Loomis Chaffee Notes on Applying to the University of California

Loomis Chaffee Notes on Applying to the University of California The UC application goes live on Aug. 1 and is due by Nov. 30

From May to August, the UCs offer webinars three times a week on filling out the UC application.

Have the following available when you apply:  Unofficial copy of your transcript (mailed home in June)  High school profile (available as a .pdf on College Guidance page of LC website or you can email your counselor for an electronic version)  Final draft of your four required personal insight questions  Test scores: ACT w/writing, SAT scores, subject tests (not required, but can help you, especially in math/science areas; they are considered “adding value” to your academic index), AP, TOEFL scores.  Social Security number if you have one  Credit card to pay your application fee

The UC’s do not use recommendations or transcripts (see below for Berkeley exception on recs), so it is up to YOU to show them your rigor of coursework. If a class is listed as “Advanced,” “CL,” or “AP” on your transcript, make sure you put it in accurately! In the “Academic History” section you can give information regarding a specific course at Loomis (i.e. “English III Advanced Seminar is the highest level of junior English offered and prepares students for the AP English Language exam) or anything you want to explain about your record (i.e. “Loomis Chaffee does not offer AP Biology therefore our highest level of biology is Biology II Advanced courses”). If you have repeated a grade, put in your LC grades and then note the repeat year in the “Additional Info” section. You should note that College Level (CL/AP) classes are the highest level offered.

The UC’s use only 10th and 11th grade UC-ELIGIBLE courses to compute a GPA which is weighted and uncapped; they look at senior year courses but not grades; students can put in 7/8 grade math courses . Note arts courses are included in the GPA scale for the UCs. A 3.4 on the UC scale is required for admission for out of state and international students. Students who are CA residents attending Loomis Chaffee are required to have a 3.0 on the UC scale. The academic criteria always trumps the extracurricular and/or personal statement which tends to carry less weight.

The UC’s do not superscore the SAT or ACT. They consider the results from the highest sitting only. Only send test scores to one campus; they will share with others in the system. Minimum TOEFL is 80 unless a student has studied at least 3 yrs in an English-speaking high school. The UCs will accept testing as late as December. They put more weight on the writing section than other schools.

Those applying to a UC for engineering should indicate a potential engineering major. This is helpful not only for admission (easier to get in if you indicate an area of interest), but also for ensuring students will get priority on class registration for courses needed to fulfill the potential major. Do not apply engineering/undeclared. It is also highly recommended that you select a second (and, depending on the campus’s requirements, a third) potential major to be considered for admission.

The UC’s do not accept ANY supplemental material (transcripts, arts supplements, recs). The one exception to this is UC/Berkeley, which as of 2015 may request recommendations from specific applicants as a part of their holistic review. You should not send any recs to Berkeley unless asked.

The Regents Scholarship, the highest merit award for the UCs ($10,000/yr), is given based only on GPA and test scores. Note that every transcript for every accepted and enrolling student goes through a final verification process to ensure the student reported accurately and that the senior year performance is commensurate with predictions. Admission is rescinded fairly routinely for dishonesty on the application and/or poor senior year performance.

Notes on specific campus review:

UC/Berkeley : With UCLA, the most selective of the UCs; admits by college AND by major. Most difficult majors are in the colleges of engineering, particularly engineering/undeclared. Practices “holistic” review meaning they look at everything submitted, including personal statements, to make decisions (see note above regarding new rec review policy). Not all UCs practice holistic review. There is not a separate review for international students at UC/Berkeley. All out of state candidates are read together, regardless of out of state home address. They get reviewed separately from in-state candidates. Berkeley has a great section on their website on explaining residency for those that have questions.

UCLA: With 87,000 applications in 2014, the most applications of any UC and as selective as Berkeley. Also practices holistic review. Does not admit by major in the College of Arts and Sciences. There is a separate review for international/mixed records students at UCLA; otherwise the rest of the pool is distributed randomly. Personal statement takes on more importance as UCLA has gotten more selective.

For both UC/Berkeley and UCLA, students need to have much higher than 3.4 (out of state) or 3.0 (in state) minimum UC GPA requirement to gain admission.

UCSD: practices holistic review. Does not admit by major or by residential college. 74,000 applications in 2014 (3rd after UCLA and Berkeley). Average SATs: 650/700/670; 31 ACT.

UCSB: does not practice holistic review but moving in that direction; 4th most competitive of the UCs; only one read (two at the more selective UCs); admits are based on clear selection index based primarily on transcript and testing. Admit rate just about 50% this year.

Selectivity ranking, generally speaking, of other UCs: UC Davis UC Irvine UC Santa Cruz UC Riverside UC Merced

Tips on Crafting Effective Personal Insight Questions (choose four of eight)  The statement is considered only for content, not for quality of writing.  “The Personal Insight Questions are your personal interview;” the purpose is to inform the college about your life, your interests and your extracurricular achievements. Use “I” statements: “I believe,” “I’ve accomplished,” “I went to…” etc.  Important to give your accomplishments context (i.e. one of 24 peer counselors chosen from over 100 applicants; one of 12 recipients of the Founder’s Prize)  “After we read your personal insight questions, we will ask the question, ‘what do we know about this individual?’ If we have learned very little about you, your statements were not successful.”  Demonstrated interest in the major and/or sustained achievement, especially in math and science, is an important consideration for applicants to Berkeley’s colleges of engineering and chemistry and therefore should be addressed in the insight questions.