Apparently UC Irvine released some acceptance offers Feb 1st too

Apparently in addition to UC Riverside acceptance offers released in the early morning of February 1st, UC Irvine released some early decision offers as well. As predicted from SF Mom3, this year was no different than last years' release date.

Also realize that if you did not hear from either school, do not fret. All UCs have until the end of March to release their acceptance offers. Last year, I called UC Irvine on this early acceptance (as my daughter received one February 1st and my son did not). They said they decided to release offers early and will trickle and continue to do so until March (last day happened March 22nd in 2011).

SFMom3 will do her research and will try to give you a rough estimate on exactly when each UC acceptances will be released online. For example, UCLA is usually the second Friday in March at about 5:00pm.

Again, do not freak out if others heard from UCR and UCI, and you did not. Save your energy for the real anxiety in March. No lie.  --SFMom3

What are your admission chances at UCSC with these points guideline?

UC Irvine and UC San Diego are following UC Berkeley and UCLA in utilizing the "holistic review" process in selecting their applicants. That is, instead of relying on strict GPA and SAT/ACT scores, they are looking at the applicant "as a whole, in its entirely." Part of the reason for this is to allow a more broader applicant pool to mirror California's diversity. Some schools like UC Santa Cruz utilizes a calculated comprehensive review score of freshman applicants. However, I heard UC Santa Cruz will be leaning toward the holistic review this year.

Last year, UC Santa Cruz released a Computation of the Freshman Comprehensive Review Score for Fall 2011 applicants. Most likely, this guideline will apply to the Fall 2012 applicant pool as well.

"As stated in the Freshman Admission and Selection guide, UC Santa Cruz calculated a comprehensive review score on all UC-eligible freshman applicants. A total of 9,200 points was possible based on the 14 Academic Senate-approved criteria. Below is the formula for each criterion:

• Grade Point Average (GPA) – multiplied by 1,000 and capped at 4,400 points.
• Test Scores – added together the individual components of the SAT-R or ACT exam (from one sitting) plus the two highest SAT-S exam scores (from two different subject areas), and doubling the best individual exam score from those five scores, and then dividing by two for a maximum of 2,400 points.
• Courses Completed/Planned – if total UC-approved courses is between 52 and 56 semesters, award 100 points; if total UC-approved courses is 57 semesters or greater, award 200 points.
• Honors Courses – if senior-year honors courses are 8-9 semesters, award 100 points; if senior-year honors courses are 10 or greater, award 200 points.
• Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) – if identified as ELC-eligible, award 200 points.
• Quality of Senior Year Program of Study – if total UC-approved, senior-year courses is 13-14 semesters, award 100 points; if total UC-approved, senior-year courses is 15 semesters or greater, award 200 points.
• Academic Opportunities in California High Schools – if student is attending a California high school that is in the lower two quintiles of the Academic Performance Index (API), award 400 points (if points are awarded under this criterion, no points can be awarded under criterion #14).
• Performance in Academic Subject Areas – if student has excelled in one or more specific subject areas (minimum of four years, demonstrated progression to the highest level available, only A grades), award 100 points.
• Achievements in Special Projects – if student has earned significant recognition on an academic special project (must be recognized at levels beyond the high school), award 50 or 100 points, with the higher points awarded when the recognition is national or international.
• Improvement in Academic Performance – if student has an increase of at least one full grade point between the sophomore and the junior year, award 100 points.
• Special Talents, Achievements, and Awards – if student has earned significant recognition of a special talent, achievement, or award (must be recognized at levels beyond the high school), award 100 or 200 points, with the higher points awarded when the recognition is national or international.
• Participation in Educational Preparation Programs – if the student indicated participation in educational preparation programs that were listed in the UC application (or programs of a similar nature to those programs), award 200 points.
• Academic Accomplishments Within Life Experiences – if student has demonstrated academic accomplishment despite some personal circumstances or life experiences (as discussed in the personal statement), award 50, 100, 150, or 200 points, with higher points awarded for the achievement attained weighed against the significance of the information presented. Additionally, 300 points are awarded if the student’s parents are not university/college graduates.
• Geographic Location – if student comes from designated counties in California (as determined by the faculty)or outside of California, award 100 points (if points were awarded under criterion #7, no points will be awarded under this."

For the UCSC freshman admissions process, click here:

http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/freshman.html

You may hear from UC Admissions as early as Feb 1st

• If the UC admissions offices repeat what they did last year, you may hear about your UC admissions status as early as 3:15 am on February 1st. For some reason last year, February 1st seemed to be the roll-out date for early admissions for UC Riverside and UC Irvine. Please note that this is not confirmed for the Fall 2012 applicants.  Just a little urge for you to check your email this week. Please also don't fret if you did not receive anything. Regular notices go out in March.

• In other news, SF Mom3 heard UCLA Supplements went out this week.

• Reminder to fill out and send your FAFSA applications by the end of February. [SF Mom3 has stated that because I am not astute on college financial aid matters, I will refrain from speaking to this issue.] :)

• If you already have not done so, please check each UC you applied to and any email they sent you to "sign in and create your own username and password," called an "applicant account." For example, Berkeley uses "MyBekeleyApplication." Once you have registered with each UC, UC will use this portal as their way to communicate with you, in addition to your listed email. This is also how you are going to find out if you are accepted or rejected, everything's online now.

Much luck to you!