As colleges confront a swelling number of students crowding into majors that promise lucrative career opportunities, they are forced to impose limits on the number of students allowed to choose those majors.  This article discusses selective majors within the context of the University of California and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), in particular.  UCSD has added a hurdle to admission to selective majors which furthers the trend of the UC system in discouraging out-of-state students from attending.

First, some definitions.  “Selective majors” refers to majors in such high demand from students that a college creates special rules restricting entry.  These majors typically include computer science, engineering, business, and majors that require auditions (e.g., music, art, dance, film).  Some colleges have much longer lists.  See, e.g., Here’s the list of high-demand UC majors and how to get into them.  There are various terms used for this purpose, including “capped,” “impacted,” and “restricted.”

Generally, there are two routes for admission into selective majors.  Students may be eligible to apply for entry into the major as part of their college admission application.  This is referred to as “direct admissions” or “direct admit.”  At some colleges, this is the only route to the major – you either gain entry to the major when you are admitted to the college, or you must select another major. 

However, most colleges allow students to transfer into a selective major in their first or second years.  I refer to this as an internal transfer, although colleges have many different names for this route.  Some students also refer to this route with a verb – to “back door” a selective major is to select a less popular major when applying and, after admission, seek an internal transfer to the selective major.

The difficulty of obtaining an internal transfer varies from college to college and from major to major.  At some colleges, completing the prerequisite courses for the major with passing grades is sufficient; at other colleges, internal transfer routes are highly competitive.  See The Data Is Out There – But You Need To Look For It (not much has changed in this area in the last ten years)

At the most selective University of California campuses, internal transfers to selective majors can be very difficult.  Consider UC Berkeley’s warning:  “[t]he opportunities for being admitted to a high-demand major after enrollment are extremely limited.”  New High Demand Majors Policy from the College of Letters & Science – Office of Undergraduate Admissions.  (Pro tip:  when a college uses the phrase “extremely limited,” it means “virtually impossible.”) 

The odds of admission to the most popular selective majors at many of the UC campuses are also daunting.  For example, at UC Davis, admission to all selective majors depends on completing prerequisite courses with a minimum GPA.  However, for the Data Science major, students who satisfy this requirement are then entered into a lottery for admission.   

The criteria for admission to select majors are typically focused on academic performance in prerequisite courses.  However, the situation is different at UC Berkeley, where applicants for internal transfers are evaluated in a “comprehensive review.” This review appears to be quite similar to the “holistic review” almost every university uses for undergraduate admissions.  The criteria listed by UC Berkeley are so vague and numerous as to allow the college unlimited discretion and zero transparency in choosing whom to admit.  See Prospective freshman FAQs – Berkeley Engineering.  This means that students have no clue whether they will gain entry to the major.

And then there is UCSD, which, starting in the summer of 2025, will blaze a new trail.  The college has a relatively small set of selective majors:

Data Science

Public Health

Jacobs School of Engineering – all majors in these departments:

• Bioengineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Computer Science and Engineering
• Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Where UC Berkeley is vague about its criteria, UCSD is crystal clear:

This policy is even more removed from academic excellence than the “comprehensive review” process used at UC Berkeley.  Leaving aside complicated and controversial questions of fairness and utility, one consequence appears certain: all but a few out-of-state students (“OOS”) will lose this competition before it begins.     

They will lose one point because they are not California residents. 

They will lose another point because very few will be eligible for Pell Grants. Even those who are will be unable to afford to attend because Pell Grants are limited to approximately $8,000 per year; UC does not offer OOS any other need-based aid to cover the over $80,000 in tuition, housing, and other expenses.  See Who can get financial aid | UC Admissions; Tuition & cost of attendance | UC Admissions. 

Thus, many California residents will earn at least two points for grades and residency, while OOS who are not also first-generation students will only earn one.  Further, many OOS who are first-generation will come from families that cannot afford the non-resident tuition.

Students who do not receive direct admission to a selective major at a UC campus must decide whether to gamble their career prospects on prevailing in a competition which they almost certainly will not win.  I recently advised one of my students who applied to UCSD for direct admission to the engineering major but was admitted only as “undeclared” to choose a different college.  This was an easy call – if he did not obtain an internal transfer, he would have no opportunity to become an engineer. 

I am not a fan of the “direct admissions” system or other processes that impose hurdles to entry into, or continuation in, a major.  (I do not include majors where merely a minimum performance is required to continue.)  Such systems expose students and their parents to too much risk and stress.  After proving their worthiness in high school, students are plunged into another competition with serious consequences for their career choices. 

College should be about more than a career and relentless competition.  It should be an opportunity for personal and intellectual growth, as well as a bit of fun.  (Parents:  what are your fondest college memories?)  Direct admissions systems are a detriment to the college experience.  Why pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for so much anxiety?

Unfortunately, so many colleges have adopted such systems that striking them from your application list could eliminate many otherwise worthy choices.  Nonetheless, students who are denied direct admission into a selective major at a college should seriously consider attending another institution unless choosing another major would still serve their post-graduate goals.  This is undoubtedly the case for UCSD and perhaps other selective UC campuses. 

I often hear from families of students who have achieved all that has been asked of them in their high school years, from winning top grades and standardized test scores to excelling in their extracurricular activities. Their parents proudly proclaim that their students plan to apply to multiple Ivy League colleges.  

Alas, only a minuscule fraction of them will gain admission. The reason is that although the published acceptance rates of the Ivies are about 5%, several groups receive preferential treatment.

Approximately 10-20% of matriculants at the Ivies are athletic recruits. See Athletic Recruiting Offers Greater Odds Of Ivy League Admissions Than Legacy Status; Ivy League Athletic Recruiting: Risks & Rewards | Ivy Coach; Chances of playing sports at Ivy League Schools | Scholarship Stats.com (the number of students playing on varsity teams at some Northeastern colleges range as high as 35% of the class, although it is unclear whether each of them received special consideration in admissions).

If you want a depressing view concerning the reasons for this emphasis on athletics, see Q&A With Malcolm Gladwell: “Revenge of the Tipping Point”. (Spoiler: follow the money.)

Also ahead in line are legacies – students whose families attended the college. They account for another 10-15% of Ivy League students. Legacies are nearly four times as likely to be admitted as non-legacy students at some of our most elite colleges (including Ivy League colleges). See How Big Is the Legacy Boost at Elite Colleges? – The New York Times, July 27, 2023.

Less known is that many of those admitted are from high schools that are far more exclusive and affluent than we have here in Tucson. A significant number of those students attend “day schools.”  These are private schools, often residential, where bright students enjoy opportunities for impressive internships and other extracurricular activities not available to most students. Even Tucson’s strongest academic high schools are not structured to provide those opportunities.

Of the 7,000 high schools that have sent students to Harvard, one in 11 students attended one of just 21 high schools across the United States. See Most Schools Dream of Sending Students to Harvard. These 21 Expect To.  None of these high schools are in Tucson. Although a couple of these favored academies are public high schools, private schools are greatly over-represented at the Ivies. See Can You Get into an Ivy League from a Public School?  | Ivy Coach.

Once you factor in the students on these favored tracks, the admission rates are closer to 1% or 2% of everyone who applies outside those categories; some are international students from countries with their own elite academies.

But I am Ivy League material!

When I mention these statistics, many clients reply that they are certainly among the top 1-2% of students in their high schools. Alas, that is not how it works. Virtually every applicant to Ivy League colleges is in the top 1-2% of their class in terms of GPA, academic rigor, test scores, and extracurricular activities. Only 1% to 2% of those elite students will be admitted.

A quote from writer and columnist Thomas Friedman about China is apropos:

The saying in China is, “If you’re one in a million, there’s still 1,300 people just like you.”

The old meme about “the best of the best” really does apply here. If you are one of those top performers in your high school, only 1-2% of you are likely to get into an Ivy League college.

