Students must fulfill the following minimum requirements to be eligible for the University of California in the local context:

• Attend an eligible high school that participates in the ELC program and have his or her transcript submitted to UC with the school's ELC submission packet
• Have a UC-calculated grade point average of 3.0 or higher
• Complete a specific pattern of 11 UC-approved “a-g” courses by the end of the junior year
• Rank in the top 4 percent of the expected graduating class, based on a UC-weighted grade point average that includes all UC-approved courses taken in the 10th and 11th grades

In order to complete eligibility, students identified as eligible in the local context must also:

• Graduate from high school with a UC-calculated GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Complete all coursework requirements for freshman admission by the end of senior year
• Take two SAT Subject Tests and either the ACT Assessment plus Writing or the SAT Reasoning Test no later than December of the senior year of high school.
• Apply to the University by the November 30 application deadline

To be eligible in the local context, students must satisfy the following subject requirements:

• 1 unit of history/social science
• 3 units of English
• 2 units of mathematics
• 1 unit of laboratory science
• 1 unit of language other than English
• 3 units chosen from among the remaining ”a-g” requirements

A unit is equal to one academic year (e.g., two semesters) of coursework. Students who have not completed this pattern of work will not be qualified for ELC, regardless of their ranking in the school.

The 11 units must be completed by the end of 11th grade. Summer work completed after the end of the junior year will not be used in the evaluation process.

For year-round schools, courses completed through June 30 will be included in the ELC evaluation. Courses completed on July 1 or after will not be included in the ELC evaluation.

The UC GPA and the high school GPA are often calculated differently. UC calculates the ELC GPA using only UC-approved courses completed in the ”a-g” subject areas in the 10th and 11th grades. School rankings are likely to be based on a different GPA calculation, so the school ranking may be different from the UC ranking.

The top 4 percent of students are selected based on their UC-calculated GPA.

Honors Points

The ELC program awards a bonus point for UC-certified honors courses. UC-approved honors courses are marked with a yellow star on the high school's Doorways course list. All honors courses are used in calculating the GPA (in other words, the ELC program uses a weighted, uncapped GPA).

All Advanced Placement (AP) courses are considered UC-approved honors courses whether or not they appear on the Doorways course list. Community college courses (with the exception of high school–level English, Algebra 1, Algebra  2, Geometry, and Trigonometry) are considered UC honors courses if they are on the ASSIST course list for the community college.

Ties

All students with GPAs that qualify for the top 4 percent will be identified as ELC, even if the total number of students exceeds the 4 percent figure because of ties.

UC-Approved Courses and ELC Evaluations

For a high school course to be included in the ELC evaluation, it must appear on the high school's UC-approved Doorways course list. To determine whether a class is eligible to satisfy an ELC subject requirement, please check the Doorways course list.

Enter the high school’s name where the prompt asks for School or Program Name. Select a school year to determine whether the course taken was on the approved list for that year.

Students identified as eligible in the local context must do the following to complete their eligibility to the University:

• Graduate from high school with a UC GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Complete all coursework requirements for freshman admission by the end of senior year
• Take two SAT Subject Tests and either the ACT Assessment plus Writing or the SAT Reasoning Test no later than December of senior year of high school.
• Apply to the University by the November 30 application deadline

Frequently Asked Questions About the Selection of ELC Students

How will UC select the top 4 percent?

UC will rank students based on a GPA calculated from grades earned in the ”a-g” subjects completed in grades 10 and 11. Students who rank in the top 4 percent and who have completed the minimum 11 required courses will be selected for ELC.

How can a student with a lower class ranking be selected for ELC over a student who has a higher class ranking?

ELC selection is based on the UC-approved courses completed in the 10th and 11th grades, with additional points for UC-approved honors courses. School rankings are likely to be based on a different GPA so the school ranking may be different from the UC ranking.

How will you compare the student who takes fewer courses and gets better grades with the one who takes more courses but gets fewer As?

Students have to complete the 11 required courses. Their GPAs will be calculated from grades earned in all approved ”a-g” subjects completed in grades 10 and 11, with extra points allowed for honors courses, as described above.

In the competitive environment for college admissions, it might occur to some families to choose a less rigorous school for their children to attend so that their children would end up in the top 4 percent of the graduating class and thus obtain ELC eligibility. Has UC considered such a public response in developing the ELC program?

UC is very careful when developing and implementing changes in admissions policies, and has taken into consideration whether negative incentives would be created. The best preparation for college, including UC, comes from a student taking a challenging curriculum and working hard in high school. The ELC program is designed to reward exactly such preparation, and we do not anticipate the type of behavior described. Additionally, and more importantly, eligibility does not guarantee admission to a particular campus or to the major of choice. Doing work above the minimum required and completing a challenging program are important items taken into consideration in campus admission decisions.

How is the ELC ranking determined? Why is it sometimes different from the high school ranking?

Schools use different methods of calculating GPAs for the purpose of ranking. These methods are often different from the UC-calculated GPA. The top 4 percent of students are selected based on their UC-calculated GPA, which includes all UC-approved courses taken in the 10th and 11th grades. Honors points are given for courses listed as honors (yellow-starred) on the Doorways course list. The other criteria used for calculating GPAs are the same as those used in statewide freshman eligibility determinations.

If two students have similar GPAs and similar course patterns, how can one be selected for ELC and the other not?

UC-calculated GPAs can be different depending on when the students took their college-preparatory courses. If some of the courses were taken during the ninth grade, the grades will not be used in calculation and can affect a student's GPA. Honors and AP/IB classes can also affect a student's ranking. In many cases, the differences between the top 4 percent of students and the other students submitted to UC are very slight. A single B, for example, could make the difference.

What happens if students in the ELC pool are tied in terms of GPA and selecting all of them would exceed the 4 percent?

All students with GPAs that qualify for the top 4 percent will be included, even if the total number of students exceeds the 4 percent figure because of ties.