Bad Grades Sophmore Year

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

In sophmore year of high school (last year) i did really bad
Semester 1
B-JROTC
C-Algebra 2
C-Spanish 2
F-AP Biology
D-English 10(Its an A now because i made it up over the summer)
C-AP World History(its a B now because i got a 3 on the AP Exam)

Semester 2
A-JROTC
B-AP World History
C-Spanish 2
C-Algebra 2
D-Environmental Science(My counsleor made me drop AP Bio)
C-English 10

Now im scared i wont get into any 4 year school because of my horrible grades sophmore year. The colleges im considering are:
UC Santa Cruz
UC RIverside
UC San Diego
CSUN?

I know i did bad sophmore year, but is there still any hope left? These are my junior grades currently:

Pre-Calculus-A
Honors Spanish 3- B
AP US History-A
Honors Chemistry- A
Digital Imgaing-A
English-B

2

Whats your freshman year looking like? You need to retake ES over the summer and ask what you can do about that F in AP Bio, not sure why you didn’t just withdrawal if you knew you would get an F… Assuming you retake ES and get a B and they remove AP Bio from your transcript and put it ES as two semesters then your GPA will be a 3.2 UW and a 3.4 W if you get those grades junior year for both semesters. You will also need around a 26-28 on the ACT.

Here are my predictions:
Match:
UC Merced (I think this would be the best choice for you and CSUN is also a good fit.)
UC Riverside
CSUN
High Match:
UCSC
Reach:
UCSC

3

My grades freshmen year are
Semester 1
Spanish 1-A
Geometry-C
English 9 -C
CAD Design-A
JROTC-B
Honors Biology-B

Semester 2
Spanish 1-B
CAD Design-A
Honors Biology-B
Geometry-B
Honors English 9-C
JROTC-B

My school doesnt offer ES over the summer, but is it possible to take AP Bio at a community college and ask them to put AP Bio in 2 semesters?

4

So have i lost all hope at the universities mentioned above?

5

Match:
UC Merced
UC Riverside
CSUN
High Match:
UCSC
Reach:
UCSD

6

read the post above, and I don’t know as your school if you can do AP Bio at a community college they might allow it. You will also have to ask your parents if they would be okay with paying for it. Also you are going to need to retake ES no matter what so ask your school its up to them.

7

If i improve my grades this year, will admission officers overlook bad sophmore grades?

8

Im just overreacting i wont get into a UC because of sophmore grades :frowning:

9

Your UC GPA where it is right now is a 3.24, if you retake AP Bio, and ES you will raise it to a 3.42. What are your ECs do you have a job and what do you think your ACT/SAT score will be around? If you can get your GPA up to a 3.42 (retaking AP Bio and ES and getting a B in both) and around a 26-28 ACT then you can get into UCM or UCR. Admissions officers like to see an upward trend. Ask your school how to make up for your grades in ES and AP Bio.

10

My EC’s are: Orchaestra, Volunteering at Boeing.
My PSAT score was 1300

11

Did you get national merit? I believe a 1300 is national merit. With a 1300 on the PSAT your projected SAT should be around a 1250-1400 I believe if I am not mistaken. If you can get a SAT score in that range then I would expect you to be admitted to UCM or UCR as your SAT would make up for a low GPA. UCSC would also be a possibility.

12

Is UCM a bad school? Because i would like to major in ChemEngineering

13

Is not a “bad” school all the UC’s are very good. Going to any UC is a great education for a great price. When you apply don’t state your major. Just apply to UCM UCR and UCSC and see where you get in, they are all great colleges.

14

Im aiming for UCSC. Is it possible?

15

I said it was.

16

So basically-

  1. Get good grades this year
  2. Try to make up AP Bio over the summer somewhere
  3. Get at least 26 on the ACT and 1300 on the SAT?
17

@Sterny16 1300 is not national merit. It was 1480 and higher in California this year.

18

Freshman grades do not count towards your CSU/UC GPA, but you can fulfill your a-g course requirements with some of your Freshman classes.

You will need to retake AP Biology and Environmental Science to replace your F and D or those grades remain in your UC GPA calculation especially since you may not be able to retake until Summer or Senior year. They have to be the exact same class or grade replacement will not work. You need a minimum of 2 years laboratory science for the UC’s, so passing Honors Biology and Chemistry will fulfill this requirement for CSU but UC’s recommend 3 years.

UC’s are very GPA focused and if you plan to pursue an Engineering degree, your stats need to be above the averages.
At the end of Junior year, you need to calculate your UC/CSU GPA: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

Here is some Freshman admit numbers by GPA range and Campus to give you some targets to aim for:

Freshman Admits for UC GPA of 3.0-3.39:

UCM: 42%
UCR: 25%
UCSC: 10%

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79:

UCSC: 47%
UCR: 64%
UCM: 80%

UCSC is not possible for Chemical Engineering since they do not offer this major. UC Riverside is the only UC on your list where you can major in Chemical Engineering. The other UC’s that offer this major would not be possible with your grades.

I suggest you apply to UCR and UCSC (Chemistry major perhaps) but concentrate on the Cal States since your GPA will be an issue.

Cal Poly Pomona and San Jose State are the only Cal states where you would have the best chances. If you apply to CSUN, you would have to again select another major since Chem E is not available.

Here is a link for California Schools that offer ChemE:
http://educatingengineers.com/states/california/chemical-engineering

Right now, work on doing well on your classes, work with your counselor to try and makeup the bad grades and re-evaluate your goals and college list at the end of Junior year.

19

OP: it is very difficult to get into a UC with even one C in a core class. With multiple Cs, a D, and an F, it will be very difficult to gain admission to a UC school. You can retake the D and F courses and gain an A or a B to have those replaced for UC admissions. However, you can’t retake courses where you gained a C to get an A or B. You may get into UC Merced, which is a great school. However, the other UCs might be out of reach. Maybe look at your local CSU or consider community college and then transferring to a UC?

20

Will i be able to get into Cal Poly Pomona at the least?