<p>Remember, the ELC is only for Californians because the UC’s and any other public-funded California school is meant to serve Californians. The ELC does not apply to out-of-state students. So, what I recommend is that you have your child or whoever you are helping out apply to the UC(s) of their choice, and then choose either UCR or UCSC as their safeties (or both). God forbid he or she gets rejected from every UC he or she applies to, he or she will be offered a spot to either UCR or UCM, even if he or she might not have applied to that school. However, I think UCR is not doing that anymore since it’s been getting more competitive just to get into UCR lately. Like others have said, worst-case scenario would involve being offered a spot at UC Merced.</p>