I am a little confused with how the 9% is reviewed. Is it top 9% of HS or 9% of UC applicants? My S makes the 9% when we plug in the numbers in the UC site but may not make the 9% of his HS since he is in a very small and super competitive HS.
Thank you in advance for your responses.
it’s either. But all either gets you is a shot at UC Merced.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/california-residents/index.html
@bluebayou Thank you! it makes sense now. 
copied from link above:
If you’re in the top 9 percent of California high school graduates and aren’t admitted to any of the UC campuses you apply to, you’ll be offered a spot at another campus if space is available. We use a formula — called an admissions index —to determine if you fall in that group.
How will I know if I’m in the top 9%?
You can use the calculator on the right to estimate if you’re in the top 9% of California high school graduates.
The calculator uses your UC grade point average (GPA) – which you can determine in the instructions below – and your exam scores. We convert your exam scores to a UC score, and then figure out if you’re in the top 9% using a formula (if you want to learn more about how we calculate the UC score and the top 9%, see our admissions index instructions).
Remember, this is just an estimate, which means that it does not guarantee that you’ll be in the top 9% when you apply.
How to calculate your UC GPA
- Convert your grades to grade points.
Convert the grades earned in all “a-g” courses completed between summer after 9th grade through summer after 11th grade to grade points: A=4 points, B=3 points, C=2 points, D=1 points. (Pluses and minuses don’t count.) If you need to see which of your classes count as “a-g” courses, see your high school’s “a-g” course list.
- Give yourself an extra point for each semester of a UC honors-level course, with a maximum of 8 points between 10th and 11th grades.
For 10th grade, you cannot use more than 4 honors points.
Grades of D or F in an honors course do not earn an extra point.
Classes taken during the summer after 9th grade count as 10th grade; classes in summer after 10th grade count as 10th grade; classes in summer after 11th grade count as 11th grade.
Honors courses are Advanced Placement courses, International Baccalaureate Higher Level and designated Standard Level courses, UC-transferable college courses and UC-certified honors courses that appear on your school’s course list.
3. Add up all the points to find out your total grade points.
- Divide your total grade points by the number of grades earned in courses taken between the summer after 9th grade though summer after 11th grade.
This is your UC GPA (for example: 3.57). Do not round up or down.
Note that top 9% in HS is based on comparing your UC recalculated GPA to a recent previous class’s top 9% benchmark. Your current class rank from your HS is not used.
Here’s more detail about the ELC (“local context”) determination:
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/california-residents/local-path/index.html
I think the important thing to understand is that it is a statistical determination tied to a specific set of grades, in particular course, not something tied to actual class rank. So it is very possible that the “top 9%” could include students who have an in-school class rank that is lower than that, or exclude some students who are ranked higher. That’s partly because only UC-approved coursework from 10th & 11th grade is included in the calculation - while an individual student’s GPA and high school rank at the end of 11th grade would potentially include more classes and grades from 9th grade as well.
So it might help for you to think of it as a qualification that your son meets if his GPA is at a level that “on average” has historically been top 9%.
The statewide context top 9% – described here - http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/california-residents/admissions-index/index.html – is also factoring in test scores, so it can get pretty far afield from class rank. A B student with high scores might come out ahead of an A student with weaker scores. So again, it really is a calculation based on whether the students Academic Index falls in the top 9% based on historical data.
You can see at http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/california-residents/admissions-index/instructions.html (section 4) that these academic index numbers have already been determined – it is not something that would be directly impacted by the actual grades and test scores of the 2019 applicant pool. So really, in that context the “top 9%” part is something that is important to the state in predicting and controlling enrollment – for applicants it’s easier to just focus on the specific cutoff numbers.
I’d also add that historically there was a time that the ELC (local) status conferred a very significant admission advantage over statewide status – but I don’t think that it carries the same weight these days. At the time that it was more advantageous, it was limited to top 4% at the high school, and there were some campuses that essentially guaranteed admission to those students.
@calmom Thank you so much for the great and detailed explanation! I really appreciate it.