<p>hey guys!</p>
<p>so im thinking about applying to schools in california
and im really confused how the grading system works to calculate my gpa</p>
<p>how would a school like UCSB or UCLA do it? </p>
<p>like for example, what would a B- be? Also, what would honors/AP courses be?</p>
<p>and what would be considered a GOOD gpa scores for those schools? </p>
<p>thanks so much!</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>OK, the UC system is really simple. It’s the same calculation at all UC/CSU campuses and it works like this:</p>
<p>Only ACADEMIC classes count (math, english, foreign language, science, social science) plus visual/performing arts. It’s actually this complicated thing called a-g requirements but it really means…PE, study skills, ROP, and weird electives don’t count.</p>
<p>Pluses and minuses are disregarded. If it’s a B-, it’s a B. A+, it’s an A.</p>
<p>For regular classes:
A=4, B=3, C=2</p>
<p>For AP or IB classes (since you’re OOS, regular honors classes unfortunately will not be weighted):
A=5, B=4, C=3</p>
<p>Also, the only years UCs look at is SOPHOMORE AND JUNIOR years. Not senior year. Not freshman year.</p>
<p>That’s the system to the best of my understanding. For schools like UCLA, expect the average UC GPA of most students to be above 4.0, slightly lower for UCSB students.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Also, check out this website. It’s like a UC GPA calculation FAQ page.</p>
<p>[University</a> of California - Counselors](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/resources/askuc/answers/calculating.html#1]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/resources/askuc/answers/calculating.html#1)</p>
<p>You do know that you will have to pay full freight for school? No FA for OOS students.</p>
<p>Yes…going OOS to a UC is like paying full-freight at a private university.</p>
<p>The total cost of attendance to a UC (as an OOS student) for 2009-2010 is</p>
<p>Fees* … $8,700</p>
<p>Books and Supplies … $1,500</p>
<p>Health Insurance Allowance/Fee … $1,000</p>
<p>Room and Board … $12,600</p>
<p>Personal/Transportation… $2,600</p>
<p>PLUS OOS additional cost … $22,021</p>
<p>Total Average Estimated Costs … $48,421</p>
<p>Give the girl a break! Just because you think paying OOS full freight for a UC is ridiculous doesn’t mean you should lecture her about it. Keep your opinions to yourself. She didn’t ask for financial advice.</p>
<p>Good luck with the UCs, lillyflowerlilly!</p>
<p>Uh…actually…we (parents) think it’s only right to make sure that a school is affordable before a kid gets his/her heart set on going. </p>
<p>Many parents and kids have never looked at the cost of attendence. Many families have never looked at an EFC calculator to see (and be surprised) at how much they will be expected to pay themselves. CollegeBoard’s EFC calculator <a href=“http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_status.jsp[/url]”>http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_status.jsp</a></p>
<p>Many parents and kids don’t understand how financial aid works; some think that they’ll get aid because they believe they need aid. Many don’t understand that the system assumes that parents have been saving for college since the child was born.</p>
<p>When these kind of things misunderstandings happens, the student applies to all of these schools, and then spring comes and the kid is very disappointed because none of the choices are affordable. The student has naively thought that either parents were going to pay, or they would be gifted with free money from the school. </p>
<p>Not to mention…it has become increasingly hard for OOS students to get accepted to UCs for undergrad simply because there aren’t enough spaces for Calif kids.</p>
<p>Plus, I’ve heard that there is no F/A available for OOS kids for UCs - is that true?</p>
<p>@ mom2collegekids. I agree with you about not getting your heart set on a school that’s too expensive, but I was just saying that the OP did not mention that she wanted people’s input about the financial aspect of this decision. For all we know, she may have already had a discussion about the finances with her parents and they are fine with it. Don’t just assume she hasn’t already thought of this, a lot of college-bound seniors discuss finances with their parents while they’re making their lists.</p>
<p>Also, UCs are getting more competitive but it’s not because there’s not enough space. Most of the schools just have very little money. In fact, in light of the severe budget cuts, UC officials have been toying with the notion of accepting more OOS students to boost tuition dollars. So OOS kids might have a good chance this year.</p>
<p>OOS students can’t qualify for the CalGrant money that UCs give away, but they can still get the federal stafford loans, etc. that lots of other schools offer, and there are some federal grants that UCs give away that are not restricted to residents. So, they have some FA for OOS.</p>
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<p>Raelah, many kids don’t understand the financial considerations, so it’s often helpful to point them out. At UCs, it now takes longer than 4 years for most to graduate. At $50K/yr OOS, that’s important info.</p>
<p>If $200K plus is no problem she can ignore the advice, but it might help others.</p>
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</p>
<p>In past years they have given a little to top students, but that appears to be over.</p>
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<p>I realize that she didn’t ask for such input. But, as a parent, I know that kids often don’t ask all the right questions. 
