[JSR] UC Schools Are Harder to Get in Than Ever

For many students in California, going to a UC school is a great opportunity to get a great education without the private school cost. These schools are considered the best in the country, and almost every senior in California dreams to attend. But this year proved that getting accepted is only getting more difficult and more selective.

Reports from The Californian state that the UC system received over 200,000 applicants, and over 15% more applicants in many of these schools this year than the previous year, lowering the acceptance rate by several percent. UC Irvine accepted a record low of students this year because of the results of last year’s admission - too many people decided to attend Irvine, making the school more impacted.

Impacted means that the school has more students than they have space for, so impacted schools are harder to get into. The rise of applicants along with decreased funding from the government has made it very hard to get accepted into these schools that some students considered were their safety schools.

Why are the UCs accepting fewer and fewer people every year? It is a combination of factors: easier access to the application itself, more international applicants, and decreased funding for these schools. Even a couple of decades ago, for UCs and most colleges, it was required to send the application by mail, but now there is a portal just for UC applications online that makes it easy for students to access and send their applications.

Also, more and more international and out-of-state students are applying to these UC schools. The UCs are not getting enough funding to accommodate the increasing number of students; therefore, they are accepting fewer students to ensure all students who attend receive a good quality education.

As an upcoming high school senior myself, I do intend to apply to the UCs and am very interested in attending one of these schools, but I realize that I must not depend on getting accepted to these schools. My school counselor said she recommends applying to in-state privates and out-of-state institutions, as it is currently easier to get into those schools than the UCs. This was a wake up call to myself and many of the students at my school, The Academy of the Canyons.

Jonny Lee, a rising senior states his opinion on this topic: “I think it is somewhat disappointing that a system designed to provide education primarily to Californian students is giving us less chances to attend these UC schools because of the rising amount of applicants. I believe the UCs should prioritize us California students and find a way to accept more students: such as providing more funding for the UCs.”

Overall, despite the hesitation, I think that students should stay positive this upcoming application season this fall and show who they really are in their applications. A college acceptance does not define your worth, and through working hard anything can be possible.