<p>My gpa is 3.45 weighted. I totally messed up my sophomore year (3.1 ish) but my junior year was better (3.7 ish). I plan on getting a 4.0 or above this coming senior year first semester. I also have a bad SAT (1800) but I plan on trying raise that to at least 2000 this November. My extracurriculars are okay. I have 75 hours of community service and been in 3 clubs for 2 years each, and I'm a board member for two of them. Not sure if this helps but neither of my parents have a college education. I plan on applying to mostly UC's (I really want to get into UCI, UCSB, and UCD in particular) but matching me with any good school that i have a good chance of getting into will be appreciated. Please try not to tell me about Cal States though. I have something against them.</p>
<p>Have you calculated your UC GPA? Sometimes that GPA looks very different than the unweighted GPA.
Have you thought about University of Oregon or University of Arizona?</p>
<p>I actually don’t know my UC gpa. I thought that was it. How do I calculate that?</p>
<p>Let google be your friend.
<a href=“http://collegetools.berkeley.edu/documents/cat_113-128/Calculating_GPA.pdf[/url]”>http://collegetools.berkeley.edu/documents/cat_113-128/Calculating_GPA.pdf</a></p>
<p>Yeah, my 3.45 is my UC gpa.</p>
<p>Do colleges put a lot of emphasis on improvement? If do, I have a better chance I think.</p>
<p>It’s really frustrating for me because one class ruined my gpa. I got a d in honors geometry both semesters and that kept my gpa low and in junior year I raised it as much as I could, but it’s still low. One class! It makes me almost feel like crying.</p>
<p>Bumpity bump bump</p>
<p>Apply for the UC’s! Especially if you get a waiver. My gpa was higher than yours, but still quite average. But your EC’s are better than mine. I didn’t have any sort of leadership. Just participation in two clubs for about a year each and band all four years. My apps weren’t special.</p>
<p>Bringing up your grades senior year will DEFINITELY help. Then, there are your essays, the personal statement. Make sure you do well to answer the prompt and don’t be afraid to state your desire for higher education and how you’ve learned and improved from previous grades. The essays are your biggest asset for the UC’s from what I seen in the app process. </p>
<p>In case you wonder, I was accepted into UCR, UCSB, UCI, and UCD. I’m going to Davis! My SAT’s were lower than yours. 1620 first time, about 1700 second time. I forgot my UC GPA, but it was about 3.67 upward to 4.0 total. But I’ve had some baddies.</p>
<p>By the way, any AP classes? Even if you don’t take the test, those classes are really good to have, if offered. It may have been one of my assets. I took a few AP’s but not as many as others in my school. I took two tests, AP Bio and AP English Language. Got a 2 and 4 respectively.
I also took the SAT Subject Tests. I suggest taking them, as close to your possible major. It’s not required, but VERY good to have if you do well in particular, Major-wise. I didn’t do amazing, and my best score was a 670 on Biology M. I’m majoring in Animal Biology.</p>
<p>Do everything you can to show how well rounded you are. You don’t necessarily need a blazing-amazing GPA. Thats only one part of the app.</p>
<p>I did take AP biology and a lot I honors classes. And I’m taking 3 AP’s this coming year. I got a 2 on the AP bio exam and 3’s on the AP psych and AP English Lang exams, but I didn’t take those classes. Does this put me in better shape?</p>
<p>That makes it all the more better! Especially if you got at least B’s or low A’s in courses you actually took. And 3’s on courses you never took? Good job! I commend you. I would have never been able to accomplish that.</p>
<p>I think you’re a really strong candidate for a lot of the UC’s. And definitely consider those private colleges. Some aren’t as scary as they seem in admissions. You also don’t need an Ivy league degree to get a good education. Even Cal States can offer amazing programs.</p>
<p>Also, consider what you want to major in. Applying under an impacted vs. A non impacted major also affects chances. But don’t let that notion bring you down.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for the positive feedback! I feel much better now. Also I was planning on applying as undecided. Would that be good or should I chose something not impacted instead?</p>
<p>No problem! </p>
<p>Depends. I don’t know if Undecided is like other majors which are impacted. I’ve seen Undecided as being an impacted “major” but going that route may not hurt. I seem to recall the ability to list an alternative major on the UC apps, so maybe its not a big risk. But if you find a non-impacted major that interests you, definitely go for it! Many times, people change from their original major anyway, depending on similarities in major requirements, but Undecided gives you more leeway to experiment a bit. And you never know; if you do choose a non impacted major, you might find yourself liking it! And I’ve seen situations where friends of mine apply for an impacted major, get accepted, but in another major. Then later after they begin, they change majors (which, at least in my school, is rather easy).</p>
<p>If your gpa is lacking, you could spend a semester to a year at Ivy Tech making up the classes that your grades suffered. You’d have a better chance of getting accepted.</p>
<p>Sent from my SCH-M828C using CC</p>
<p>UCs care more about the UC-GPA than anything else. That’s probably why RubyGirl was accepted to a few UCs. Ruby also had 4 years of band, which is a substantial EC.</p>
<p>Your UC-GPA may give you some trouble since many UCs like HIGH GPAs, so be sure to apply to some of the lower-tier like Merced and Santa Cruz. </p>
<p>UCs don’t count senior year grades for admission. The only grades that count are from grades 10 and 11.</p>
<p>It’s not entirely based on personal experience, either. I’ve seen some friends with similar stats (and no band, different EC’s) get accepted into middle-tier UC’s, even a few (but not many) higher tier ones (but they had amazing essays). So it’s not entirely impossible. And impacted vs. non impacted majors also seem to show differences in admission or not. </p>
<p>There’s also a strong emphasis in the essays required by the apps. Essays and GPA. If you don’t qualify for fee waiver, then the lower UC’s are perfectly fine, too. Honestly, the UC’s are all good schools with great programs, but you’re a good all around for at least chancing a few UC’s and getting in. It also looks like your GPA has shown improvement between sophomore and junior year, so it may help. Senior grades are still important, even though they don’t really look at them. But they could revoke admission if they turn bad.</p>
<p>But nonetheless its my opinion. m2ck also has a very good point to keep in mind. But you don’t have to be in a top tier UC to have a great school. UCR, my local UC, is a lower tier UC, but it’s definitely not something to skip, especially for business majors.</p>
<p>Okay well I guess all I can do now is raise my SAT score and try to add more extracurriculars before apps are due. And write a good personal statement. Wish me luck guys! I’m going to need it.</p>
<p>Good luck! I wish you well in your applications!</p>