Recently, the University of California made some important and significant changes to its admissions policy, changes which will affect high school students in the graduating class of 2012 (students who are sophomores during this academic year, 2009-10) and younger.

The new admissions policy makes changes to three key areas:
(1) "a-g" course completion deadline
(2) the SAT Subject Test requirement
(3) how a student becomes "eligible" to attend the University of California.

"a-g" Course Completion Deadline

An "a-g" course is a course taken in the student’s high school years that is officially designated an academic, college-preparatory course by the University of California. (To see which courses are considered "a-g" courses at a high school, visit http://doorways.ucop.edu and search for the approved course list for the high school you are interested in.) UC requires a minimum of 15 year-long academic courses in seven areas (subjects "a" through "g"). Currently, only students who wish to be designated in the top 4% of their class need to complete at least 11 of the 15 required a-g courses by the end of junior year. Under the new policy, ALL students who wish to apply to the University of California campuses will need to finish 11 of the 15 a-g courses before the end of junior year.

For most college-bound high school students, this new requirement will not raise any issues. As you can see, a student who takes four academic courses in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades will meet this new requirement. Most college-bound high school students are taking at least this many academic classes each year.

Keep in mind that this is a minimum requirement. To be competitive for the top UC schools, students should take well above the minimum courses required to apply to UC.

SAT Subject Test requirements

Beginning with the graduating high school class of 2012, the University of California will no longer require its applicants to take two SAT Subject Tests as part of the application process. UC concluded that the SAT Subject Test requirement made thousands of high school students who met all other admissions requirements ineligible to attend UC. They note that only about half of the students in California who take the SAT Reasoning Test also take the SAT Subject Tests. UC also points out that UC is the only public university system in the United States that requires the SAT Subject Tests.

Even though they are no longer required, academically high-achieving students should still plan to take some SAT Subject Tests for consideration in their college applications, for both UC and private colleges. Like good AP exam scores, strong SAT Subject Test scores can only enhance one’s chances of admission.

"Eligible" versus "Entitled to review"

Currently, there are two ways to become eligible to attend the University of California: eligibility in the statewide context and eligibility in the local context. To become eligible in the statewide context, students must have a minimum weighted GPA of 3.0; take the 15 required a-g courses; take the SAT Reasoning Test and two SAT Subject Tests (from two different subject areas); and achieve a minimum score on the UC Index, which is a combination of GPA and SAT Reasoning Test (or ACT with Writing) score. To become eligible in the local context, a student needs to be designated by UC to fall within the top 4% of his or her high school class at the end of junior year.

Under the new policy, the category of "eligible" to attend UC will be replaced by a different category: "entitled to review." In order for a student to be entitled to review, he or she will need to: complete 11 of the 15 required a-g courses by the end of 11th grade (see discussion above); maintain a minimum weighted GPA of 3.0 in these courses; and take the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT with Writing. It is expected that the new policy will expand the pool of potential UC applicants by as many as 30,000 students!

Within the "entitled to review" pool, two categories of students will be guaranteed admission to UC: those who fall into the top 9% of all high school graduates statewide; and those who fall into the top 9% of their high school class. Taken together, these students are expected to make up about 10% of the state’s high school graduates. Remember, "entitled to review" does not mean the student is guaranteed admission to the University of California; it just means the student’s application will be evaluated.

n effect, with this new policy, UC is expanding the pool of students who may apply to UC, but within that expanded pool of students, the university is becoming more selective with the students who are accepted to a UC school.

If you have additional questions, please refer to the following web site
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/eligibilitychanges
or speak to your local Elite branch director!