<p>@ Cayton, I would say a holistic review system would view EVERY aspect of a persons life. If someone has financial difficulties and has to work, so they can’t afford spending hours sitting around a student board room not doing anything, I don’t think they should be punished for it. At the same time if someone comes from a good finical background, especially if they are an international student (who pay more money to UCs than CA residents) and they do have the time to devote 100% effort to school work and school related activities, I don’t think they should be praised for it. But that is the way ‘holistic review’ works in practice and its very different from the idealized nation by 2016candles. If you look at enough people on a case-by-case basis you will see.</p>
<p>As for the great public service holistic process has done. Only 70% of freshman’s and 60% of trasnfers graduate in 4/2 years at Cal (per Calbro’s link) and that’s precisely because they are letting in more unqualified people with holistic review. On a final point, I think it’s really wrong that they pretend to look for the most qualified applicants but holistic review is designed precisely to allow less qualified people to attend. </p>