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.