How do you know if you have a serious chance of admission despite these odds?  Here are some factors that may make you a contender:

• Your teachers’ recommendations describe you as “the finest student in my 30 years of teaching.”
• You have won national scholastic competitions (e.g., U.S. Math Olympiad team member or qualifier, Regeneron Science Fair winner, or top finisher).
• You are the author of a paper published in a major scientific journal (not some high school “journal of research” like those discussed in Extracurricular Activities Are Essential for College Admission).
• You are a U.S. Olympian, a featured soloist performing on national stages, or a nationally recognized leader of a worthy cause (e.g., human rights, the environment, public health).
• You formed and are running a non-profit company with a national impact (not a “company” put together by your parents with a nice brochure that will disappear 10 minutes after you receive your acceptance).
• You have made national news and have a compelling personal history (usually demonstrating the ability to overcome a disadvantaged background).

This list is not exclusive, but you get the idea. You are at a huge disadvantage if you are not an athlete or other star performer or a legacy. Unless you have spectacular achievements to accompany your outstanding grades and test scores, your Ivy League application will be a moonshot. It is also time-consuming, as those colleges tend to require more essays on difficult subjects than other colleges.

Although my philosophy is to help clients apply to schools they choose, including the Ivies, I urge you to be realistic when doing so. If you want to try a “moonshot,” perhaps just apply to one Ivy League college.

Your chances may not be much better at other “dream” colleges

I was dismayed the other day to come across this article: I Used to Dream of Sending My Kid to an Ivy League School, But These 10 Colleges Now Top My List – 24/7 Wall St.  The premise is that you do not need an Ivy League education to have a great career; it lists ten colleges as alternative destinations.

I agree with that premise. But consider this list of ten colleges with their corresponding 2024 acceptance rates:

1.         MIT:  4%

2.         Stanford:  5%

3.         Duke:  5%

4.         University of Chicago:  5%

5.         Caltech:  3%

6.         Northwestern:  7%

7.         NYU:  8%

8.         Rice:  7%

9.         Vanderbilt:  5%

10.       Williams:  7%

Yes, those numbers are better than the acceptance rates for Ivy League colleges, but not by much. Those acceptance rates also do not account for the fact that, like the Ivy League, many of their openings will be filled by star performers, legacies, and students from elite United States and overseas schools.

Further, you will still compete for admission at each of those colleges against your peers. Most will be the same students applying to the Ivies – they will be using these colleges as their second choice.

Of course, some of the listed colleges are much more than “second choice” material. Caltech and MIT are more challenging to get into than most of the Ivies, even if you are a STEM genius. Stanford is also just as impenetrable as the Ivies. Your chances are better at the other seven colleges listed, but that is not saying much. I dare to say that most of those – perhaps except NYU – are also moonshots for all but the truly exceptional student.

Top students have plenty of other options

The good news is that dozens of realistic alternatives exist for high-achieving students nationwide. College counselors can identify so many other powerhouse colleges that the current fixation on the Ivies and other top-20 colleges borders on the absurd.

One example is the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta (Georgia Tech). This recent Forbes article is probably making the rounds there:  The New Ivies: How Georgia Tech Is Putting Job Placements Over Exclusivity. The subtitle proclaims: “By luring tech companies to Atlanta while simultaneously growing its enrollment, [Georgia Tech] is creating a super-sized rival to MIT, Caltech, and Stanford.” 

There are dozens of top colleges around the country with acceptance rates no lower than 10% that are as good or better as the Ivies and most of their equivalents for many careers, particularly those in STEM. (However, it’s tough to top Caltech and MIT.) 

This is particularly true given that many careers require graduate school. In those job markets, employers focus on the prestige of the college where you earn your advanced degree. Your undergraduate institution does not matter. It is difficult to overstate the importance of this fact. You can get into the most prestigious graduate schools from dozens of excellent undergraduate institutions, including Georgia Tech. Indeed, law and medical schools prioritize grades and scores on the MCAT and LSAT, respectively, so you may enjoy better odds of winning the prize by racking up a better GPA at a less competitive college. (That is a topic for another day.)

A very few students should apply to these “dream” colleges

For the right student, applying to colleges with sub-10% acceptance rates can make sense. Your qualifications may put you in the “contender” category, and you may benefit from studying with students with similar interests and academic abilities. The Ivies also provide outstanding need-based financial aid; their alumni networks in certain areas (e.g., finance) are second to none. Graduating from one will mark you as elite in many areas of our society (perhaps less so in STEM). Just manage your expectations and include a wide range of colleges in your search and applications.

Spring is when parents search for summer programs for their students with an eye toward improving their admissions chances at selective colleges. Alas, there is now a toxic “arms race” in extracurricular activities, particularly for STEM students. One colleague has even proclaimed that a “STEM resume” is critical to winning admission to STEM programs at very selective colleges. While I will not go that far, too many students fail to focus on extracurricular activities at the beginning of their high school careers.

The good old days

When I started college counseling in 2015, the bar was reasonably low. Students needed to show sustained commitment to one or two after-school activities, be they clubs, student government, or athletics (we called them “sports”). A separate academic interest or interesting hobby was a bonus. The competition among elite students winning science fairs and math competitions, researching in university labs, playing in local symphony orchestras, and starting non-profit companies was mainly reserved for those competing for admission to “Ivy Plus” colleges (the Ivy League plus MIT, Princeton, and Stanford).

Part of the reason for this period of relative sanity was the paucity of such activities. Apart from a few competitive summer programs (e.g., HSHSP, RSI, SAMS, SUMaC, Telluride), there were few spaces in reputable programs for elite students. Most university labs were not particularly interested in high school students (and still are not). The phenomenon of parents spending thousands of dollars to help their children start (and then quietly wind down) non-profit companies was just getting underway.

Do you have money?  We have programs!

The landscape is very different now. Public and private providers offer dozens of summer and semester-length programs. Although most of these are STEM-related, there are others oriented toward serving those planning to study the liberal arts. For a lengthy list of private and public programs, courses, internships, and research opportunities, some elite and others less so, see 62 Best Research Opportunities for High School Students – College Transitions.

Over the last decade, dozens of colleges started their own summer programs. Now, it’s hard to find a “name brand” college without one. Just search for “summer college programs.”

You will probably enjoy yourself and learn a lot by attending one of these programs. Alas, they are quite expensive. Some parents justify the cost by hoping that their students will gain insight into what they want to study in college. More may hope that attending will confer an edge in admissions.

There are two issues here when evaluating whether these programs will give you an admissions advantage. First, if you later apply to the college sponsoring the program, are you more likely to get in? The colleges state that you will receive no advantage, and my experience confirms their claim.

Second, do these programs help your college admissions chances generally?  A good rule of thumb is that if a program is open to all and costs thousands of dollars, it will not give you much of an advantage in college admissions. Counselors call these “pay-to-play programs.” Although attending might be a useful way to show that you are doing something productive with your time, there are far cheaper ways to accomplish this goal.

Note: This does not include substantive classes offered by colleges and community colleges in the summer. You can use these courses to fill gaps in your transcript or to extend your resume. Students who have finished Calculus BC can certainly add value by taking a course in Differential Equations or Multivariant Calculus. But those can be taken online without spending thousands of dollars to go live at a college campus.

Among the sea of offerings, there are a handful of competitive and prestigious programs. They are usually free or inexpensive, and can provide a significant – and sometimes even decisive – admissions advantage. Many of the programs on this list qualify: 30 Most Prestigious Summer Programs for High Schoolers in 2024 | CollegeVine Blog. These programs often require students to write essays and complete problem sets.

A fair number of the programs on this list are designed for members of underserved communities. Some of these are prestigious, and some less so.

Note:  if you plan to build a resume of summer programs to lay the foundation for applying to the most selective colleges, start your planning when you enter high school. Although most programs are for sophomores, juniors, and seniors, the most prestigious programs assume experience garnered from similar endeavors in previous years. For example, one of my recent students got into PROMYS (a prestigious math camp) on the second try, after not having been selected as a junior. Many college summer semester courses are in series, with a foundational course in the first year setting the stage for more advanced work upon your return.

Do you have more money?  We have STEM research projects!  We can even get your student’s “scientific work” published!

With university labs still relatively uninterested in high school students, private firms are racing to offer one-on-one research opportunities. For a large fee, these outfits will pair your student with a mentor, often a graduate student but sometimes a real live professor, who will supervise them in doing scientific research. Some of these companies have started “journals” to publish the students’ work. This new trend is so “hot” that you can find articles comparing various providers. See e.g., Top 20 Online Research Opportunities for High School Students (this link does list a few free providers outside of this mold, but the majority fit my description).

Do I recommend this approach?  No.

