 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| What the Universities, and Media are saying about College Admissions |
From: Wall Street Journal, September, 2004 ||
Early Admissions Policies
Students applying for early admission to colleges may soon have more choices. NACAC has recently voted to allow its nearly 5,000
member colleges to adopt "single-choice early action" policies. Under these policies, students apply early to only one school.
However, they won't be required to attend if they are accepted. the policy is meant to help reduce the flood of early applications while
still leaving options open for students, who can apply to other schools later in the school year. that means students can submit
applications to other colleges later and compare financial-aid offers.
From: UC Berkeley News, Sept. 22, 2004
UC officials float new plan to set admission GPA at 3.0
UC officials will weigh a proposal that would require freshman applicants to have at least a 3.0 GPA, up from the current 2.8. The new
proposal, if adopted, would take effect for current high school sophomores who apply for fall, 2007 admission. UC officials said the
change would shrnink the eligibility pool by no more than 750 students. "It's hard to argue that you shouldn't have a B average to get
into the Univ. of California", said George Blumental, Chairman of the Universitywide Academic Senate.
From: UCLA Bruin Bites, Fall, 2004
UCLA statistics
43,179 - number of applicants for UCLA's fall 2004 freshman class
19,000 - number of applicants with GPAs of 4.0 or above
23 - percentage of applicants accepted
3,915 - planned incoming freshman enrollment for fall 2004
4.25 - average overall GPA (including honors and AP courses) of admitted freshmen
15 - percentage of admitted freshmen from historically underrepresented backgrounds (black, Native American and Latino)
From: Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2004
Study for the SAT on your Cellphone
Princeton Review and a wireless-application publisher called Vocel will be releasing a service called "Prep for the SAT" which beams
SAT practice questions to cellphones. The service, which is expected to be available through several carriers starting in mid-
September, will work on cellphones that can download software, games and ringtones. It is designed to let students start preparing
early for the newly reformatted 2005 SAT, which begins in March, 2005.
The service will cost $5.99 a month, but for students in a Princeton Review SAT classroom course, it is free for the duration of the
course.
Another company, Mobile-Mind Inc., makes a similar product with SAT flashcards and quizzes for use on your cellphone. It has been
available for about a year.
Overall, Prep for the SAT is a good idea that might marginally enhance an SAT study program, provided that the student would whip
out his or her cellphone to study.
From: New York Times, Education Life, August, 2004
Early Decision II
Vanderbilt University, among others, uses an early decision II plan in addition to an early decision I and regular admissions. E.D. II is
essentially identical to E.D. I, a binding early-decision process but with later deadlines. In general, the applicaiton deadline is the
same as for regular admissions, but a decision is sent sooner, usually in early February. The biggest benefit is having the college-
choice process settled at an earlier point in time. The downside is that a student could be left with no viable choices if he only applied
to a school with E.D. II option and then were denied admission.
From: Reader's Digest
September, 2004
The Princeton Review's "America's Best Value Colleges" names the following schools as the best at combining top academics with
low tuition or generous aid packages:
University of No. Carolina (Chapel Hill), Amherst College (Mass.), CUNY - Brooklyn College (NY), Rice Univ. (Houston), Bates College
(Maine), Grinnell College (Iowa), Southwestern Univ. (Texas), Univ. of Texas (Austin), Lake Forest College (Illinois), Claremont
McKenna College (Calif).
From: Wall Street Journal, September 1, 2004
SAT Scores Show Little Improvement
The average SAT score last year was 1026 out of a possible 1600, the same as a year earlier. Math was down one point from last
year at 518, and verbal was up one point at 508. Scores in recent years have been slowly rising and in the past decade have risen 23
points. The gap between white and minority test takers narrowed slightly this year but remains large. There was a 202-point difference
between whites and African Americans and a 133-point difference between whites and Hispanics. Partly as a result of that gap, this
year's seniors will be the last class to take the SAT in its current form. The new SAT will add an 800-point writing exam that will bring
the top score to 2400 and extend the 3 hour test by 45 minutes. The new test will be given starting in March. The new SAT will add
Algebra II questions to the math exam, which currently requires no math knowledge higher than geometry. It will also drop analogies
in the verbal section, which now will be renamed "critical reading."
Despite the obsession of many families with SAT scores, colleges are paying less attention to them. Today they are "a factor, but not a
dominant factor", according to an admissions director at Florida State University.
From: UC Berkeley News, Aug 20, 2004
US News Ranks UC Berkeley
Uc Berkeley has been ranked the top public university in the annual listing of the nation's best colleges. Last year, Berkeley tied with
the Univ. of Virgina for the number one spot, but this year Virginia is tied for second with the Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor. UC Berkeley
ranked #21 on the list that ranks all public universities that grant bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.
From: NY Times Education Life, August, 2004
Some Statistics
13.7 - projected number of undergraduates this fall -- the largest ever.
$54,300 - average annual salary in 2002 of public elementary and secondary school teachers in California -- the highest in the nation.
Teachers in S. Dakota received the lowest pay - $31,300. The national average was $44,700.
11% - projected percentage of elementary and high school students who will be enrolled in private schools this fall.
From: Duke Gifted Letter, Summer 2004
Campus Visits
Here are some tips for families planning to visit colleges:
1) Try to make some casual visits before the stress-filled senior year.
2) Encourage your child to stay overnight with a student host whenever possible.
3) If your child is interviewing for competitive scholarships, send him or her alone.
4) Encourage your child to take a good look at the community surrounding the college.
5) Eat at popular student hangouts. Walk around campus and in town.
6) Encourage your child not to make the decision solely because of his or her intended major. Almost 80% of college students
change their majors during their studies.
From: Duke Gifted Letter, Summer 2004
Admissions Advantage
A student's interest in a college is an important consideration in admissions decisions. The "Chronicle of Higher Education" reports
that 56% of almost 600 colleges consider demonstrated interest in admissions decision; 36% regard it as having "considerable" or
"moderate" importance and 26% stated it was of "limited" importance in decisions. Students who do not follow up on their
applications and personally contact admissions officers are often rejected in favor of equally qualified applicants who do make
contact. The officers assume that students who do not touch base are not as interested and probably will not accept an offer of
admission.
From: University of California News, July 20. 2004
UC Offers 04-05 Admission
Thanks fto a budget agreement between the legislature and the governor, the U. of Calif. will offer freshman admission to UC-eligible
freshman applicants who initially were referred to community colleges this year. Students who have accepted a Guaranteed Transfer
Option (GTO) offer from one or more campuses will now be offered the chance to enter UC as freshmen. Campuses are planning to
offer admission in the following terms, based on capacity:
Berkeley - Spring 2005
Davis - Fall 2004
Irvine - Fall 2004, Winter 2005
Los Angeles - Winter 2005, Spring 2005
Riverside - Winter 2005
San Diego - Winter 2005, Spring 2005
Santa Barbara - Fall 2004
Santa Cruz - Fall 2004
From: Uc Berkeley News, July 28, 2004
UC Berkeley Names New Chancellor
The Regents of the UC named University of Toronto President Robert J. Birgeneau, an internationally known physicist, as the next
Chancellor of UC Berkeley. Birgeneau, a former longtime professor and dean of science at MIT, will assume leadership of UC's most
prestigious campus in October. Birgeneau praised his new institution as the "best teaching and public research university in the
world." Birgeneau is an expert in condensed-matter physics and was recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Birgeneau's challenge will be to maintain the quality and reputation of the campus during a state budget crisis. Birgeneau is also
likely to face controversy over admissions policies.
From: Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2004
Putting a Cap on Tuition Expenses
More schools are allowing students to freeze tuition costs until graduation. This year, George Washington University adopted a fixed-
rate tuition plan that would freeze tuition for each incoming class. Pace University in New York implemented a similar measure last
year. This fall, students attending any of the state schools in Illinois will be able to lock in the tuition they pay as freshmen. The Illinois
program will be closely watched by other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Missouri, that have recently proposed similar legislation.
Tuition at four-year colleges increased 14% at public schools and 6% at private universities for the 2003-2004 academic year.
From: Los Angeles Times, July, 2004
The New SAT
Students of the Class of 2006 will be faced with a choice: which version of the SAT test should they take? The old one contains verbal
analogies and the new one is longer and includes a handwritten essay. Students will have to get advice from colleges and guidance
counselors regarding which test to take. Kaplan Test Prep is seeing its business soar as a result of the new exam. The revamped
SAT features tougher math, expanded grammer and reading comprehension sections as well as 25 minutes to write an essay. The
total time of the test will jump 45 minutes to 3 hours and 45 minutes. The best possible score will rise to 2400 points from 1600. UC
will require its 2006 applicants to submit scores from the new SAT, or from the ACT. But USC, UCBerkeley, Stanford, Yale, Columbia,
Rice, Santa Clara Univ. and other colleges say either SAT is all right for the 2006 freshman class. For some schools, including USC
and Duke, students who choose to submit scores from the old SAT must also take a separate exam in writing. Pomona College will
also be flexible for the entering 2006 class. Cal State Universities will allow applicants to submit scores from either version with the
writing part, if submitted, to be used for placement, not admission, purposes. Kaplan Test Prep encourages students to take both
tests, especially if they're applying to a number of competitive colleges.
