Cal will be doing extra reviews of students admitted with low SATS for this fall.

Responding to recent controversy about UC Berkeley's admissions practices, members of a faculty oversight group next spring will review the cases in which admissions officials recommend accepting high school seniors with very low SAT scores.

As usual, Berkeley's attempt to quell controversy is destined to be more controversial and idiotic then simply sticking by their guns. For example, why is it only the people with low SATs that are getting double-checks? Why not the people admitted with low grades and high SATs? Or the people admitted with high SATs and grades, but absolutely no extracurricular work? All of these things have different weights in the application process, and it's a given that some will be admitted despite abysmal results in one. There's no good reason to just examine the marginal low SAT people other then it's been getting media controversy.

Professor Stern appears to recognize this, coming up with a lame 'oh, this is nothing,' excuse that will convince no one.

Stern downplayed the significance of the faculty review, comparing it to other customary spot checks that occur at the end of every admissions cycle. "I suspect it won't make much difference at all in actual [admissions] decisions," he said.

"We'll read them individually, and we'll talk about them if it's necessary," he said of the review of admissions decisions.

No way. This is a very specific spot check due to controversy, and one that may affect which students pass the first round of the admissions process. Email This Post!