[81alum]

A problem with some of the data cited in this thread is that it is aggregate across all majors. In the UC system it makes a big difference if you are applying to the arts--and even within the arts, some degree programs require auditions/portfolios while some don't--engineering (very impacted); certain social science majors like Communications at UCLA (very impacted), or the ever-popular undeclared. While there is a centralized undergraduate office of admissions that makes most of the decisions, many admissions decisions are made by a number of units across campus, depending on the major to which the student applies.

This is one reason my daughter turned down her admission to Berkeley--she did not like the way that a student was trapped into a college from which it would be difficult to change.  You don't apply to UC Berkeley, you apply to either the College of Engineering, a College of Chemistry, a College of Environmental Design, a College of Natural Resources, and the good old generic college of Letters and Science.  If you start off in Letters and Science and decide you want to be an Engineer or a Chemistry major--good luck.  I actually think most students should NOT know their college major at the time they apply--one of the purposes of college ought to be to challenge students in their first year or two to find their greatest aptitude.  So for those kids who don't have a clear pathway plotted out at age 17, UC and CSU are becoming poorer choices than they once were.

[81alum]

A problem with some of the data cited in this thread is that it is aggregate across all majors. In the UC system it makes a big difference if you are applying to the arts--and even within the arts, some degree programs require auditions/portfolios while some don't--engineering (very impacted); certain social science majors like Communications at UCLA (very impacted), or the ever-popular undeclared. While there is a centralized undergraduate office of admissions that makes most of the decisions, many admissions decisions are made by a number of units across campus, depending on the major to which the student applies.

This is one reason my daughter turned down her admission to Berkeley--she did not like the way that a student was trapped into a college from which it would be difficult to change.  You don't apply to UC Berkeley, you apply to either the College of Engineering, a College of Chemistry, a College of Environmental Design, a College of Natural Resources, and the good old generic college of Letters and Science.  If you start off in Letters and Science and decide you want to be an Engineer or a Chemistry major--good luck.  I actually think most students should NOT know their college major at the time they apply--one of the purposes of college ought to be to challenge students in their first year or two to find their greatest aptitude.  So for those kids who don't have a clear pathway plotted out at age 17, UC and CSU are becoming poorer choices than they once were.