From: UC Berkeley News, June 1, 2004
The New SAT
Even though the new SAT I exam won't be administered until next March, high school sophomores are already beginning to sign up
for prep courses. The new version of SAT I is especially important for students who want to attend one of the UC campuses. UC will
accept scores only from the new exam for students applying as freshmen for Fall, 2006. Many other colleges across across the nation
will take a combination of scores from both the old and new SAT tests the first year. More than 2 million students a year will take the
test. Ex-UC President Richard Atkinson said that the old SAT I was too susceptible to coaching and encouraged students to do verbal
and math drills instead of focusing on academic content taught in school.
From: Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2004
Fewer Students Interested in Computer Careers
There has been a sharp drop in enrollment in computer science programs on college campuses across the U.S. Enrollment has
dropped 23% from 2002 to 2003. Students are being discouraged from studying computer science because of stories of unemployed
programmers watching their jobs migrate to India and Eastern Europe. The drop in enrollment is occurring at the same time as
companies prepare for a potential shortage of domestic tech works. Some employers fear that continuing declines could hamper
technological innovation. The drop at UC Berkeley during the 2002-2003 period was 41%. Enrollments at George Tech in Atlanta fell
45%.
From: UC Berkeley News, July 14, 2004
U. of Calif. Weights Stricter Admissions
Officials of the Univ. of California is considering raising standards for admissions to the system because too many students are
qualifying to enter the system. They are considering raising the minimum GPA from 2.8 to 3.1.
From: Newsweek, May 31, 2004
Taking Time to Graduate
A recently released study finds that most college students today take about five years to graduate. The problem is particularly bad at
public universities, where, on average, only half the students complete college in four years--compared with 80% of private-school
students. At the Univ. of Michigan, 65% graduate on time. At UCLA, only 42% graduate in four years. Less than 1/3 of students in the
Texas University system finish in four years. This becomes a potential problem for administrators who over the next decate need to
make room for the biggest group of incoming freshmen since the baby boom. Often, state budget cuts have made it impossible for
students to take all of the courses they need in time. Another reason for the delayed graduation figures could be related to the fact that
some students are now completing two or even three degrees to be competitive in a tough job market. Also, 80% of students now
work about 20 hours per week during the school years. A number of state schools are launching initiaties aimed at moving students
more quickly through the system.
From: UC Berkeley news, June 3, 2004
Black Admissions Drop 30% at Berkeley
this fall, 98 black students had registeredfor fall enrollment out of an expected class of 3,821. This is a nearly 30% decrease in black
admissions this year. Applications from black students were down about 10% here. There have also been decreases in minority
applications at the Univ. of Michigan and Ohio State.
From: UC Berkeley News, June 3, 2004
Rejected UC applicants snub community college
According to preliminary figures released last week by UC, 1,357 students accepted and 6,243 rejected the university's offer to enroll
them after they complete two years of study at a community college. This was the first time UC officials had broken their pledge,
based on the state's 1960 educaiton Master Plan, to accept all qualified California high school graduates.
From: New York Times, May 23, 2004
Confusion Surrounding New SAT's
There is increasing worry among this year's 10th graders regarding the upcoming new SAT exam. The graduating class of 2006 will
be the first class to be taking the new SAT exam which will incorporate a writing test. Most colleges seem to be leaning toward
allowing this transition group to submit scores either from the old SAT or the new SAT, and if an applicant submits both, to consider
the highest one. But, should students prepare to take the old SAT next winter, or concentrate on the new format and take the exam next
spring, or even the fall of the senior year? Kaplan Test Prep's advice is to take both exams. Some school guidance counselors would
rather have students wait until March and have extra months of learning. Some colleges, like the UC system, will only accept the new
test. Now that the new SAT will incorporate a writing test, some colleges will only require 2 SATII scores, not 3. Many colleges have not
yet decided how many to require. Bryn Mawr, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Swarthmore and the Univ. of California will require only two
SAT II's. A few of the most selective schools including Harvard and Yale will continue to require three SAT II subject test, at least for
applicants graduating from high school in 2006.
From: UC Berkeley online, May, 2004
Governor Arnold's signature on diplomas
California's college graduates will be getting a bonus on their diplomas this year -- the autography of Hollywood superstar (and
California Governor )Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Governor's signature appears on every degree awarded by the state's two largest
university systems. Previously, college graduates in California have received diplomas with a famous signature -- ronald Reagan's.
He was governor for eight years, winning the first of his two terms in 1966. A column in the Daily Californian, the student newspaper at
UC Berkeley, suggested that diplomas granted during Schwarzenegger's tenure might become a collectors' item. Some students
joked that they would consider putting their degrees up for bid on eBay. A Schwarzenegger autograph lists for $30 or less on the
Internet auction site.
From: Wall Street Journal, May, 2004
"Kvetching your Way Into College"
In the last few weeks, high school seniors have received acceptance or rejection letters to colleges. Thousands of rejected students
get a second chance at being admitted, thanks to a well-guarded option increasingly available at many schools. Most colleges aren't
eager to publicize the fact that students have the option to appeal an initial decision. Public universities are more likely to have formal
appeals processes. Duke, Georgetown and Brown are among a number of private schools that also consider appeals. Some
schools that don't even offer the option to appeal are seeing more demands for it from rejected applicants. The Dean of Admissions
at MIT has seen the request for appeals skyrocket. School officials say these increases stem from heightened competition and panic
surrounding the admissions process.
Some schools are reporting fewer appeals. At UC Berkeley the number fell more than 20% -- to about 750 appeals. At UCLA, the
admissions office expects about 950 appeals by the end of the summer -- a 27% decline from last year. It is important to note that
colleges vary in their appeals protocols. At USC, students appealing should include a one-page statement of why they wish a review
of the decision, along with a new high school transcript that includes additional senior year grades. UC Berkeley applicants must
provide "significant new information" such as a family tragedy or illness. Applicants can also include new senior year grades and a
letter of recommendation.
From: UC Berkeley online, May 10, 2004
CSU offers 3,800 freshmen a detour
Nearly 4,000 freshman hopefuls will be diverted from the most crowded California State University campuses for fall, 2004 and
instead will receive offers to transfer as juniors if they complete lower division courses at a state community college. CSU's plan,
called the deferred admission program" is similar to that of the UC system which last month extended "guarantee transfer options" to
7,600 qualified students who did not receive a freshman offer from any UC campus. CSU Chancellor Reed said that he hopes this is
a temporary, one-year policy brought about by California's budget crisis. Students who take the transfer option must enter into a
deferred admission agreement with one CSU campus when they enroll at one of the state's 109 community colleges.
From: UCLAlumni.net, May 14, 2004
UC is Best Top-Ranked University at Enrolling Low-income students
Six UC campuses enroll more low-income students than any other top university in the country, public or private, according to a new
national study. UCLA enrolled the highest percentage of low-income students in the nation, with 35.1% of its students qualifying for
Pell Grants. UC Berkeley follows, along with UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara. Recipients of Pell Grants
come from low-income families whose earnings are usually below $35,000 a year. UC has achieved its goal of remaining financially
accessible to all the students it admits.
From: New York Times, May, 2004
Get-Into-College Camp
High school students are flocking to a new kind of summer program -- college admission prep camps which consist of hours a day of
essay writing, SAT preparation, counseling,and mock admission interviews. This summer, three companies are offering college
admission prep programs on seven campuses. Academic Stude Associates, Musiker Teen Tours as well as Brighton (a start-up
founded by a former employee of Academic Study Associates)are all conducting summer programs. Brighton's nine-day program at
UCLA and Tufts costs $2,295 and is the shortest and least expensive of the three programs. The Musiker program, $2,899 for 12 days
at Northeastern University or Georgetown offered together with The Princeton Review, includes more college visits than the others. So
far, about 120 students have enrolled for 200 openings.
Some college officials say the new programs cater more to parents' rising anxieties than to any real need for expensive professional
help. Bruce Poch, dean of admissions at Pomona College in California says "This is just sick". It distresses me that parents would be
so obsessive-compulsive". In most families, signing up for summer college admission prep programs seems to be an idea that
comes from the parents, not the students.
From: Wall Street Journal, April, 2004
Financial Aid is Soaring
Along with tuition hikes for the upcoming year, parents will find that financial aid packages have increased as well. Tuition at four-year
colleges jumped 14.1% at public schools and 6% at private universities. Financial aid has increased 15% (12% after adjusting for
inflation) to a record $105 billion. When evaluationg packagdes, make sure offers are directly comparable. Aid typically consists of a
mixture of scholarships, grants, loan and work/study programs. What's really important is how much you will have to end up paying
and how much the student will have to borrow. Although colleges usually cringe at the word "negotiation", most are open to taking
another look at your offers if you have good reasons for requesting a review, especially if your child has stellar credentials. Some
schools may even match other aid offers.
From: Wall Street Journal, April, 2004
College Admissions Glitches
This year's college admission process has been intensely competetive as well as error filled. College administrators blame a
combination of factors including a movement toward automation and outsourcing of web-based notifications. Admissions offices
have been dealing with a sharp increase in the number of students applying to college. In March, UC Davis officials erroneously sent
an e-mail to 6,000 applicants saying they had won scholarships valued at $7,500 a year. (The notice was intended for only 800
students). The UC system alerted more than 2,000 applicants that their Social Security numbers and other personal information may
have been viewed online by other applicants. Also, the SAT scores of 4,800 students across the country were sent to colleges late --
the result of a programming error at the Educational Testing Service. The increasing digitization of the admissions process is usually
the reason for the errors.
