Among the thousands of applicants UC Berkeley receives each year, a handful of students are considered exceptions and are admitted without fulfilling all of the University of California’s admission standards.
In order to be eligible for acceptance, students applying to the university must meet specific requirements before graduating high school, including laboratory science, visual and performing arts, language and math courses. But each year, a small number of students who do not fulfill all of the requirements are admitted regardless.
“When you’re dealing with 60,000 applicants, there are going to be exceptions,” said Bob Jacobsen, chair of the campus Academic Senate. “You go through so many applications — at the bottom there’s just a few students who meet these exceptions.”
According to campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore, of the fall 2011 enrolled UC Berkeley freshmen, 110 are “admission by exception” because they did not meet all of the university’s admission standards. This year, 63 of those students are athletes.
Those 110 students represent 2.5 percent of the fall 2011 freshman class, according to Gilmore. The campus — like others in the university system — has a policy of admitting no more than 6 percent of students by exception.
Systemwide, about 780 students admitted by exception enrolled in the university in fall 2011, according to the San Jose Mercury News. That number is up by 60 percent from fall 2010’s numbers.
Yeona Choi, a student at Fairfax Senior High School in Los Angeles who applied to UC Berkeley with all requirements fulfilled, said she does not feel threatened by other students admitted by exception.
“I don’t think it’s unfair — I believe that every school has a reason for accepting each student,” Choi said. “Even if the application doesn’t live up to an institution’s academic standards, this applicant may be skilled in another area.”
Students admitted by exception typically are “just missing a class or two, or a test,” Gilmore said in an email.
“The admissions by exception policy is designed to ensure that we do not miss out on students who, but for a class or two, appear to be students who would succeed here,” she said.
The “vast majority” of students on campus met all university requirements to qualify for admission, according to Gilmore.
Additionally, the senate has a specific policy for making applicant exceptions, according to Jacobsen. This policy, outlined by the senate’s Admissions, Enrollment and Preparatory Education committee, is closely followed and includes information regarding student athletes and other groups who are frequently considered for exceptions, he said.
“We’re talking just a tiny handful of people in any given applicant pool,” Jacobsen said. “This includes athletes, but these are also world class musicians or people who missed a particular test because they were in the hospital.”
Geena Cova covers academics and administration.
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You can bet a number of those “exceptions” are students of rich parents who donate to the school. I have seen many students who spend more time getting drunk, high and are barely able to retain the information necessary to excel at Cal. Yet due to mommy and/or daddy being an alumni (who donates money to various programs) or just simply from a wealthy family, they get the top 1% treatment.
So what that informs me is that it is not about if you don’t work hard and test well enough to get into UC Berkeley. It is not about if you are qualified. Because as I was told by some conservatives on campus “there is nothing you can do about the rich kids getting an economic Affirmative Action to get into school.” They also informed me that there is nothing you can do about athletes receiving an athletic Affirmative Action admittance.
They just have a problem if it is done by race or gender.
Maybe it’s time for the College Republicans to have a bake sale with prices for the rich and prices for the athletes. And let’s not forget the handicap and veterans who also receive a special “exception” to get into UC schools despite many not being academically up to par.
So if you gonna make this ultimately about Affirmative Action then make sure to attack all groups equally.
And in the end what I have learned is that money trumps merit based admittance.
We can hope that the Admissions Department screened out those below who so are so lacking in brain power that they jumped to the conclusion that these were athletes and minorities without any evidence whatsoever.
Somehow, I doubt it.
Are unqualified athletes receiving admission preference and thereby excluding academically qualified students?
It’s important to provide opportunities to people whose situation restricts their access to important services and institutions society deems necessary. These individuals will prove themselves through their hard work and motivation and the ones that make it through, despite the odds against them, will be appreciated for their contributions to society like any other educated person. In fact they may bring with them a unique perspective that challenges us to embrace different cultures, religions, etc.
LOL @ requirements
backdoor affirmative action
Could we see a race breakdown of these?