Allow me to speak plainly: most of these private research outfits are a pox on the landscape of academia and college admissions. They have turned what should be a free-form activity that enriches a student’s academic experience into just another hurdle to admission – a very expensive one, at that. Most undergraduates do not even do this sort of research in college. Very few high school students would do this on their own or will benefit from doing so. Don’t take my word for it – read The Newest Way to Buy an Advantage in College Admissions — ProPublica.

Colleges did not ask for such mentorships; aside from a few misguided Ivy League admissions departments quoted in the article, I doubt that completing this “research” will make a difference to most colleges. It seems likely that a few scandals and more media exposure will make such “research experiences” a red flag in college admissions. But I could be wrong. Caveat emptor.

These experiences are light-years apart from internships in an industry or university laboratory. If you can get one of those, grab it. But without family connections or a specific program offered by your school in conjunction with a local university, these will probably be difficult to come by. 

You do not need a “program” to pursue extracurricular activities that will impress colleges  

Let’s start with the basics. Students must carve out time for extracurricular activities. This can be particularly difficult for some of my clients whose families are laser-focused on academic achievement, but it is very important for admission to selective colleges.

Without some variety in your life that is reflected in your application, your chances of admission at many selective universities will suffer.

What extracurricular activities are useful?  Any activity that makes you interesting. But do not be a dilettante – focus on one or two interests and commit sustained time and attention to them.

Fortunately for families who rely on their children to bring in income, most colleges value the dignity of work, and most after-school jobs provide fertile ground for essays. One of my students turned weeks of waitressing at a sports bar into a compelling essay about dealing with unpleasant customers. Others will have more uplifting experiences to share.

Still, while a job is worthy, if you can afford to do so, consider spending that time seeking knowledge in ways that colleges will appreciate. Select one of your hobbies and really dig into it. Take and complete free(!) online courses in interesting topics from dozens of universities, including MIT and Stanford, and some for a modest expense from companies such as Coursera, EdX, and Udemy. Or take and complete courses from your community college. Collect certificates in fields from computer science to EMT services.

Do you love to write? Participate in writer’s workshops and enter creative writing competitions. Are you interested in public affairs? Intern for a newspaper, public interest organization, or even a political campaign. Are you in Boy or Girl Scouts? Work toward an Eagle or Gold award. Does your school encourage students to enter science fairs? Take advantage of that opportunity.

If you are an athlete, you may wish to work on your sport even if you are not competitive for a college athletic scholarship. If you have artistic and musical talents, take your practice up a notch. Join an ensemble, band, orchestra, or art or dance studio. Enter a competition or two – even a minor award gives you something to list as an honor or to discuss in an essay. These can be public competitions or competitions organized by your studio.

Family connections can be very useful. If your family has a connection with a university, apply for a volunteer position at a lab. Is a relative a healthcare provider?  See if you can land a position in their clinic. Does your family own a business?  Look for opportunities to participate. One of my students who plans to become an industrial engineer wrote about how what he saw while working the summer at his father’s business informed his career plans and his outlook on how people and organizations function.

Finally, what activities should you avoid? Do not assume that organized travel tours with a service component count – they have been disfavored for years. See Mission Accomplished?  Maybe Not Anymore. Travel can be enriching, but consider only listing domestic trips that do not appear to denote privilege.

Get out of your bedroom and make something happen

Even if your activities do not count for admissions purposes, they may make you a more interesting person. You may even find an activity you will enjoy for the rest of your life.

Pay for a guided experience or create your own. Just do something other than enjoying a nice, lazy summer. In today’s hypercompetitive college admissions environment, rest is simply not an option.

I recommend caution when considering college rankings, and have written about how to use them. See This Blog is Ranked #1.

The recent change in direction by U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) serves as a warning not to put too much weight on any college ranking.

USNWR Changed Its Focus for 2024

In an effort to place more emphasis on social mobility and outcomes, new factors were added to this year’s rankings, including first-generation graduation rates, first-generation graduation rate performance and proportion of college graduates earning more than a high school graduate. The definition of social mobility changed this year . . . to include first-generation graduation rates, in addition to Pell-recipient graduation rates.

The 2024 Best Colleges Rankings Are Out: See Who’s on Top | Best Colleges | U.S. News (usnews.com).

“First generation” refers to students whose parents did not attend or graduate college. Pell Grants are federal grants for the poorest students, who traditionally are not as well prepared for college academics.

These changes were fundamental:

More than half of a school’s rank is now comprised of varying outcome measures related to schools’ success at enrolling, retaining, and graduating students from different backgrounds with manageable debt and post-graduate success.

Id. (emphasis added in bold).

USNWR’s changes in methodology transformed an academic ranking of colleges – which is what students and parents expect to see – into a college ranking heavily influenced by how well minorities and poorer students perform after graduation.

Some families will find these changes helpful. This is particularly true if your student is a member of a minority group or whose family is poor. However, if you are only looking for an indicator of the academic strength of a college, you will need more data.

USNWR’s New Formula Produced Dramatic Changes in its College Rankings

Tufts University is a good example of the ramifications of this change. It is an elite college in Boston, one of the “Little Ivies.”  Tufts is a very selective school, admitting less than 10% of applicants annually.

However, Tufts is also quite expensive. It is also not as economically and racially diverse as some other colleges. Tufts ranks very low (#293) in USNWR’s separate ranking of colleges producing social mobility. Given USNWR’s changes in methodology, Tufts’ slide from #32 to #40 in the 2024 college rankings is no surprise.   

USNWR’s changes in methodology also favor public colleges, which tend to accept a broader socioeconomic spectrum of students than their private counterparts. Public colleges that direct resources and services toward less advantaged students also perform particularly well against colleges that do not.

The University of California ticks both boxes — it has a diverse student body and devotes significant resources toward helping poorer students. Comparing the 2023 and 2024 USNWR college rankings, UC Berkeley and UCLA gained 5 places against the field, while UCSD and UC Davis gained 7 and 10, respectively.

Comparing Tufts with UCSD is illuminating. While both are excellent colleges, most college counselors favor Tufts. So does the marketplace – Tufts accepts only 10% of all applicants, while UCSD accepts 25%.

In USNWR’s 2023 rankings, UCSD was ranked #34 and Tufts ranked #32. But in the 2024 rankings, UCSD ranks #27; Tufts ranks #40. Tufts fell from 2 places ahead of UCSD to 13 places behind – a 15-place drop in one year! 

This drop can be accounted for by UCSD’s success in USNWR’s ranking of colleges that promote social mobility. From UCSD’s publication:

UC San Diego has made great strides in a variety of the outlet’s standalone ranking categories. The university is No. 31 on the list of the nation’s top performers in social mobility, moving up 22 spots from last year for its excellence in enrolling and graduating students from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds.

UC San Diego Climbs to Nation’s 6th Best Public University in U.S. News & World Report Rankings (ucsd.edu)

Remember that Tufts ranked only #293 in social mobility. Is that statistic critical to most students’ evaluation of a college?  Respectfully, I suggest that while the gap may inform public policy concerning education, it is of limited use to parents seeking the strongest academic environment for their students.

USNWR built its reputation by weighing key factors to determine the academic strength of each college it ranks. Parents should be aware that USNWR’s mission has changed.  

The COVID pandemic gave a massive boost to the test-optional movement.  Noting that many students could not find an open test center in their area, most colleges excused students from submitting ACT/SAT test results.  According to the administrators of the Common Application, between 2019 and 2021 the percentage of applicants submitting scores dropped from 78% to 51%.  There are now over 1,000 test-optional colleges in the United States.  See Top Colleges That Still Require Test Scores | The Short List: Colleges | U.S. News (usnews.com). Mandatory standardized testing appeared to be on its last legs.

However, MIT reinstated mandatory submission of ACT/SAT scores in 2022.  The last few months have seen a handful of elite colleges follow suit, including Dartmouth, Yale, and Brown.  Yale’s policy softens the blow by allowing students to submit scores from the ACT, SAT, IB (International Baccalaureate), or AP exams.  Look for more colleges returning to mandatory standardized testing to use this template, called “flexible testing.” 

These colleges cited data on their students’ performance to justify reinstatement of the requirement.  Other colleges are citing internal data on student performance showing that ACT/SAT scores are more predictive of student success than GPAs. 

