The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported that several of California's most respected Asian-American leaders feel that the University of California blindsided them with a new admissions policy which will go into effect with the class of 2012. (See article on UC Admissions dated February 6, 2009).
They should be concerned. Currently the top 12 1/2 per cent of California high school graduates qualify for admissions to the University of California. Under the new policy the top 9% of state graduates will qualify for guaranteed admissions. The difference in numbers is made up by also qualifying the top 9% of each high school graduating class in the state. Other applicants will be subject to a Comprehensive Review. Many top students from high achieving high schools such as Mission San Jose in Fremont and University in Irvine who qualified in 2009 will not qualify in 2012.
The Comprehensive Review will be very subjective. The University dropped the requirement for 2 SAT Subject Tests. This was done so that you could not appeal if you're student had a 1450 out of 1600 on two subject tests and was not admitted but another student from a different high school had a score of 800 on the same two tests and was admitted.
In the past if you desired to get your student into a school such as Stanford it was recommended that the student's chances would be greatly improved if you moved to North Dakota. If you want to beat the system and currently live in Fremont you could think about a move to Oakland. If you reside in Irvine a move to Santa Ana or Los Angeles might be a consideration.
Homer Sweeney
