This is a long “pay it forward” post because I appreciate all that others have posted in years past.
We went to the Chancellor’s Reception today at the Westin in Los Angeles. The invite said to check in at noon with the program beginning at 1 pm. It was very crowded. They had seating for 1500 people with over 1000 in attendance.
The director of admissions spoke first and announced that they received a record breaking 82,000 undergraduate applications and 45% of the applicants had GPAs of 4.0 or above. She said that they read 82,000 personal insight questions x 4 and read each two times! She said that they are looking for students who make UCSB stand out and for students who make UCSB rankings climb. They are looking for student leaders for their over 500 student led organizations. They are looking for change agents and future scholars.
She said that the students in the audience represent the top 15% of their applicants. Regents scholars had red ribbons attached to their name tags. The director of admissions said that Regents scholars represent the top 2% of applicants. She then asked the students to stand and everyone got excited and started applauding. When she announced that everyone was accepted, there wasn’t as much excitement as I expected so I suppose most people knew. Either way, after that, every person we met said “Congratulations!” so it made you feel good. She ended with “We think you have what it takes to make our campus a better place.”
Next she introduced Chancellor Yang. He is the best marketing tool that UCSB has (except for the California coast line). He was so warm, natural and sincere. He had a great sense of humor and really seemed to care about the students and his school.
Chancellor Yang announced that there were 122 volunteers - faculty, alumni, deans and students - who were there to provide us with information about UCSB. There were UCSB students there representing just about every major to socialize and answer questions from new admittees. He said several times that he realized that everyone has heard from other schools and that he knew we had other choices as well.
He spoke about UCSB being part of AAU (http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012707/ucsb-chancellor-henry-yang-chair-association-american-universities), having 6 noble laureates and being ranked #8 in US News for National Public Universities.
He distinguished the difference between UCSB and some of the other schools we might be considering in that UCSB gives a high priority to undergraduate education. He (Chancellor Yang) teaches an undergrad course every year and his course will be offered online this year as well. He lives on campus near the students and he ended with “We know that you have choices and we hope that you consider being part of the UCSB happy family.”
Next was a video. For those who have gone to the admissions sessions at UCSB, it is the same video they show there. After the video, they had a panel of faculty and students answering questions that people submitted with their RSVP. The panel discussion ended just after 2 pm.
There was a 30-40 minute break where you could go to tables and learn about housing, financial aid, education abroad, ROTC, etc. Our experience was that it was way too crowded and too noisy to hear anything. They had someone dressed as a gaucho and Instagram frames for photos.
After the break, there were three “Academic Interest Workshops” Time wise - they went from 2:45 - 3:30 so, for future attendees, make sure you eat lunch before because many were hungry. They did have cookies and brownies but again, it was very crowded so difficult to get to the food. The three workshops were:
- Research and Creative Opportunities - Honors programs, creative arts projects and research opportunities
- Exploring Your Academic Options - Academic advising options, summer programs and using your resources to make the campus feel smaller.
- Opportunities Outside the Classroom - Education abroad, internships, pre-professional programs, leadership and engaging in student organizations.
We attended #3. The panel was John Park - a professor of Asian American studies, the Dean of Student Life, the religious studies prof in charge of Education Abroad and three students. There was lots of good insight and lots of good perspective. They again emphasized that they focus on the undergraduate experience. They have more opportunities for undergraduate research. They asked us to look for what our exit plan is after college. They asked us to think about where we would have opportunities to find our passion.
The students brought up the fact that school always comes first. Even though they are part of clubs, have jobs, internships, etc. you can’t do anything on campus if you are not a student. Being a student is a priority and everyone knows that. They also said that there is value in finding out that you don’t like something. Being on the quarter system, you can try a class or join a club or try a different opportunity and realize that it isn’t something you like. There is value in learning that because you can only find your passion if you try things you don’t like and try things that you do.
Hope this is helpful for future applicants and attendees.
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