From: CollegeBoard News, April, 2004
Annual Survey of Colleges
In the College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges, admisisons criteria ranked "very important or important" by 1,841 four-year colleges
were:
School Achievement - 93%
Test scores - 87%
Recommendations - 49%
Essay - 42%
Interview - 34%
Activities - 30%
From: UC Berkeley Press Release, April, 2004
UC Berkeley fall 2004 admission
The fall, 2004 freshman class continues the tradiiton of being more academically competitive than that of previous years. 8,887 high
school students from acorss California were offered admission. Campus officials are disappointed with data on underrepresented
students offered admission to Berkeley. Officials are attributing this drop to a number of factors including state budget curs along with
proposed student fee increases, cuts in funding for outreach and a more competitive pool of student applications. The admission rate
for Calif. residents remained largely the same as last year, 25.4%. California residents make up 86.8% of the class. Women
represent 55% of the class, the same as last year. Included in the fall, 2004 class of freshmen are students nationally and
internationally ranked in horseback riding, ice skating and gymniastics, academic decathalon and debate team captains, artists,
musicians, and winners of presitigious science competitions. Students have until May 1 to submit a statement of intent to register.
Campus officials anticipate that 3,610 students will enroll.
From: UC Berkeley News, April 21, 2004
Eligible students rejected by UC
For the first time, the Univ. of Calif. has rejected 7,600 applicants who normally would have entered the fall, 2004 freshman class. UC
officials have sent letters to the rejected students telling them they will be guaranteed admission to a UC campus if they attend a
community college for two years. This is the first time that UC has not fulfilled the promise of the 1960 California Masgter Plan, which
guarantees admission to all students who meet eligibility requirements.
From: Wall Street Journal, April, 2004
ABC's at Princeton
According to a recent study, nearly half the course grades given out at Princeton are A- or above. Dean Malkiel has put up a reform
proposal for a faculty vote that includes a 35% cap on the number of A's that one department could issue.
The percentage of Harvard students receiving A's has just hit an 18-year high. At Northwestern University, the dean of its Medill School
of Journalism spoke about the need to "try to reintroduce the notion that to get a C at Medill is not a horrible thing".
Students who receive grades that are not inflated can be unfailry penalized in their career and grad school opportunities when their
grades are compared with others.
Some have called for college transcripts that would list a student's grades along with the percentage of classmates awarded the
same grade in a particular class.
From: From LA Times, March 18, 2004
UC 10% Hike Too Low
Fees for UC undergraduates might have to be raised above the already approved 10% hike during California's fiscal crises, UC
officials said Wednesday. The officials stated that the already approved increases, including a 40% boost for graduate students,
would not raise as much revenue as originally projected. There is a widespread feeling that a 40% increase is totally unreasonable.
This means that money for undergraduate financial aid would have to be diverted to graduate students. This, in turn, would jeopardize
a defining quality of the UC system - its ability to enroll a number of poor students in a world-class university system. Over 30% of UC
students are low-income, while at most other major public universities, that rate is about 10%.
From: From UC Davis Admissions, March 18, 2004
Scholarship Award Error
UC Davis mistakenly sent scholarship award email messages to approximately 6,000 admitted freshman and transfer students. In
reality, only 800 awards were made to the top 5% of the admitted freshman pool. UC Davis Chancellor has sent letters of apology to
each of the students. If any admitted UC Davis students have questions about their admission status, they can log on to
myadmissions.ucdavis.edu Web site. They are also encouraged to visit the campus during Welcome days, April 8, 9, 10 or 12, or they
attend the Southern California Decisions Days events on April 3 or 4.
From: UCLA Website, March 4, 2003
UCLA Admissions Decisions
UCLA will begin notifying freshman and DAP applicants of admission decisions on Friday, March 12, beginning in the early evening.
From that point, decisions will be continue to be released on a rolling basis.
From: Los Angeles Times, February 10, 2004
Cal Grants Program Faces $30Million Cut
Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed budget plans to cut over $30 million in state grants to students applying for financial aid to attend
private colleges. Many students who would otherwise apply to private schools will likely be attending community colleges and public
universities. Private schools with small endowments could be forced to cut admissions and services. Under the proposal, the annual
award to incoming students would be decreased by about 44% - from $9,708 to $5,482. Students attending private schools would be
receiving about $500 a year more than those attending the Univ. of California, whose grants would be frozen at $4,984. High school
seniors have to decide on colleges on May 1, well before state lawmakers complete the annual budget. As a result, many students
may be forced to pick schools without knowing how much grant aid they will receive.
From: NY Times Education Life, Jan. 2004
College Prowler
"College Prowler" is a series of 100 slim books published by Luke Skurman, a 23-yr-old student who developed the guides for an
enterpreneurship project at Carnegie-Mellon. What is unique about this series of college guides is that it gives the owdown on what
really goes on at various campuses. Skurman decided to publish the books when he was unable to find real insider information on
where he was going to spend the next four years of his life. Each book covers one campus and is based on quotes from current and
former students. Another 100 guides will be added this spring. Here's a sampler:
On campus dining at UCBerkeley: "Get the smallest meal plan you can because most people end up eating cereal, wilted salads and
frozen yogurt."
On drug use at NYU: "Weed falls from the sky."
On the guy/girl ratio at Carnegie Mellon: "During my freshman year in the computer science department, there were more guys named
David than there were girls, period."
From: NY Times Education Life, January, 2004
ThinkB4Applying
Now that more and more students are submitting applications online, prospective students might want to select an "appropriate"
screename. College admissions officers might be communicating with students who have screenames like "SexyJer" or "Cutie".
Should college applicants worry? Do admissions officials notice screen names? The answer is yes and no. While a screename won't
make or break an acceptance, one that refers to illicit or illegal activities might be frowned upon. William M. Shain, dean of
undergraduate admissions at Vanderbilt Univ. in Nashville says "I would keep the private parts of your life private rather than
advertising them." Students might want to rethink names like "pothead1" or "No.1Slacker". E-mail etiquette is equally important.
Counselors caution against using informal language such as "CUlater" or "GTG" (got to go)when communicating with prospective
colleges. They also prefer students to use formal salutations, be respectful, and avoid using all upper or lower-case letters. Several
officials prefer that students set up a separate e-mail account for corresponding with colleges, checking it frequently and not changing
it. Officials at Harvard would not appreciate a return address of Yale08.
From: NY Times Education Life, Jan. 2004
Campus Trends in Spirituality
A new study by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA says spirituality and religion are thriving on campus. 73% of 3,680
juniors surveyed at 46 colleges said their spiritual beliefs helped develop their identity, while 58% found that integrating spirituality into
their lives was very important, up from 51% in 2000.
The survey also found that: 78% of students discuss their religious beliefs with friends; 65% question their beliefs at least
occasionally; 9% have developed a stronger "religiousness" since entering college; 52% attended religious services the year before
entering college; and 77% pray regularly.
From: Los Angeles Times, January, 2004
Drop in Freshman Applications
The number of high school seniors applying to the University of California declined this year for the first time in more than a decade.
University officials attribute this in part to increased student fees and stiffer immigration policies for foreign students. Overall, the
number of freshman applicats for fall,2004 dropped 4.1% from last year. The drop-off was most dramatic among international
transfers - more than 56%. However, applications from students transferring from other colleges reached record levels this year, up
5.7% from last year. In the last 13 months, UC undergraduate and graduate students have been hit with fee hikes averaging about
40%. All undergraduate students now pay systemwide feels totalling $4,984, in addition to miscellaneous campus fees. All eight
undergraduate campuses, except for UC Santa Cruz, saw declines in the number of freshman applications. UCLA, which in recent
years has been the UC system's and the nation's most popular campus, received 42,916 applications for freshman admission for the
fall, a decline of 3.2%. The high school grade-point average among applicats also rose this year, to 3.66 on a 4-point scale- up from
3.64 last year. For UCLA applicants, it was 3.75; at UC Berkeley, it was 3.79.
From: Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2004
Student-Aid
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) forms are available this month, and preparing it quickly can boost students'
prospects of getting federal and state assistance for the upcoming school year. The majority of colleges require the FAFSA form for
any type of student financial aid. The form is used to determine a family's eligibility for federal, state, and institutional grants, loans and
work-study programs. More families are depending on financial aid since tuition and fees have increased 47% at public four-year
colleges and 42% at private colleges in the past 10 years, after adjusting for inflation. Before you start completing the FAFSA, you need
to have your 2003 federal income tax return or documentation to estimate taxes, your W-2 wage-earning forms, bank statements and
investment information. You can access the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Schools will receive the form earlier if it is submitted
online. Accurary is the main goal with these applications. Errors can decrease your eligibility for financial aid. Some schools require
families to submit additional information for institutional funds. The Profile is often used to help the college determine the appropriate
mix of financial aid. You can access the Profile at www.collegeboard.com.
From: LA Times, January, 2004
College Fees Expected to Rise
Gov. Schwarzenegger plans to propose a 10% fee increase for in-state students attending UC or Cal State colleges and a fee hike of
up to 40% for graduate students at the universities. Also, the budget is expected to contain reductions in financial aid for students from
middle-income families. Qualifications for Cal Grants, the state's main financial aid program, are also expected to tighten. These fee
hikes would come on top of increases for students in the past 13 months of about 40%--the steepest fee hikes in state history. Fees
at community colleges are expected to rise from $18 to $26 per credit, a 44% increase. Even with the fee increases proposed, UC and
Cal State fees for resident undergraduates would be lower than the average of comparable public universities in other states. The
governor has already made midyear reductions of $53.6 million to the two university systems.
