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CarolynLawrence
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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Posted: Fri Jul 20th, 2007 03:19 am |
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I've been struggling for several weeks to keep a secret. At a recent counselor conference, a reliable source in UC admissions had told me that the UC's were considering changing their essay prompts. They have just announced the new prompts today. According to my source, the changes were made partially to help readers understand the diversity of backgrounds of applicants, but also to focus in on special talents and achievements.
UC Essay Prompts Changed
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WestrnMom
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| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
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Posted: Fri Jul 20th, 2007 04:02 pm |
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That shows that entry to the UCs is no longer based only on the numbers, which is going to affect students whose sole focus has been maintaining a high GPA and test scores. It makes the UCs more similar to the private schools, while also giving the state schools a more equitable way to decide which of the qualified students will receive admission when they have more high-stat students than they can accommodate at each of the more popular campuses. What impact do you think it will have on admissions?
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Fri Jul 20th, 2007 06:19 pm |
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WestrnMom wrote: What impact do you think it will have on admissions?
I think the first question will make it easier for admissions to identify low income kids, and also, even though the UC's can't legally use racial affirmative action, think it will ultimately help with diversity. I think the second question will do the same, as well as reinforce the message you suggest about the importance of having more than grades/test scores.
I do much prefer these questions to the old prompts. They seem to fit better with the UC's claims of using "holistic admissions." They're also clearer and more direct, and answering two questions in 1,000 words is more realistic for the average 17/18 year old than answering 3 in 1,000.
Last edited on Fri Jul 20th, 2007 06:19 pm by CarolynLawrence
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Fri Jul 20th, 2007 07:38 pm |
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Westrnmom, admission to "the UCs" is still based ultimately on the numbers -- the eligibility standards -- and every California kid who is UC-eligible is still entitled to admission. The essay answers are weighed in terms of determining admissions to the more selective UC campuses -- and the change of essay prompt does not change the "comprehensive review" procedures that have now been in use for many years.
From what I can see, the new 2-prompt essay is simply a reworking of the older, 3-prompt essay and it looks to me like the new prompts are somewhat more straightforward than the old ones. It was kind of hard with the old prompts to know quite what the school wanted, and they seemed to ask for overlapping content.
So I doubt that much has changed other than the hope among UC admission readers that they will get the information they want from the personal statements. They were asking for the same information before --- but I think it was harder with the old set of questions to figure out quite what they wanted or how to go about structuring it.
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WestrnMom
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Posted: Fri Jul 20th, 2007 10:00 pm |
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Guaranteed admission somewhere but not necessarily to the campus of one's choice. It could shift who is admitted where, even with high stats, in fact especially with high stats, since they need some way of determining who will be admitted if students fall in a relatively similar spot.
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Sat Jul 21st, 2007 01:08 am |
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But the point is, that hasn't changed from the comprehensive review process that has been in place for years. All I see is that the questions have been reworded to be more closely targeted to eliciting the type of information relevant to thet process that would not be apparent from other parts of the application.
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