Professors from UC Berkeley proposed on Friday that the holistic
model for admissions adopted at UCLA and UC Berkeley be used at all
10 of the University of California campuses.
Under this system, a single reader reviews all parts of the UC
application and factors other than GPA and standardized test scores
would be given more attention.
Several years ago, UC Berkeley first adopted this new way of
reviewing applicants, a system in which factors such as personal
achievement and leadership ability are also taken into account.
Professor Reynaldo Macias, the chairman of Chicana/o Studies at
UCLA, said he believes comprehensive review to be a more equitable
method of evaluating UC candidates.
“The old system used measures for success that were not
equally accessible,” he said. “It’s a question of
stacking the deck.”
Macias said he believes measuring candidates by GPA and test
scores alone is inadequate because they look not only at aptitude
but also access to resources.
Many students who apply to UC schools graduate high school with
GPAs above 4.0, but to do so they must have had access to
college-level courses, Macias said. He added that socioeconomically
disadvantaged students often do not have the option to take such
courses at their high schools, rendering them less competitive in
the current UC admissions process.
Macias also said factors such GPA and test scores are not
accurate measures of a candidate’s future success.
He said GPA is only predictive for a student’s first year
of college and test scores are even less indicative of how a
student will perform.
“We’re using two indicators that are fairly
weak,” Macias said.
Macias said he believes looking at qualifications that are
equally available to all students, such as leadership ability and
community involvement, offers a more comprehensive view of how well
students will perform.
But not all students UCLA are excited about the proposed
holistic comprehensive review becoming standard.
Virginia Myers, a fourth-year American Indian studies student,
said she believes while holistic comprehensive review is a step in
the right direction, the new admissions process will not do enough
to help students gain acceptance at competitive UC campuses.
Myers said she believes for underrepresented minorities,
especially the American Indian community, having an admissions
official who understands their experiences is critical in having
applications evaluated fairly.
“How can they be sensitive to our needs or aware of our
history?” she said. “How can they understand our life
experiences?”
In addition to students, there are those in the community who
are concerned that activating comprehensive review at all UCs will
reverse previous legislative decisions.
“We want make sure that any comprehensive review formula
is not an attempt to smuggle race and ethnicity back into the
admissions equation,” said Harold Johnson, an attorney with
the Pacific Legal Foundation.
With reports from Bruin wire services.