UC Unweighted GPA: 3.77
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 4.14
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 4.41
ELC (top 9% CA HS): Yes
Comments about course load (including senior year): High Rigor
Number of a-g courses taken 9-12th : 42 semesters
Number of UC approved Honors (CA HS’s only)/AP/IB or DE classes: 28 semesters (4s on all APs so far)
Local/Non-local CA resident/OOS/International: SoCal - top 2% rated public HS
ECs, work experience, essays, volunteer activities: average to above average.
sorry to hear this, because I think it reflects another example of being hamstrung by the UC capped GPA which is decreased relative to the fully weighted GPA as a result of course rigor (a large # of classes, including rigorous classes) and a few B’s. Not to harp on this, but it seems to be a real thing, and I really think ‘holistic review’ is sometimes applied selectively or non-holistically, when it comes to looking at UC capped vs course rigor.
My son applied for CS (in College of Engineering) and chose no alternate major and he got accepted as Undeclared (in College of Letters and Sciences). I checked UCSB faq and it says:
I would think that before SIR deadline of May 1, if a CS spot opens up, then my son would be considered for the spot. But by May 1, we would need to commit in order to continue to wait for that spot. If none opens up, then the risk is he would be forced to choose a major in College of Letters and Sciences, which is not what he wants. So taking that risk is something we would need to think about.
By the way, he wants to do software and not hardware so he chose Computer Science and not Computer Engineering.
Switching from CE to CS is trivially easy at UCSB. EE is even less competitive, probably on par with L&S.
All you need to take to switch from CE/EE to CS is CMPSC 16, 24 and 40; usually the challenge is getting those classes, but CEs and EEs have registration priority, so that’s no problem. If your son gets good grades in those classes he should be able to switch. I have a lot of friends who did this exact switch! Getting into the college of engineering is the hard part.
UCSB is one of the rare schools that allows you to switch majors before you even commit. They’ll take your admissions scores and compare them to the cutoffs for the major, and they’ll tell you if you can get in or not.
I am not really sure what to think about it. We were shocked that he got rejected from all these schools, the UCSB one was easier for him to accept after the jolt last week and he is excited for UCSC, and even if he had been accepted by the other schools, UCSC would have been in consideration. I think it is a good fit for him and the volleyball team has been recruiting him for the past year, so silly to say but not having tough choices to make has been some comfort for him.
Reflecting back and comparing to other students at his school, he wishes he had taken one level of math down in 10th-12th rather than the top math classes where he got 4 of the 5 Bs in his HS career. His uncapped would have stayed the same but his capped/UW would have risen to 4.32/3.95 from 4.14/3.77 with less effort and might have even allowed him to be focused more and raise the other B to an A. Hindsight is 20/20 but I doubt he was rewarded for the 4 semesters of high rigor math enough to offset the delta in metrics. Bs in those classes at his school were absolutely more challenging than an A in the next level math below. Ironiclly, taking these high level math classes is going to prepare him for college classes more than anything else he has done IMO.
Usually this is not an issue. I know UCSB technically says no housing guarantee but freshmen in my experience invariably get housing, even if they get off the waitlist. They usually save some of the housing stock for waitlisted students.
They’ll probably bring back the four year housing guarantee they had before when the new San Benito dorm gets built
Almost happened to me, didn’t get housing in the initial rounds of the housing lottery. Thankfully usually almost everyone gets off the housing waitlist, I did so in June.
Housing is bad only if you’re not on top of things. If your child wants to live with some friends in IV within biking distance of campus, they will be able to avoid all the housing worries. That’s what I’m doing right now for my third year.
Exactly!..although solace in knowing that he has an option he is excited about at UCSC, and that the math course rigor which likely affected broader UC chances will prepare him for college courses
My son just accepted to UCSB and wants to live on campus for at least two years.
It’s unlikely. Most students move into Isla Vista apartments after frosh year. UCLA over the past few decades has gone from a school that only had dorm space for 3,000 students to one that guarantees housing all 4 years. I hope that UCSB will follow a similar course but it won’t be in time for your son.
According to the campus profile at Campus Profile | Office of Budget & Planning there are 6,000 students living in residence halls on-campus. Since they enroll 5,000 frosh each year almost all the space goes to them. There is one way your son can stay in the halls a 2nd year, by becoming an RA. And he’ll live in the dorms for free to boot. If this is something he’d be interested in then have him call UCSB housing to find out how many apply and how many are accepted to get a sense of the odds.
The RA option is a great one, but seriously competitive, as you might imagine.
My son has yet to get a position as an RA.
Absolutely apply, but it can’t be counted upon as an option - have backups.
See the thread I started https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/backdoor-way-into-ucsb-2025-version If she can get to 45 transferable quarter units by the end of this summer (including classes at a CC and possibly self-studying for AP tests this May) then she would be eligible for the guaranteed transfer program after one year at a CC. She could go to SBCC as suggested in the thread and get almost all of the 4-year UCSB experience.
Kid accepted, Film. In-state public HS, Bay Area, top 9%. 3.95 UW/4.67 W. Don’t have all the details handy but lots of APs, Honors, Dual Enrollment and Concurrent Enrollment courses. His essays were really strong, told a cogent story. ECs were pretty good, and his long-term internship may have helped. Accepted to UCD, UCSD, UCSC, SLO, SDSU, SJSU and a few other Cal States so far. Did not apply to any privates. Waiting on UCLA and Cal.
Will be following the housing discussion with interest. UCSB is in his top three right now, along with UCD and UCSD.
Intended Major: Undeclared/Political Science (she can’t remember what she put)
UC Unweighted GPA: 3.90
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 4.3
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 4.6
ELC (top 9% CA HS): No - high performing school
Comments about course load (including senior year): High Rigor
Number of a-g courses taken 9-12th : 40 semesters
Number of UC approved Honors (CA HS’s only)/AP/IB or DE classes: 26 semesters
Local/Non-local CA resident/OOS/International: SoCal local
ECs, work experience, essays, volunteer activities: average to above average.
