UC Entry Standard Is Raised

Students planning to apply to the University of California for freshman admission for fall 2007 should take note of two changes in the requirements for eligibility, UC officials said.

The first, more significant change, is that the university has raised the minimum grade-point average for students to become eligible for admission -- from 2.8 to 3.0. This is roughly from a B minus to a B average on a four-point scale.

This change was approved by UC regents in 2004 but is taking effect now.

Most students become eligible for UC admission based on a combination of their grades in required, UC-approved high school courses and their scores on standardized tests, including the SAT or ACT. The grade requirement is waived for students with high test scores or who are in the top 4% of their high school graduating class.

Also those who are admitted to the UC system typically must meet separate, often much tougher standards for the campuses at which they hope to enroll. In another change, applicants for fall 2007 admission also are being asked to calculate their test scores slightly differently than in previous years, UC officials said this week.

Students who have taken either the SAT or ACT will now be asked to convert their test results into a new “UC score” on a 0-100 scale. Previously, those who had taken the ACT, an exam that is less widely used than the SAT in California, converted those test results to equivalent SAT scores.

Susan Wilbur, UC’s undergraduate admissions director, said this change, which she called “technical,” will not in itself affect applicants’ eligibility. She said it was adopted because it establishes a neutral scale and puts scores from different exams on an equal footing.

Students will apply for fall 2007 admission this November.

Potential applicants can convert their scores and check their standing on the new eligibility index by using UC’s online calculator at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/scholarshipreq.

Those looking for more information about eligibility or admission to UC may check the university’s main admissions website at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/ freshman.html.