Thursday, 5/8/97 High-caliber students comprise incoming class
Decrease in minority applicants, writing ability concerns
By Mason Stockstill Daily Bruin Contributor Though not all of
their statements of intent to register are in, next year’s freshman
class appears to be better prepared to enter the college
environment than any previous class before. The number of UCLA
applicants is up this year, as is the average high school grade
point average (GPA) and SAT score. Of the roughly 29,000 students
who applied to UCLA for admission, around 3,750 will be enrolling
in the fall – all of whom graduated in the top 12.5 percent of
California’s high school class. And of those selected 3,750, the
average weighted GPA will be close to 4.1, the highest average high
school GPA in UCLA history, according to Assistant Vice Chancellor
Tom Lifka. "During the last two years, we have seen a tremendous
surge in the amount of academic preparation that these freshmen
have," Lifka said. The rise in university standards for applicants
could be the reason for the surge in applicants, Lifka speculated.
"The fact that our fees remain flat, while the fees at other
universities of our caliber are on the rise, is important to
potential applicants," he said, comparing UCLA to institutions such
as Stanford and Ivy League schools. And once schools begin to
attract high-performing students, he continued, "it snowballs, and
we get more applicants of a higher caliber the next year." However,
despite all the praise for the incoming class, not everyone was
enthralled at the prospects for the Bruins of the future. According
to Lifka, there was a 15 to 20 percent drop in the number of
applications received from "historically underrepresented" groups.
Alberto Retana, USAC external vice president, was disturbed that
such a large impact on minority applications was felt. "This shows
that there’s a direct link not only to Proposition 209, but also to
things in the past, such as 184 and 187," Retana said, referring to
various California ballot initiatives that may have affected the
low number of applicants. "We can’t look at these attacks on
education in a vacuum, because they’re all connected," he
continued. Because of the drop in applications, there was also a 15
to 20 percent drop in the number of minority students who were
admitted to UCLA. However, because statements of intent are still
filtering in, it is too early to tell the exact number of minority
students who will be enrolling at the university next year. "Even
if we did know the exact number of students who had returned their
statements of intent, that number would change over the summer,"
Lifka said, since students sometimes change their minds or move
from the wait list to the admitted list at other universities.
Another potential area of concern is regarding the freshmen’s
writing ability. Each year, approximately one-third of incoming
freshmen are unable to satisfy the university’s Subject A writing
proficiency requirement. "My speculation on the reason for this is
that students are not adequately prepared for the kind of writing
that is expected at the university level," Lifka said. However,
despite the fact that so many UCLA students are lacking in their
preparation for college writing courses, the admissions board still
uses high school grades as the most important factor in weighing
the applicant’s academic performance and potential. The admissions
board does not regard any potential test of students’ writing
ability with any more weight than any other test of scholastic
ability. "The Subject A exam that is administered now is already an
enormous undertaking," said Writing Program Assistant Director
Bruce Beiderwell. "To evaluate all students before they even apply
would be logistically impossible." But Writing Program lecturer
George Gadda disagrees with the idea that too many students enter
college lacking fundamental writing skills. "Historically, there
have always been students who have not met the requirements, and
have required more instruction," he said. Despite these potential
drawbacks, administrators look forward to next year’s class of
freshmen. "We’re right where we want to be," Lifka said. "Our
incoming freshmen are of the highest caliber." Previous Daily Bruin
stories: Affirmative Action Story 1/23/95 Related Links: UCLA
Admissions and Student Services