Am I doing enough?

Hello, I am an up-and-coming senior applying to college, with my dream school being UCLA (a cliche, I know). As I was filling in my application, I didn’t know if I was doing enough.

My grades are decent (unweighted:4.0, weighted:4.5). However, due to the coronavirus, I didn’t have the chance to retake the SAT (my current SAT score is low), but I am planning to take it on August 29 (my goal is a 1500+)

By the end of my senior year, I would have done 10 AP tests (although I will not submit my AP biology, so I guess that is “9” )

My extracurricular would be student council grade representative for 10th, 11th, and maybe 12th grade. I helped plan student events such as Prom, Halloween, spirit day and raised a few thousand dollars for these events, along with helping with the creation of school mechanize.

I was in the Forensics club ( or debate, whatever you call it), competing against schools in my district.

I am part of Red Cross and I’m planning to be President next year.

I have also been volunteering in the same soup kitchen since I was in 7th grade (maybe 100 hours total).

I will have also been in the Mu Alpha Delta club, a mathematics honor society where I also competed with other school (not a face-to-face competition). We also helped tutor children in our school which is from K-12 (Helping them was really fun and amazing; my favorite part of the club). I was awarded best Tutor.

Is this enough to get into UCLA? I am worried because I don’t necessarily have a spike and other people who are applying are internationally acclaimed skaters who have won 1st prize in every single competition. I don’t plan to go to an Ivy (I don’t stand a chance), but will it be enough to go to most UCs like UCLA, UCS, UCSD, UCD, etc?

Based on what you have posted, you are competitive but regardless of qualifications UCLA should be considered a Reach school due to the low acceptance rate. Also the 2021 admission cycle is probably going to be more competitive than usual due to Covid and some students taking Gap years etc… so there is no way to predict.

Are you a CA resident?

Since the UC’s will be test optional, having a solid SAT score will definitely help your chances. There is no secret formula in getting into any school, but as long as you feel you have performed to the best of your abilities, have pursued EC’s you enjoy and have enjoyed your time in HS, that is all that you can ask.

Just remember, your “dream school” should be any school that accepts you.

Also calculate your 3 UC GPA’s: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

2020 admission data is not yet available so here is the 2019 data for all the UC’s. Intended major will have an impact on your chances to highly competitive majors such as Engineering/CS, will require higher stats and have lower admit rates.

2019 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 12%
UCLA: 7%
UCSD: 33%
UCSB: 32%
UCD: 47%
UCI: 35%
UCSC: 72%
UCR: 87%
UCM: 96%

2019 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 4.20 or above capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 38%
UCLA: 35%
UCSD: 71%
UCSB: 73%
UCD: 84%
UCI: 55%
UCSC: 85%
UCR: 97%
UCM: 98%

2019 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range:
UCB: 4.23 (4.15-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.32)
UCSD: 4.16 (4.03-4.28)
UCSB: 4.16 (4.04-4.28)
UCI: 4.13 (4.00-4.25)
UCD: 4.13 (4.00-4.26)
UCSC: 3.96 (3.76-4.16)
UCR: 3.90 (3.69-4.11)
UCM: 3.73 (3.45-4.00)

2019 Data:
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT totals:
UCB: 1340-1540

UCLA: 1330-1550
UCSD: 1300-1520
UCSB: 1280-1520
UCD: 1230-1490
UCI: 1250-1510
UCSC: 1200-1450
UCR: 1130-1400
UCM: 1020-1290

UC admit rates for 2019 (Overall including in-state, OOS and International)
Freshman:
UCLA: 12.4%
UC Berkeley: 16.8%
UC Irvine: 26.6%
UC Santa Barbara: 29.7%
UC San Diego: 32.3%
UC Davis: 39.1%
UC Santa Cruz: 51.8%
UC Riverside: 56.7%
UC Merced: 75.4%