UC Decisions

Photo+courtesy+of+Wikimedia+Commons

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Eliana Posin, Journalist

March 18-24 are arguably the most stressful, heart-wrenching, relieving, joyous, depressing, surprising days of a CdM high school senior’s life. All caused by the click of a “see application status” button. What could possibly provoke such strong emotions in such a short amount of time? The one thing that high school seniors have been working towards for the past 12 years: college decisions. More specifically, University of California decisions. 

 

The University of California, including UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and UC Merced, is a system of campuses that is highly coveted by high school seniors all around the world. UC acceptance rates range anywhere from 85% (UC Merced) all the way down to 14% (UCLA). The UC application deadline was November 30th, 2021 and since then, CdM students have been wearing their UC merch more than ever, itching with anxiety in hopes of getting accepted. 

 

The time has finally arrived. Hundreds of thousands of excited, nervous, bustling, high school seniors sit in front of their computer screens, some already envisioning their life at a campus of choice. However, students were more pessimistic about their decisions this year than ever.  According to the LA Times, “the University of California shattered records for first-year fall applications” boosting the competition and increasing the anxiety among the student body. In data provided by UCLA, “over 149,000 students applied for fall semester 2022 and UCLA was able to admit fewer than one in nine students.” After COVID, the UC’s decided to scratch the requirement of standardized testing, causing the incentive to apply to skyrocket among students. As the desirability of the UC system rises and acceptance rates fall due to capacity limits, UC’s are on the trajectory of becoming as difficult to get into as an Ivy League school. 

 

Despite the scary statistics regarding low acceptance rates, there were a number of students whose faces lit up at the sight of animated confetti falling down their screens, with a “Congratulations! You have been admitted!” just underneath. And for those that received an answer they were not hoping for, an extremely fulfilling education awaits elsewhere. 

 

LA Times article by Teresa Watanabe

UCLA Information acquired from the personal decision letter.