How Many Hours Of Community Service For Uc

Part One of a Three Part Series

I never hear from juniors in May – they're way also busy with finals and tests. Only later on they settle into summertime, many of these rising seniors start thinking most their college applications. And since most of my students here in California will be applying to at least a handful of UC campuses, I go a lot of the same questions from all of them. Hither are some of the most oftentimes asked questions about the University of California application process, from seniors and underclassmen alike. Developing Credentials 1. Do nine^th and 12^th grades matter? Yep and no. When evaluating your academic functioning, the UCs recalculate your GPA using simply your grades from sophomore and junior twelvemonth.

But the person reading your application will evaluate your growth holistically, looking non but at your functioning in 9^thursday grade but also your course option for 12^th grade. Considering of the application deadline, they volition not see your grades for 12^th until you confirm your enrollment in the summertime after graduating. ii. A few kids in my school are taking extra math classes over the summer. Should I be doing that? Sure – if you want to. Some kids just love math (or history or Spanish or any class they take in the summer) and are taking actress courses for fun. Others are taking required classes to brand more room in their schedule for something they love more than, like dance or double science labs or leadership class. Even so others are taking classes over the summertime to replace a disappointing concluding class from the previous twelvemonth. Unfortunately, some kids take summer classes under the mistaken impression that the UCs recommend or prefer this course of action. Information technology is of import to know that your course choice during the school year volition exist evaluated in the context of your local high school. If your school doesn't offer specific courses, you are not expected to take them elsewhere in the summer. If you are taking four years of math (or history or Spanish or whatever class you might take in the summer) during the school year, the UCs will retrieve very highly of your schedule choices. The only reason you should have additional classes in the summer is because you want to for personal reasons. 3. How many customs service hours exercise you recommend? Whenever students ask me this, I respond that they're asking the wrong question. The UC application evaluates students based on their accomplishment in special projects, leadership, and unique talents. They do not evaluate students based on how many customs service hours they complete. Some kids dear volunteering and develop long-term connections to i or 2 organizations in their community. Others love the camaraderie of service organizations similar Key Club or NHS, and devote their organizational energy to creating service opportunities for their peers. But in both cases, those are specific commitments: the kickoff reflects a deep commitment to a detail cause and the development of meaningful relationships with those in need; the second reflects leadership and practical skills acquired through motivating and managing events and large groups of people. These are indicators of individual achievement, leadership, and talent. Some students brand the error of simply recording "xx hours of community service" on their résumés. That sort of general description – especially if it is representative of a lack of investment or involvement on the student's part – is much less compelling to admissions officers in general. Think of information technology like proverb you lot spent 15 hours a week playing sports…a committed athlete would likely have a specific sport they participate in, yr after year. For the purposes of the UC application, "xx hours of community service" does not propose any particular private achievement, leadership or talent. 4. Practise I need to take SAT Subject Tests? The UCs require all students to submit the SAT or the Deed; Subject Tests are not required. But specific programs at specific campuses recommend additional testing, so brand sure to check the website for the programs you're considering. 5. I don't play any sports. Will this wait bad on my application? Colleges are looking for a diverse student torso, made upward of students with very unlike interests and talents. They certainly desire some high-level athletes for their varsity teams in addition to many student-athletes who take learned teamwork, persistence, communication, and other lifelong skills demanded by athletics. But they also want some musicians, some dancers, some environmentalists, some debaters, some mathletes, some researchers, some babysitters, some kids who have worked retail, some kids who have worked in customer service…exercise you see where I'm going with this? The UCs – and colleges in general – don't care if you're not an athlete. They care virtually what y'all choose to do instead. 6. I only constitute out that I have "eligibility in the local context (ELC)" through my high school. What does this mean? Congrats! That means yous are ranked in the top 9% of your graduating class either within your high school or across the unabridged state. It guarantees you lot admission to the UC Organization, though non to any detail campus. When last admissions decisions are reached, any educatee who qualifies for the UC system through ELC but has not been accustomed to any of the campuses to which they take applied will be offered a spot wherever there is room. In previous years, this has meant being offered a spot at UC Merced. Please note that admissions officers at private UC campuses do not consider ELC when evaluating applications; ELC access happens at the arrangement level. Stay tuned for Part Two of our UC application advice!