News from the UC Counselors’ Conference Fall 2014

Today I attended the UC Counselors’ Conference sponsored by UC Berkeley and held at the San Jose Convention Center.  High school and community counselors as well as IECs (Independent Education Consultants) and non-profit program directors from all over the greater Bay Area attended. 

The information we gathered was similar to last year: a growing applicant pool, lower admission rates, new majors and facilities, and high rankings for UC professors in research.  An added concern among counselors seemed to be the increasing percentage of international and out of state applicants and acceptances—as high as 20% at UC Berkeley, lower at 7% for UC Santa Cruz, and an overall system average of 13%.  Our plenary speaker, Associate VP for Undergraduate Admissions Stephen Handel explained that these students bring both more diversity and money to the UC system.  Of course counselors, students, and parents are worried that this increase only makes the schools even more selective for in state applicants.

Still, there was a lot of good news to celebrate.  Many more resources are being devoted to attract low income and first generation college students and programs are being added for undocumented students, students for foster care, veterans and students with learning disabilities.  Several of the campuses are offering exciting new majors among them: Materials Chemistry at Berkeley, Sustainable Environmental Design at Davis, Exercise Science and Education Science at Irvine, Public Health at Merced, and Global Health at San Diego.  By the next application cycle all UC campuses will be using holistic review, which is a more flexible approach to evaluating student achievement and potential.

Here is a summary of advice for student applicants offered by VP Handel:

--Academics always matter.  Take the most rigorous—but balanced course load—you can handle at your high school.

--Take reasonable educational risks.

--For the personal statement be authentic rather than strategic.

--“If you shoot for the moon, plan for a campus on Earth.” (I paraphrase this to mean: Apply to schools for which you have a good chance of acceptance.  Have a Plan “B” if your top choice doesn’t work out.  You might even consider a gap year or applying to your chosen UC after attending community college.)

It’s always a good idea to visit a few or several UC campuses if you have a chance.  Several of the campuses are offering Fall Visit or Preview Days:

--UC San Diego: September 27, October 11 and November 1

--UC Merced: October 18

--UC Riverside: October 18, November 15

UCLA: September 20

Santa Cruz: October 25

Check the UC Admissions Website for more information about visiting and about each campuses academic programs and admissions advice.