UC santa cruz and riverside?

Question

I've heard that if u meet all the minimum requirements you are accepted. is that true?

Answer 1

(edit: I try to be as thorough & helpful as possible, so my answers tend to be long ... please don't give me thumbs down for long answers)

Here's a website that shows college acceptance rates. UCSC acceptance rate is 78.9%, Riverside acceptance rate is 84%. So a high % rate is accepted, but not everyone. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-11-02-collegerates_x.htm

We've been told that acceptance changes somewhat from year to year based on who/how many other applicants there are.

Here's a link to UCSC's Eligibility for Admissions and Selection Policy http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/freshman_guide.cfm
Also, if you navigate your way around the various college websites, you'll find info about scores, gpa's, etc of past applicants who were accepted for a general idea to compare your personal info to. By the way, I grew up in Santa Cruz and lived there until 3 1/2 years ago ... It's a beautiful area (I miss it), UCSC is a beautiful campus, tends to be very liberal (don't know if that's a pro or con for you)

I haven't found the link that takes you directly to the info you're looking for at Riverside, but here's what I have ... if I find the direct link I'll edit it in.
http://my.ucr.edu/prospective/dates.aspx

BTW, my daughter will be off to college next year, so all this college stuff is fresh in my mind right now :-)

Another less competitive UC is Chico. Also check out some of the CSU's ... one that has been described as "a diamond in the rought" is CSU San Marcos (NE of San Diego). If you can, visit some of the campuses and if you have enough $ for ap fees, apply at competetive ones too if there are any you are interested in ... after all, you're going to be there for 4+ years and your education has a huge impact on your future :-)

Answer 2

Well I know it isn't all about rankings but it is consistent through out many college ranking sites that UCR's engineering programs are far higher than UCSC's. I know this question is 2 years old but to those who have the same question as the original poster, it all depends on what is more important to you. UCSC, from what I've seen, has far more students that enjoy UCSC's atmosphere because of the beach and the campus itself. If having a good social life for 4 years is more important to you than pick UCSC. If academics are more important to you than I say choose UCR. I was at a tour there for admitted students and when my group was passing by the Engineering department, the tour guide said that in some nation wide competition for electrical engineering UCR won and beat out schools like UCLA and Caltech. UCR's engineering department (BCOE) was ranked number 1 in its size in the nation and it is relatively new since it opened in 1989.Says alot about the program there. BCOE is very small thus giving undergraduate students a lower student-to-faculty ratio and the department is tightly woven together for its size. UCR's social life though can vary extremely. Some people had an absolute blast there while others hated it endlessly. It all just boiled down to what you make of it. Many of the people who enjoyed it had a car and joined a lot of clubs.

Answer 3

No, it's not true. Yes, they are less competitive than other UC's like UCLA and Berkley, but they still have many more applicants than they could ever accept. Have good grades, good test scores, and a reasonable extra-curricular life. That's the best way to ensure your chances are good.

Answer 4

Usually for any state schools you just have to meet certain requirements to be accepted, a few offer specialty programs so they require more stringent applicant policies but those two you could probably get into no problem.

Answer 5

Did you pass grade school ??