Maybe your legacy student is dreaming of going to Haas, a UCLA cluster, or even Film School at Santa Cruz. You might be wondering, “will my alumni status help them get into a UC?” It's a question we hear from parents all the time, especially when it comes to UC Berkeley and Los Angeles. So we wanted to break down what legacy means (and doesn’t mean) when applying to top UC schools.
Do the UCs look at legacy status?
So here’s the thing, no. They say very clearly:
“Per long-established UC Regents policy, UC forbids legacy admissions and does not grant preferential admission to the children of alumni or donors.”
UCLA goes even further in its communication (but it’s true of ALL THE UCS):
“There are no 'legacy admissions' at UCLA— or at any of the other University of California campuses. The UC application does not ask applicants where their parents or family members graduated from college. Nor are the alma maters of an applicant's parents or family members considered in the admission process.”
Pretty much they do not care and you really should not try to tell them. We know it’s tempting to try to sneak it into an application essay but trust us, don’t. It won’t help. They really mean what they say here.
This makes the UCs part of a very short list of schools (like MIT, CalTech, and the University of Washington) that do not consider legacy status.
We understand this might be distressing news. But at top schools, legacy is only a small boost industry-wide. We say it all the time, at top schools, even if you are a legacy you need to also be a good candidate if you hope to get in. The UCs take this further, you need to be a good candidate to get in period. So what makes a good UC candidate? Which schools will your candidate likely get into? Let’s talk about it.
Not all UCs are created equal
That sounds mean and maybe it is. All the UCs are good schools, but we would be lying if we said that we get as many students a year interested in going to UC Riverside as we do UCLA. Some just have a better reputation and, honestly, ranking than others. However, let us say this again, all of them are good schools and all of them have some amazing programs. It’s just about what you are looking for.
The other great thing about the UCs is that they are all on the same application. When you do this application you can choose which schools you are applying to by checking a box. Meaning it is as easy to apply to one of them as it is to apply to all of them. While it is easy to apply to all of them, you have to pay each application fee separately… so it is certainly not as affordable to apply to all. If you are serious about going to a UC, it's usually worth it to apply to multiple. We help our students gauge which of the UCs are reaches, safeties, and targets for them individually and make a strategy about which to apply to. We look further than just GPA and acceptance rate when strategizing which UCs our students will likely get into, but it’s a good jumping-off point if you haven’t looked deeper into the UCs.
Below are the numbers for the Class of 2023, so these stats are a little old. But this is the most complete set of numbers that the UCs have published which can be helpful. TLDR: take this with a grain of salt because the UCs have become more impacted in recent years so the acceptance rates are probably lower across the board from the following.
*This is an overall acceptance rate—it will be higher for in-state students and lower for out-of-state students.
So what is your student’s best chance of getting into a UC? Let’s break it down:
Get Good Grades
If you look at the numbers above, you will probably notice something in common. All of the UCs are looking to accept candidates with good grades. Only three of the nine have a middle 50 below a weighted 4.0 and two of those are above a 3.8. The UCs are looking for A students who are also taking a challenging course load. The reason so many accepted students have above a 4.0 is that they are taking AP and IB classes to push themselves academically. Your student should aim to do the same if they want to get into the UCs and especially the more competitive UCs. One note, the UCs also have a minimum GPA. They will not consider your application if you have a below 3.0 in-state or 3.4 out-of-state.
Don’t Stress the Scores
The UCs are no longer looking at standardized test scores. Do not try to submit them. Trust us, they aren’t looking. We’ve had parents try to sneak them into additional information sections…. Please don’t. It is always a big facepalm from us and the admissions offices.
Make your application shine
The one downside to applying to the UCs is their application. It has multiple personal essays and a lot of space to list extracurriculars making it longer than the Common App. We aren’t going to lie, there are a lot of missteps students can make when they are applying. But we actually LOVE this application because of the myriad opportunities it gives students to show who they are.
The essays give students a chance to show all the parts of themselves that many other colleges often miss. We start by going through all the questions with students and seeing which ones speak to them the most. Students have to write 4 medium-length essays, so it might as well be fun. Then outline dynamic stories for each question. Sometimes we include poetry! Sometimes we break form! Sometimes we have callbacks between essays! Because this application is truly so long, you have a ton of creative bandwidth.
We recommend starting early (the deadline is also earlier than a lot of schools) and working with a counselor. We know that is a little self-serving since we are counselors, but it can really make all the difference when it comes to making your student’s UC application shine.
We know this might not be the best news. Especially for legacy candidates. There is no trick to getting into the UCs. You just need to be a great student with a great application. But we can help. The UC application is one of our most requested and we love to help the students we work with get in to their dream UC.
Need help? Contact us here!