And, many of us have learned to “qualify” people, so we aren’t wasting everyone’s time discussing possibilities that aren’t financially feasible.</p>
<p>And, just because she may have “discussed finances” with her parents (we don’t know), that doesn’t mean that they are aware of what the potential costs are. Some parents have heard that tuition is XXX, but then don’t consider that room, board, books, etc will add another $11k-13k to the total. My neighbor - who has a D who is a senior - thought room & board would only be about $1500 a year! And, he had NO IDEA that OOS costs can be double or triple the in-state cost. He thought it would be about a $1,000 more or something. LOL </p>
<p>The OP hasn’t come back and responded to our comments about costs and affordability. Yes, some people can pay $50k per year, but most can’t.</p>
<p>Last year, one of my friends told her daughter that they would pay for her to go to USC, so she, her husband, and her daughter flew out to audition at USC (for music). While on campus, they nearly had a heart attack when the saw that the total cost was over $50K (they thought it would be about $30k max - which would be a struggle for them.). Needless to say, they had to tell their daughter that they had no idea that private colleges cost that much and that she’d have to go in-state public…this was after she had already applied to her colleges!!! She would have applied to a different list of colleges if she had known… So…even when kids and parents “have a money/college talk,” sometimes there is “a lot of assuming going on” and not many facts. My own sister-in-law naively told her son that she’d pay for Notre Dame if he got accepted…then I told her the cost…she had to do some major backpedalling…she had no idea.</p>
<p>Anyway, if the OP can easily pay for any and all schools, then great - no harm, no foul. </p>
<p>However, it has become very difficult for OOS students to even get accepted to UC schools, because there aren’t enough spaces for Calif kids. And, it sounds like the OP doesn’t have great grades since she’s talking about a B-</p>
<p>Im Sorry, but i don’t find it correct for mom2collegekids to assume that i don’t have good grades because i mentioned a hypothetical situation with a B-. </p>
<p>You were implying that since I mentioned a B- for a hypothetical situation in my post, that I automatically have terrible grades and shouldn’t even bother looking at schools like any of the UC’s. </p>
<p>All I did was simply ask a question on how GPA worked with California State school systems. I didn’t ask for your criticism or anything of that sort. </p>
<p>“However, it has become very difficult for OOS students to even get accepted to UC schools, because there aren’t enough spaces for Calif kids. And, it sounds like the OP doesn’t have great grades since she’s talking about a B-”</p>
<p>very classy.thanks for all your help mom2collegekids. </p>
<p>oh, it might interest you to know that I’m in the top 5% of my class at one of the most elite private schools in the country. So please, get all your facts straight before you go making assumptions about my academic record.</p>
<p>^^ This is why people should not make assumptions about other people on the Internet.</p>
<p>/thread</p>
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<p>So sorry… I was basing my statement on your stated B-, I didn’t know that it was “hypothetical”.</p>
<p>My apologies.</p>
<p>I have to weigh in here. I don’t think its ridiculous to pay that much for a top-notch school if it’s affordable. But with the way things are at the UC’s currently, I would advise against it. There are mandatory furloughs, some classes are done via remote camera (you watch on your computer instead of going to the class), and unless you’re an athlete or honors student you are going to have a really hard time getting your classes - there are juniors at Berkeley that went into this year with only ONE four unit class and had to petition all of their others. Take that money and go to a good private school instead.</p>
<p>^^^ Actually realah, that’s why people should word their questions carefully. So unwarranted assumptions aren’t made for the answers.</p>
<p>^ Is this like the parent weigh-in thread? Not sure what I’m doing here to get all the attacking. Sorry, but parents giving unsolicited financial advice is inappropriate. People should make assumptions about others just because they think they are full of wisdom. People have been downright rude on this thread. Let lillyflowerlilly’s grades and financial situation alone! It’s her business. She asked a simple question about how the UC grading system worked. I answered that in my first post. End of story.</p>