From: Encarta, January, 2004
Ten Schools where the Students never stop studying
These schools are considered the ones where students spend most of their time studying:
1) California Institute of Technology. There are grueling demands and students immerse themselves in a rigorous set of core
courses.
2) Haverford College. There's a high pressure academic environment at this elite liberal arts school. There's a rigorous curriculum,
especially in the sciences and math.
3) Carnegie Mellon. Students here think about school 90% of the time; the other 10% is spent sleeping and dealing with stress.
4) Swarthmore College. One student says "A Swarthmore day is a 28 hour day." There is lots of academic freedom.
5) Wesleyan College. This small, all-women's liberal arts school offers tradition, community, sisterhood and southern charm.
Academics predominate.
6) Scripps college. Most students agree, "Although the workload is very high and demanding, it is worth it". There is lots of competition
between students.
7) Worcester Polytechnic Institute. There's a tough workload at this science, engineering and computer science powerhouse.
8) Colorado College. The Block Plan exists here: students take just one course at a time in 3 1/2 weeks. Lots of time is devoted to
tests, papers, and obligations.
9) Knox College. This school is "extremeley demanding".
10) St. Lawrence University. Classes are discussion seminars rather than lectures. Professors are accessible and passionate about
their subjects.
From: New York Times, December 6, 2003
Additional AP Language Courses
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program is adding four new languages to its program: first Mandarin Chinese and Italian,
and, at some future point, Japanese and Russian. This is the first time since it began almost fifty years ago that the College Board
has made such a change. The program has offered Spanish, French and German up till this time. The Chinese and Italian
governments have each agreed to pay part of the cost of developing the AP programs. Gaston Caperton, the president of the College
Board, said recently “We want to send out the message that learning foreign languages is critically important to education and in the
world we live in, that goes beyond Spanish and French to the Asian languages. Mr. Caperton said that Italian is the most widely taught
language in American high schools after Spanish, French and German. While most Chinese high school students study English,
fewer than 50,000 American high school students study Chinese, a language spoken by 1.5 billion people worldwide. The AP Course
in Mandarin Chinese will be offered for the first time in the 2006-2007 school year while the Italian course will start in the 2005-2006
school year.
From: Los Angeles Times, December 1, 2003
Canadian Colleges Becoming an Attractive Alternative
With competition becoming fiercer at American universities, students are increasingly becoming aware of opportunities at Canadian
universities. The number of American students looking to their northern neighbor for their education has nearly doubled in the last five
years, to more than 4,200 this year, according to the Canadian Embassy. Canadian colleges, which originally drew most of their
American students from the Northeastern states, are beginning to attract more applicants from California, Texas and Florida. San
Francisco and Los Angeles high schools are regular stops on recruiters’ routes. Canadian schools are accepting some students that
the most competitive UC campuses are rejecting. Rising UC standards have helped boost U.S. applications from other western
states including Washington, Alaska and Oregon who want to study out of state but find that UC schools are out of reach. McGill
University in Montreal and the University of Toronto are the only non-U.S. members of the Assn. of American Universities, an elite
group founded in 1900 and made up of 62 research universities. Americans make up 11% of full-time undergraduate students at
McGill. Three other leading Canadian schools – the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, the University of Toronto and Queens
University in Kingston, Ontario-continue to draw more American students by recruiting jointly in the U.S. and calling their group
“Canadian Ivy”. For Americans, Canada combines the allure of a foreign land with the familiarity and proximity of Canada. McGill
accepted 43% of undergraduate applicants for the current freshman class. U.S. students with a B-plus grade average and an SAT
score in the 1200’s generally will be admitted.
From: Money Magazine November, 2003
Get a jump on Internship Programs
The football season is in full swing, winter ski trips are being planned and midterms are around the corner. Savvy students are
looking ahead to summer and career planners agree: the time to start looking for that summer internship is now. The tough job
market as well as the decreased number of internships are making it more difficult to land that perfect summer internship. A recent
study from vault.com states that 86% of college students have completed at least one internship, 69% more than one. What’s the best
way to look for an internship? 1) Use internet sites such as “internshipprograms.com, internships.com and monstertrak.com. If you’re
interested in working in a specific city,
Google your location and the word “internship” to see what comes up. 2) Use the Career Center at your college. Smart students are
checking things out now while things are slow. Once spring comes around, the center will be crowded. 3) Network with students who
have landed jobs at companies you’re most interested in. 4) “Don’t forget to be polite”, says Dario Bravo, who manages internship
services at the UCLA career center. Remember to dress appropriately and send a thank-you note directly afterward. “Not an e-mail, a
paper one,” says Bravo.
From: UCBerkeley News, October 31, 2003
Application Fees Rise
Applications for admission to UC Berkeley continue to rise. Last year, over 37,000 students applied for Fall, 2003 admission. Cal
offered admission to only 8,900 applicants, eventually enrolling a freshman class of about 3,600 students. Despite these large
numbers, every student who applies to Berkeley is evaluated on an individual basis in a “comprehensive review” process. This
process is similar to the process used by many elite private colleges. The policy is consistent with UC Regents’ policy.
Recently, UC Regent John Moores has raised questions about Berkeley’s admission process based on his analysis of SAT I score
data. University officials have said that the analysis contains misleading date and draws incorrect conclusions. A UC study and a
campus internal review reveal that the comprehensive review has produced freshman classes that are superior academically to
previous classes as well as comprising students from a broad array of incomes, geographic regions, talents and interests.
Admissions officials look at a number of factors, including SAT scores, grades, rigor of coursework, whether grades are improving or
declining, the high school the student attended, personal challenges overcome, income and impressive personal attributes including
leadership, determination and commitment. Admission decisions are not based on any single factor.
From: Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2003
Admission Disclosures
Recently Senate Democrats proposed requiring colleges to report data on two popular admissions policies – preferences for alumni
relatives, known as legacies, and for students who apply early-decision – that tend to favor affluent white students over low-income
minority students.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, himself a legacy admission to Harvard University, filed a bill requiring colleges to report on the race and
economic status of freshmen who are relatives of alumni or were admitted under early decision programs. Economic status would be
measured by a student’s eligibility for Pell grants, a form of federal financial aid.
North Carolina Sen. John Edwards stated that “requiring these disclosures should encourage colleges to take a hard look at a
practice that tilts the admissions process against the kids who face the biggest obstacles”.
Even though it is unclear whether there is sufficient Republic support needed to pass, the effort could bring more pressure on
colleges to disclose legacy and early decision preference data. Although many colleges report the number of legacies admitted, few
provide racial or economic data on these groups. Under the proposed bill, schools that don’t comply with the reporting requirement
could lose eligibility for federal financial aid.
Several Republicans including Sen. Trent Lott (Miss.) and former Kansas Senator Bob Dole have criticized admissions preference for
alumni students. Janet Lavin Rapelye, dean of admission at Princeton University, where 50% of this year’s freshmen were admitted
under the early decision program and 12% are legacies. “I would hope that higher education would have the freedom to work this
out…without having a federal watchdog over us.”
From: San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 12, 2003
New UC, CSU Policy Will Have Most Applicants File Online
The University of California and the California State University systems plan to announce next week that all admissions applications
will be available entirely online – making them the first major universities to have applicants file exclusively online.
Not only is this environment friendlier to the students, it is also much easier to get important data to the campuses. However, to make
sure that every student can apply, paper applications will be available as well. Allison Jones, a Vice Chancellor at CSU, commented
that “students are much more fluent with technology…and it is the way they operate.”
In 1996, the UC system was the first in the nation to offer an online application and the numbers of students using the system have
exceeded expectations. Approximately 70% of its almost 100,000 applications have been received online for the Fall 2003 semester.
Students applying to start at the university in Fall 2005 will be the first to use the online system exclusively. The UC system’s decision
is expected to improve the efficiency of the university’s comprehensive review admissions process. Currently the UC system
considers extras such as a student’s experience and socioeconomic status in determining who will be admitted. Before 2001, up to
two-thirds of students were admitted on test scores and grades alone.
As part of the changing application, the UC system will include different essay prompts in an effort to encourage students to write
multiple shorter essays in response to questions on academic preparation.
Both the UC and CSU systems are working to set up a system that would automatically enter high school transcripts for applicants.
Currently, they rely on students reporting the information themselves.
From: Los Angeles Times, August 1, 2003
Test
Limits on enrollment for freshmen in 2004-2005 at CSU and UC campuses could turn away thousands of students, even though they
meet the academic qualifications for admission. The limits still must be approved by each university’s governing body. If approved,
this would be the first time limits would be applied at California campuses.
Placing a cap on the number of students at UC would break the system’s 43-year old policy of placing high school students who rank
among the top 12.5% of graduates in the state into one of the undergraduate campuses.
Even though UC qualified students have been denied admission to selective campuses such as UC Berkeley and UCLA, spots have
been made available at less selective campuses such as UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz.
San Diego State, one of the system’s most selective campuses, turned away about 10,000 qualified students for this year’s entering
class. For the first time, it will not be admitting students for the spring semester, a move being considered by other campuses in the
statewide system. Other less crowded campuses, such as Cal State San Bernardino, hoped that they would still be able to expand
their enrollment. Students who have been turned away from other Cal State campuses might be absorbed by the San Bernardino
campus.
In addition, both UC and Cal State fees will jump 30% because of the state budget crisis. Class sections may also be cut due to
financial problems. The combination of cutbacks, fee hikes and enrollment caps at public colleges in California means that “there
probably will be people who can’t go to any college”.
