GLICCの専任講師であるBen先生がUC Systemについて自分の体験談を交えて書いてくれました。
As a Californian student, there is always a strong emphasis on attending a university within the University of California system- rightfully so, given the academic accolades and prestige among, seemingly, some of the best public universities in the world. Both of my parents attended a school within the UC system- my mother, also Californian, attended UC Irvine for her undergraduate studies, while my father, hailing from Hong Kong, completed his Masters degree at UC Santa Barbara. Following in their footsteps (alongside a significant proportion of my mother’s family members), I, myself, graduated from UC Davis in completing my Bachelors degree. Every UC campus provides engaging, interactive, and worldly experiences for students, whether involving a multitude of study abroad programs all around the world, joining campus international exchange clubs, no shortage of hands-on labs within the sciences, or, quite honestly, any academic experience imaginable.
For those outside California, the most visible UC campuses tend to be UC Berkeley, UCLA, and, for further educational or postgraduate medical studies, UCSF. Boasting acceptance rates hovering around 10%, it is considered nothing short of an academic feat to receive an admission letter from any of the aforementioned campuses. However, in recent years, the selectiveness of the entire system has undergone a significant shift- students who may have submitted an all-around competitive application to UC Berkeley 5 to 10 years ago would now be lucky to receive an acceptance to their second or third choice within the system. For example, in Fall 2024, UCLA received an astounding 173,651 applicants just for their undergraduate program, and if their recent strings of acceptance rates continue to hold true, approximately 13,000 of those students, or around 8%, will receive a much-anticipated response with a much smaller proportion receiving a waitlist offer in case those accepted students choose to study elsewhere.
What exactly caused this shift? A few answers are generally considered- for example, the removal of the SAT and ACT tests as required admissions metrics changed a significant deciding factor and added emphasis on many of the other areas, like extracurriculars and the personal statements. The importance of college in today’s society is also a major factor in seeing applicant numbers as high as UCLA’s, with students learning very early on in their educational journeys just how many doors a college degree will open for their future. Compounding these causes leads to a much more competitive playing field, for better or for worse.
Within the top applicants for the UC system, an unweighted GPA (Grade-Point Average) of 4.0 is closer to a standard than an achievement, the personal statements outline a beautiful rendition of their struggles, both academically and personally, that were overcome in their trek to the summit, and a wide range of extracurricular activities, alongside the achievements, are lightly boasted about. On the other hand, murmurs from admissions officers within the UC campuses have shifted attention from a wide variety of extracurricular activities, in the hopes that it displays a well-rounded individual, to prioritizing students who show a strong interest in a few specific activities. For example, between a student who plays the piano in recitals and soccer on a varsity team, volunteers for the homeless or various causes, acts as a peer tutor, and holds a job or internship relating to their field of interest may not necessarily be what the UC system is looking for- instead, a student who, from a young age, has loved playing the violin may be able to demonstrate those same qualities, along with a more characterized application, through their feats and accomplishments within the field of violin. Rather than having the image of bouncing around activities without having a singular passion, showing and building off of that passion in collaboration with the personal statements is a surefire way to demonstrate hard work, grit, and personality to the relevant parties.
The field of applicants and the metrics upon which the admissions teams base their annual yield on is ever-changing, and with that, any information available today may naturally become irrelevant or outdated within the next year. Despite this, many aspects of the UC system are eternal- a diverse, international community, a devoted and hardworking student and faculty population, and the addictive desire to always keep learning and improving. Personally, attending UC Davis also brought me my closest friends and acquaintances- some from America, some from Japan, and some from China, with everybody united in their journeys throughout higher education. The ability to meet such a wide variety of students from different backgrounds without even necessarily sharing interests or fields of study is a definite perk of any university, but is truly among the reasons why the UC system stands out.
