I have a high school freshman at a public California HS who aspires to get into a UC. I know how competitive the application process is because we recently went through it with her sibling. She is thriving at Davis now, but the app process and difficulty of getting in was a shock to our systems! It feels as if you have to make yourself as competitive as possible and then there becomes an element of lottery.
My HS kid has already taken summer classes through UC Scout after 7th and 8th grade, completing both semesters of Algebra 1 and Spanish 1. We did this to keep her study habits up over the summer and help increase her confidence in the subjects. If she takes classes next summer, we understand it will affect her gpa in the UC app process and she can also gain a-g credits.
I have combed through the threads here trying to weigh pros and cons of HS students taking classes at UC Scout versus a community college. It seems while the cost of Scout is higher, it also allows them to take AP classes and (hopefully) an AP exam. CC classes are less cost and allow for potential college credit, although the grade could factor into their future college transcript. I have also read that UCs may regard UC Scout as a privilege due to the cost and they tend to prefer students with less advantage/privilege. So which option is âbetterâ for a student trying to increase rigor?
I want to help her set herself up to be competitive over the next few years. I have looked at the UC acceptance data and her HS is average for some UCs and much lower for others. Her HS is small however is in an affluent community where over half of the senior class is applying to UCs. They also do not offer many honors and AP classes. There is one AP class (Art History) that is allowed sophomore year and they cannot all get it. Most are taken 11th and 12th grade.
Would really appreciate a conversation on how to help her plan early on. Thank you!
California Community Colleges are generally considered fairly good and classes taken through them will get the +1 GPA boost (as AP classes do). My daughter had a good experience with CC classes so Iâm personally a fan - especially because of the variety of classes available, so that she could explore different topics (philosophy, anthropology, sociology). And since they transfer, she started UC with several of her gen ed requirements completed. I am sure you can do similar with UC Scout and I admit I do not have direct experience with so can not do a direct comparison, but just wanted to say the Community College can be a good experience. (Just keep in mind that Community College classes become part of your college record and must be reported if you later apply to grad school, law school, med school - so you want to do well in them as they follow you beyond undergrad).
This is a ninth grader. This student can be competitive for college admissions without ever taking a summer courseâŠanywhere. She needs to take a rigorous course of study at her school, and do well. If she does, there will be many colleges where she will be a welcome addition.
I guess Iâm wondering why this student needs to take summer classes at all. The very vast majority of college applicants donât.
I understand the concern, especially if she saw what her sister went through. We have a college sophomore and high school senior so I know the struggle is real.
For the most part however, our kids did not take additional courses during high school. They took the hardest classes their schools offered (about 8-10 APâs junior/senior year), did sports and clubs after school, and had summer jobs and hung out with friends.
But the summer after junior year, both elected to take a summer course on a UC campus. It was a fantastic experience for them, because in doing so they took ownership of their future, and we definitely noticed the maturity that comes with entering a new environment. Most importantly, it helped them hone their interests, and got them excited about applying for college.
I think there is a different competitive advantage for students who have done a deep dive into areas of interest and explored options for extra-cirriculars that reflect that interest. I donât mean the usual robotics club or student government (not that thereâs anything wrong with those!) but something unique to them that sets them apart. Since the UCâs are mostly holistic, they want to see more than coursework done well. Helping your kid find their passion can go a long way.
We also helped our kids build a college list that expanded their horizons to include programs and schools beyond the UCâs where they could be happy. That took off a LOT of pressure.
Anecdotally, one kid got into almost every UC (including Cal) and the other is in the process of applyingâŠtbdâŠ
@islandmama1 thank you for this! Yes, I agree they have to take advantage of what is offered at their school first and foremost. I think these classes are also competitive to get into at her school because a lot of students are doing the same thing and the APs are limited.
They also need activities that they genuinely enjoy and can hopefully build upon or grow in. My daughter does have a job, plays two sports and recently joined Y&G. Hopefully she can identify a specific interest in the next couple years. Some kids just donât know what excites them yet. It seems like there is an added pressure to âbrandâ themselves as they try to stand out to admissions counselors from their peers.
Summer is a good time for her to explore new interests and take a class. Her school year is a bit too full with sports and activities. It seems as if community colleges offer more choices of classes than UC Scout. I am just not sure if one is preferred over the other by college admissions in general.
UC Scout courses look like regular and AP high school courses, which may be useful for a student at a high school with limited course offerings.
Taking a course at a community college while in high school has some benefits. One is that the student gets to experience what a college course is like and how it is different from the more supervised environment of high school courses before diving into college courses all at once when entering college as a college frosh. Another is the opportunity to take courses in areas generally not available in high school (e.g. philosophy, sociology, history other than general US or European, geography, geology, various literatures, architecture, business, engineering), which can allow exploration of possible majors for college. If the student is more advanced than AP level in some subject, the college courses may also be available to continue in that subject (e.g. math beyond single variable calculus, calculus based statistics or physics). However, a student considering law or medical school should be aware that college courses taken while in high school and the grades earned become part of the college record used when applying to law or medical school.
Agreed, it can take some time - but luckily sheâs only a freshman so she has plenty of time to figure out what interests her. Our son switched ideas several times before he found something he really loved the summer after sophomore year.
In our case we were âluckyâ in that both our kids ultimately expressed a deep interest in a particular subject, took a college course (and had ECâs) that specifically related, and then applied to those majors.
Youâve received great advice here with the pros and cons of Scout vs CC - Iâd say itâs just a matter of following her lead over the next couple of years, but you are definitely on the right track in terms of thinking about how to help her to optimize her chances.
Iâm currently a dual-enrollment student (HS taking some CC courses) and I can share what I know about CC courses. I am not familiar with UC Scout so I can only share what I know about community college courses. There is variety in what a student can explore and if your freshman finds something theyâre interested in majoring in than they can possibly cater their college coursework towards that which can be talked about in PIQâs. Itâs possible to build up from introductory science/math courses to more difficult ones as well for rigor. I did that with science and math classes. Make sure to stay on top of work as it is the college GPA but if it is introductory courses than the coursework shouldnât be too rigorous or on the lighter side. I find it easier than APâs and I know a decent portion of schools donât transfer APâs whilst they do CC courses. UCâs are holistic and I think either is good as it shows that a person is reaching out for things available beyond what their high school offers. If you do plan on doing CC courses, assist.org is especially useful for seeing how different courses transfer to UCâs (sometimes you need to do a sequence of courses for them to transfer), and ratemyprofessor too can save a students GPA.