Early Admissions Policies
Students applying for early admission to colleges may soon have more choices. NACAC has recently voted to allow its nearly 5,000
member colleges to adopt "single-choice early action" policies. Under these policies, students apply early to only one school.
However, they won't be required to attend if they are accepted. the policy is meant to help reduce the flood of early applications while
still leaving options open for students, who can apply to other schools later in the school year. that means students can submit
applications to other colleges later and compare financial-aid offers.
From: UC Berkeley News, Sept. 22, 2004
UC officials float new plan to set admission GPA at 3.0
UC officials will weigh a proposal that would require freshman applicants to have at least a 3.0 GPA, up from the current 2.8. The new
proposal, if adopted, would take effect for current high school sophomores who apply for fall, 2007 admission. UC officials said the
change would shrnink the eligibility pool by no more than 750 students. "It's hard to argue that you shouldn't have a B average to get
into the Univ. of California", said George Blumental, Chairman of the Universitywide Academic Senate.
From: UCLA Bruin Bites, Fall, 2004
UCLA statistics
43,179 - number of applicants for UCLA's fall 2004 freshman class
19,000 - number of applicants with GPAs of 4.0 or above
23 - percentage of applicants accepted
3,915 - planned incoming freshman enrollment for fall 2004
4.25 - average overall GPA (including honors and AP courses) of admitted freshmen
15 - percentage of admitted freshmen from historically underrepresented backgrounds (black, Native American and Latino)
From: Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2004
Study for the SAT on your Cellphone
Princeton Review and a wireless-application publisher called Vocel will be releasing a service called "Prep for the SAT" which beams
SAT practice questions to cellphones. The service, which is expected to be available through several carriers starting in mid-
September, will work on cellphones that can download software, games and ringtones. It is designed to let students start preparing
early for the newly reformatted 2005 SAT, which begins in March, 2005.
The service will cost $5.99 a month, but for students in a Princeton Review SAT classroom course, it is free for the duration of the
course.
Another company, Mobile-Mind Inc., makes a similar product with SAT flashcards and quizzes for use on your cellphone. It has been
available for about a year.
Overall, Prep for the SAT is a good idea that might marginally enhance an SAT study program, provided that the student would whip
out his or her cellphone to study.
From: New York Times, Education Life, August, 2004
Early Decision II
Vanderbilt University, among others, uses an early decision II plan in addition to an early decision I and regular admissions. E.D. II is
essentially identical to E.D. I, a binding early-decision process but with later deadlines. In general, the applicaiton deadline is the
same as for regular admissions, but a decision is sent sooner, usually in early February. The biggest benefit is having the college-
choice process settled at an earlier point in time. The downside is that a student could be left with no viable choices if he only applied
to a school with E.D. II option and then were denied admission.
From: Reader's Digest
September, 2004
The Princeton Review's "America's Best Value Colleges" names the following schools as the best at combining top academics with
low tuition or generous aid packages:
University of No. Carolina (Chapel Hill), Amherst College (Mass.), CUNY - Brooklyn College (NY), Rice Univ. (Houston), Bates College
(Maine), Grinnell College (Iowa), Southwestern Univ. (Texas), Univ. of Texas (Austin), Lake Forest College (Illinois), Claremont
McKenna College (Calif).
From: Wall Street Journal, September 1, 2004
SAT Scores Show Little Improvement
The average SAT score last year was 1026 out of a possible 1600, the same as a year earlier. Math was down one point from last
year at 518, and verbal was up one point at 508. Scores in recent years have been slowly rising and in the past decade have risen 23
points. The gap between white and minority test takers narrowed slightly this year but remains large. There was a 202-point difference
between whites and African Americans and a 133-point difference between whites and Hispanics. Partly as a result of that gap, this
year's seniors will be the last class to take the SAT in its current form. The new SAT will add an 800-point writing exam that will bring
the top score to 2400 and extend the 3 hour test by 45 minutes. The new test will be given starting in March. The new SAT will add
Algebra II questions to the math exam, which currently requires no math knowledge higher than geometry. It will also drop analogies
in the verbal section, which now will be renamed "critical reading."
Despite the obsession of many families with SAT scores, colleges are paying less attention to them. Today they are "a factor, but not a
dominant factor", according to an admissions director at Florida State University.
From: UC Berkeley News, Aug 20, 2004
US News Ranks UC Berkeley
Uc Berkeley has been ranked the top public university in the annual listing of the nation's best colleges. Last year, Berkeley tied with
the Univ. of Virgina for the number one spot, but this year Virginia is tied for second with the Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor. UC Berkeley
ranked #21 on the list that ranks all public universities that grant bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.
From: NY Times Education Life, August, 2004
Some Statistics
13.7 - projected number of undergraduates this fall -- the largest ever.
$54,300 - average annual salary in 2002 of public elementary and secondary school teachers in California -- the highest in the nation.
Teachers in S. Dakota received the lowest pay - $31,300. The national average was $44,700.
11% - projected percentage of elementary and high school students who will be enrolled in private schools this fall.
From: Duke Gifted Letter, Summer 2004
Campus Visits
Here are some tips for families planning to visit colleges:
1) Try to make some casual visits before the stress-filled senior year.
2) Encourage your child to stay overnight with a student host whenever possible.
3) If your child is interviewing for competitive scholarships, send him or her alone.
4) Encourage your child to take a good look at the community surrounding the college.
5) Eat at popular student hangouts. Walk around campus and in town.
6) Encourage your child not to make the decision solely because of his or her intended major. Almost 80% of college students
change their majors during their studies.
From: Duke Gifted Letter, Summer 2004
Admissions Advantage
A student's interest in a college is an important consideration in admissions decisions. The "Chronicle of Higher Education" reports
that 56% of almost 600 colleges consider demonstrated interest in admissions decision; 36% regard it as having "considerable" or
"moderate" importance and 26% stated it was of "limited" importance in decisions. Students who do not follow up on their
applications and personally contact admissions officers are often rejected in favor of equally qualified applicants who do make
contact. The officers assume that students who do not touch base are not as interested and probably will not accept an offer of
admission.
From: University of California News, July 20. 2004
UC Offers 04-05 Admission
Thanks fto a budget agreement between the legislature and the governor, the U. of Calif. will offer freshman admission to UC-eligible
freshman applicants who initially were referred to community colleges this year. Students who have accepted a Guaranteed Transfer
Option (GTO) offer from one or more campuses will now be offered the chance to enter UC as freshmen. Campuses are planning to
offer admission in the following terms, based on capacity:
Berkeley - Spring 2005
Davis - Fall 2004
Irvine - Fall 2004, Winter 2005
Los Angeles - Winter 2005, Spring 2005
Riverside - Winter 2005
San Diego - Winter 2005, Spring 2005
Santa Barbara - Fall 2004
Santa Cruz - Fall 2004
From: Uc Berkeley News, July 28, 2004
UC Berkeley Names New Chancellor
The Regents of the UC named University of Toronto President Robert J. Birgeneau, an internationally known physicist, as the next
Chancellor of UC Berkeley. Birgeneau, a former longtime professor and dean of science at MIT, will assume leadership of UC's most
prestigious campus in October. Birgeneau praised his new institution as the "best teaching and public research university in the
world." Birgeneau is an expert in condensed-matter physics and was recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Birgeneau's challenge will be to maintain the quality and reputation of the campus during a state budget crisis. Birgeneau is also
likely to face controversy over admissions policies.
From: Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2004
Putting a Cap on Tuition Expenses
More schools are allowing students to freeze tuition costs until graduation. This year, George Washington University adopted a fixed-
rate tuition plan that would freeze tuition for each incoming class. Pace University in New York implemented a similar measure last
year. This fall, students attending any of the state schools in Illinois will be able to lock in the tuition they pay as freshmen. The Illinois
program will be closely watched by other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Missouri, that have recently proposed similar legislation.
Tuition at four-year colleges increased 14% at public schools and 6% at private universities for the 2003-2004 academic year.
From: Los Angeles Times, July, 2004
The New SAT
Students of the Class of 2006 will be faced with a choice: which version of the SAT test should they take? The old one contains verbal
analogies and the new one is longer and includes a handwritten essay. Students will have to get advice from colleges and guidance
counselors regarding which test to take. Kaplan Test Prep is seeing its business soar as a result of the new exam. The revamped
SAT features tougher math, expanded grammer and reading comprehension sections as well as 25 minutes to write an essay. The
total time of the test will jump 45 minutes to 3 hours and 45 minutes. The best possible score will rise to 2400 points from 1600. UC
will require its 2006 applicants to submit scores from the new SAT, or from the ACT. But USC, UCBerkeley, Stanford, Yale, Columbia,
Rice, Santa Clara Univ. and other colleges say either SAT is all right for the 2006 freshman class. For some schools, including USC
and Duke, students who choose to submit scores from the old SAT must also take a separate exam in writing. Pomona College will
also be flexible for the entering 2006 class. Cal State Universities will allow applicants to submit scores from either version with the
writing part, if submitted, to be used for placement, not admission, purposes. Kaplan Test Prep encourages students to take both
tests, especially if they're applying to a number of competitive colleges.
