<p>I'm currently a senior and right now I'm really worried about which UCs will accept me. I don't have the best stats. </p>
<p>APPLIED TO: Davis, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Diego
MAJOR(S): English (first-choice), Sociology (alternative)
TOTAL GPA: 3.4W, 3.38UW
UC GPA: no idea.
SAT: 1720 first try, 1820 second try
SAT II: took the Lit one today
AP'S/HONORS: none taken until this year due to my struggle with anxiety sophomore & junior year (which I explained in my personal statement...but the standard classes I took throughout high school were fairly difficult.
SENIOR YEAR COURSES: AP Lit/Comp, physics, Trig/Pre-calc, Computer Graphics, piano, Government
ESSAYS: I'd say they're fairly solid. I think it successfully portrays my passion for literature & embracing different cultures & ideas. Wrote about my value in family background and how it shapes who I am & my aspirations. Also wrote about how I used my hobbies as outlets in order to overcome anxiety & grow in resilience.
EC'S/COMMUNITY SERVICES: participated in coastal/campus cleanups for Key Club, high school recycling team for Journalism Club, fundraiser for FBLA, volunteered as peer tutor for National Honor Society, and I'm a pianist & I compose my own music.
AWARDS/ACHIEVEMENTS: Certificate of Accomplishment for Journalism, and one of my articles was published in the local magazine to promote Kaiser's program for safe-sex awareness.
ETC.: first generation student, Asian, low-income, my sister got accepted to a UCLA last year, & I attend a very competitive high school</p>
<p>I'm worried that my GPA and lack in AP courses will hurt my chances of getting accepted. I'm hoping that my SAT, EC's, essays, and choice of majors will help them consider me.</p>
<p>Can someone please chance me for UCD, UCSB, UCSC, and UCSD? Honest feedback would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>ALSO - my grades dropped 2nd semester of sophomore year, but I have an upward trend in grades. It started going back up junior year, and I finished 2nd semester of senior year with a 3.83W GPA.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the UC’s, but from a brief look through their sites I’d say you have a competitive chance of getting into any of these schools. I don’t think you have many EC’s or awards, but they’re certainly diverse and speak something about who you are, which I think will definitely contribute to your app.</p>
<p>I’m pretty much in a similar situation. I’v been researching this stuff since last year and as far as I can tell it is very possible to get in with those types of scores but only if you can explain your bad scores. I know you said that you wrote about your hardships, but they can’t be an afterthought they have to be the focal point of the essay. You have to explain why your hardships affected your school work, how you over came that hardship, and how they affected your dreams and aspirations. You said that you focused on your passion, but that really only helps you if you hit their average scores and your trying to set yourself apart from the pack. But when your scores are below average, you basically have to ask for pity because of the difficulties in your life. As long as you know did that you should be fine. </p>
<p>I know UCSB and UCSC put a lot of weight on essays, income, and being first gen so that’s should boost you. Davis puts emphasis on those things but not as much and UCSD is very numbers based. I’d actually think that you’d have a better chance at UCLA and Berkeley since they also put a lot of weight on those things as well. </p>
<p>So with all that said I’d say UCSC and UCSB are low reaches. And the others as reaches. </p>
<p>Like I said I’m in a very similar situation as you so so I hope that you (and me lol) get into the schools you want to get into. Just stay optimistic until the end and hope that the your essays are a real difference maker. Good luck! </p>
<p>@Kikijon thanks so much for your input! Nowadays UCs pay so much attention to numbers, so I’m worried that everything else wouldnt have as much impact. Best of luck to you, as well! About another month & a half left to go (:</p>
<p>@UCh0peful
Of course UC’s care about the numbers but sometimes under certain circumstances they have pity on those who went through hardships and that are 1st Gen. It’s hard to tell from year to year which UC’s will give the most pity so that’s why you need to apply to a lot of them. You applied to most of them so I’m sure at least one of them will accept you.</p>
<p>@Kikijon hmm, well thank you for that extra reassurance hopefully you’re right and I get accepted to at least UCSB or UCD. Those are my top 2 choices.</p>
<p>I have a question though (for anyone to answer). Will my major choices have any significant impact on the admission decision? I know nowadays STEM majors are in high demand, but what about the humanities/liberal arts/cultural studies?</p>
<p>@Kikijon what do you mean? Because I thought that my major choice puts me in a certain division within a college and it determines who I’m competing with for a spot. At least that’s how it is at Davis.</p>
<p>UCD: Low Reach
UCSB: High Match
UCSD: High Reach
UCSC: Match</p>
<p>Your EC’s are fine, but in the end your numbers are pretty low considering that you have no AP’s. Good luck! My stats are very similar to yours and I’m still hoping.</p>
<p>@Shrinkrap yes I’m from California. And thanks for the info, but don’t UC’s look at everything too? Because I have an upward trend, and my worst grades are from sophomore & junior year</p>
fingers crossed!</p>