwilling to give GREAT people a chance to excel.</p>
<p>I think that GPA requirements just to APPLY are f***ing dumb. Does anyone agree with me? </p>
<p>It just shows how much “higher” these places are trying to look.</p>
<p>It's because she is applying Out-of-state. In-state students recieve-- and deserve-- an advantage because it is their family's tax money that helps pay for the UC system. The UC system was designed with an emphasis for California students.</p>
<p>LuckySB...get in line. Try to remember how large a state California is and how many students they have. If a student falls below the UC requirements (and you live in-state) you head for a Cal State...we have tons of those. The UC's just can't take everyone and believe me not everyone can compete successfully in the UC system. The kids that I know who most recently got accepted into UCLA had 4.6 gpa and SAT's around 2200. Very impressive stats. Life is not fair, but that's the way the ball bounces sometimes.</p>
<p>Dear Luckystarboy: NO, grades are NOT the only measure of a person's worth, including your sister. However, the UC system is a land grant system of colleges that has a legal obligation to put California State taxpayers (who gave them the land/funded the schools) and their children ahead of out of state residents (since residents have presumably paid into the system long enough to be considered residents). UC's are supposed to be admitting the top 12% of high school graduates in California and preparing them to enter graduate school. People not in the top 12% have the option of attending the Cal State Universities or a California CC. Also, the MINIMUM 3.0 in-state eligibility would likely not get your sister in to any UC except Merced or Riverside and even a 3.4 probably would not get her in at UCI. You can check the UC website for admitted frosh stats from last year, but not too many people get in lately with the minimums (in-state or out) due to the increase of applications colleges have seen these past few years. (That just demographics:increased population=increased demand=more applications= more rejections) Plenty of Californians are also unable to get in and they feel your frustration. I know more than a few kids with higher GPA's than your sister who did not get accepted into a UC last year. It would be expensive, but if your sister really wants to attend a UC, she can attend any CC in California and she will have the ability to transfer after two years. UC's give higher priority to CC transfers! The only CC I can think of with dorms is Santa Barbara City College, but she would have to apply early (NOW) for the dorms as they fill up fast. Currently, the state of California is weeks away from not being able to make payroll or pay other expenses and have asked the federal government for a bailout. Your sister may want to consider that when making her college choices as it could mean prices will be going up during the next four years. In any case, I understand your frustration at a system that seems so numbers-based and impersonal. Good luck to your sister... I hope she finds a great college to attend!</p>
<p>
[quote]
The UC's probably say: "We have so many applicants and so little time to review..," and all that does is show how purely lazy they are, and unwilling to give GREAT people a chance to excel.
[/quote]
If a person is getting a 3.0 in HS, it doesn't really show they will succeed very well at a UC.
Berkeley and LA actually read through every essay and score them... If you have taken a look at the stats, ppl with a 3.5 to 3.0 do get into Berkeley/LA (the most competitive UCs)</p>
<p>
[quote]
EVERYONE deserves a chance. If you worked hard, and think you belong at a UC, you should have the right to follow that dream, and not have a bunch of snooty adcoms AUTOMATICALLY slam the door in your face, and not giving you a chance with your application or essays, because they are trying to remain "elite," regardless of your GPA!
[/quote]
I don't think they would "slam the door" if they actually have the capacity for those 90,000 applicants that see UCs as a dream in their system. They are mainly trying their best to select the best candidates. Anyone who sees UC as a dream college should also have other options. There are MUCH BETTER colleges than just UCs. If you don't want "OOS discrimination" go apply for private schools.</p>
<p>Besides, everyone has a chance to apply as long as they meet eligibility. That's why everyone works hard during HS to meet that gpa. And if you don't get to UC, there are alternatives, you dream is not broken just cuz u dont get accepted as a freshman. Just go to a community college and transfer.</p>
<p>I understand your anger for your sister, but what about all of our sisters here in California who are working their butts off to get 3.7+ GPAs...ask yourself objectively, does your sister truly deserves to get in over all of them? (Because that's the implication of your rant: since nobody applies with the goal of getting rejected.) Of course, any brother would argue for her sister - heck I would too, and mine has never gotten a B in a class in her life.</p>
<p>Not to be mean, but if your sister gives it her all and only receives a 3.0, she probably will not do too well at UCI. I think that I am an amazing person, and I find it hard to pull over a 4.0, but do I deserve to get into Harvard or Upenn? I don't think so.</p>
<p>Also, if she has bomb ass test scores, you can be eligible based purely on test scores. UC</a> Admissions</p>
<p>I think the 3.0/3.4 limit is good. If you have under a 3.0, you usually go to a state or city college, so there are options for everyone.</p>
<p>First, the UCs do not count Frosh grades in the admissions eligibility calculation, so if your sister has a 3.5 Soph and 4.0 Jr year, your rant is just plain uniformed.</p>
<p>But, more to to your question: California has a three-tier, public college system: the community colleges, which accept anyone who is breathing; the Cal State University system which targets the top 1/3 of high school graduates; and the UC system which, by law, targets the top 12.5 of state high school grads. It just so happens that the top ~13% of Calif high school grads have a 3.0+ UC gpa -- thus, the gpa qualifier. But note, your sister can also become eligible for UC admissions by test scores alone -- it will require an average of 700+ on all five tests.</p>
