3.5 gpa good enough?

Applying to College
1

<p>I am looking towards a biology major at a school like UC Irvine, UCSD, or UCLA</p>

<p>My 10-11 GPA is 3.5 (counting this semester)
AP Bio and AP Eng. in Sophmore year, AP Psych and AP Comp Junior year
SAT- 2100
SAT II- haven't taken it yet
I have done volunteer service at local animal shelter and veterinary office
Received awards for outstanding community achievements
I am taking a Statistics class at the community college this summer, and 4 AP classes next year</p>

<p>What are my chances at these schools?
What else can i do to higher my chances?
I am afraid that my GPA will ruin all chances I have of getting into the colleges I want to.
I am a very dedicated student, but transferring schools and moving really changed things and threw off my sophomore year. My GPA has increased drastically from a 3.17 my first semester as a sophomore to a 4.3 this semester.</p>

<p>And are there other colleges I should be aware of/ aim towards? (to be honest, i don't know of any colleges beyond Pitzer, UOP, and the UC's)</p>

2

<p>It is good enough for UC admission, but UCLA and UCSD are a reach at this point. UCI is also a bit of a reach. UCR, UCSC and Merced would be possibilities, but the other campuses are a reach at this point.</p>

<p>As for other schools, it depends upon how important financial aid it. </p>

<p>If I were you I would consider SDSU (although its not a given) Long Beach State and the Cal Poly Schools as well. Fresno and San Jose State are both good schools too as are CSUN and SFSU.</p>

3

<p>[University</a> of California - Admissions](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting/camp_profiles/camp_profiles_ucd.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting/camp_profiles/camp_profiles_ucd.html)</p>

<p>You can see a breakdown campus by campus here.</p>

4

<p>My friend from California, meaning she is a resident, had almost the exact same stats. She was denied from UCLA and Cal but ended up going to UCSB. Don’t know how much that helps but there you go.</p>

5

<p>To add to my answer, her dad is a researcher at Cal and she worked on the Cal campus before she applied and still got denied. That’s rough.</p>

6

<p>^</p>

<p>i can top that…</p>

<p>it happened to my friend, except it was from usc. USC!! its supposed to be one big family</p>

7

<p>You’ll get in to maybe SB, Irvine, Davis, Sd… I got a 1890 on the SATs. I got into Irvine and SB.</p>

8

<p>You’ll get into UCSD and UCI. As for UCLA, you still have a shot for 2 reasons: 1) Recession may either end/not be as bad, 2) The competition’s not as bad in your grade level [but yes, I do know that your class is still a big crowd; this doesn’t equate to smarter and more “creme of the crop” kids]. So, don’t lose hope. =]</p>

9

<p>Nope! A 3.5 GPA is not good enough for UCLA or UCSD…its going to be a reach…
A got an overall of 3.55 weighted GPA and got rejected from UCSD…the average GPA for UCLA is around a 4.1 and a 4.0 for UCSD. Unless you write a KILLER Personal statement and have many community service hours and leadership positions in clubs/activities. My friend has a 3.6 Overall weighted GPA and got accepted to UCSD and UCLA because she wrote a really well-written personal statement and many community service hours. You do have a really high SAT Score, but I think they look at your GPA rather than your test scores. GOOD LUCK!!</p>

10

<p>If that is a weighted average UC GPA you you cannot assume UCI, UCSB and certainly not UCSD to be anything but reaches.</p>

11

<p>Please calculate your GPA according to the UC formula and repost. The UCs use a specific formula. You can only weight so many classes, you have to take out PE and other electives, etc. You’ll find the information on the UC websites.</p>

12

<p>Note the link that Vociferous posted. That page has links on the left side for the different schools. The admit rate for UCLA for your gpa is low, but not 0. If you can write an essay that helps offer perspective on your gpa (without sounding like excuses, rather like lessons learned), that might help.</p>

13

<p>No for UCLA
Maybe for UCSD
Probably/Maybe for UCI</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

14

<p>To flat out reject the idea of his chance of getting into UCLA/UCSD seems a bit… wrong? Browse on this board, and I see a couple people with the same GPA (and even lower) and an SAT score of 1700-1800s who got into UCLA, making me a more than bitter person. I still say there’s a chance. Have you considered taking any community college classes? At my school, they’re transferable onto our high school transcripts. Taking a few of them and getting As in them will most definitely boost your 3.5 GPA. I know many who have taken this action. Go ask your counselor ASAP.</p>