This college admissions process in America is wild. (I gather it’s much simpler in Europe, Australia, etc.). Here’s an example:
Kavi is very interested in California schools. Very politically blue generally, lots of sunshine, both important to her. And Kevin’s family is from the Bay Area, so there’s some added incentive for Northern CA. Here are two things I didn’t know before going into this process:
1) The UC and Cal State schools are generally great, and well worth considering / applying to (and their shared app means you can apply to a lot at once, which is very nice). But they’re supposedly test-blind. Kavi’s grades are pretty good, but not straight-A’s, and her test scores are better. That’s not going to help her with UC and Cal State schools, though.
(I’m not here to argue whether test-blind is or isn’t a good thing generally; I’ve heard persuasive arguments both ways, and haven’t researched it enough to take a position. So I’m just talking about my kid (and my own experience), where standardized tests made us look like better candidates.)
2) The California schools also have a set of requirements:
“A-G” subject requirements
A. History/social science = 2 years
B. English (or language of instruction) = 4 years
C. Mathematics = 3 years (4 years recommended)
D. Laboratory science = 2 years (3 years recommended)
E. Language other than English (or other second language) = 2 years (3 years recommended)
F. Visual and performing arts = 1 year
G. College preparatory elective = 1 year
All well and good, but F is one not all states require, so people often end up missing that if they are out of state.
https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/…/freshma…/
Wacky. So much detail to keep track of.
(Borrowed pretty graphic from Punahou School.)
