Hello. I failed math my freshmen year and had to retake it at summer school. Then, I failed precalculus honors my sophomore year and I’m currently a junior retaking it again but I’ve received a B in one quarter and an A in another now. I have several bad grades on my transcript with two classes that I’ve failed and 5 C’s. However, I do earn mainly A’s with some B’s and because I take multiple honors and ap classes as well as dual enrollment, my UC gpa is a 3.75 and my high school gpa is a 3.9. Will I even get a shot at getting into my top school (uc irvine or just any uc in general) or no. My grades and history of repeating courses aren’t too pretty but my gpa is high for the amount of courses that I haven’t done thar well on. Do UC’s focus on grades individually or do they look at the bigger picture and focus on gpa more?
A UC GPA below a 4.0 will be a tough admit for the majority of the UC’s. Since you will be applying this admission cycle and test scores are not going to be considered due to Covid-19, there will be a great emphasis on a-g course grades and GPA.
The UC’s will look at all the grades for the a-g course requirements and GPA is king when it comes to the UC’s.
A 3.75 can still be competitive for UC Merced, UC Riverside and possibly UC Santa Cruz. If you are an in-state California student, then there are plenty of Cal states that would love to have you as a student and several private universities.
What is your college budget?
Intended major?
HS course rigor?
EC’s?
UC’s review applicants based on their grades/GPA, test scores (suspended for 2021), Personal insight essays, EC’s and intended major.
Remember to apply widely and find a safety school or two with a guaranteed admission and you will have some options.
2019 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 1%
UCLA: 2%
UCSD: 9%
UCSB: 6%
UCI: 7%
UCD: 9%
UCSC: 40%
UCR: 53%
UCM: 80%
2019 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range:
UCB: 4.23 (4.15-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.32)
UCSD: 4.16 (4.03-4.28)
UCSB: 4.16 (4.04-4.28)
UCI: 4.13 (4.00-4.25)
UCD: 4.13 (4.00-4.26)
UCSC: 3.96 (3.76-4.16)
UCR: 3.90 (3.69-4.11)
UCM: 3.73 (3.45-4.00)
I want to apply as a Philosophy major and I have several extracurriculars! I think some of my essay topics are interesting too like not living with my parents bc abusive family household so I had to consistently stay from friend to friends houses
You have a compelling reason for your lower grades so that should be addressed in one of your essays. Will your parents cooperate and sign the FASFA for financial aid since the UC’s are not meet need schools so they are expensive schools and will expect a family contribution? I would not worry as much about getting into a UC at this point but you need to stay safe, find a better living arrangement and figure out how you can afford to pay for any college at this point.
Best of luck.