<p>In California there is a program, called ELC, whereas the top 4% at each CA high school are guaranteed a spot at one of UC’s undergraduate campuses.</p>
<p>The letter we received gives the caveat that the spot might not necessarily at their first-choice campus or even to a campus to which they applied</p>
<p>Nothing is stated about major. </p>
<p>Can I assume with Musical Theater as our major will we get in to UCLA or UCI ??</p>
<p>We are in CA and I have heard the same thing as you, except that the schools that are not a guarantee regardless of your major are UC Berkley, UCLA and UC San Diego.</p>
<p>They do not do it by major. What the ELC system is, is that they assign one UC each year to be the ELC school. So this year it was UC Davis (meaning ELC students were notified in like january that they were automatically accepted to Davis). The year before i think it was Santa Barbara. So actually it looks like the coming year there is a great chance that it will be UCI because Davis, Santa Barbara, and Irvine are all on the same level ranking wise. But there is no guaruntee. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>If I interpet what you wrote correctly, Major has no bearing. Thus if my child graduated last year she would have been accepted to Davis, which would have been useless for her as they have no Musical Theater program there.</p>
<p>SO, if next year is UCI, all the ELU program does is guarantee she passes the academic acceptance, but not the Theater program acceptance ???</p>
<p>What is the purpose of this program ??? It seems to me that with her grades she would be academically accepted at any of the UC schools any way.</p>
<p>I guess I got excited about the ELU notification when it turns out to be not helpful at all.</p>
<p>Yes, if it is UCI this year then she will be automatically accepted there. And you don’t have to audition for the drama major there. You just have to declare drama/theater as your major and you are in if you get accepted academically. If she wants to go for musical theater, they hold auditions at the beginning of every quarter for the advanced musical theater series classes. And every quarter they also hold auditions for their BFA program for students who have completed a certain number of those musical theater classes. It does sound like your daughter would get accepted to UCI regardless of whether it is the ELC school or not. </p>
<p>UCLA is different in that you have to declare that you want to be a musical theater or acting major and then audition for it in january in order to be accepted into the major at all. The odds of getting into UCLA MT is very slim because they only accept about 12-16 total a year. Unfortunately, even if she qualifies for UCLA academically (which is also extremely hard) if she states that she wants to be a musical theater of drama major then she will not be accepted unless she is one of the 12-16 chosen for MT or drama. </p>
<p>Hope that all made sense. I am starting at UCI as a drama major in the fall and am going to audition for the advanced musical theater class when i get there. So if you have any questions, you can ask me. :)</p>
<p>The purpose of the program is that the UC’s want to recognize the top 4% of students by rewarding them with an automatic acceptance, when really they probably would have gotten in anyways. Really it is more of just an ego boost for the ELC students because they get accepted somewhere early and get tje reassurance that they will have a spot at a UC no matter what.</p>
<p>If a student who qualifies for ELC thinks he/she is a “shoo in” to UCLA and Berkeley and only applies to those, then ELC provides a fall back school to him/her when rejected by the other two! Let’s face it, how many would think to make UC Merced their safety school?</p>
<p>My son was in the ELC program. He applied to many UC’s. He did not get accepted to UC Berkeley or UCLA. But before he got his acceptances to the rest UC Irvine and UC Davis said that he was academically accepted into their schools, but not guaranteed a spot in certain departments. So your child could be accepted to a UC academically, but declined in their major and asked to choose a different major.</p>
<p>Just a clarification on ELC. It doesn’t guaranty a spot in any department. Its intent is somewhat different.</p>
<p>ELC isn’t just an ego boost. It provides acceptance for students in the top 4 % of their high schools, even when their highschools are inner-city, troubled high schools. Often the top students at these schools do NOT have the SATs to get in to UC, and their grades, though very good, are not reflective of the same academics as some of the higher ranking schools. Nevertheless, these students have performed at the top of the challenge offered, and have likely surmounted some incredible non-school challenges just to stay in school and finish in the top 4 %. </p>
<p>So, while this may not be much of a benefit to some of the high-achieving theater prospects (who may be able to get in on academics anyway, and still face the daunting limitations of the audition-based programs) the fact that these other students can go to the ELC UC of that year is a great opportunity for those who need it.</p>
<p>I was told by the UC David admission perons on this board that UC Davis this year is guaranteeing admission to ELC students. I don’t think it’s a rolling school thing. I think its an individual school policy.</p>
<p>My experience…DD was ELC in 2007. (She also scored high on her SATs, attended an inner city school and was #1 in her class).She was offered ELC guaranteed admission to: UC Davis, Irvine, Santa Barbara, Merced and Riverside. She did not get an ELC letter from Santa Cruz, Cal or UCLA. She applied as theatre major to: Davis-accepted, Irvine-accepted, UCLA-accepted-but NOT as a theatre major-she auditioned and was not accepted-but was accepted into their honors program as undeclared, and as a poli sci major at Cal-and was accepted. The ELC program was a god-send-as they were her true safeties. DD was REALLY impressed with the theatre program at Irvine-almost accepted their offer as a result. I hope this information helps you.G’luck!</p>
<p>Hmmm…we would love if Davis was the guaranteed school for Fall of 2010. Do they only have ONE school designated for ELC guarantee per year? Or are there more? I had heard that the UCs like Berkeley, UCLA and UCSD aren’t automatically guaranteed…however others like UCR, Merced, UCSC and maybe Davis are. </p>
<p>Also, will we expect something in the snail mail indicating my daughter is ELC? A special application she should use when applying to the UCs?</p>
<p>In the past it’s been more than one, but who know’s now?</p>
<p>“Also, will we expect something in the snail mail indicating my daughter is ELC? A special application she should use when applying to the UCs?”</p>