“What do these things have to do with anything?”, you are probably thinking.
Well at the height of the real-estate bubble, the number of UC applicants for fall 2007 was almost exactly half the number of applicants for fall of 2018. You did not misread, yup, the number has doubled in just 11 years. So what does that mean?
This year was another record one for the number of UC applicants. You can do the math in terms of what a doubling of applicants might do to a hapless applicant’s chance of admission. You’ve probably heard stories of kids who thought Merced and Riverside were backup schools, yet didn’t get into any UC.
Let’s take a few select campuses and analyze them:
Other UCs, and for that matter private colleges, also saw increases.
So what does this mean for current high-school or middle-school students? At some level, it is quite simple -- you need to stand out against your peers. This means:
Take rigorous courses
Maintain your grades
Show strong ACT/SAT scores
Take any addition required standardized tests, and do well
Choose your summer/extracurricular activities wisely
Design an application that represents you in the best light
Write compelling college essays
For private colleges you also have to line-up letters of recommendation and interviews.
In summary, UCs saw a record number of applications in 2018. In fact, the applicants have doubled since just 2007. If you are looking for help on college admissions, feel free to contact us. We have successfully been placing students in Ivy League Colleges, UCs, MIT, Caltech, Stanford and other private/state colleges for almost two decades; and yes, that includes this year!