In March 2024, the University of Texas at Austin reinstated its standardized test requirement.  Its announcement included one striking finding:

The higher standardized scores translated on average to better collegiate academic performance. Of 9,217 first-year students enrolled in 2023, those who opted in had an estimated average GPA of 0.86 grade points higher during their first fall semester, controlling for a wide range of factors, including high school class rank and GPA. Those same students were estimated to be 55% less likely to have a first-semester college GPA of less than 2.0, all else equal.

UT Austin Reinstates Standardized Test Scores in Admissions – UT News (utexas.edu) (emphasis added).

This discrepancy may persuade more peer institutions to change their test-optional policies. 

UT Austin’s decision is particularly interesting because it is one of the few universities nationwide that guarantees admission based solely on students’ class rank at their high school.  Specifically, UT Austin must fill 75% of its class with students in the top 6% of their class rank.  (For the other Texas public universities, any student scoring in the top 10% earns automatic admission.)

The University of California has a “Top 9% Rule,” but students who qualify are funneled into the less prestigious campuses.  See Statewide guarantee | UC Admissions (universityofcalifornia.edu).

Because the University of California is currently test-blind, it has no interest in considering test scores.  However, UT Austin does, and its focus on students’ high school class rank would seem to limit its ability to consider ACT/SAT scores.  Indeed, students in the top 6% need only score a 480/530 on the SAT to gain admission.

But UT Austin’s new testing requirement adds teeth: 

Standardized test scores will not change the admissions decision for automatic admits, of course, but will be used to match applicants to their choice of majors.

UT Austin Reinstates Standardized Test Scores in Admissions – UT News (utexas.edu)

Expect other universities to adopt this policy regarding choice of major as a compromise between mandatory standardized testing and a pure “test-optional” protocol. Such policies may focus on further limiting admission to already competitive majors such as computer science, engineering, and business.

UPDATE (4/14/24):

Add Harvard and CalTech to the list of colleges requiring standardized testing; expect several more by the next admissions cycle.

The last few years in college admissions have seen an increasing number of Early Decision and Early Action applicants.  Although we will have to wait a few months for official data from colleges, anecdotal evidence from my colleagues and clients indicates that college admissions deferrals to the Regular Decision round are increasing. 

A few examples are eye-opening.  USC, which does not offer Early Decision, admitted 6% of its Early Action applicants and deferred the rest – all 94% of them – last year.  See Opinion | The Cynical Reason College Applications Are Surging – The New York Times (nytimes.com).  This year saw the same story – USC only admitted 7% of its Early Action applicants.  See Acceptance rate expected to drop to 9.2% – Daily Trojan.  Clemson deferred almost 60% of Early Decision / Early Action applicants. 

Widespread college admissions deferrals appear to abandon a key premise of Early Action – to provide students with early decisions on their applications.  But wait – there’s more.

When colleges place students on waitlists, students hoping to be admitted from the waitlist are advised to send in a LOCI (“letter of continuing interest”).  Now a few colleges appear to be requesting a LOCI from students who are merely deferred.  For example, USC and Michigan suggest that deferred (or “postponed”) students reaffirm their interest in being considered for admission.  See I Was Deferred to Regular Decision – FAQ (usc.edu); Postponed Applicants FAQ | University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate Admissions (umich.edu). 

This is an odd development.  Students who take the trouble to apply early — much less Early Decision applicants who commit to attending if admitted – are unlikely to forgo a second round of selection.  The University of Michigan states that it provides this avenue to express interest because anxious students were sending all sorts of materials after being deferred – this way, the university controls what it will receive.  Perhaps, but a simple statement prohibiting LOCIs after deferral would suffice.  Expect to see more of this next year.

The good news for deferred students this year is that they may have a better chance of admission than in previous years. Fewer slots filled in early rounds means more available for those who have been deferred.

Each year, Tucson students ask for my help in applying to the University of California.  The attractions are obvious:  sun, sea, and access to the remarkably robust California economy. 

Until last year, like many other state universities, the University of California (“UC”) welcomed non-residents because of their outsized tuition payments.  For some campuses, being from out of state conferred a sizable advantage. I noted it here: Geographic (or Monetary) Diversity?

This year the UC altered course.  It is now prioritizing admitting more California students, and will most likely do so for the rest of this decade.  If you want to get into one of the flagship universities, or even one of the second-tier institutions, your quest will be significantly more difficult than in years past. 

Why is this happening now?

California is not blazing new ground so much as returning to the status quo after many years of using non-resident tuition to substitute for state funding.  The Los Angeles Times offers a short history:

The rollback in out-of-state and international students represents a significant policy shift years in the making. The public research university system began aggressively recruiting and enrolling higher-paying nonresident students as a source of additional tuition revenue after the 2008 recession when the state slashed its UC funding by one-third.

UCLA and UC Berkeley, for instance, increased the share of nonresidents among undergraduates from about 9.5% in fall 2008 to about 24% in 2021.

The growing number of nonresident students sparked a public outcry and a 2016 state audit, which found that UC admission practices were harming California students. UC sharply disagreed, arguing that the extra nonresident tuition dollars allowed it to pay for more California students and that state budget cuts had forced its hand. Eventually, the state economy recovered, funding for higher education began to rebound, and state elected leaders made clear that UC should boost California student enrollment as their constituents were demanding.

UC admits record number of Californians, fewer nonresidents – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

After a few years of resisting the Legislature’s entreaties, the UC relented after the Legislature passed a budget that directed additional funding toward enrolling California residents. 

The results have been dramatic.  Although various articles quote a statistic from UC stating that the percentage of non-resident admissions offers fell by 19% in 2022, the figures provided for the flagships – Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD – show an even steeper decline.  Berkeley and UCLA each admitted 35% fewer non-residents; UCSD’s admits dropped 45%. Compare FRESHMAN Applications by Campus and Residency – Fall 2020, 2021, and 2022 (ucop.edu) with Freshman Admissions by Campus and Residency Fall 2020, 2021, and 2022 (ucop.edu).

Some of these declines are attributable to an increasing number of non-resident applicants over the last two years.  Some campuses, such as UCSD, limited enrollment last year because of housing shortages.  Although the UC is looking to expand (and UCLA just purchased a second, smaller, campus nearby), such efforts will take years to bear fruit.

The picture for non-residents will not improve soon.  Any new slots will almost certainly be allocated to the burgeoning number of California students applying.  The reason the Legislature and, eventually, the UC are acting is that parents vote; California parents have been vociferously complaining that their students are not being admitted to the University of California.

What does the decline in non-resident admissions mean for students in Arizona and other states?  The UC already requires non-residents to have higher GPAs than residents (3.4 v. 3.0) to be considered for admission.  While AP and IB honors courses are eligible for the extra point of GPA used to calculate a “weighted GPA,” courses designated as “honors” courses by high schools outside of California are not. 

Lowering the number of slots for non-residents will increase the qualifications non-residents need for admission.  At some point, California residents will have an easier time of it than their non-resident counterparts.  (They already do if they are in the top 9% of their high school class, but this only wins them admission to the UC as a whole – which often means admission to UC Riverside and UC Merced.)

This inflection point has already arrived at UC Berkeley – where only 9% of non-resident applicants were admitted last year compared to 15% of California applicants.  The odds were equal for non-residents and California students at UCLA.  However, non-residents retained a measurable advantage at UCSD (24% v. 31%).

Further, non-residents may be “self-selecting,” such that only those with better qualifications than their resident peers are applying.  Further, all UC campuses are now “test blind.”  This means one less opportunity for non-resident students to demonstrate superior qualifications. 

Should you apply to the University of California?

If you need financial aid, look elsewhere.  The UC no longer provides need-based financial aid to non-residents, and merit aid awards are few and far between.  See Who can get financial aid | UC Admissions (universityofcalifornia.edu) (although the website refers to “very limited UC financial aid” for non-residents, this appears to refer to a few scholarships awarding only a few thousand dollars per student per year); see also Grants & scholarships | UC Admissions (universityofcalifornia.edu).

Further, most of the UCs are overcrowded, meaning that you may have trouble graduating on time and your lecture halls will be jammed.  Another important consideration is the availability of your area of study.  Before applying to a campus, determine whether you will have difficulty declaring (i.e., getting into) your choice of majors once you arrive.  Google “university of california impacted majors” and read very carefully. 

