University Communications

The average GPA was 4.24 (weighted for honors and Advanced Placement courses), up from 4.23 last year. The raw GPA (unweighted for honors and Advanced Placement) was 3.78, up from 3.77 in 2002;

The average number of semesters of honors and AP classes taken was 18.6;

The average score on the SAT I was 1332, up from 1321 last year;

For the three SAT II exams, the average writing score was 667, up from 663 last year; the math average was 685, up from 679; and on the third exam, chosen by the student from a list of specified subjects, the average score was 691, up from 683.

Ensuring that UC remains both accessible and welcoming to underrepresented minority students has been a concern since the 1997 passage of Proposition 209, which bans consideration of race, religion, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in admissions decisions at California’s public universities. Similar concerns have surfaced across the nation as universities in Michigan, Texas, Florida, Virginia and other states attempt to achieve equitable admissions processes that meet the public demand for fairness while protecting the educational benefits that derive from a diverse student body.

Comprehensive review is not, however, a backdoor attempt to get around the constraints of Prop. 209, as some have asserted, UC’s Wilbur says. She notes that a student’s self-reported gender and ethnic identity remain confidential; CUARS makes its admissions decisions without any knowledge of applicants’ race or ethnicity.

“Comprehensive review was intended to achieve a fair admissions policy in a highly competitive environment,” says Wilbur. “It has achieved that goal.”

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