San Ramon Valley, Athenian Admission Rates to UC Climb, Monte Vista Shows Slow Decline

Despite high anxiety during this year's college admissions process, nine out of 10 Danville high school students who applied to University of California colleges won acceptance for next fall.

Ninety-two percent of San Ramon Valley High and Athenian School students, and 88 percent of Monte Vista High students, who applied to schools in the UC system got in, according to data provided by UC's Office of the President.

Admission rates for San Ramon Valley and Athenian were up slightly compared with last fall. All three schools' admission rates far exceed the overall rate for California freshman, 72 percent.

Monte Vista's admission rate was the lowest it's been since 2004, when it hit 84 percent. But, for the most part, both public schools' admission rates have hovered in the 90s since 2005.

"It's been a disappointing year for a lot of kids. And we know it is the budget. We've had a lot of kids in tears," said Monte Vista counselor Patricia Lamson. "I think that fewer kids got into the UCs they thought they were going to get into. Fewer got into UCs period."

Because of the rough economy, counselors said, more students applied to state universities and the community college system.

According to the university, the fall 2010 admissions cycle included the largest number of applicants in its history: 100,428, compared with 98,119 for fall 2009 and 95,444 for all 2008.

Lamson, who has been a counselor for 33 years, said most Monte Vista students end up at four-year colleges, and that many have been accepted into respected private schools.

"A lot of them are fortunate to be able to afford private college," she said.

But many struggle with the letdown of not getting into their first-choice schools.

"Students come in and say, 'I have to go to Berkeley.' I'll say, 'Why?' And they'll say, 'My dad went there,'" Lamson said. "Unfortunately, when dad went there, it wasn't as hard to get in. It's just real heartbreaking when that dream is lost. And they might get into a good college, the University of Illinois, for example. But their dream is to go to Berkeley."

She said many students with high GPAs and solid test scores have gotten turned away, when "a few years ago, they would have gotten in probably."

Though its admission rate dropped, a higher percentage of Monte Vista seniors applied, and were admitted, to UC schools for fall 2010, according to university and school district data. This year, fully half of its seniors applied to UC schools, compared with 42 percent the year before. This year's applicant pool was much larger than at any point in the past seven years, the period studied for this analysis.

(All school district data are preliminary, because final class size numbers, upon which admission rates are based, will not be available until June, when graduation takes place.)

Monte Vista's enrollment figures for fall 2010 are not yet available, but had remained fairly steady from 2004 (22 percent) through 2009 (20 percent).

San Ramon Valley High's admission and acceptance rates for its senior class both jumped 11 percent since last year, and both were higher than they have been in the recent past. For the 2010-11 school year, 41 percent of its senior class applied for admission, and 38 percent of the class was accepted.

Its enrollment rate, however, remained low, at just 15 percent; this has remained fairly stable since 2004 (14 percent).

(California's Master Plan for Higher Education, adopted in 1960, requires the university to admit the top 12.5 percent of the state's high school graduates; California State University is to admit the top one-third.)

Historically, seniors from Monte Vista and San Ramon Valley are most likely to enroll at UC Davis, according to the most recent detailed data available from the university, which is from 2008. Berkeley has been the second most popular destination for Monte Vista students, while Santa Barbara holds that role for San Ramon Valley seniors.

Though Monte Vista is smaller by several hundred students, many more of its students end up taking advantage of the UC system. From 2004 to 2008, 524 Monte Vista students enrolled at UC schools. In the same time period, 379 San Ramon Valley students enrolled. 

For Athenian, UC Santa Cruz has been the most common destination, followed by UC Davis. A majority of the private school's students apply to UCs, from a low of 67 percent to a high of 86 percent within the five years studied. Admit rates ranged from 58 percent of the senior class to 74 percent. Enrollment rates ranged from 18 percent to 31 percent.

Amy Wintermeyer, a counselor at the Athenian School, said UC applications dropped this year by 16.5 percent. She described students as "more panicked" about getting into college.

"I found admission to the UC system much harder last year and this year than in previous years," she said. "Santa Cruz and certain campuses that used to be much less selective, schools we could count on for a lot of our students, have been much harder to get into than in past years."

Data from UC's Office of the President also provide demographic information about the high schools. According to the 2008 data, San Ramon Valley had a much larger Asian/Pacific Islander population (19 percent compared with 8 percent), and Monte Vista had a higher white population (79 percent compared with 68 percent). Otherwise, the schools' racial breakdowns were nearly identical.

There were slight differences as well in the education level of parents for students in both schools. San Ramon Valley parents, 48 percent, reported having obtained graduate degrees, compared with 43 percent of Monte Vista parents.

Demographic data for the Athenian School were not available because it is a private institution, and not subject to the same reporting requirements as are public schools.

The Office of the President announced its 2010-11 admission data in April, including the unwelcome news to many California families that the state would provide funding for 1,500 fewer in-state students in the fall. Officials said out-of-state and international admissions had grown, and made up most of the 2,064 more applicants admitted this year compared with last.

This spring, 72 percent of fall 2010 California freshman were offered admission, compared with 73 percent for fall 2009 and 76 percent for fall 2008.

Lamson, the Monte Vista counselor, said the school has worked to encourage many students to "apply broadly," and "plan for the future" by applying to safety schools.

"There are so many changes going on with admissions. The kids are really affected. They just work so hard, but it's so competitive, it takes its toll on them," she said. 

For those who don't make it into their dream schools, Lamson said Monte Vista counselors try to give kids a broader perspective.

"You talk about, 'Down the road, after you've been in college a year or two, you're going to make it work,'" she said. "We tell them, 'You're going to be fine.'"