The whole UC experience may not be the “California dream” you are anticipating. 

Here is one student expressing a bit of buyer’s remorse:

As a biology student, UCSD does have a very distinguished biology program and research,” Wu said. “Although it does have abundant resources available to each student, there are some parts where I feel that my tuition isn’t worth it. For example, we have three-hundred students in a lecture hall compared to a private university where you have, like, fifty. Besides that, I am too separated from my family and I have to pay for actual living, transportation, and food.”

UC San Diego To Significantly Reduce Number of Non-Resident Students – UCSD Guardian

The good news is that if you can afford to pay $45,000 in tuition plus room and board per year and have mapped a route to your major and graduation, there are still opportunities to study at UC campuses. 

Some excellent UC campuses still offer an admissions advantage for non-residents

UC Davis, Irvine, and Santa Barbara are fine universities; they also have unique concentrations and majors which may suit your academic and career goals.  UC Santa Cruz also shines in some areas, despite its relative lack of popularity.  Visit Santa Cruz before enrolling – it is its own world in terms of its premiere departments, location, and “vibe.”

However, those campuses, too, will face pressure in the coming years to become more accessible to local students; expect non-resident admissions rates to decline.

What are your odds of admission?

Although you may be at a disadvantage to California residents, what matters most is your odds of admission.  The UC presents an unusually robust set of data from which you can gauge your chances, although you will need to dig a bit to find all of it.

Average GPAs for each campus — weighted and unweighted — can be found here:  Freshman admit data | UC Admissions (universityofcalifornia.edu); choose your campus from the bottom of the page (“Admit data by campus”).  For a more granular view, see Undergraduate admissions summary | University of California for admissions data sorted by ethnicity, and use the column on the right to sort by campus and residency.  Note, however, that the data as of this writing stops at 2021 – the numbers next year may be quite different.

Unfortunately, some students will not be able to attend a UC.  Fortunately, there are excellent alternatives available.

Can you find an equivalent academic and collegiate experience in another state?

Most flagship campuses of public universities admit a higher percentage of non-residents than the UC.  See acct-2020.pdf (universityofcalifornia.edu).  Do not overlook regional consortia, which may offer you considerable tuition breaks for universities in nearby states.  Some of those deals will reduce tuition to the amount paid by residents. See State & Regional College Tuition Discounts (nasfaa.org) for details.

The consortia serving Arizona students is the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), where non-flagship campuses of public universities in every Western state (plus the Dakotas) offer tuition at 150% of in-state rates. Notable bargains include Colorado State and Oregon State. See https://www.wiche.edu/tuition-savings/wue/ for details.

There are many other fine colleges in California      

Perhaps you intend to settle in California and believe – probably correctly – that it will be easier to find a job in the state if you are already studying there.  For example, internships near your college may be an essential first step into the local job market. The good news is that there are plenty of California colleges in addition to the UC.   

The College Board’s “finder” (College Search – BigFuture | College Board) lists 174 colleges in California.  Here are just a few of them.  Note that because the UCs no longer offer financial aid to non-residents, many of these schools may be less expensive than the UC.

We start our tour with the crème de la crème.  Stanford and Cal Tech need no introduction.  However, do not overlook the Claremont Colleges.  Harvey Mudd is one of the top STEM schools in the nation. Pomona is a classic liberal arts college, ranked #3 out of 210 by U.S. News – its selectivity is commensurate.  Claremont-McKenna has been minting CEOs and international leaders since it was founded in 1946.  Pitzer and Scripps are excellent liberal art schools.  Students at one college can take classes at the others – the entire Claremont Colleges campus comprising these five colleges is eminently walkable.  If you want to know what “old money” California looks like, this is a good place to start your college tour.

Upset that UCLA may not be within reach?  All is not lost.  USC is available to those with comparable credentials.  Despite suffering several PR hits in recent years, the money poured into the school by one of the strongest alumni networks in the United States (yes, The Ohio State University, I see you), has enabled USC to achieve parity with UCLA in several areas — and superiority in a few. 

Floating back towards admissions terra firma, mid-range choices abound.  Starting in Southern California, the University of San Diego is a small Catholic school with an emphasis on building social capital.  Its School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES) includes a Minor in Nonprofit Leadership and Management for those interested in working for, and eventually managing, non-profits.  San Diego State is also a very popular California State University (CSU) with a broader range of offerings.  However, note the discussion about “impacted majors” above. 

As you might expect in Los Angeles, top film schools and fine arts programs are a huge selling point.  The programs at USC, Chapman University, and Loyola Marymount are favored destinations.  However, this can be a very tough ticket to secure – it may be easier to get into the Ivy League than USC’s Cinema Arts program.  You will also find a smattering of top art schools (e.g., Cal Arts, Otis School of Art and Design, and ArtCenter) nearby. 

The admissions picture brightens considerably for students not seeking careers in the movie industry.  Occidental College (founded in 1886) is a well-regarded liberal arts school with appeal to the socially conscious student and aspiring political scientist.  Los Angeles is an excellent place to study society, culture, and politics. 

Loyola Marymount University is a Jesuit university with a solid reputation which just happens to be located a few minutes from Manhattan Beach.  Visual and performing arts students will find plenty to like here, but so will communications majors.

Speaking of the ocean, Pepperdine University is a Christian college in Malibu rated #55 by U.S. News & World Report. Note that religion is an integral part of education at Pepperdine, with three required religion classes, attendance at chapel, and a more conservative political environment than you will find at most colleges in Los Angeles. Read this to see if it may be for you: A Place of Faith | Pepperdine University | Seaver College.

Chapman University is in the city of Orange, a quiet, but central, part of the Los Angeles metro area.  It used to serve mostly local students but is now seeking to attract more students from throughout California and nationwide.  Although its Dodge College of Film and Media Arts is highly ranked and quite difficult to get into, the rest of the university is only moderately selective, with an average GPA of 3.77.  You will be pleasantly surprised by the tuition, net of very large scholarships. 

Proceeding north, potential architects and engineers should take note of Cal Polytechnic (Cal Poly), also part of the CSU system.  You will find a very demanding academic environment plopped down in the middle of paradise – otherwise known as San Luis Obispo.  Of course, San Luis Obispo is in the middle of nowhere, so do not plan on quick jaunts to more urban areas. Be sure that you know what you wish to study before you apply; changing majors can be quite difficult here. 

Once in Silicon Valley, your choice of universities other than UC Berkeley is limited. San Jose State is a good, but very crowded, CSU offering a range of majors from engineering to — who knew? — a nationally ranked animation program. However, Santa Clara University is the most interesting alternative to Berkeley.  Once a solid Jesuit school which served the local community, it has transformed itself into an educational resource for the tech industry.  It has raised, and spent, hundreds of millions of dollars on buildings, programs, and talent.  If you are looking for a career in Silicon Valley and have reasonably good credentials, this may be a great fit. 

The rest of the Bay Area, and parts north, are less promising.  USF, a good Jesuit university, will position you for internships in San Francisco.  The University of the Pacific (UOP), which is in Stockton (definitely not a beach destination), is a solid choice for those with more modest academic credentials who wish to settle close to Sacramento. 

North of San Francisco, the local UC is clearly the best choice.  UC Davis is a 20-minute drive from Sacramento and an hour from the Bay Area (traffic permitting). The university, with a campus dominated by bike lanes, progressive politics, and some serious humidity (not just in the summer – look up tule fog), is the academic star of the region.  The physical sciences programs are strong, the veterinary school is superb, and its viniculture and enology program – established in 1880 – birthed the California wine industry. 

Horace Greeley had the right idea

You can absolutely still go West, even if parts of it are less welcoming than they once were.  Just broaden your horizons, and a piece of paradise can be yours. 

The University of Southern California (USC) has unveiled an “early action” admissions option for most applicants. You can read about it here:  Dates and Deadlines | USC Undergraduate Admission.

(This option is not available for students applying to majors requiring a portfolio or audition. Separate deadlines apply for those applications.)

The early action deadline is November 1, a month earlier than the previous “regular decision” deadline. The regular decision deadline is now January 15.

