<p>Be it because of desired safety or indecisiveness at this point, I have decided to apply to all of the UC's.
However, the main ones I have been looking at are: UCD, UCSD, UCLA, and maybe UCB(maybe as in not really..)</p>
<p>Right now my college app atm is:</p>
<p>3.76 unweighted gpa
3.85-3.9 weighted
SAT I Score- 1950 (Yes I'm retaking this...)
SAT II's -TBD
ACT-TBD</p>
<p>Extracurriculars
Have taken several college classes if that helps(including an extensive amount of Japanese)
Piano for 8 Years
Guitar for 4 Years
Have worked in father's law office for some time.
Varsity Wrestling- 2 years + Captain
Varsity Swimming- no titles but have been on here for 3 years and have an award or two.
Community Service- under 500 hours (so does it matter?)
Getting work opportunities overseas (Japan), where I can use my language.</p>
<p>Plan to get a job over the summer
Plan to start a club or two</p>
<p>Yes I know this "plan" tense stuff is very hypothetical but the likelihood of it happening is reasonably high.</p>
<p>Teacher Recommendations
1) This one will either be good/very good/ or great
2) Unknown but probably leaning towards the good side( Wouldn't count on this one)</p>
<p>Essay- I'm a good/very good writer</p>
<p>If any futher information is neccesary, please feel free to ask. So does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should work on as of now?
Thanks a lot people appreciate it !</p>
<p>Presuming you will be a senior starting in September, the plan to "start a club or two" is too late to matter to the people at the UC admission office. </p>
<p>Better you take that job over the summer, study for your SAT I or (best yet) work on your SAT IIs and figure out what to do to get a second recommendation from your school that will impress the adcoms, while doing some volunteer work for disadvantaged kids/the environment/something else related to your planned major in college.</p>
<p>Right now your chances are roughly as follows:</p>
<p>UCB/UCLA-Reach to no chance
UCSD--match to slight reach (need good SAT IIs and recommendations)
UCSB/UCD--match
UCI--safe match
UCSC/UCR/UCM--safeties </p>
<p>Your biggest problem from my point of view is you didn't list a major--meaning maybe you don't know yet. I think you need to figure this out so you can do at least some writing about your interests in the essay you will submit with your UC application.</p>
<p>Kenzen, is there a reason you are only applying to the UCs? My DS had 4.04 weighted and 2030 SAT, got into UCI, turned down at UCLA. He had awesome ECs and recs too. You might want to look at ccs to start if you are bent on staying in ca</p>
<p>I saw Claremont McKenna and thought I might like it there, albeit session was out and didnt really see campus life. From what the admission officer said I might have a better chance getting in there (they were emphacizing fit).</p>
<p>And if your not talking about those, please feel free to enlighten me. THe more I know about colleges the better.
Thanks for all the helpful posts guys, good insight</p>
<p>You'll have no trouble getting into a good UC. All but probably UCLA and UCB are doable. If you are interested in private schools, Occidental and Pitzer College are possibilites. I'm afraid your stats aren't good enough for Claremont McKenna, which would require better grades and test scores for you to be competitive.</p>
<p>Out of all the things that I could enhance my app with, would a higher SAT score help at all? I plan on retaking the SAT1 as well as the ACT as well.
I have yet to take the SATII's, but I'm sure I will have opportunities to re take those tests</p>
<p>suze above wrote:
"Calcruzer, you keep giving misinformation. Need good recs? UCs don't ask for, and won't take, recs." </p>
<p>While it is true that the UCs don't take recs for admission decisions, they do for scholarship decisions (and since everyone is eligible for certain scholarships--such as the one listed below), it pays to have people who can do these recommendations for you.</p>
<p>Under the section entitled "Regents Scholarships", it states:
Other Criteria
The student's personal statement, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities and overall academic potential are also considered by the Committee on Honors, Awards, and Prizes. Must be a U.S. citizen/permanent resident or have official refugee status; must be a California resident.</p>
<p>Also, it should be noted that these letters of recommendations for the scholarship decisions must be submitted at the time of application--they cannot be sent later: </p>
<p>which gives the following instructions for the freshman application: Use this application to apply for all scholarships, including regents scholarships. Many scholarship programs, including those administered by the University alumni associations, require the submission of supporting documentation. Supporting documents must be postmarked by the date noted in the instructions.</p>
<p>But I suppose I should have been clearer and not have lumped this in with required admissions stuff</p>
<p>Calcruzer, at no offense to Kenzen, I really don't think he or she has any chance of getting regents at any of those schools. Even Davis is only a match for the OP at this point (SAT's are above average, but GPA is not), so regents is out the picture.</p>
<p>Regents Scholarships are awards given to in-state "highly qualified applicants" (US citizens or permanent residents only who live in California) accepted to University of California campuses. The nice thing about these awards is that they are not based on need (see comment below on this), they generally cover all tuition and fees (and sometimes some other costs) and if you maintain a high enough GPA at the university (usually around 3.2), they are renewable for all four years of attendance.</p>
<p>Also, they apply at almost all the campuses--not just the premier ones.</p>
<p>I've seen people who could go to UCLA instead go to UCR since they thought they could get offered a Regents Scholarship there (and because they lived close by--in Temecula)--and they were offered this scholarship. In this way, they essentially got their entire college education for free.</p>
<p>I agree with vu<em>press</em>06 that you are unlikely to get Regents at the schools you have in mind--but note the scenario I offered above--which could apply to you (Kenzen) as well. </p>
<p>The key, in my view, is to think of all the possibilities--and prepare for them all--which includes having letters of recommendations submitted--just in case.</p>
<p>Oh, and the term "OP" refers to original poster.</p>
<p>Note: There are two kinds of Regents scholarships--Regents Honorarium and Regents Stipend. The Honorarium (which covers all tuition and fees only) is open to all applicants regardless of need. The stipend, which is open to only those with need, covers at least all tuition and fees, but can also cover other expenses.</p>