From: UC Berkeley News, June 1, 2004
The New SAT
Even though the new SAT I exam won't be administered until next March, high school sophomores are already beginning to sign up
for prep courses. The new version of SAT I is especially important for students who want to attend one of the UC campuses. UC will
accept scores only from the new exam for students applying as freshmen for Fall, 2006. Many other colleges across across the nation
will take a combination of scores from both the old and new SAT tests the first year. More than 2 million students a year will take the
test. Ex-UC President Richard Atkinson said that the old SAT I was too susceptible to coaching and encouraged students to do verbal
and math drills instead of focusing on academic content taught in school.
From: Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2004
Fewer Students Interested in Computer Careers
There has been a sharp drop in enrollment in computer science programs on college campuses across the U.S. Enrollment has
dropped 23% from 2002 to 2003. Students are being discouraged from studying computer science because of stories of unemployed
programmers watching their jobs migrate to India and Eastern Europe. The drop in enrollment is occurring at the same time as
companies prepare for a potential shortage of domestic tech works. Some employers fear that continuing declines could hamper
technological innovation. The drop at UC Berkeley during the 2002-2003 period was 41%. Enrollments at George Tech in Atlanta fell
45%.
From: UC Berkeley News, July 14, 2004
U. of Calif. Weights Stricter Admissions
Officials of the Univ. of California is considering raising standards for admissions to the system because too many students are
qualifying to enter the system. They are considering raising the minimum GPA from 2.8 to 3.1.
From: Newsweek, May 31, 2004
Taking Time to Graduate
A recently released study finds that most college students today take about five years to graduate. The problem is particularly bad at
public universities, where, on average, only half the students complete college in four years--compared with 80% of private-school
students. At the Univ. of Michigan, 65% graduate on time. At UCLA, only 42% graduate in four years. Less than 1/3 of students in the
Texas University system finish in four years. This becomes a potential problem for administrators who over the next decate need to
make room for the biggest group of incoming freshmen since the baby boom. Often, state budget cuts have made it impossible for
students to take all of the courses they need in time. Another reason for the delayed graduation figures could be related to the fact that
some students are now completing two or even three degrees to be competitive in a tough job market. Also, 80% of students now
work about 20 hours per week during the school years. A number of state schools are launching initiaties aimed at moving students
more quickly through the system.
From: UC Berkeley news, June 3, 2004
Black Admissions Drop 30% at Berkeley
this fall, 98 black students had registeredfor fall enrollment out of an expected class of 3,821. This is a nearly 30% decrease in black
admissions this year. Applications from black students were down about 10% here. There have also been decreases in minority
applications at the Univ. of Michigan and Ohio State.
From: UC Berkeley News, June 3, 2004
Rejected UC applicants snub community college
According to preliminary figures released last week by UC, 1,357 students accepted and 6,243 rejected the university's offer to enroll
them after they complete two years of study at a community college. This was the first time UC officials had broken their pledge,
based on the state's 1960 educaiton Master Plan, to accept all qualified California high school graduates.
From: New York Times, May 23, 2004
Confusion Surrounding New SAT's
There is increasing worry among this year's 10th graders regarding the upcoming new SAT exam. The graduating class of 2006 will
be the first class to be taking the new SAT exam which will incorporate a writing test. Most colleges seem to be leaning toward
allowing this transition group to submit scores either from the old SAT or the new SAT, and if an applicant submits both, to consider
the highest one. But, should students prepare to take the old SAT next winter, or concentrate on the new format and take the exam next
spring, or even the fall of the senior year? Kaplan Test Prep's advice is to take both exams. Some school guidance counselors would
rather have students wait until March and have extra months of learning. Some colleges, like the UC system, will only accept the new
test. Now that the new SAT will incorporate a writing test, some colleges will only require 2 SATII scores, not 3. Many colleges have not
yet decided how many to require. Bryn Mawr, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Swarthmore and the Univ. of California will require only two
SAT II's. A few of the most selective schools including Harvard and Yale will continue to require three SAT II subject test, at least for
applicants graduating from high school in 2006.
From: UC Berkeley online, May, 2004
Governor Arnold's signature on diplomas
California's college graduates will be getting a bonus on their diplomas this year -- the autography of Hollywood superstar (and
California Governor )Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Governor's signature appears on every degree awarded by the state's two largest
university systems. Previously, college graduates in California have received diplomas with a famous signature -- ronald Reagan's.
He was governor for eight years, winning the first of his two terms in 1966. A column in the Daily Californian, the student newspaper at
UC Berkeley, suggested that diplomas granted during Schwarzenegger's tenure might become a collectors' item. Some students
joked that they would consider putting their degrees up for bid on eBay. A Schwarzenegger autograph lists for $30 or less on the
Internet auction site.
From: Wall Street Journal, May, 2004
"Kvetching your Way Into College"
In the last few weeks, high school seniors have received acceptance or rejection letters to colleges. Thousands of rejected students
get a second chance at being admitted, thanks to a well-guarded option increasingly available at many schools. Most colleges aren't
eager to publicize the fact that students have the option to appeal an initial decision. Public universities are more likely to have formal
appeals processes. Duke, Georgetown and Brown are among a number of private schools that also consider appeals. Some
schools that don't even offer the option to appeal are seeing more demands for it from rejected applicants. The Dean of Admissions
at MIT has seen the request for appeals skyrocket. School officials say these increases stem from heightened competition and panic
surrounding the admissions process.
Some schools are reporting fewer appeals. At UC Berkeley the number fell more than 20% -- to about 750 appeals. At UCLA, the
admissions office expects about 950 appeals by the end of the summer -- a 27% decline from last year. It is important to note that
colleges vary in their appeals protocols. At USC, students appealing should include a one-page statement of why they wish a review
of the decision, along with a new high school transcript that includes additional senior year grades. UC Berkeley applicants must
provide "significant new information" such as a family tragedy or illness. Applicants can also include new senior year grades and a
letter of recommendation.
From: UC Berkeley online, May 10, 2004
CSU offers 3,800 freshmen a detour
Nearly 4,000 freshman hopefuls will be diverted from the most crowded California State University campuses for fall, 2004 and
instead will receive offers to transfer as juniors if they complete lower division courses at a state community college. CSU's plan,
called the deferred admission program" is similar to that of the UC system which last month extended "guarantee transfer options" to
7,600 qualified students who did not receive a freshman offer from any UC campus. CSU Chancellor Reed said that he hopes this is
a temporary, one-year policy brought about by California's budget crisis. Students who take the transfer option must enter into a
deferred admission agreement with one CSU campus when they enroll at one of the state's 109 community colleges.
From: UCLAlumni.net, May 14, 2004
UC is Best Top-Ranked University at Enrolling Low-income students
Six UC campuses enroll more low-income students than any other top university in the country, public or private, according to a new
national study. UCLA enrolled the highest percentage of low-income students in the nation, with 35.1% of its students qualifying for
Pell Grants. UC Berkeley follows, along with UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara. Recipients of Pell Grants
come from low-income families whose earnings are usually below $35,000 a year. UC has achieved its goal of remaining financially
accessible to all the students it admits.
From: New York Times, May, 2004
Get-Into-College Camp
High school students are flocking to a new kind of summer program -- college admission prep camps which consist of hours a day of
essay writing, SAT preparation, counseling,and mock admission interviews. This summer, three companies are offering college
admission prep programs on seven campuses. Academic Stude Associates, Musiker Teen Tours as well as Brighton (a start-up
founded by a former employee of Academic Study Associates)are all conducting summer programs. Brighton's nine-day program at
UCLA and Tufts costs $2,295 and is the shortest and least expensive of the three programs. The Musiker program, $2,899 for 12 days
at Northeastern University or Georgetown offered together with The Princeton Review, includes more college visits than the others. So
far, about 120 students have enrolled for 200 openings.
Some college officials say the new programs cater more to parents' rising anxieties than to any real need for expensive professional
help. Bruce Poch, dean of admissions at Pomona College in California says "This is just sick". It distresses me that parents would be
so obsessive-compulsive". In most families, signing up for summer college admission prep programs seems to be an idea that
comes from the parents, not the students.
From: Wall Street Journal, April, 2004
Financial Aid is Soaring
Along with tuition hikes for the upcoming year, parents will find that financial aid packages have increased as well. Tuition at four-year
colleges jumped 14.1% at public schools and 6% at private universities. Financial aid has increased 15% (12% after adjusting for
inflation) to a record $105 billion. When evaluationg packagdes, make sure offers are directly comparable. Aid typically consists of a
mixture of scholarships, grants, loan and work/study programs. What's really important is how much you will have to end up paying
and how much the student will have to borrow. Although colleges usually cringe at the word "negotiation", most are open to taking
another look at your offers if you have good reasons for requesting a review, especially if your child has stellar credentials. Some
schools may even match other aid offers.
From: Wall Street Journal, April, 2004
College Admissions Glitches
This year's college admission process has been intensely competetive as well as error filled. College administrators blame a
combination of factors including a movement toward automation and outsourcing of web-based notifications. Admissions offices
have been dealing with a sharp increase in the number of students applying to college. In March, UC Davis officials erroneously sent
an e-mail to 6,000 applicants saying they had won scholarships valued at $7,500 a year. (The notice was intended for only 800
students). The UC system alerted more than 2,000 applicants that their Social Security numbers and other personal information may
have been viewed online by other applicants. Also, the SAT scores of 4,800 students across the country were sent to colleges late --
the result of a programming error at the Educational Testing Service. The increasing digitization of the admissions process is usually
the reason for the errors.