Important:  students seeking merit scholarships for programs not requiring an audition or portfolio must apply “early action” and meet the November 1 deadline.

Plan accordingly.

An important part of college counseling is helping students decide what they want to study in college. Students who are planning to study liberal arts subjects may not be familiar with all of their options. Those who like to write – and earned high grades in their high school English classes – may assume that the English major is their best choice. 

However, unless a student is passionate about studying literature, choosing an English major is probably a bad idea.  Consider this “routine” by comedian John Mulaney:

Yes, you heard me, an English major. I paid $120,000. How dare you clap? How dare you clap for the worst financial decision I ever made in my life? I paid $120,000 for someone to tell me to go read Jane Austen and then I didn’t. That’s the worst use of 120 grand I can possibly fathom.

. . . .

[At graduation I strolled] across a stage, the sun in my eyes . . . to receive a four-year degree in a language that I already spoke.

https://lyrics.lol/artist/454473-john-mulaney/lyrics/4199137-i-didn-t-drink-the-water-the-entire-time

He is not the only skeptic.  The trope of the English major working at Starbucks has spread so widely that college English departments have taken to posting plucky statements on their websites about the great jobs awaiting their students after graduation.

Here is one from the University of Washington:

You’re more valuable than you think. The skills you develop as an English major, such as writing, editing, problem solving, critical thinking, and analysis, are highly prized by employers in nearly every profession. In this age of information and technology, the particular skills you’ve developed while engaged in studying, analyzing, and writing about literature are in more demand in the workplace than ever before. Employers in all career pathways consistently cite writing, communication skills, the ability to work independently, and adaptability at the top of their lists of desired skills. As an English major and student in the liberal arts, you will develop these skills in abundance.

https://english.washington.edu/careers-english-majors

Encouraging statements notwithstanding, Mulaney’s point stands – the English major is mostly about reading and analyzing literature.  There are very few jobs requiring this specific skill.  Other majors, even those which appear to be removed from commerce, train students for careers.  History majors learn information and analytical skills which they can put to use as historians, journalists, and even media pundits.  Similar claims can be made for economics, psychology, and even political science.  Further, these departments all claim to impart similar skills in communication, analysis, and the ability to work independently.

The result is that one of the most well-worn career paths for English majors following college graduation is teaching English in a secondary school.  Before spending six-figure sums for an undergraduate degree, note the low salaries paid to English teachers. 

Fortunately, there is a more attractive and increasingly popular alternative to the English major – the Communications major. 

If your last college experience was over twenty years ago, your reaction might be to marvel at my ability to pick a major even less well regarded than English.  The Communications major has been considered a refuge for those looking for a singularly undemanding route through college.  See e.g., https://www.hercampus.com/school/utah/its-time-end-stigma-surrounding-communications-majors/ (“[h]istorically, a lot of women used to get humanities degrees, such as Communications or English, with no real intention of using them just so that they could find a husband in college (AKA a Mrs. Degree”).  It has even been mocked on “the Simpsons” as “a phony major.”  See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDMKXFeBNVU&ab_channel=Mclesh

However, times have changed, and some colleges are transforming the Communications major into a pathway to learning job-critical skills that help turn a liberal arts degree into a career.

What is the study of “Communications”?  There is no universal answer – most departments content themselves with vague references to studying how people communicate.  The University of Washington defines it as a collection of particular types of communication:

The Department of Communication advances the study and practice of communication across a range of contexts, including face-to-face interactions, public discourse, mass media, and digital media.

https://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/program/S/Communication-1035.html#credential-60414917f10b3ebc884f13b4

The key here is “practice.”  Although Communications departments – and the allied majors of “Media Studies” and “Digital Media” – require students to take three to five courses discussing theories about communication, many departments also offer courses which teach marketable skills.

The University of Washington major includes a few such courses: 

• Introduction to Public Speaking
• Essentials Of Argument
• Interviewing
• Writing For Mass Media
• Persuasion

However, for the most part, these are lecture courses which do not offer students opportunities to practice those skills. 

One college which addresses this issue is Ohio State.

Ranked in the top five among high impact communication programs, Ohio State’s School of Communication provides undergraduates with a rigorous and innovative curriculum; state-of-the-art multimedia classrooms; multiplatform labs and a podcasting studio; hands-on training through internships and on-campus experience through its award-winning student media group The Lantern and its student-run public relations firm The PRactice; alumni networking and mentoring opportunities; and access to internationally renowned faculty.

There is no greater tool in the world than successful communication in all forms—written, spoken and conceptual—and The Ohio State University’s School of Communication provides students with the training and skills needed to harness the power of communication.

Undergraduate | School of Communication (osu.edu)

That same page notes that like other colleges, Ohio State students can choose from groups (“clusters”) of courses directed toward specific careers:

• Communication Competencies for Leadership
• Communication For Advocacy, Politics & Citizenship
• Health, Environment, Risk & Science Communication
• Strategic Communication

Most interesting is Ohio State’s emphasis on clinical work.  Consider a recent course offering:  Business & Professional Speaking.  Only 15% of a student’s grade is based on exams.  The rest depends upon the student’s performance in presenting six speeches and in two interview exercises typical of communications in the workplace.  Note:  if you want to know what matters in a course, check what counts most toward the final grade. 

Although a few large colleges like Ohio State provide some skills-based training, many still concentrate on theory.  You can usually identify them by reading the department website and scrutinizing the courses offered. Examine syllabi for those courses if available.  

The Communications major at NYU is an example of a typical department focusing more on theory than practice.

The Department of Media, Culture, and Communication’s academically rigorous bachelor of science degree is grounded in the liberal arts, providing you with the necessary tools to analyze the sociological, political, and cultural dimensions of our media landscape. The program’s diverse faculty encourage MCC majors to think broadly and deeply about topics at the intersection of media and culture.

BS, Media, Culture, and Communication | NYU Steinhardt

Note the emphasis on analyzing the “sociological, political, and cultural dimensions,” and the absence of any language suggesting skill development. Boston College is another example:

The Boston College Department of Communication is committed to the intellectual and ethical development of analytical and creative communication skills in our students, with particular emphasis on the effective functioning of circuits of communication, the impact of technological innovation on human beings and institutions, and the power relationships that develop through this interaction.

Major Electives – Communication – Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences – Boston College (bc.edu)

Students seeking clinical training should not overlook smaller colleges.  Consider the University of San Diego: 

The communication studies major offers students flexibility and choice. Students can select courses that relate to their interest and post-graduate plans, and our faculty have made course recommendations based on themes. Choose from the following cluster of courses for specific interests: law and advocacy, global communication, strategic communication, journalism, entertainment industry and graduate School.

https://www.sandiego.edu/cas/communication-studies/curriculum/#tabs-major–scroll-to

USD offers a more ambitious menu of courses – and skills – than most colleges: 

• Interviewing and Negotiating
• Public Speaking (two courses)
• Introduction to Media Writing
• Global Team Development (including an exercise in providing diversity training)
• Video Production
• Writing for Magazines
• Strategic Communication (Public Relations)
• Writing for Screen Media (including screenplays)

Id.

At Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the major is bundled with the fine arts in the College of Communication and Fine Arts.  See https://cfa.lmu.edu/.  Its students are offered courses where the final product is a podcast or a 150-panel graphic novel.  Another class on Communications and Consulting provides a case study where students take on various consulting roles. 

At its best, the Communications major is an English major for the modern era, designed to graduate students trained to communicate in the various forms and media used in commerce and society. 

A practical consideration is the different internships offered to students majoring in English and Communications. Consider the English and Communications departments at my local university, the University of Arizona. 

Each department lists internships from organizations seeking its students.  Here is the link for internships advertised by the English department:  Internship Opportunities | English (arizona.edu).  There are seventeen current openings.  Ten of them are internal, i.e., working for organizations operated by the University.  None of those ten opportunities pay for the intern’s work.  In fact, none of the internships listed there pay a dime except for a few that offer a “needs-based stipend.” 

Here is the link for the Communications department:  The Digest (google.com).  There are fifty-one openings.  Many of them are paid.  Some are outside the Tucson area.  Indeed, the sheer variety of organizations marks a sharp contrast with those advertised by the English department.

