Community service, a high GPA and extracurricular activities are just a few things that have been deemed important on students’ college applications this year. Since applications for the Fall 2016 year were due on Nov. 30, a study on how much harder it is to get accepted to colleges and universities in California has been released by the Campaign for College Opportunity.
The increase of competition and standards has forced the California State University and University of California to deny entry to thousands of students, according to the study.
The study also found the demand for access to top students by the universities as well as employers has gone up within the last four to five years.
The average GPA a student must have to be considered to be admitted to six of the nine UC campuses is a 4.0 according to the Campaign for College Opportunity.
Along with the GPA, students must have an SAT score that is no more than 400 points shy of a perfect score to be accepted to universities like UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego.
To be admitted to a California State University, the requirement for a higher GPA and SAT score has increased by 135 percent since 2004 for students that are applying to impacted majors, according to the study.
“The problem is that more and more students want to go to college which makes universities more picky by raising the requirement of GPA and SAT scores,” said Professor of Economics Robert C. Eyler. “Junior colleges have a much more straightforward process of acceptance, which is where the universities will send the students who aren’t accepted.”
However, this study reports this as wrong, saying that allowing more students to attend UC and CSU schools is important for the states workforce and future economy. Tha Campaign for College Opportunity wants the Governor and legislature to provide funding to the UC and CSU universities so they can accept all eligible students as well as rethink the current admission practices.
“It’s a shame that hard-working, talented California students need to be virtually perfect to get a spot at the University of California,” said Michele Siqueiros, president of the Campaign for College Opportunity in a press release. “It should not be more difficult for a student to enroll directly into a four-year university than it was in previous generations.”
According to the study, students are more than capable of completing the work load at universities, however, employers are making their idea of a good candidate harder to uphold their expectations.
State funding has been shown to have a major impact on the enrollment at campuses as well as meeting employers and applicants expectations. Funding has consequently forced universities to turn away 28,000 students per year, according to the study.
“I had a 3.5 GPA through high school, ran my leadership class, volunteered and did extracurricular activities and I applied to eight schools, however, Sonoma State is the only school I was accepted to,” said undeclared major Katrina Torgersen.
To access the study conducted by the Campaign for College Opportunity, visit college campaign.org.
