UCs' new admissions system resembles SCU's

By Christopher DaCosta

The University of California (UC) system has proposed to randomly verify applications for admission in order to combat resume enhancement and exaggerations. UC campuses will begin to scrutinize applications for fall 2003 admission.

The Santa Clara admissions office has not formally responded to this new trend but intends to keep abreast of the UC systems new changes.

"I think that anytime the University of California is doing something, you take notice; you do wonder about its impact," said Kevin Lum Lung, associate director of admissions. "I think we are just going to be observing what they are finding."

The effort is the first formal verification process in the nation to address the rampant college admission competitiveness, according to a Nov. 10 San Jose Mercury News article.

The need for random spot-checks arose out of the UC system's recent institution of a "comprehensive review," which evaluates each applicant on criteria such as extra curricular activities and personal circumstances.

"This is what Santa Clara has been doing for the longest time; evaluating every aspect of the applicant, not just grades or SAT scores," said Lum Lung. "So we look at the same information that they are looking at."

Despite this similarity in evaluating applicants, Lum Lung said that a verification system is not completely necessary at Santa Clara.

"I would think that we are not so concerned about it at this point," he said. "I know through my history of being here and reading applications that many times information will come to you in a variety of ways which help establish a student's true background."

Lum Lung also cited resources and numbers as one of the reasons that Santa Clara would not institute a similar process. While the UC system receives a large volume of applications, Santa Clara has a considerably smaller applicant pool. In addition, such a large-scale survey of applications at UC campuses can be carried out with financial support from the state.

Junior Lindsey Scott-Florez said that there should be random verifications at Santa Clara so acceptances are given to deserving applicants.

"Because there is so much competition to get into schools and because you have to be a shining star to get into a good university, I think that a lot of people are willing to go to greater lengths," said Scott-Florez. "Even if they are not out right lying, people are definitely embellishing things."

A freshman who wished only to be identified as "John" said that he had lied on his applications when applying.

"I would say [on the application] that I participated in activities more than I actually did," he said. "They were minor alterations, and I do feel guilty about it but I don't think it really influenced my acceptances."

Lum Lung does not dismiss the inevitability of application embellishment but said that many applicants are trustworthy.

"I think that we agree with many of our colleagues out there that we realize that students do exaggerate and some will probably fabricate on their applications," he said. "I do think that you want to give [applicants] the benefit of the doubt,that the majority of students that are applying are indeed putting down factual information, that they're signing the portion of the application that does verify that their statements are true and that they are presenting their own work."

Lum Lung emphasized that application inconsistencies can impair chances of an acceptance but only after inquiries have been made.

"Sometimes the admission decision can be dramatically impacted, other times we just try to find out and be clear about what they are trying to convey," Lum Lung said. "Sometimes it was an honest mistake, so we don't want to rush to judgment."

Scott-Florez believes Santa Clara admissions should be fair if they proceed with random spot-checks. No one should be targeted specifically and the samples should remain random, she said.

"If spot-checks were completely random, that would be ok, but the institution would have to make sure that they aren't profiling," she said. "Like just checking minority students or students from certain schools would not be fair."