UC and Cal State admissions questions

[GladGradDad]

Well, I think we're saying the same thing. The weighted courses with the cap is the UC GPA which determines eligibility as blue says but of course they look at more than that including courses that would be beyond that cap.

Exactly how much they use that UC GPA beyond the eligible level I think we wouldn't know unless someone here is on the admissions staff and even then different UCs use different criteria. For example, UCLA received over 61,000 applications and I don't doubt that they used the UC GPA for more than just the eligibility level for most of the acceptance with some outliers in certain target areas (athletes, etc.). I'm fairly certain they like to have their GPA and SAT stats be high to assist with rankings. Of course I'm guessing on this latter part.

Regardless, in the context of the OP's questions about admissions the knowledge of the capped weighted UC GPA is important because it's always possible the cap would prevent someone from getting accepted where otherwise they might have thought they had a higher GPA.

[sbjdorlo]

Thanks for the corrections, GladGradDad. I knew what I meant but somehow typed UC instead of CSULB.

The question of gpa is one that the student should perhaps take up with the guidance counselor at school (they have a meeting next week). I hear she's really on the ball (she's new and has a great reputation). Should the student and her mom ask the guidance counselor to look at her list of colleges and give feedback? (For those who don't know, I'm a homeschool mom and did a good job with my homeschooled son, but am out of my league a bit with regards to traditional transcripts, gpa, etc)

This student has only one AP class before this year and is taking one this year, but has mostly As in her coursework, with a gpa of 3.878.

I do know I looked at formulas for eligibility and she looks good to go, but it's important for all of us to have realistic expectations.

Thing is, from what I could see on CC from last season's UC admissions (didn't look into the CSU stats), there seemed to be some pretty arbitrary decisions: kids with higher stats getting rejected and kids with lower stats getting accepted. So, I have encouraged her, and her parents agree, as long as she's filling out the two apps, she should throw in maybe one or two extras.

[sbjdorlo]

Ok, looking at the link shrinkwrap sent, CaliforniaColleges.edu, why on earth is CSU San Bernadino the most selective with the highest enrollment rate?

[GladGradDad]

There are always some seemingly arbitrary decisions where at a particular campus some higher scoring students are rejected and lower scoring ones accepted. Part of that is the holistic effect of giving 'points' for things outside of the pure scores including things like single parent family, first gen, economic level, sports stars, particular other skills and backgrounds they're looking for to fill out the class.

But some of this a student can't do much about (single parent, first gen, etc.) so they should focus on what they can do something about such as getting the best grades they can, having some ECs that might look attractive, and taking more rigorous courses rather than mostly the easier courses.

Also - for the UC admissions, it's just about as easy to apply to multiple (or all) UCs as one since it's just checking more boxes on the app (and paying more money - an app fee per checkbox). It's sometimes useful to check multiple boxes to ensure admission into an acceptable (to the individual) campus. The app cost will usually pale in comparison to the actual college cost.

Another point - CSUs are less expensive per year than UCs. However, some people say it may be generally more difficult to complete all the coursework within a particular timeframe (like 4 years) on some CSU campuses vs UC campuses due to availability of classes. I don't know if this is still an issue because I know some CSU campuses (such as SDSU) have taken steps to resolve the issue.

[sbjdorlo]

So would you say many/most applicants check most boxes and just suck up the app fees? CSU fees are reasonable; UCs are getting up there.

[ucbalumnus]

Originally Posted by sbjdorlo

why on earth is CSU San Bernadino the most selective with the highest enrollment rate?

Some low selectivity CSUs like San Bernardino and East Bay have low admissions rates; it appears that many applicants do not complete their applications, or are at the margin of CSU baseline eligibility and do not make the needed SAT or ACT score to even reach CSU baseline eligibility.

While CSU East Bay and UC Berkeley both have admissions rates of 22% according to some sources, no one would think that it is as difficult to get into the unimpacted CSU East Bay (where CSU baseline eligibility gets in) as it is to get into UC Berkeley.

[ellemenope]

Biggest thing to know about UC applications is that the deadline is REALLY early and the app is only done online. And don't wait until the last day to submit the application. The servers invariably crash.

Best things about the UC app--no GC or teacher recommendations, no transcript requirement until you graduate from high school.

[Shrinkrap]

If you look at my link for UCLA , they list a "fully weighted" GPA. And for class of 2011, Cal Poly Pomona had a supplement that was longer than SLO's! Could have been just for engineering.

[coolweather]

UC Requirements:

1. Academic requirement: subjects A-G

University of California - a-g Guide

2. College approved courses:

https://doorways.ucop.edu/list/app/home?execution=e2s1

3. SAT subject tests:

University of California - SAT Subject Tests

4. Letter of recommendation may be needed for Regents Scholarships

University of California - Applying for scholarships

[GladGradDad]

So would you say many/most applicants check most boxes and just suck up the app fees?

I don't know what most people do but I assume that most would check multiple boxes at least, possibly approaching it from a safety/match/reach perspective as far as admission likelihood since some of the UCs are more selective than others. Of course, if there's no way the person would want to go to a particular one then there's no point in selecting it.

[mamita]

Also from CA here. Though as luck would have it my kids did not end up at a UC or CSU, but both applied to some of these schools. The CSUs (except Cal Poly SLO) do not have anywhere to list ECs--at all; the process is entirely numbers driven, as stated above. CSU mentor website steps one through it. (I found it a little annoying that one needed to reenter most of the information school by school, but all-in-all, easy apps for the student to complete (and in my case, for the parent to double-check.)) The UC app is more like the application for private colleges, with the exception that teacher GC recommendations are not required. Each UC decides its own "formula." I would agree to apply (pay for) apps to as many of these as the student might care to attend, since as is stated above, the application cost pales with the cost of college. I know a student who, for instance, did not get into Cal Poly SLO or any of the UCs except--wait for it-- UC Berkeley. For some reason, his application was a good fit there. He is also from a Bay ARea location from a demanding high school, so perhaps the familiarity with the high school put the (non 4.0) GPA in context. At any rate, who knows, which is why applying sometimes even to that reach UC might be worth the extra application. The year my older D was applying, it was interesting to see who out of her cohort got into UCLA, who to Berkeley, which ones to both, as well as UCSD, Davis and so forth. Many times, she knew these very good friends' gpas and SAT scores, and EC profile. It made me think that the essays must be critical, because it was impossible to predict!! Best of luck to the OP!

[Shrinkrap]

Mamita, my son applied to Cal Poly Pomona class of 2011, and there was a supplement with a place for EC's an essay, and a few other questions if I recall correctly. I might have a copy somewhere if someone would like to see it. Other kids here onCC mentioned it that year, so I dnt think it was just him. . Was that only his year? Was that only school of engineering? For what it's worth, I think it made a difference. And neither of my kids ended spat UC's or CSU's either.

[bluebayou]

The UCs calculate a UC GPA based on capped weighted grades (5 point scale for weighted, 4 point scale for non-weighted) in particular UC eligible courses and then that GPA is what they use in admissions.

In a word: eligibility. In other words, the purpose of the 'UC gpa' is to establish eligibility for admissions to UC (and to Cal State). If an applicant is below the weighted, capped, gpa (+test score) threshold, that applicant is ineligible to apply. (Or if one applies with a sub-threshold minimum gpa (+test score), its an auto-reject by the computer in Oakland. And this likely explains the non-100% acceptance rate at Merced.)

Application readers see all computer-calculated gpa's: weighted-capped, weighted-ucapped, and unweighted. (App readers also see a class 'ranking' from all students who apply from that HS to a UC that year.) How the reader uses all of the info, however......