My S21 had three friends that all did one year at CC and then successfully transferred to UC’s (UCLA, UCLA, UCD). They did have significant dual enrollment credits. You may also be able to use CLEP tests to bridge any gaps.
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UC does not accept CLEP, according to Transfer credit practices
CSU accepts CLEP, according to College Level Examination Program (CLEP) | CSU . Campus policies on subject credit may vary.
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The only CA public school our son got into was SJSU. He was rejected by UCLA, UCSD, SDSU, and SLO. He has high stats, but it didn’t seem to help him any. Luckily he got into a few other schools, each with a scholarship that makes the costs somewhat manageable. But it is frustrating that so many of our public schools are essentially unattainable. I mean, are we forgetting about the purpose of public education in the first place? And I won’t even go into the notion that you can get into a school, spend up to 2 years there and then may not be able to study what you want to study (e.g. impacted majors).
The other side of the coin is that UCSD received nearly 175K applications, the most of any school in the country. I can understand it can be hard to “pick” the “best” students, but the schools need to get out ahead of this and make it clear that admission to most UCs and many CSUs will essentially be “luck of the draw” and that students should plan accordingly. At least that way, students will understand what they are up against when they prepare their applications.
Oddly enough, given this situation, I actually think the only “fair” way of deciding admissions is to use a lottery system for all students who meet a certain objective threshold. I mean, how can admissions staffs give serious consideration to 175K applications??? Without implementing some kind of lottery system, I can’t imagine how hard it will be for students to get into these schools 10 years from now.
The college advisor we hired told us that she has several clients who did not get into any of the UCs or CSUs that they applied to. So take solace in knowing that your daughter is not alone and that her results are in no way reflective of her achievements and qualification to be a student at all of these schools.
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You should also check Arizona State University. I believe they have a May 1 deadline for application. Maybe she’ll like it better than Univ. of Arizona?
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The common theme of these UC / CSU shut-out posts is that, out of 32 campuses (9 UC and 23 CSU), the application lists only seem to a subset of 6 UCs (not UCSC, UCR, UCM) and maybe 4 CSUs (CPSLO, SDSU, CPP, SJSU for CS/engineering/animation/pre-nursing). Application lists restricted to the 10 or so most popular campuses are riskier than those which include more likely and safety campuses among the other 22 or so campuses.
Regarding impacted or highly competitive majors, it is true that nursing or pre-nursing is highly competitive wherever it is offered, but many other majors, including CS and engineering majors, can be found at campuses where they are not more competitive than the campus (e.g. UC Merced, CSU Chico).
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Just a correction:
UCLA had the most UC applicants for Fall 2024 which includes Freshman and Transfers at 173,400 while UCSD came in 2nd with 156,906.
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I did a quick scan of the WUE schools that might still be possible. UNR was on the list and is a school my daughter would have seriously considered if it had her major.
Although the WUE site below UNR is early April, the UNR site states June 1st.
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As noted by @ucbalmunus that the students are not only applying to the same set of UC/CSU campuses but also the same set of majors.
These are the most applied majors across the UC/CSU systems:
Nursing
Psychology
Computer Science
Mechanical Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Biological Sciences
Business
Economics
Political Science
Many if not most are Impacted/Capped/Selective majors. UCSB stated at the UC Counselor conference that 10% of the Freshman applicants selected CS as the primary major and 52% of the applications were for 6 of the 9 majors listed above.
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If there’s till time for ASU Barrett, it would be a solid substitute because Barrett is one of the top Honors Colleges in the country. Lots of perks and great curriculum.
Cal Poly Humboldt is still taking applications
Commonapp would allow you to see universities in CA+PNW+Southwest that are still accepting apps (including, when relevant, Honors colleges, as those would ensure she has a smaller cohort of peers).
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My daughter got off the waitlist for UCSD last year so it happens. I feel so bad for you guys. You were us last year. She ultimately decided to go to the local cc to transfer in to USC for fall 2024 and is waiting on her results now. Almost feels like round two. With that being said, your child will ultimately end up where she will be happy and if not, transferring is not a bad option. It’s depressing that lately even with high stats, UCs are always a crapshoot. Sending you a virtual hug. I totally relate to what you guys are going through. Both my husband and I are cal alums and none of our kids will be attending the school. Sending you all the luck!
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I (a non-californian) see this very differently. California’s UC schools take up 5 of the top 10 public university spots in the country (and two of the top 10 schools including privates). That means California residents have access to half of the entire country’s top 10 public schools. Even the lowest-ranked UCs (UCSC, UCM and UCR) are in the top 30 and outrank most state’s flagship.
High stats students from other states might, if they are very lucky, have one top 20 public school (Michigan, NC, FL, TX, or Virginia). The rest of the high-stats kids in the country don’t have the suite of public school options CA kids have. Not even close.
There are a lot of colleges in the Cal State system that are just as good if not better than the Flagship options for high-stats kids in other states, and relatively easier to get into because everyone is gunning for the UCs.
