I was wondering if I could possibly get into UCI, UC Davis, or UCSD with a 3.36 UW, 3.69 W, 3.7 UC Capped. I also got a 31 superscored ACT score and 30 without superscoring. I performed very poorly in my freshman and sophomore years, but my junior year was really good. I was president of a Pre-Med club, VP of Red Cross club, member of Bay Area Red Cross Blood Services Committee, and shadowed with both a family doctor and a top cardiologist in Tennessee.
Also was wondering what the best majors would be to get into these colleges, want to do pre-med.
@medigeek: Welcome to College Confidential and especially the UC Forum.
UC’s do not superscore the SAT or ACT so you will be applying with the 30 ACT composite.
UC’s tend to be very GPA focused so a UC Capped weighted GPA below 4.0+ will make all the UC’s listed a tough admit. An upward trend is helpful but since Senior grades are not considered for admission purposes, 1 year of good grades will not make up for Sophomore and Freshman year grades. You can write about your lower than average grades in one of your personal insight essays.
I would suggest you consider applying to UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside and Merced if you want attend a UC and even these schools will not be a Solid Match. If you are a CA resident, there are plenty of Cal states and private schools that would love to have you as a Student.
What other schools do you have on your list?
Regarding majors for Pre-med: Select a major that will serve as a good backup since 60% of Pre-Med students never make it to the application process, one where you have a great interest and one that you will do well academically.
You can major in anything as long as you complete the Medical school requirements.
Some UC statistical data below and you still need to do some Research on some Safety and Match schools. UCI/UCD and UCSD are Reach schools at the moment.
2018 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 1%
UCLA: 2%
UCSD: 7%
UCSB: 8%
UCI: 7%
UCD: 14%
UCSC: 33%
UCR: 49%
UCM: 82%
@medigeek: Yes, writing about a compelling family issue can help the admissions officer to understand your GPA slump. Very sorry to hear about your Mom.
What other schools are on your list? The UC’s listed will still be a tough admit so you need to apply widely since nothing is a guarantee.
First question: Can you afford the UC’s?
You mentioned that you shadowed a physician in Tennessee. Are you from Tennessee? If so, be prepared to pay $65K per year at the UC’s. The UC’s do not provide funding to non-residents.
Other colleges I am strongly considering are UCSC(have friends going there who I can room with), University of Memphis (easy safety and cheap), Rhodes College (more expensive, but gives a lot of scholarships), UC Riverside
Also, since I want to be a pre-med what majors should I apply to?
What are your strongest subjects in HS and what do you enjoy studying? Pick a major where you know you can get good grades (GPA 3.7+), you enjoy learning and that will make a good backup (career) if Medical school does not happen.
UCSC does not admit by major except for Engineering. UCR does admit by major for Engineering/STEM and they also will consider an alternate major if you do not get into your 1st choice.
I am generally really strong in science/history/english courses.
I especially love nutritional science because I find myself reading many studies and articles about this topic. I also think I will enjoy Public Health, Human Bio, and Anthropology
I think SCU and Oxy are doable, but there is even more unpredictability in these admissions since LOR’s are also considered and your UW GPA is below the 25th percentile. If you are interested in attending, then definitely apply. Will costs be an issue since you are looking at around $69K/year to attend?
If Medical school is your objective, you want to keep Undergrad costs at a minimum.
Occidental Freshman profile:
3.69 unweighted GPA
690 median EBRW SAT score
690 median Math SAT score
30 median ACT score
SCU Freshman profile:
Academic GPA* 3.57–3.90 (4.0 scale)
SAT Reading and Writing* 630–700
SAT Math* 640–740
ACT* 28–32
Based on your Stats, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona, San Jose State are possible options. I would also look at UC Riverside since they have a new Medical school and offer the following program: https://somsa.ucr.edu/haider-program
SDSU might be worth an application but your stats are a bit below their averages. They have a great Pre-professional advising center for wannabe Medical/Dental/Health Professionals.
But I am definitely interested in UCR and thanks for Thomas Haider program info.
Decided against applying to SCU since they don’t give a lot of aid, but am applying to Oxy
SDSU is not the “party” school it once was many years ago. It is the 2nd most difficult admit for the Cal States behind Cal Poly SLO, so there are plenty of serious students attending.
Again, Pre-Med is an intention and not a major. Each CSU will have strengths in variety of majors, so you should compare curriculums of the intended majors you plan to apply.
Your goal is find a school where you have a good chance for a High GPA 3.7+, access to Medically related EC’s and good Pre-Med advising.
That is wrong. If the OP’s counselor writes about it in their letter of recommendation, that will be considered. However, the essay is NOT the place in which a student explains why they got lower grades.
Some of the issues:
A. while it’s positive that the OP’s mother’s cancer had a negative effect on their academic performance, there is no way for the college to know whether the OP’s performance would have been good enough for the college if their mother had not suffered from cancer.
However, a letter from the OP’s counselor can include something to the effect of “OP is an excellent students, and, had their mother not suffered from cancer, their GPA would have been high enough to qualify”, of something implying that.
B. Despite what everybody seems to think, the “I suffered but persevered” essay topic is not a good topic. The essay should say something about the OP’s personality, not about their history, as difficult as that history may be. AOs do not recommend to accept a student because they have sympathy for the student.
@medigeek I’m really sorry about your mother’s cancer - it’s not something you should have had to deal with. However, such an essay is problematic, if only because it usually violates the Cardinal Rule of the College Essay: Show, Don’t Tell.
Look over your essay, and think “based on this essay, do I think that the writer would do well in this college, and would be a good addition?”.