UCs to Remain Test-Free in Foreseeable Future
From the December 2021 UC Counselors and Advisers Bulletin:
During its November meeting, the University of California Board of Regents recapped a discussion item on the Academic Senate’s Smarter Balanced Study Group (SBSG) report, which came out in September. There was no action on this — just a discussion among the regents, in which they restated that UC will continue to practice test-free admissions in the foreseeable future. UC conducts a Comprehensive Review of first-year applicants using more than a dozen faculty-approved criteria to consider in the admission process. The full range of information in the application (grades, curriculum, activities, Personal Insight Questions, etc…) provides campuses with critical information on candidates.
The University of California remains committed to enrolling an academically talented and diverse class of students who reflect the fabric of the state of California.
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In UC applications there is an option of adding SAT/ACT scores. I’ve heard from parents saying most kids who into UCLA or UC Berkeley had added the test scores? Is it a coincidence or ?
The UC Application Center (which processes the applications before distributing digital copies to the individual UC campuses) strips the test scores from the applications before forwarding the applications to the campuses. The idea is that test scores cannot influence the admission decisions if the campuses have no access to them. This was explained at the UC Counselor Conference, but people will believe what they believe (because that’s the world we live in now).
Side note, the UCs are test-free because IT WAS PART OF A SETTLEMENT FOR A LAWSUIT – I don’t really understand why people have such a hard time understanding that you have to honor promises you make to the court (I guess because no one believes in promises or the court now?).
UCs allow students to enter AP scores. Are those scores looked at as part of the evaluation for admission? Or are they only used for placement in classes if the student enrolls?
The most recent update I have about AP exam scores is here (under “3”). I found out later that UCSB uses a complicated academic index formula (which includes AP exam scores as part of the calculation) for admission evaluation so AP exam scores are used differently at that campus (more information here; page 46, under “Freshman Selection Methodology”).