<p>LuckyStarBoy, Your rant shows that you have not actually investigated the opportunities at the UCs. The UCs offer a couple of avenues to students who do not meet the eligibility requirements: Eligiblity by Exception and Eligibility by Examination Alone (both of which have been referenced for you in posts above). Students who feel they have unique qualifications (are "amazing people") are encouraged to apply using those routes. By CLEARLY explaining their selection process the UCs save many thousands of students the $60 in-state and $70 oos application fee.</p>
<p>Please bear in mind that for 2008 for example, UCLA received over 50,000 applications and more than half of those applicants had OVER a 4.0 grade point average. Would you prefer that the UCs not publish their eligibility requirements and collect application fees from students like your sister when they are facing that competition?</p>
<p>By specifying that students like your sister should apply by Eligibility by Exception, the UCs assure that your sister's application would actually be gived special consideration rather than immediately being put on the "reject" pile because of her low GPA.</p>
<p>Also (as stated by another post-er) California offers many options for students who are not eligible for the UC including 23 CSU campuses and over 100 community colleges. Your demand that a state of over 36 million people should ignore their own extremely-well-qualified students (most of whom are also "amazing people," by the way) in favor of out-of-state students is uniformed and unjustified.</p>
<p>^^^^Given the recent volatility in the financial markets, the consensus is that the 50,000 applicant level for UCLA in 2008 is going to look small by the time the applicant pools for '09 and '10 are through. This is the reality my S will be facing next year as an IS. Those GPA levels that UC set don't appear arbitrary. and serious applicants will need to clear them (as well as the other metrics) by a wide margin to get in the most competitive UC campuses.</p>
<p>You deal with the hand that is dealt to you. Fortunately, there are thousands of colleges in the US that many students from other countries would give their eye teeth to go to. We trust you'll help your sister explore those options.</p>
<p>I'm sure your sister is a lovely person and a worthy candidate, but the only criteria for the UC's to judge her by is her numbers. They need some standards, you know. It'd be nice if everyone could go to top-notch schools and become doctors and lawyers, but the world doesn't work that way. Numbers are fair. Sounds like you're more angry with society than the UC system, brother. And to be brutally honest, these schools are no walk in the park. A 3.0 GPA is just a formality; 3.0 wouldn't get you into very many UC's anyway.
Also, I would like to point out that Californians' tax dollars fund the UC system. (The UC's are public schools, after all.) At the least, we should be entitled to some benefits over out-of-state applicants.</p>
<p>Many public universities such as University of Arizona, UW, Chapel Hill, UC's, etc, require OOS to have higher GPA's than in-staters. Since the schools are publicly supported by the state, it is only fair I guess to let kids from their home state in first. They also have increased tuition fees for oos just like California schools. Even San Diego State has increased gpa requirement for kids outside their San Diego service area-it says directly on their web-site. To the OP, your sister could try applying to UC Riverside, Santa Cruz, or even Merced (probably not the best choice) along with UCI if she really wants to come to California. One of the state schools would probably be her best option unless she has very high test scores and an exceptional essay.</p>
<p>I really can't understand why this is even being debated. UCs are very, very good schools. If you were not able to prove in high school that you can handle the academic workload and do well, then there is no reason to believe that you can handle it at the university level. Colleges want the best and brightest that they can find. A 3.0 from OOS would barely eke into a UC under normal in-state conditions. I feel like there is a strong sense of entitlement here. While it may not be the case at other universities, the reality at UCs is that you get what you work for, it's not about who you know or how much you can pay, as might be the case at other institutions that do operate on a less-fair system.</p>
<p>Your rant is extremely uninformed. You really should to your homework before you get all bent out of shape.</p>
<p>While UCs are definitely difficult to get into, that does not make them "snooty". </p>
<p>I'm sure your sister is a terrific person. But, as others have said, if she can't pull a 3.4 GPA (without frosh grades and without PE, as in A-G courses only), she simply cannot handle the coursework of a UC. It's nothing to do with her personality or her talents/attributes.</p>
<p>@ the OP, what if Harvard (for instance) started letting in people with 2.5s or 3.0s because "they tried really, really hard?" Frankly, nobody cares if you tried your hardest unless you produce results. If your sister gets a job in a few years, her boss isn't going to tell her "now, I want you to give it your all on this project, even through extenuating circumstances." NO! He's going to say "do the project, and do it WELL!"</p>
<p>LuckStarBoy, what ratings and statistics cannot show is whether your sister would be happy at the specific schools, who will be her lifelong friends and career contacts. Academics is part of the college experience. It's easy to attach to a school name. I agree with some of the other postings. She might consider attending a CCC near a UC she desires. From there the CCC counselors can help guide/plan her studies for a transfer to the UC she wants. My son is a hs senior taking some after hour classes at a local CCC. The transfer program is amazing. They help and look out for you and keep you encouraged. It's almost enough to make me want to send him there first instead of direct to a UC (or CSU).</p>
<p>yeah even if she were in state a 3.0 wouldnt get her into UCI. Since most other states have lower requirements for admission than CA I think she would be better off applying to a school in her own state or even another one that's not CA.</p>