California in-state students are lucky, in my opinion, not victims.
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I have thought a lot about this possible scenario with my own D24. She wanted a college town vibe with a social life that would give her a balance between work and play. If she didn’t get into any in state publics on her list, one of our plans was to look into Santa Barbara city college. You can live in “dorms” where ucsb students also live. You can use the ucsb gym with a membership. You can go to ucsb social events in IV, study in the campus library etc. we know kids who are very happy doing this and plan to transfer to ucsb.
I do think D24 would have been more excited about this option than at a commuter vibe csu.
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Do you know if your daughter’s UC application indicated that she is ELC? If so, she may be admitted to UC Merced. While I know it isn’t her first choice, I encourage you (and her) to keep an open mind.
You might find this thread helpful.
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Yes she is ELC.
She actually just received an email today granting her acceptance to UC Merced. But she’s not interested. I’m sure it has a lot going for it, but it’s in the middle of nowhere
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She would need special consideration to apply to ASU Barrett but it’s worth a try sharibg her stats&accomplishments
- ASU Tempe - Natalie Lang at barrettadmissions@asu.edu
barrettadmissions@asu.edu
Tempe Community | Barrett, The Honors College | ASU
WWU is still accepting apps, depending on major; not sure WUE rates are still available.
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San Luis Obispo has a similar setup. S21’s best friend went to Cuesta, lived in a private dorm with many slo freshman, played on the cal poly club spikeball team (including lots of travel) and has had a wonderful college experience.
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Is it safe to assume we should hear about WL in May/June… given the FAFSA FIASCO?!
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That’s what I would assume.
FYI, I have a friend on the board of the UC Regents and she told me there’s a good chance the UC’s are going to push their SIR date to June 1, so if that happens then more waiting.
The gov’t really messed up with the FAFSA stuff. All good intentions but what a rocky roll out.
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Since the UC’s have not posted FA packages for admitted students yet, many are not willing to commit until they are ready.
In general, most schools do not go to their waitlists until after the SIR deadline so after May 15. Some schools will post the admits in waves since they are given usually 5-7 days to accept or decline so depending upon how many accept the offer, the decisions could go well into the summer.
Here are the dates for the UC waitlists from 2022 and 2023:
Waitlist Freshman
UCB:
2022: Few admits starting May 11 with trickles of admits until July 7 when the waitlist was closed.
2023: Several Engineering admits and a few L&S May 8. College of Chemistry Chem Eng, Unspecified Eng, Architecture May 23. Few Econ admits June 20. Admits on July 5 L&S, COE and CNR. A few alternate major admits noted. Denials posted on July 21. Rare admits July 24.
UCLA:
2022: Trickles of admits starting April 30. Waitlist closed on August 19.
2023: Rare waitlist admits on April 21, 2023, April 28, 2023, April 29 & 30. May 6 small wave of admits including OOS, In-state and International. More admits May 25, June 16, June 30. Some Denials posted July 15. Rare admit July 29.
UCSD:
2022: Admits May 9 and May 18. Some rejections May 23. Short list with trickles of admits till May 17. Final rejections on June 18-30.
2023: Wave of admits including some capped majors such as DS/Undeclared Engineering and EE on May 10. Admits May 22. Few admits June 7. Some students denied from the waitlist June 12. More denials on June 30.
UCSB:
2022: Admits starting May 2- May 17. Waitlist closed June 10.
2023: Rare waitlist admit Wed April 19, 2023. Few admits posted on Tuesday May 2,2023 and May 3 In-state and OOS. Admits on May 9, May 22, June 9, June 22. Denials June 23.
UCI:
2022: 1st wave April 19, 2nd wave April 24, trickle of admits June 6, June 17. Waitlist closed July 9.
2023: April 19, 2023 few waitlist admits. Few International along with IS admits on May 2, 2023. Small wave May 11 and May 18. UCI denials on June 30.
UCD:
2022: 1 wave on May 5. Closed on June 10. 2022.
2023: Admits April 18, May 9, May 23, June 1. Denials on June 21 and 28.
UCSC:
2022: Few admits on May 19, some denials on June 9 and waitlist closed on June 18. 2022.
2023: Small number of admits on Monday April 24, 2023. Rare admit May 3. More admits on Friday May 5. Few admits May 18 and June 6. Few admits around June 18 including CS. Admits on June 30 but for Winter quarter (appears to be a new option for Freshman admits).
UCR:
2022: Waitlist admits starting May 12. Some waitlisted students were offered open majors (not their 1st or alternate choice) August 2. Waitlist closed later after August 10.
2023: Some ELC eligible students referred to UCR (not usual for ELC referrals) around April 27. Admits on May 16, May 31, June 1. June 16, some CS majors offered Materials engineering major (not their alternate). Wait list closed July 27.
UCM: No waitlist
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Makes it tough for Berkeley and Merced that start a month before the other UCs.
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