All the UC’s use 13 areas of criteria in their application review however each UC campus is free to determine how each criteria area is weighted, so some campuses may weight the PIQ’s more heavily than others. They consider this a Comprehensive/Holistic review since it is not just about the students Stats.
For UC Berkeley they call their Selection process Holistic but they emphasize the following areas from the 13 that all UC’s will consider during the application process:
We review students using a Holistic Review process. This means that we not only look at academic factors, but also non-academic factors. Using a broad concept of merit, readers employ the following criteria which carry no pre-assigned weights:
- The applicant’s full record of achievement in college preparatory work in high school, including the number and rigor of courses taken and grades earned in those courses.
- Personal qualities of the applicant, including leadership ability, character, motivation, insight, tenacity, initiative, originality, intellectual independence, responsibility, maturity, and demonstrated concern for others and for the community are considered.
- Likely contributions to the intellectual and cultural vitality of the campus. In addition to a broad range of intellectual interests and achievements, admission readers seek diversity in personal background and experience.
- Achievement in academic enrichment programs, including but not limited to those sponsored by the University of California. This criterion is measured by time and depth of participation, by the academic progress made by the applicant during that participation, and by the intellectual rigor of the particular program.
- Other evidence of achievement. This criterion recognizes exemplary, sustained achievement in any field of intellectual or creative endeavor; accomplishments in extracurricular activities such as the performing arts or athletics; leadership in school or community organizations; employment; and volunteer service.
- Race, ethnicity, gender, and religion are excluded from the criteria.
All achievements, both academic and nonacademic, are considered in the context of the opportunities an applicant has had, and the reader’s assessment is based on how fully the applicant has taken advantage of those opportunities. For an applicant who has faced any hardships or unusual circumstances, readers consider the maturity, determination and insight with which the applicant has responded to and/or overcome them. Readers also consider other contextual factors that bear directly upon the applicant’s achievement, including linguistic background, parental education level, and other indicators of support available in the home.
The review recognizes a wide range of talent and creativity that is not necessarily reflected in traditional measures of academic achievement but which, in the judgment of the reader, is a positive indicator of the student’s ability to succeed at Berkeley and beyond.
Here is UC Davis’s Freshman selection which does not go into as much detail as UCB’s selection criteria.
How your application is reviewed
During the selection process, UC Davis conducts a comprehensive review of every freshman application to ensure each applicant is assessed thoroughly and fairly.
We evaluate every application using 13 criteria that all UC campuses adhere to. We consider a broad range of factors, from traditional academics to extracurricular achievement and response to life challenges, but we’re looking beyond the numbers to find out who you really are!