By Robert Salonga
Daily Bruin Staff
As time winds down for students to apply to the University of
California for fall 2002 ““ applications must be postmarked by
midnight ““ high school seniors are putting final touches to
maximize their chances of acceptance following a new admissions
policy.
Because the UC Regents did not approve the new policy until
midway through this month, some students who sent off their
applications before the vote worry their applications won’t
reflect what admissions officers will now look for.
On Nov. 15, the UC Board of Regents passed comprehensive review,
a plan to better balance an applicant’s unique personal
experiences and academic performance when evaluating the
application.
Applicants at UCLA will be given three rankings based on
academic achievement, personal achievement and life challenges.
Some high school students had a chance to revise their
applications to accommodate the new policies. However, those who
had already turned in their applications before the plan’s
approval were not as fortunate.
“They’re not able to illustrate their qualities like
others who knew about it,” said David Shamouelian, a senior
at Yeshiva University High School in Los Angeles.
“I’m at an advantage right now,” he
continued.
Upon learning of comprehensive admissions Shamouelian revised
his UC application to UCLA, Berkeley and Irvine to further
emphasize his personal achievements.
“I spent a lot of time on the application and really took
time on the essay,” Shamouelian said.
Other students felt the timing and lack of clarity of the new
policy confused them.
“We’ve already sent (our applications) in, and it
puts us at a disadvantage because we don’t know what’s
going on,” said Justin Miyamoto, a senior at Esperanza High
School in Anaheim.
After talking to classmates and peers, Miyamoto ““ who
applied to UCLA, Berkeley, San Diego and Santa Barbara ““
concluded that it would make more sense to delay implementation of
comprehensive review.
“Juniors and sophomores don’t have the chance to
gear themselves to become a more competitive college applicant
under the new plan,” he said.
“The regents should make it more clear how much this is
going to affect admissions,” he continued.
But UC applicants are not being judged any differently, said
proponents of the immediate implementation.
“This is nothing less than what we’ve asked
(students) in the past,” said student regent Tracy Davis, who
also works as an admissions reader for UCLA.
“We owe it to students who have really challenged and
engaged themselves,” she continued.
Other regents advocated for delayed implementation.
“Any time you make a significant change in policy, you
have to give sufficient lead time to make adjustments,” said
regent Ward Connerly.
“When we passed SP-1, we delayed it for two years because
students needed to acclimate themselves,” Connerly added,
referring to the 1995 regent policy banning affirmative action in
UC admissions and hiring.
The regents rescinded this past spring.
Despite qualms with the timing of the policy, Shamouelian and
Miyamoto said comprehensive review is a step in the right
direction.
All applicants will now be evaluated under the same set of
criteria, as opposed to former UC policy which admitted 50 to 75
percent of incoming freshmen based on academic performance
alone.
“This is really the correct way of doing things,”
Shamouelian said. “By being subjective, they can identify the
individual and take everything into consideration.”