English majors are recruited to write and edit, mostly for college departments and community organizations.  Communications majors are invited to consider interning for various foundations, local businesses, a nationwide sports league plus a local sports podcast, environmental organizations, and more.  Many of those are paid internships. The skill sets to be used in these jobs are more diverse, including not just writing, but marketing, journalism, graphic design, and photography. 

Communications is a path into the world of commerce.  English majors are at a disadvantage because they have not had the opportunity to master a range of skills that Communications majors can choose to learn as part of their major.  Of course, English majors can fill the gap by taking courses outside their major, but that reduces their options in planning a path through college and into the workplace. 

It is telling that the web page for the English Department at the University of Arizona contains this legend: “Follow Your Passion.”  If studying literature is your passion, then consider the English major (but perhaps as a minor).  However, if you excel in writing but lack that passion, consider majoring in Communications.

Studying liberal arts is a challenging path.  All students on that path should seek out opportunities to learn skills that broaden their appeal to employers.  Courses on social media, graphic design, and digital media will be helpful.  Some of these may even fulfill general education requirements.  At the right college, majoring in Communications will give you a head start in obtaining those skills. 

This post on the importance of rigor in choosing high school classes is one of the few on this blog directed to all high school students, from freshmen to seniors – and their parents. 

Many students choose their class schedules on autopilot. They pencil in the next courses in their Math, English, and Foreign Language sequences, add in a Science and a History course, and, perhaps, choose an elective which looks interesting (or at least tolerable). 

The entire exercise may not take very much time, but it can have huge repercussions for college admissions. College admissions officers will take a very close look at your schedule. Many will be looking for what courses you took before they even consider the grades you received in them. 

The term “rigor” describes the difficulty of your course schedule; it is a critical part of your college admissions strategy. 

Colleges Use Rigor to Place Your GPA in Context

In the old days, a 4.0 GPA in high school was a rarity. It is now commonplace, with 40-50% of college applicants sporting a (weighted) A average. How are colleges to determine which students are most likely to excel in college?  Although standardized test scores can provide confirmation of potential, they are falling out of favor as many colleges adopt “test optional” policies. 

The best predictor of success in college is performance in difficult high school courses. “Difficult” is shorthand for AP courses, some courses designated by the school as “Honors,” and dual enrollment courses at a community college. (An international baccalaureate – “IB” – diploma also counts.) 

The most common coin of the realm in measuring rigor is the number of AP courses on a transcript. However, not all AP courses are considered equal. 

We start with the “apex predator” of AP courses:  Calculus (either AB or BC, but with a marked preference for the latter for STEM students.)  I can hear you scream now:  “[b]ut I am going to major in English!  I will never need Calculus.”  Alas, it matters not – for reasons that are hard for this onetime history major to fathom, an increasing number of colleges appear to be using Calculus as a proxy for ability to succeed in any college program. A recent book includes an astonishing statistic: 

Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses are one way top colleges measure the quality of a high school. AP Calculus, in particular, has become the strongest signal of preparedness for an elite college. Eight in 10 college students who completed AP Calculus did so because they thought it would look good on their college application. In 2019, 67 percent of freshmen at Harvard reported they took AP Calculus in high school, and another 30 percent took some kind of calculus class. That’s all first-year students at Harvard, no matter their major.

Selingo, Jeffrey J., Who Gets in and Why:  A Year Inside College Admissions, Scribner, 2020 (Kindle Edition), at 168 (emphasis in bold).

Of course, most students are not planning to attend Harvard. And, as we will discuss below, the selectivity of a college will usually determine the degree of rigor necessary for admission. Similarly, flinging yourself into Calculus and emerging with a “D” will have the opposite effect you desire – in order to obtain credit for a rigorous course, you need to do well in it. 

Nevertheless, if you are reasonably sure that you can swing a “B” in either Calculus AB or BC, no matter your future plans, you should take it. The alternative, AP Statistics, is considered an also-ran. It is widely labeled as much less rigorous, despite the fact that far more professionals – at least outside engineering and mathematics – will use Statistics than Calculus. Even so, AP Statistics is better than no AP math course.

The remainder of the hierarchy is less settled, but here is mine, in order of descending rigor:  for English, AP English Literature and Composition, followed by AP English Language and Composition. For Social Sciences, U.S. History and European History, with AP U.S. Government, AP Comparative Government, and Macroeconomics/Microeconomics considered worthy. For Science, any of the trinity of AP courses – Biology, Chemistry, and Physics C (either of the two exams), will do the job. 

There are niche APs that matter, such as Foreign Languages (particularly if your name does not indicate that you are a heritage speaker) and Fine Arts.

The next tier of courses are Honors courses, followed by regular courses. 

Your Transcript Tells a Story

When evaluating your transcript, colleges look for:

• An increase in difficulty from freshman to senior year. 
• A commitment to learning in many areas. Colleges want you to keep taking those Big 5 (English, History, Math, Science, Foreign Language) for all four years.
• An absence of “weak spots.”  Did you terminate a sequence (i.e., stop taking a subject)?

There are certain groups of courses, call them “sequences,” which colleges expect students to complete. Many of these are obvious – if your school offers English 1, 2, 3, and 4, colleges will be put off if you do not take all four. Similarly, if there is a math sequence (e.g., Algebra, Geometry, Precalculus, Calculus), then colleges will notice if you stop early. A quick rule of thumb is that you should continue taking all sequences for your freshman, sophomore, and junior years; seniors who are not aiming for top colleges may have some leeway to “step down” from a sequence.

The More Selective the College, the More Important Your Story

As you look at more selective colleges, their expectations increase.

Colleges tend to be up front about what they are looking for. Visit their websites, click on admissions, and you will find an announcement similar to this statement from the University of Colorado, Boulder: 

Academic Rigor

The primary factor in admission decisions is your academic achievement. CU Boulder focuses on your classroom performance in core academic courses, the rigor of your course selection and your GPA.

https://www.colorado.edu/admissions/first-year/selection

You will notice a glancing mention of rigor. Indeed, on the same page you will see that CU Boulder ranks GPA above rigor in its admissions decisions. Id.

More selective colleges tend to emphasize rigor and GPA equally. Consider this excerpt from Emory University’s website:

Academic Preparation

The classes you take and the grades you receive in them matter. We typically look for students who’ve taken more challenging classes (which can vary from high school to high school, and we take that into account, too) and have done well in them.

https://apply.emory.edu/apply/first-year/index.html

Other colleges are more explicit – and demanding – in their expectations of rigor. Here is Barnard’s exhortation:

To be well-prepared for Barnard, it is important to think about the academic community you are hoping to join. Barnard’s general education requirements cover a wide range of subjects: literature, the social sciences, language and the arts, lab sciences, and quantitative areas. For this reason, you should acquire a strong foundation in high school, taking courses from the core academic subjects: math, science, English, history, and foreign language. Do your best to take the most rigorous classes available to you in which you can do your best work. If an area is a relative weakness, continue taking that subject while pursuing advanced coursework in areas of relative strength. Remember, we hope to see how you might contribute to our intellectual community, and your choices tell us what kind of a student you will be.

https://barnard.edu/admissions/application-review-philosophy (emphasis added in bold).

The bolded sentence represents another expectation shared by many colleges – that students will continue taking courses in their weak subjects. 

Finally, there is the massive edifice of higher education known as the University of California, right on the edge of the top-25 group of colleges. It publishes a daunting list of factors it considers in making admission decisions:

Paragraph 5 is a criterion which other colleges rarely state, at least explicitly:  the rigor of the student’s senior year schedule.

In sum, rigor means different things to colleges, depending upon their selectivity. You have more leeway to make compromises on rigor if your colleges are less, well, rigorous in their admissions decisions.

Let’s start with the freshman year. 

Freshmen

Start with a realistic self-assessment of your academic strengths and weaknesses, largely based on your performance in middle school. However, given that many colleges give less weight to your freshman grades in high school, consider attempting a tough course in a subject at the outset to determine whether you can handle harder courses in that same subject during your next three years. 

Math is where you have the most flexibility; it is also the subject where choosing where you start your sequence will probably dictate whether you are in a position to take Calculus in your senior year. Study your school’s Math sequence. Some schools have a five-course math sequence (Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus/Trig, and Calculus AB); you will only be able to take Calculus AB, much less Calculus BC, by taking part of the sequence in summer school or online. 

