Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

UC admission competition at all-time high
By Terri Hardy
SACRAMENTO BEE

SACRAMENTO - Parents and other elders who like to complain about how easy the younger generation has it these days, be warned: Steer clear of the topic of getting accepted to an elite University of California campus.

For a multitude of reasons, gaining admission to UC Berkeley or UCLA has never been more daunting for high school seniors -- and other UC campuses are fast becoming more exclusive as well.

Take Claire Morain, a senior at Davis High, one of the Sacramento region's top-performing schools. She's the kind of student it would seem every campus would fight over: 3.9 grade point average, sports editor of her school newspaper, middle blocker on a championship volleyball team -- and she speaks fluent French.

With that impressive record she got into the University of Southern California but can't afford the tuition. More depressing, she didn't get into her top pick, UCLA.

"I hate UCLA," said Morain. "But they got something like 45,000 applications. Thousands of students look exactly like me on paper -- I guess it's just the luck of the draw."

As universities send out those all-important acceptance letters, it's a time of high drama, a particularly hellish pressure cooker for would-be college freshmen who say the make-or-break rigors of competing for prestigious UC slots can be exhausting, demoralizing, even cruel.

"It's the next four years, it changes the rest of your life," said Annie Oleson-Wheeler, another Davis High senior rejected by some of her top-choice schools. "It was insane. I couldn't stop crying."

Here's what the students are facing: Every UC campus this year had a record number of applicants -- UCLA received more than any other university in the country. All the while, the admittance bar has been raised higher at many campuses. At Berkeley, for instance, the average grade point average of freshmen accepted for fall 2003 is a staggering 4.32.

Richard Black, Berkeley's assistant vice chancellor for admissions and enrollment, said he has never seen a more competitive year.

"UCLA and Berkeley have to turn down more than three out of every four students who apply," Black said. "Sometimes the difference between the students that are accepted and rejected is slight."

For several years, California colleges have been beset with a record student population boom, known as "Tidal Wave II." Students are guaranteed a spot somewhere in UC if they meet academic criteria, but their chances of getting into their first-choice campus have plummeted.

At the same time, UC regents threw a curve ball into the admissions system in 2001 by adopting a new way for campuses to select students from the pool of qualified candidates. Not only are grades and test scores important, but "comprehensive review" requires admissions officers to evaluate such intangibles as leadership, talent and hardship.

Campus officials say the result has been better-qualified, more well-rounded classes. But some counselors and students say the subjective elements have made the admissions process gut-wrenchingly uncertain and injected more intensity into an already pressurized situation.

"If you've got perfect grades and excellent test scores but no other activity, you're considered an underachiever," said Carol Curinga, a counselor at Davis High.

In the cutthroat world of comprehensive review, only the extraordinary might earn a student full points in these intangible categories. It's not enough to be a joiner; a student has to be captain or student body president. A seat in the orchestra might not impress; only first-chair on a statewide orchestra may do.

Then, beyond sheer resume-building, can the student show he has overcome significant obstacles or hardships?

Smart is standard, so it takes a lot to stand out academically. Berkeley's Black points to one successful applicant this year who had 60 units of college credit under his belt, including some math courses so advanced Black "hadn't the foggiest notion of what they were."

Other admittees included teenage film producers, school board members and a researcher of "ferro-fluid hardware designs," according to a campus news release.

As campuses grow more desirable, they accept a smaller percentage of their applicants because they expect more students will choose to accept those acceptances. The percentage rate of applicants accepted becomes a good indicator of a campus' popularity. UCLA and Berkeley are far more selective than the other UC campuses, hovering at just above 23 percent. UC San Diego, which is quickly becoming a top destination school, accepted 40 percent of its applicants.

Counselors say UC campuses in Santa Barbara, Davis and Santa Cruz are gaining in popularity. So, too, are California State University campuses, particularly in San Diego, Chico and San Luis Obispo.

Rigorous, specialized high school programs seem to smooth the way to a first-choice campus.

About 80 percent of the seniors graduating from the International Baccalaureate program at Mira Loma High School in Sacramento got accepted into their first-choice campus, said director Smokey Murphy. Many students in the honors program at Sacramento's McClatchy High School also were accepted into Berkeley and Ivy League schools.

"It just goes in waves; you never know what to look for," said McClatchy counselor Candy Koropp.

Students also employ other strategies. Seniors at Davis High suggest declaring a less-popular major on applications. "Don't put poly sci or psychology -- put botany or something," said Justin Denton, a future UC Davis student.

Nick Gills, a Davis High senior with a 3.0 GPA, didn't get into any UC campus. He has decided to spend two years at a community college, and then transfer to UC.

Other musts: Write a killer essay and apply to enough campuses so you have one "sure thing."

Students like Tamara Shkurkin, with a 3.3 GPA, focused mostly on private colleges. Many Davis students said they found they could get such good scholarships that, in the end, it was cheaper than UC.

Davis High School applications to private colleges jumped by more than 20 percent this year, Curinga said. She thinks the same is true across the country, and points as an example to Wellesley College in Massachusetts, which this year saw a 20 percent spike in applications.

UC admission officials caution that there is no sure thing: Even when students do everything right, there's no guarantee they'll get their first pick. That provides a bit of comfort for Morain, who'll be going to UC Santa Barbara in the fall.

Still, she finds herself fretting over the choices she has made the past four years. Should she have taken even more Advanced Placement courses? If she had transferred to a smaller, more rural high school, would her achievements have stood out more on her application?

Then, she dismisses the idea.

"I had a lot of fun in high school," she said. "That's important, too."

By Kow (Kow) on Sunday, May 04, 2003 - 11:36 pm: Edit

interesting, thanx!

GO BRUINS!

By Spartan858585 (Spartan858585) on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 08:45 pm: Edit

bump

By Erin (Erin) on Tuesday, May 06, 2003 - 04:34 pm: Edit

I read that article in the Sacramento Bee too! Do you live in the Sacramento area?