If I applied to a UC like USC with a 2.9 GPA but a really high SAT score (1400-1600) with decent/great ECs and the help of affirmative action, would I get in?
USC isn’t a UC.
USC=University of Southern California is a private university. It is not UC school. They may consider your URM status, but you need a higher GPA if you ever hope to get in.
The University of California system and the California State University system are a group of public colleges funded by the State of California; these colleges cannot use Affirmative Action to admit students because it is illegal in California for race to be considered as admission.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/q-and-a/selection/index.html
GPA and SAT scores are king in admissions to California public colleges.
Here is the UC GPA calculator so see if your capped weighted UC GPA comes out to meet the minimum UC GPA requirement. Just know that at that minimum only UC Merced might be an option.
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Here is a link to all UC Freshman profiles to see what GPA is needed for an acceptance. UC’s are very GPA focused, so high tests will not always make up for lower grades.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/profiles/index.html
USC freshman profile: https://admission.usc.edu/docs/USCFreshmanProfile.pdf
A 2.9 is not competitive even with perfect test scores.
Use the GPA calculator that Gumbymom linked… the UC GPA doesn’t include 9th grade so in case you really tanked 9th grade but have done pretty well since then you might be okay, but otherwise, 2.9 is really low for UC. You could think about doing community college for a couple of years and transferring.
i agree with the consensus - that’s a real long shot.
i’d add that CA public colleges don’t use race for admissions. Still, there are lots of other options, particularly if you have a USC budget.
What’s your home state?
You likely would not get into USC with a 2.9 GPA.