Blow a class? High test scores may compensate

This is an alert for students who excel on tests and for whatever reason have a grade lapse or missing course. It applies to the University of California and California State University admissions requirements.

In some situations, a student who blew a high school class that was required for UC and/or CSU admissions can compensate with high SAT, ACT or AP test scores. Of course doing that doesn't guarantee admission to any UC or CSU campus — and it would be rather surprising to see an applicant gain admission to the most sought-after UC campuses (such as UCLA or Berkeley) that way — but this is still an option for some students.

Here's UC's information on "Eligibility by Examination Alone":

You may qualify for admission to the University by earning high scores on the ACT Assessment plus Writing or SAT Reasoning Test, and two SAT Subject Tests.

Click for details.

CSU's equivalent is under "How to Make Up Missing Courses" on the High School Subject Requirements page:

If you didn't take all the required high school courses or earned D grades in some of them, you have several options to make up these courses and qualify for CSU admission. You can complete appropriate high school courses with a grade of C or better either in summer school or in adult school. Courses in this category must be those found on the high school or adult school UC "a-g" course lists. Some adult schools may not have a-g course lists.

You may also complete college courses with a grade of C or better in the missing subject areas. Finally, you can earn an acceptable score on examinations such as the SAT subject examinations, Advanced Placement examinations, or International Baccalaureate examinations.