From: CollegeBoard News, April, 2004
Annual Survey of Colleges
In the College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges, admisisons criteria ranked "very important or important" by 1,841 four-year colleges
were:
School Achievement - 93%
Test scores - 87%
Recommendations - 49%
Essay - 42%
Interview - 34%
Activities - 30%
From: UC Berkeley Press Release, April, 2004
UC Berkeley fall 2004 admission
The fall, 2004 freshman class continues the tradiiton of being more academically competitive than that of previous years. 8,887 high
school students from acorss California were offered admission. Campus officials are disappointed with data on underrepresented
students offered admission to Berkeley. Officials are attributing this drop to a number of factors including state budget curs along with
proposed student fee increases, cuts in funding for outreach and a more competitive pool of student applications. The admission rate
for Calif. residents remained largely the same as last year, 25.4%. California residents make up 86.8% of the class. Women
represent 55% of the class, the same as last year. Included in the fall, 2004 class of freshmen are students nationally and
internationally ranked in horseback riding, ice skating and gymniastics, academic decathalon and debate team captains, artists,
musicians, and winners of presitigious science competitions. Students have until May 1 to submit a statement of intent to register.
Campus officials anticipate that 3,610 students will enroll.
From: UC Berkeley News, April 21, 2004
Eligible students rejected by UC
For the first time, the Univ. of Calif. has rejected 7,600 applicants who normally would have entered the fall, 2004 freshman class. UC
officials have sent letters to the rejected students telling them they will be guaranteed admission to a UC campus if they attend a
community college for two years. This is the first time that UC has not fulfilled the promise of the 1960 California Masgter Plan, which
guarantees admission to all students who meet eligibility requirements.
From: Wall Street Journal, April, 2004
ABC's at Princeton
According to a recent study, nearly half the course grades given out at Princeton are A- or above. Dean Malkiel has put up a reform
proposal for a faculty vote that includes a 35% cap on the number of A's that one department could issue.
The percentage of Harvard students receiving A's has just hit an 18-year high. At Northwestern University, the dean of its Medill School
of Journalism spoke about the need to "try to reintroduce the notion that to get a C at Medill is not a horrible thing".
Students who receive grades that are not inflated can be unfailry penalized in their career and grad school opportunities when their
grades are compared with others.
Some have called for college transcripts that would list a student's grades along with the percentage of classmates awarded the
same grade in a particular class.
From: From LA Times, March 18, 2004
UC 10% Hike Too Low
Fees for UC undergraduates might have to be raised above the already approved 10% hike during California's fiscal crises, UC
officials said Wednesday. The officials stated that the already approved increases, including a 40% boost for graduate students,
would not raise as much revenue as originally projected. There is a widespread feeling that a 40% increase is totally unreasonable.
This means that money for undergraduate financial aid would have to be diverted to graduate students. This, in turn, would jeopardize
a defining quality of the UC system - its ability to enroll a number of poor students in a world-class university system. Over 30% of UC
students are low-income, while at most other major public universities, that rate is about 10%.
From: From UC Davis Admissions, March 18, 2004
Scholarship Award Error
UC Davis mistakenly sent scholarship award email messages to approximately 6,000 admitted freshman and transfer students. In
reality, only 800 awards were made to the top 5% of the admitted freshman pool. UC Davis Chancellor has sent letters of apology to
each of the students. If any admitted UC Davis students have questions about their admission status, they can log on to
myadmissions.ucdavis.edu Web site. They are also encouraged to visit the campus during Welcome days, April 8, 9, 10 or 12, or they
attend the Southern California Decisions Days events on April 3 or 4.
From: UCLA Website, March 4, 2003
UCLA Admissions Decisions
UCLA will begin notifying freshman and DAP applicants of admission decisions on Friday, March 12, beginning in the early evening.
From that point, decisions will be continue to be released on a rolling basis.
From: Los Angeles Times, February 10, 2004
Cal Grants Program Faces $30Million Cut
Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed budget plans to cut over $30 million in state grants to students applying for financial aid to attend
private colleges. Many students who would otherwise apply to private schools will likely be attending community colleges and public
universities. Private schools with small endowments could be forced to cut admissions and services. Under the proposal, the annual
award to incoming students would be decreased by about 44% - from $9,708 to $5,482. Students attending private schools would be
receiving about $500 a year more than those attending the Univ. of California, whose grants would be frozen at $4,984. High school
seniors have to decide on colleges on May 1, well before state lawmakers complete the annual budget. As a result, many students
may be forced to pick schools without knowing how much grant aid they will receive.
From: NY Times Education Life, Jan. 2004
College Prowler
"College Prowler" is a series of 100 slim books published by Luke Skurman, a 23-yr-old student who developed the guides for an
enterpreneurship project at Carnegie-Mellon. What is unique about this series of college guides is that it gives the owdown on what
really goes on at various campuses. Skurman decided to publish the books when he was unable to find real insider information on
where he was going to spend the next four years of his life. Each book covers one campus and is based on quotes from current and
former students. Another 100 guides will be added this spring. Here's a sampler:
On campus dining at UCBerkeley: "Get the smallest meal plan you can because most people end up eating cereal, wilted salads and
frozen yogurt."
On drug use at NYU: "Weed falls from the sky."
On the guy/girl ratio at Carnegie Mellon: "During my freshman year in the computer science department, there were more guys named
David than there were girls, period."
From: NY Times Education Life, January, 2004
ThinkB4Applying
Now that more and more students are submitting applications online, prospective students might want to select an "appropriate"
screename. College admissions officers might be communicating with students who have screenames like "SexyJer" or "Cutie".
Should college applicants worry? Do admissions officials notice screen names? The answer is yes and no. While a screename won't
make or break an acceptance, one that refers to illicit or illegal activities might be frowned upon. William M. Shain, dean of
undergraduate admissions at Vanderbilt Univ. in Nashville says "I would keep the private parts of your life private rather than
advertising them." Students might want to rethink names like "pothead1" or "No.1Slacker". E-mail etiquette is equally important.
Counselors caution against using informal language such as "CUlater" or "GTG" (got to go)when communicating with prospective
colleges. They also prefer students to use formal salutations, be respectful, and avoid using all upper or lower-case letters. Several
officials prefer that students set up a separate e-mail account for corresponding with colleges, checking it frequently and not changing
it. Officials at Harvard would not appreciate a return address of Yale08.
From: NY Times Education Life, Jan. 2004
Campus Trends in Spirituality
A new study by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA says spirituality and religion are thriving on campus. 73% of 3,680
juniors surveyed at 46 colleges said their spiritual beliefs helped develop their identity, while 58% found that integrating spirituality into
their lives was very important, up from 51% in 2000.
The survey also found that: 78% of students discuss their religious beliefs with friends; 65% question their beliefs at least
occasionally; 9% have developed a stronger "religiousness" since entering college; 52% attended religious services the year before
entering college; and 77% pray regularly.
From: Los Angeles Times, January, 2004
Drop in Freshman Applications
The number of high school seniors applying to the University of California declined this year for the first time in more than a decade.
University officials attribute this in part to increased student fees and stiffer immigration policies for foreign students. Overall, the
number of freshman applicats for fall,2004 dropped 4.1% from last year. The drop-off was most dramatic among international
transfers - more than 56%. However, applications from students transferring from other colleges reached record levels this year, up
5.7% from last year. In the last 13 months, UC undergraduate and graduate students have been hit with fee hikes averaging about
40%. All undergraduate students now pay systemwide feels totalling $4,984, in addition to miscellaneous campus fees. All eight
undergraduate campuses, except for UC Santa Cruz, saw declines in the number of freshman applications. UCLA, which in recent
years has been the UC system's and the nation's most popular campus, received 42,916 applications for freshman admission for the
fall, a decline of 3.2%. The high school grade-point average among applicats also rose this year, to 3.66 on a 4-point scale- up from
3.64 last year. For UCLA applicants, it was 3.75; at UC Berkeley, it was 3.79.
From: Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2004
Student-Aid
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) forms are available this month, and preparing it quickly can boost students'
prospects of getting federal and state assistance for the upcoming school year. The majority of colleges require the FAFSA form for
any type of student financial aid. The form is used to determine a family's eligibility for federal, state, and institutional grants, loans and
work-study programs. More families are depending on financial aid since tuition and fees have increased 47% at public four-year
colleges and 42% at private colleges in the past 10 years, after adjusting for inflation. Before you start completing the FAFSA, you need
to have your 2003 federal income tax return or documentation to estimate taxes, your W-2 wage-earning forms, bank statements and
investment information. You can access the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Schools will receive the form earlier if it is submitted
online. Accurary is the main goal with these applications. Errors can decrease your eligibility for financial aid. Some schools require
families to submit additional information for institutional funds. The Profile is often used to help the college determine the appropriate
mix of financial aid. You can access the Profile at www.collegeboard.com.
From: LA Times, January, 2004
College Fees Expected to Rise
Gov. Schwarzenegger plans to propose a 10% fee increase for in-state students attending UC or Cal State colleges and a fee hike of
up to 40% for graduate students at the universities. Also, the budget is expected to contain reductions in financial aid for students from
middle-income families. Qualifications for Cal Grants, the state's main financial aid program, are also expected to tighten. These fee
hikes would come on top of increases for students in the past 13 months of about 40%--the steepest fee hikes in state history. Fees
at community colleges are expected to rise from $18 to $26 per credit, a 44% increase. Even with the fee increases proposed, UC and
Cal State fees for resident undergraduates would be lower than the average of comparable public universities in other states. The
governor has already made midyear reductions of $53.6 million to the two university systems.