Work backwards from your expected terminus – usually Calculus (AB or BC), Statistics, or Precalculus. If you are not going to take Calculus, note that ending your senior year with AP Statistics is more impressive than taking the non-AP version; if you can hold your own with a “B,” colleges will never see your AP test score before making their admissions decision. 

Choosing rigor often comes down to choosing between a regular and an Honors course. Again, you may wish to take a calculated risk. Math and Science are the riskiest subjects in which to attempt a harder course – but also the area of greatest reward. 

Evaluate your entire schedule when making these decisions. You may be able to handle one or two Honors courses, but not five. 

If you start off the semester struggling in a course, consider transferring to a lower track in the next semester if your efforts do not yield at least a “B.” 

The College Board does not recommend that 9^th graders take AP exams, but a few do, typically corresponding with a course they are taking ahead of schedule (e.g., AP Biology), or a Social Science (AP Psychology, AP World History, or AP Human Geography). There is no penalty for taking one, as you can decide not to report that exam result. However, if you are the kind of student who is traumatized by a bad exam result, then you might want to wait until 10^th grade.

Sophomores

This is the first year that the College Board recommends that students attempt AP courses and exams. The usual candidates are the courses listed above. Some students may self-study and take AP Computer Science. Try to take at least one AP course, if only to become familiar with the format, and identify whether you are suited for this sort of exam. 

Caution:  never risk your GPA to take an extra AP course. Colleges want to see high grades more than another couple of AP exams. 

While there is no minimum number of APs, expect to see diminishing returns after 6-8 exams for the most selective schools (unless you are consistently scoring 5s on them); less selective schools will be sufficiently impressed by you taking (and passing) 2-4 of them. An exception may be the largest public universities. Note that the University of California appears to be counting:

Number of and performance in UC-approved honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate Higher Level and transferable college courses.

https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-freshman/how-applications-are-reviewed.html (Paragraph 3).

Even so, you have your junior and senior years available to take some of these APs. 

Finally, remember that academics is not the only thing colleges will look at. Reserve time for extra-curricular activities. 

Juniors

Assuming your course sequences are working out, stick with them. If you still have extra time,  look into dual enrollment courses (where you take courses at a community college), or even self-studying online. Or you can work on your extra-curricular activities. If you have a talent for the fine arts, definitely participate in an extracurricular activity which improves that skill. 

This is the year to take AP classes. Try for 2-4 of them this year; a dual enrollment course counts as an AP exam (and in some cases is actually a bit better, as it is direct evidence of how well you will perform in a college class).  

However, AP courses may be the least of your problems. You may feel it necessary to keep your GPA up by no longer pursuing a tough sequence you have been following until now. If you detest Science, you may be tempted to avoid the third course in your Biology/Chemistry/Physics sequence in favor of a science course which looks impressive in the course catalog. (Colleges are wise to this – none of those are considered as highly as the Bio/Chem/Physics sequence.)  Students struggling with math may decide that it is time to avoid Precalculus, and plan on taking Statistics in senior year instead.

Colleges will always notice if you break a sequence, and it will always count against you. However, the penalty will vary depending upon the selectivity of your target schools. Again, it is always worth taking the penalty if the alternative is earning less than a “B.”

As we will discuss shortly, the penalty will be lower if you wait until senior year to step down from a sequence.  

Seniors

This is the most difficult time to choose a schedule. You are devoting hours to your college search — reviewing guidebooks, visiting campuses, and composing essays. You may have just finished an exhausting junior year, and are less motivated to sign up for more of the same. 

Seniors are often confronted with the most difficult courses in the sequences they have been taking. Calculus is a huge step up from Pre-Calculus. The fourth year of a foreign language requires greater speaking skills, as classes are often conducted in that language.   

Fears that continuing on these uphill climbs will have implications for your GPA are reasonable. Of course, your peers have not transformed into geniuses over summer break – if you held your own last year, you can probably do it again.

In any event, colleges expect you to take difficult courses in your senior year. Remember the criterion from the University of California discussion of rigor quoted above: 

5.  Quality of your senior-year program as measured by the type and number of academic courses in progress or planned.

This includes AP courses. One piece of good news is that your score on the AP exam will not be considered – colleges announce admission decisions before you sit for those exams.

Colleges are likely to consider your seventh semester grades. Yes, you can apply Early Decision or Early Action, and hope that an early decision date mean that the admissions decision will be made before your seventh semester grades are available. However, this may not work – colleges are increasingly deferring those students into the regular decision pool for further consideration. Colleges will then demand your seventh-semester grades.

More important purposes of this discussion, colleges will see your senior year schedule – most college applications require you to disclose it. 

This is usually the year where you must decide what tier of colleges you are aiming for. The top-50 ranked colleges will expect you to keep taking the most rigorous courses available. But the others will be more forgiving. Here are some ideas of what liberties you can take with those less selective colleges without sustaining a fatal blow to your admissions chances. 

Remember Barnard’s injunction? 

If an area is a relative weakness, continue taking that subject while pursuing advanced coursework in areas of relative strength.

Note that Barnard only asks that you continue taking each subject, not that you keep taking the hardest sequence available. And, for this discussion, you are not applying to Barnard or any other top-50 colleges, are you? 

If you are going to step off a sequence during your senior year, sacrifice those harder courses in roughly this order:

Fine Arts.  One year is enough. However, if you are applying to the University of California from out-of-state, make sure that you study the rules on what high school courses satisfy their (“f”) requirement. The most obvious oddity is that two semesters of fine arts only count if they are both in the same subject. See https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/freshman-requirements/subject-requirement-a-g.html; see also https://admissions.blog/university-of-california-application-10-rules-about-the-visual-and-performing-arts-requirement-out-of-state-students-dont-know/ (a more detailed and useful guide, but do check with the UC to verify).

Indeed, unless you have a plain vanilla transcript, such as Painting 1 and Painting 2, consider calling the UC school of your choice and asking before you finalize your schedule. Even the best private school counselors can get this wrong (I’ve seen it), so go to the source. 

Foreign Language.  Three years is usually enough. However, if you are a strong foreign language student, then you should consider doubling down by taking an AP level course in the language and the culture within which it is spoken (e.g., AP Spanish Language and Culture). You can then pitch yourself to colleges as a potential foreign language major. (You can step down elsewhere in your schedule.) 

At least the University of California will give you credit for your foreign language skills:

10. Special talents, achievements and awards in a particular field, such as visual and performing arts, communication or athletic endeavors; special skills, such as demonstrated written and oral proficiency in other languages; special interests, such as intensive study and exploration of other cultures; experiences that demonstrate unusual promise for leadership, such as significant community service or significant participation in student government; or other significant experiences or achievements that demonstrate the student’s promise for contributing to the intellectual vitality of a campus.

https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-freshman/how-applications-are-reviewed.html. (Emphasis in bold.)

Another bonus:  if you do well on the AP exam, you will likely fulfill the 2-4 semester foreign language requirement imposed by many liberal arts colleges.

Math.  If it is obvious from your transcript that you are not a STEM student and that you do poorly in math, consider conceding gracefully by taking an easy math course. Note:  do the work and get an “A” or “B” in the course. 

Science.  Yes, you can take one of those fine-sounding science courses (astronomy, earth sciences, environmental science) instead of AP Bio, AP Chem, or AP Physics. This assumes, of course, that you are not applying as a STEM student.

Social Studies.  There is not really a “sequence” here, but you should take a fourth year in this subject. Note that Economics is far from a “step down” course, and may appeal to those who are more interested in STEM. 

English.  You must take four years of English. If you are “stepping down,” best to take a writing course – colleges are always looking for writers.

You will suffer a significant penalty if you take a lot of electives in your senior year. If you must do so, make the case that those electives will prepare you for your intended college major and future career. 

Courses in communicative media such as Film Production and Photography can prepare you for majors in Communication and careers in the movie business and advertising/public relations. Creative Writing is a lot more useful to would-be journalists and marketing executives than analyzing British literature. Your essays should celebrate your choices, which will be evident to colleges in any event. 

Be rigorous – but not too rigorous

Remember that you are looking for the “best fit” college. Self-assessment of your academic strengths and weaknesses is your path to arriving at a college where you will thrive. Take the hardest courses you can handle, but make smart compromises when necessary to save your GPA.