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By Anna Opalsky

ENCINITAS — As this year’s college admissions process draws to a close, not all recent high school graduates are secure in their commitment to a campus.

The number of applicants to colleges in the University of California system has reached all-time highs, according to Gary Clark, undergraduate admissions director at UCLA, leaving many students spending the early days of summer on lengthy waitlists or looking for another school altogether.

Arda Hoke, a 2022 Torrey Pines High School graduate, is one such student.

Hoke moved to the United States from Turkey as a sophomore for the educational opportunities available in the States. During his senior year, Hoke, who maintained a 4.0 GPA, applied to computer science programs at several UC schools and California State Universities.

Although language barriers required Hoke to take sheltered English courses, which prevented him from enrolling in advanced placement courses, he was hopeful for UC admissions, given his extracurricular activities.

Hoke founded the school’s Turkish Club, served as technology commissioner for the Associated Student Body (ASB) and played on the Torrey Pines badminton and sailing teams.

“I thought I had a strong chance of getting into one of my schools,” Hoke said. “But as it turned out, it [wasn’t] like that.”

Hoke joined the waitlist at UC Irvine after being waitlisted at three UC schools and later rejected from UC San Diego.

If he is not accepted at UC Irvine, Hoke plans to attend Mira Costa Community College and transfer to a four-year school.

Like Hoke, other students have received unexpected waitlists or rejections from their “target” and “reach” schools where acceptance was probable and possible, respectively. A “safety” school has a 75% or higher chance of acceptance, a “target” is a 50/50 shot, and a “reach” is a 25% or lower chance of acceptance.

Jae Lee, another ’22 Torrey Pines grad, applied to nearly all of the UC schools intending to study biology.

While he expected acceptance at UC San Diego, Lee, who graduated with a 4.4 GPA, was rejected from four UC schools and waitlisted at UC Davis. Lee eventually committed to Purdue University.

“I sorted [my schools] based on my GPA. I thought that UC San Diego would be my target school and Purdue was a safety,” said Lee.

EVERY YEAR, UCLA receives the highest number of applicants in the nation. This year, the university reported an increase of 10,000 applications from the previous year, with nearly 150,000 applicants vying for just 6,500 spots. Courtesy photo

Encinitas Chamber CHATTER

Economic Development Committee Chamber Member and Ambassador Mary Smylie

Mary Smylie is a realtor in Encinitas at San Diego Brokerage and as a mom of three, her family is engrained in all aspects of the community. Her kids go to school at Park Dale Lane Elementary and attend the after-school program at Ecke YMCA. Her daughter plays soccer at the Encinitas Express and you will often find Mary practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Gracie Barra Encinitas.

Mary joined the Encinitas Chamber because she wanted to be of service and connect with people locally. “As a realtor, an important part of my job is not just selling homes but selling the lifestyle of a community. A lot has happened over the last few years, Covid has had a huge impact on the local businesses and I want to give back and help our wonderful community thrive. I personally love business and I love real estate, so it’s fun for me to bring my passion and experience to help the Chamber and to build a network of strong relationships.”

Mary is a part of the Chamber Ambassador program, a leadership group working to connect with members to get them more involved in the Chamber and its monthly networking opportunities such as Moonlight Mixers, Coffee Connections and the new fun happy hour event, Chamber on Tap.

Mary also serves on the Chambers Economic Development Committee. The Committee is working collaboratively with the City and Director of Development Services Department Roy Sapa’u to create a “Roadmap for Business Owners” (available on the City and Chamber websites in the next couple of months).

“Currently there is no clear roadmap of what needs to be done to get a business started in Encinitas. The Chamber has partnered with the City to create a step-bystep plan for prospective business owners to help them set up a successful business here.”

As for her perfect day in Encinitas, Mary loves taking her kids to Moonlight Beach at the end of summer when it’s not so busy and the weather is great. She also loves running along the 101 and stopping by the Self-Realization Meditation Gardens for some guided breath work and meditation.

“I’ve lived all over the world, and this is a very special place to be. I am beyond thankful that I can raise my children here and have such a wonderful network of family and friends.”

ENCINITAS REALTOR and Chamber Member Mary Smylie in front of the Encinitas sign. Courtesy photo

More applicants, more disappointment

As students receive unexpected college results, many cite the increasing number of applicants as the reason for heightened selectivity amongst in-state, fouryear schools.

Systemwide, the number of freshmen applicants to UC schools increased by 3.5% from the previous year, reaching a record-breaking 210,000 applicants for the coming fall semester, according to UC admissions data.

And while the number of applications has risen, enrollment levels have remained relatively unchanged, according to Clark, creating longer waitlists and more rejection letters.

“When you have applications increasing, and you’re essentially seeking to enroll a similar number of students from one year to the next, you are making the denominator bigger, and the numerator stay roughly the same,” Clark said. “The decline in admit rate isn’t something that is intentional on the part of UCLA; it’s just the arithmetic of it.”

UCLA receives the highest number of applicants in the nation — nearly 150,000 applicants are vying for 6,500 spots this fall — marking an increase of 10,000 students compared to last year, according to UCLA.

Other UC schools are not far behind. For example, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley received more than 131,000 and 128,000 applicants, respectively.

Carson Chiavatti, a graduate of San Dieguito Academy, committed to UCLA with a 4.6 GPA as an electrical engineering major. Chiavatti applied to 17 schools but was waitlisted or rejected at almost all of his reach and target schools except Boston University, UC Davis and UCLA.

“People had fewer choices between UCs this year,” Chiavatti said. “I have a friend who got into UCSD and was waitlisted at all the rest. I have a friend who got into Davis but waitlisted at the rest.”

Like Chiavatti, Alexander Woelkers, another Class of ’22 graduate from Torrey Pines, applied to both in- and out-of-state schools, viewing most of his UC schools as safeties or targets and his out-of-state schools, such as Northwestern University, as reaches.

“I knew my grades, test scores, and extracurriculars were all really strong,” Woelkers said. “I thought I would get into all of my safeties easily, hit most of my [targets] and then maybe get into one or two reaches.”

A leader of the school’s Japanese National Honors Society and a member of the Falcons tennis team, Woelkers applied to his schools with a 4.3 GPA. Of the instate schools, Woelkers considered UCSD, UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara his safety schools, while UC Berkeley and UCLA were both reach schools.

However, Woelkers was waitlisted at UCSD, a school where his family works, and he was rejected from UC Berkeley, the alma mater of both his mother and uncle. Woelkers eventually committed to UC Santa Cruz for computer science.

With an increasing number of applicants, UC acceptance rates are expected to drop this year. Multiple UC school acceptance rates are already below 20% — UCLA and UC Berkeley accepted approximately

said she believes Struzzieri and his team at HITs will be a good fit for the Horsepark.

“He has developed incredible horse facilities across the United States, and national championships are being held at these places all the time. So I think we’ve got the right guy,” Echols-Hayes said.

“I feel personally that we are super fortunate that he wants Del Mar, because he has turned down other offers.

“He really has a pick of facilities, and he knows what works in all these different locations.”

The 22nd DAA did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

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