ATDP and College
How ATDP fits in with your plans for college
Taking courses with ATDP during your high school years can help you in several ways on the path to college.
Providing opportunities for enrichment and acceleration, ATDP's courses are rigorous and intensive. College preparatory in nature, the classes cover material at a fast pace. The Advanced Placement courses and many others even use college-level texts. ATDP courses can prepare you to succeed in a course or can provide an opportunity for you to study topics you would not typically be able to.
At ATDP, you can often be introduced and exposed to different fields of study, different disciplines, and different types of thinking, in a rich and diverse learning environment. All these factors not only introduce you to collegiate-style academics, they also help you to develop strong study skills so that you can engage in university-level scholarship.
Taking courses through ATDP exhibits an effort beyond the minimum a-g requirements. Furthermore, it demonstrates that you have taken advantage of certain opportunities. While these courses are a part of your high school transcript when your school grants credit, UC further recognizes ATDP as a special program when you list it under Special Program Participation.
Credit and your transcript
Successful completion of an ATDP course with a grade in the A or B range carries a recommendation of credit. While only your school can grant credit, because of the advanced degree and intensity of ATDP courses, we recommend honors-level weight be assigned as well. If your school does grant credit, your ATDP course(s) will be listed on your transcript.
We remind you that ATDP recommends credit, but the school grants credit. Only courses that have been placed by the high school on the student's high school transcript can be used to meet college entrance requirements. We recommend that high schools place courses in the college-prep categories listed in the pages on ATDP Courses for UC a-g Requirements. (This page is on ATDP's old website; will be updated soon, to the new design.)
Other ways to prepare for college
Participation in ATDP is only one of many ways to prepare for college. During the school year, take advantage of outreach programs and college preparatory programs offered by UC.
The University of California outlines specific course requirements for minimum eligibility, known as the a-g Subject Area Requirements. These courses must be college-preparatory in nature. To check the list of courses offered at your school which meet the different subject area requirements online, see: High School a-g Certified Course Lists. Use this to plan your courses during your high-school years.
Note that the "f" requirement for Visual & Performing Arts is a recent addition. Because it is new, some schools may not offer courses to meet this requirement for UC eligiblity. You may want to consider ATDP's courses in the Fine Arts department.
When you receive credit from your school for ATDP courses, they count toward the UC a-g requirements. The overall profile that you build during your secondary school years is important whether you apply to UC Berkeley or any other college or university.
Effective Fall 2007, UC also requires that students take the new SAT I or ACT, in addition to two SAT II subject tests, in two different subject areas. (Native speakers of a language other than English are permitted to take the test for their native language if it is offered). It is best to take a subject test toward the end of the school year contiguous to when you complete the course (for example, taking the SAT II Chemistry course in May the year you take Chemistry in high school). When applying to an Engineering program, it is strongly recommended that you take a subject test in a physical science. If you intend to apply to other colleges and universities, check their testing requirements for admission.