<p>Hey all.</p>
<p>I’m wondering: what is considered a decently competitive ACT score for the top notch UCs like UC Berkeley and LA?</p>
<p>My guess is around a 32+ from various google results (some say possibly a 31?)</p>
<p>thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I would say you are about right - a 31/32 is good. However the higher you get the better. Study, study, study and take the SAT too. Usually you will do better in one over the other. My son is going to Berkeley in the fall. He had a 2090 on the SAT, but a 34 on the ACT. Hope I helped.</p>
<p>Did your son send in both the 2090 SAT and the 34 ACT?
The way I see it, the 34 ACT would shine much greater than the 2090 SAT, making the SAT score almost negligible?</p>
<p>Yes, he sent in both. They will look at the higher score between the two and they don’t penalize you for doing not as well in the other. They are very different tests so they are used to this happening. Just to give you some further info. He took three subject tests and score 700, 780, 770. He also took 13 AP classes and was a National AP Scholar. He got into all the UC’s he applied to - UCLA, UCB, UCSD and UCSB. I’m telling you this just so you have an idea of what you might want to do.</p>
<p>Thank you for the input, momfirst3.
What were his three subject tests? As of now, I only plan to have an 800 in Chemistry and an 800 in Math 2. ( i have the 800 in Chemistry already, and I’m pretty sure I can get a 800 on Math 2).</p>
<p>I don’t think I can match the 13 AP classes. I’ll only have about 4 AP courses by the end of junior year, and about 7 or so total by the end of junior year. However, if my current plans of self-studying are fulfilled during next junior year, I’ll achieve National AP Scholar as well.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to ask for so much input, but what ECs did your son participate in?</p>
<p>thank you</p>
<p>You should be fine then. Are you out of state? To be honest, my son did not study for the SAT, ACT or the subject tests. He just didn’t have time… Drove me nuts! Anyhow he did Chemistry, Math Level I & II. Yeah, he did very well on the AP’s. Okay. This is the full scoop… He is Scholar of Scholars with a 4.8 GPA. He is also a nationally ranked tennis player with years of tournament play all over the US. He also played on the team for four years - four year letterman, two time Co-Captain, and way too many awards to list. He was member of NHS, CSF, Mu Alpha Theta and Teen Screen (a club which educates teens on the dangers of melanoma). Please don’t compare yourself to him. He is the exception with the mix of athletic success and academic success. Let me put it this way, there has never been an accomplished athlete who was Scholar of Scholars at his high school EVER. You are doing just fine. Keep doing what you are doing. Work on your essays. Those are very important. Do your best. The rest is really out of your hands. You will end up in a good place. Trust me…</p>
<p>^
Someone is a little proud, lol. To the OP, it’s not just about your test scores. Actually, the UC’s who use the point system for admission (UCSD, UCSB, UCSC, there might be more) way in GPA more than tests scores. And there have been tons of people in the past rejected with a 32 ACT, my friend had over a 4.0, 5 in 5 ap exams, over 2000 in SATs (in the SAT to ACT conversion chart, a 31 ACT is a little over 2000 in the SATs) and got rejected by UCLA, and UCB</p>
<p>Maybe a little… :-)</p>
<p>However… She asked for his EC’s. I wasn’t going to mention a thing. Just the test scores so she knew what to shoot for…</p>
<p>But… I see what you mean. I got a tad carried away. I have a tendency to do that. I just didn’t want her (her? him?) to think she had to do this to get into Berkeley. :-)</p>
<p>For the record, I am a male, haha.
Thanks to both of you!</p>
<p>And wow, rejected with those types of stats, it’s kind of surprising.</p>
<p>hahahahah… I thought that might be the case! Just don’t worry about it. All you can do is your best. Really. I’ve got three kids. All made it into college and they were all so different. One thing I have learned is to not stress about it. There is no way you can predict admission at the top schools so don’t worry about it. Enjoy high school and do your best. I promise you with your stats, you will be going to a great university!</p>
<p>I got into Berkeley and LA with a 33 ACT; Subject tests: 710 Chem, 700 Math II. I don’t do any sports, but I volunteer in many clubs and have leadership positions in all of them. In NHS, CSF, etc. My major was Undeclared/Pre-business and Pre-Business Economics, respectively. GPA: 3.95 uw, 4.33 w.</p>
<p>Hope that helps(:</p>
<p>Momfirst3,</p>
<p>You should be proud. That resume is incredible and couldn’t have come easy. Your child deserves a ton of credit, and you should be proud that you have raised a great kid. I don’t see your post as bragging at all.</p>
<p>Californiadreamn, Thank you so much for the kind words… I felt terrible about this post so this made me feel so much better. This is my youngest son and he worked so unbelievably hard. Every time I talk about him, it sounds like I am bragging but these really are his stats (and I left out a few things too…). It doesn’t seem right to say “he played tennis.” That just doesn’t do what he did justice. So thank you so much for the kind words. I was really feeling bad about this. I raised him to be humble and I want to practice what a preach. You made a difference today. Thank you. :-)</p>
<p>^
Lol, you don’t need to apologize. If I had received as many awards and honors as your son did I would be bragging myself.</p>
<p>You can see the profiles of admitted students to every UC campus for Fall 2009 (detailed breakdown of GPA, SAT, ACT, SAT II, and other statistics) at <a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/resources/materials/ITU.pdf[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/resources/materials/ITU.pdf</a> starting on page 39 of the PDF file.</p>
<p>The link should be updated with the Fall 2010 stats sometime over the summer.</p>