From: Encarta, January, 2004
Ten Schools where the Students never stop studying
These schools are considered the ones where students spend most of their time studying:
1) California Institute of Technology. There are grueling demands and students immerse themselves in a rigorous set of core
courses.
2) Haverford College. There's a high pressure academic environment at this elite liberal arts school. There's a rigorous curriculum,
especially in the sciences and math.
3) Carnegie Mellon. Students here think about school 90% of the time; the other 10% is spent sleeping and dealing with stress.
4) Swarthmore College. One student says "A Swarthmore day is a 28 hour day." There is lots of academic freedom.
5) Wesleyan College. This small, all-women's liberal arts school offers tradition, community, sisterhood and southern charm.
Academics predominate.
6) Scripps college. Most students agree, "Although the workload is very high and demanding, it is worth it". There is lots of competition
between students.
7) Worcester Polytechnic Institute. There's a tough workload at this science, engineering and computer science powerhouse.
8) Colorado College. The Block Plan exists here: students take just one course at a time in 3 1/2 weeks. Lots of time is devoted to
tests, papers, and obligations.
9) Knox College. This school is "extremeley demanding".
10) St. Lawrence University. Classes are discussion seminars rather than lectures. Professors are accessible and passionate about
their subjects.
From: New York Times, December 6, 2003
Additional AP Language Courses
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program is adding four new languages to its program: first Mandarin Chinese and Italian,
and, at some future point, Japanese and Russian. This is the first time since it began almost fifty years ago that the College Board
has made such a change. The program has offered Spanish, French and German up till this time. The Chinese and Italian
governments have each agreed to pay part of the cost of developing the AP programs. Gaston Caperton, the president of the College
Board, said recently “We want to send out the message that learning foreign languages is critically important to education and in the
world we live in, that goes beyond Spanish and French to the Asian languages. Mr. Caperton said that Italian is the most widely taught
language in American high schools after Spanish, French and German. While most Chinese high school students study English,
fewer than 50,000 American high school students study Chinese, a language spoken by 1.5 billion people worldwide. The AP Course
in Mandarin Chinese will be offered for the first time in the 2006-2007 school year while the Italian course will start in the 2005-2006
school year.
From: Los Angeles Times, December 1, 2003
Canadian Colleges Becoming an Attractive Alternative
With competition becoming fiercer at American universities, students are increasingly becoming aware of opportunities at Canadian
universities. The number of American students looking to their northern neighbor for their education has nearly doubled in the last five
years, to more than 4,200 this year, according to the Canadian Embassy. Canadian colleges, which originally drew most of their
American students from the Northeastern states, are beginning to attract more applicants from California, Texas and Florida. San
Francisco and Los Angeles high schools are regular stops on recruiters’ routes. Canadian schools are accepting some students that
the most competitive UC campuses are rejecting. Rising UC standards have helped boost U.S. applications from other western
states including Washington, Alaska and Oregon who want to study out of state but find that UC schools are out of reach. McGill
University in Montreal and the University of Toronto are the only non-U.S. members of the Assn. of American Universities, an elite
group founded in 1900 and made up of 62 research universities. Americans make up 11% of full-time undergraduate students at
McGill. Three other leading Canadian schools – the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, the University of Toronto and Queens
University in Kingston, Ontario-continue to draw more American students by recruiting jointly in the U.S. and calling their group
“Canadian Ivy”. For Americans, Canada combines the allure of a foreign land with the familiarity and proximity of Canada. McGill
accepted 43% of undergraduate applicants for the current freshman class. U.S. students with a B-plus grade average and an SAT
score in the 1200’s generally will be admitted.
From: Money Magazine November, 2003
Get a jump on Internship Programs
The football season is in full swing, winter ski trips are being planned and midterms are around the corner. Savvy students are
looking ahead to summer and career planners agree: the time to start looking for that summer internship is now. The tough job
market as well as the decreased number of internships are making it more difficult to land that perfect summer internship. A recent
study from vault.com states that 86% of college students have completed at least one internship, 69% more than one. What’s the best
way to look for an internship? 1) Use internet sites such as “internshipprograms.com, internships.com and monstertrak.com. If you’re
interested in working in a specific city,
Google your location and the word “internship” to see what comes up. 2) Use the Career Center at your college. Smart students are
checking things out now while things are slow. Once spring comes around, the center will be crowded. 3) Network with students who
have landed jobs at companies you’re most interested in. 4) “Don’t forget to be polite”, says Dario Bravo, who manages internship
services at the UCLA career center. Remember to dress appropriately and send a thank-you note directly afterward. “Not an e-mail, a
paper one,” says Bravo.
From: UCBerkeley News, October 31, 2003
Application Fees Rise
Applications for admission to UC Berkeley continue to rise. Last year, over 37,000 students applied for Fall, 2003 admission. Cal
offered admission to only 8,900 applicants, eventually enrolling a freshman class of about 3,600 students. Despite these large
numbers, every student who applies to Berkeley is evaluated on an individual basis in a “comprehensive review” process. This
process is similar to the process used by many elite private colleges. The policy is consistent with UC Regents’ policy.
Recently, UC Regent John Moores has raised questions about Berkeley’s admission process based on his analysis of SAT I score
data. University officials have said that the analysis contains misleading date and draws incorrect conclusions. A UC study and a
campus internal review reveal that the comprehensive review has produced freshman classes that are superior academically to
previous classes as well as comprising students from a broad array of incomes, geographic regions, talents and interests.
Admissions officials look at a number of factors, including SAT scores, grades, rigor of coursework, whether grades are improving or
declining, the high school the student attended, personal challenges overcome, income and impressive personal attributes including
leadership, determination and commitment. Admission decisions are not based on any single factor.
From: Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2003
Admission Disclosures
Recently Senate Democrats proposed requiring colleges to report data on two popular admissions policies – preferences for alumni
relatives, known as legacies, and for students who apply early-decision – that tend to favor affluent white students over low-income
minority students.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, himself a legacy admission to Harvard University, filed a bill requiring colleges to report on the race and
economic status of freshmen who are relatives of alumni or were admitted under early decision programs. Economic status would be
measured by a student’s eligibility for Pell grants, a form of federal financial aid.
North Carolina Sen. John Edwards stated that “requiring these disclosures should encourage colleges to take a hard look at a
practice that tilts the admissions process against the kids who face the biggest obstacles”.
Even though it is unclear whether there is sufficient Republic support needed to pass, the effort could bring more pressure on
colleges to disclose legacy and early decision preference data. Although many colleges report the number of legacies admitted, few
provide racial or economic data on these groups. Under the proposed bill, schools that don’t comply with the reporting requirement
could lose eligibility for federal financial aid.
Several Republicans including Sen. Trent Lott (Miss.) and former Kansas Senator Bob Dole have criticized admissions preference for
alumni students. Janet Lavin Rapelye, dean of admission at Princeton University, where 50% of this year’s freshmen were admitted
under the early decision program and 12% are legacies. “I would hope that higher education would have the freedom to work this
out…without having a federal watchdog over us.”
From: San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 12, 2003
New UC, CSU Policy Will Have Most Applicants File Online
The University of California and the California State University systems plan to announce next week that all admissions applications
will be available entirely online – making them the first major universities to have applicants file exclusively online.
Not only is this environment friendlier to the students, it is also much easier to get important data to the campuses. However, to make
sure that every student can apply, paper applications will be available as well. Allison Jones, a Vice Chancellor at CSU, commented
that “students are much more fluent with technology…and it is the way they operate.”
In 1996, the UC system was the first in the nation to offer an online application and the numbers of students using the system have
exceeded expectations. Approximately 70% of its almost 100,000 applications have been received online for the Fall 2003 semester.
Students applying to start at the university in Fall 2005 will be the first to use the online system exclusively. The UC system’s decision
is expected to improve the efficiency of the university’s comprehensive review admissions process. Currently the UC system
considers extras such as a student’s experience and socioeconomic status in determining who will be admitted. Before 2001, up to
two-thirds of students were admitted on test scores and grades alone.
As part of the changing application, the UC system will include different essay prompts in an effort to encourage students to write
multiple shorter essays in response to questions on academic preparation.
Both the UC and CSU systems are working to set up a system that would automatically enter high school transcripts for applicants.
Currently, they rely on students reporting the information themselves.
From: Los Angeles Times, August 1, 2003
Test
Limits on enrollment for freshmen in 2004-2005 at CSU and UC campuses could turn away thousands of students, even though they
meet the academic qualifications for admission. The limits still must be approved by each university’s governing body. If approved,
this would be the first time limits would be applied at California campuses.
Placing a cap on the number of students at UC would break the system’s 43-year old policy of placing high school students who rank
among the top 12.5% of graduates in the state into one of the undergraduate campuses.
Even though UC qualified students have been denied admission to selective campuses such as UC Berkeley and UCLA, spots have
been made available at less selective campuses such as UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz.
San Diego State, one of the system’s most selective campuses, turned away about 10,000 qualified students for this year’s entering
class. For the first time, it will not be admitting students for the spring semester, a move being considered by other campuses in the
statewide system. Other less crowded campuses, such as Cal State San Bernardino, hoped that they would still be able to expand
their enrollment. Students who have been turned away from other Cal State campuses might be absorbed by the San Bernardino
campus.
In addition, both UC and Cal State fees will jump 30% because of the state budget crisis. Class sections may also be cut due to
financial problems. The combination of cutbacks, fee hikes and enrollment caps at public colleges in California means that “there
probably will be people who can’t go to any college”.