The University of California, Merced, is adding more Central Valley school districts to its list of participants in the Merced Automatic Admission Program (MAAP). Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District and Chowchilla Union High School District are now part of the program that guarantees admission to students who complete specific requirements by the time they graduate.
Cutler-Orosi and Chowchilla join Dinuba Unified School District and Merced Union High School District to create an academic pathway to UC Merced. Through this partnership, students who complete the A-G courses required for freshman UC admission with a weighted GPA of 3.5, with no grade lower than a "C" are automatically admitted to the university.
UC Merced Director of Admissions Dustin Noji said the new partnerships demonstrate the university's education commitment to Valley residents.
"We're excited to expand the Merced Automatic Admission Program to students of Cutler-Orosi Unified and Chowchilla Union," he said. "Cutler-Orosi has been a partner in college access, working with our Center for Educational Partnerships on Upward Bound and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grants. More recently, the district has been working with our Medical Education Program to promote health career pathways. Through these partnerships, we'll be able to identify students and give them access to a University of California education in the Valley."
Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District Superintendent Yolanda Valdez expressed a similar sentiment.
"The Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District staff has worked very hard to provide students with college readiness and experiences in partnership with UC Merced. Offering automatic admission to UC Merced is a natural next step in our long-lasting partnership, and the students of Cutler-Orosi are the winners," she said. "We appreciate UC Merced's continued focus on serving and partnering with underserved communities like ours."
Information from the first cohort of Merced Union High School District indicates 202 students applied for the program. Of those who applied, 169 students were eligible and 114 of them submitted their UC applications and were admitted to the university.
Students interested in the program must submit their MAAP applications by July 1, before the start of their senior years. They will be notified to submit their UC applications by Nov. 30. Program participants will be prioritized in the application review process and notified of their admissions in early March.
More information about MAAP can be found on its website.
