Acceptance rates just one factor

Q: I'm currently an 11th-grader, and I'm planning on applying to many of the University of California schools next year. Many of my friends who applied this year to the UCs were denied admission. I'm trying to figure out what my chances of admission are, so could you please tell me what the admissions statistics for the class of 2008 were for the UCs?

A: This past year (the high school graduating class of 2008) was a particularly tough year in terms of college admissions. Many colleges and universities, including the UCs, received record numbers of applications and had record low acceptance rates.

UCLA received 55,397 applications - the most of any school in the country - and only accepted 12,579, for an acceptance rate of 22.7 percent. UC-Berkeley received fewer applications, 48,418, but accepted only 21.5 percent.

The average high school GPA of accepted applicants at four of the nine undergraduate University of California campuses was above a 4.0 - UCLA (4.34), UC-Berkeley (4.18), UCSD (4.06), and UCSB (4.03). Additionally, the average SAT score of accepted applicants at UC-Berkeley and UCLA was 2000 or higher - UC-Berkeley (2034) and UCLA (2000).

However, not all the UC admissions news was so grim for future applicants. Three of the UC campuses still had acceptance rates well above 70 percent - UC-Riverside (76.9 percent of its 21,224 applicants), UC-Merced (76.7 percent of its 9,980 applicants), and UC-Santa Cruz (74.3 percent of its 25,746 applicants).

UC-Davis and UC-Irvine both received approximately 40,000 applications - UC-Davis (40,568) and UC-Irvine (39,247)-and both accepted approximately 50 percent of its applicants - UC-Davis (52.4 percent) and UC-Irvine (49 percent ).

In terms of acceptance rates, moving from the lowest percentage of applicants admitted to the highest percentage of applicants admitted, the list of UC's for this past year looks like this: UC-Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UC-Irvine, UCSB, UC-Davis, UC-Santa Cruz, UC-Merced, and UC-Riverside.

However, it should be noted that acceptance rates are only one factor to consider when trying to determine your admissions chances. Just because one school, for example UC-Merced, has a slightly lower acceptance rate than UC-Riverside, this does not mean it is necessarily harder to gain admission to UC-Merced. In fact, the average GPA and the average SAT score of accepted students at UC-Riverside (3.59 and 1654 respectively) are higher than those at UC-Merced (3.51 and 1620 respectively).

Therefore, it is important for you to meet with a college counselor to discuss how various UCs differ and how to choose among them.

http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2008-5-31-katz
Reprinted by permission, Palo Alto Daily News. Jason Katz ©5.31.2008 All rights reserved. This article may be printed for your personal use, but may not be reprinted in whole or in part in any publication or website without permission. www.jkatzcollegecounseling.com