Chance incoming senior for UC schools (UCSB, UCI, UCR) (WILL CHANCE BACK)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Calculated UC GPA: 3.61
SAT: 1700, one sitting, I took prep this year and have scored an average of 1900 on SAT prep tests
AP World History Score: 4

I’m looking to apply to UCI, UCR, UCSB, UCSD, and UCLA this coming fall alongside some CalStates. What are my chances of admittance? I am also a California Resident if that means anything. I am looking for honest inputs, thank you all. :slight_smile:

My classes for senior year are: AP Music Theory, AP Gov, AP Lit, AP Environmental Science, Precalc Honors, Anatomy, Chamber Choir

EXTRACURRICULARS:
-Key Club Executive Assistant
(June 2014- Present) 2-year term (will continue senior year)
Description:
Raised $4,000+ for Pediatric Trauma Prevention
Raised $2,000+ for Project Eliminate: Key Club project to eliminate neonatal tetanus
350 hours of service to the community

-Key Club President
(2015-2016)
Description: 200 hours of service
Leading Key Club of around ~120 members
Raised $1,500 as Vice President in a coordinated project to raise money for Leukaemia Patients

-President of Christian Club:
(June 2015-Present)

-Vice President of Christian Club:
(June 2013-June 2015)
25% membership increase under term, coordinated district wide coalition of Christian Clubs within my county

-Tenor Section Leader for Advanced Chamber Choir w/ Invitation to Perform at Carnegie Hall :
(2014-present) (2-year position)
Description: Worked with choir team as vocal coach/instructor, hosted
sectionals/singing classes throughout the year, taught fellow
choristers good music/singing technique

-Treasurer for Medical Honors Society:
(2014-2015)
Description: Management of Club funds, directories, and budget

-Copy Editor for School Newspaper
(2013-Present) (2 year position)
Description: Editor of high school newspaper, worked to proofread
articles and edit online newspaper

-Rotary Youth Leadership Award Recipient:
Youth leadership award from Rotary International awarded to 400 students throughout California

2

Great EC’s but low SAT/UC GPA and class rigor up to Senior year may be an issue.

For UC’s, UCR is your only target school. You could try to bump up your SAT score, but UC’s are very GPA focused and all the rest of the UC’s on your list have an average UC GPA of 4.0+.

UCSC might be a possible choice and some of the Cal states such as CSUF/CSULB/CPP/SDSU/SJSU. Your EC’s will not help with the Cal state admissions.

Unless you write some spectular essays, the majority of the UC’s will be difficult. Good Luck.

3

Since you are a California resident, there is a good chance that you will get accepted into a few UCs, if of course, your GPA is high and you are in many ECs. My brother is a high school senior, and he got accepted into UC Davis, UC Riverside, and UC Irvine. His GPA is 4.51 (weighted) and he is only in two clubs at school. His SAT score is a bit below the 2000s. However, don’t get your hopes too high, because my brother may have just been lucky to get accepted. It also depends on your school: if you go to a distinguished school then the chance of getting in will be more difficult. work hard and do good in your remaining years of high school. I wish you the best of luck!

4

Thank you Gumbymom! Do Cal states not look at extracurricular activities? What do you mean that EC’s will not help with Cal State admissions?

5

On the Cal state application , there are only 4 questions related to EC’s such as how many hours you devote to the EC’s, are they related to your major, work experience and leadership positions. You do not list your EC’s unlike the UC application. Cal states base their acceptances on your CSU/UC GPA and test scores using the eligibility index except SLO which uses an MCA score (can PM me if you want more info). EI: (CSU GPA x800) + (SAT math +CR)

Cal states rank applicants based on their EI for each major and accept from highest down until all spots are filled. Some Cal states have published EI thresholds such as EI. The more competitive the school, the higher EI needed.

http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/admission/rec-10079.12651.html

6

Thank you very much for all your help Gumbymom! I am hoping to apply to CSUF & CSSB, but I also have another question. In which ways does my senior schedule lack rigor? Would it be a better idea to replace anatomy with IB Math Studies or another AP? Thanks!

7

I only saw 1 AP class in your Junior year but 4 Senior year. Is there a limit on how many you are allowed to take in 11th grade? What is the average # of AP classes the top students at your HS take? Does your school offer only a few AP classes in total? Your course rigor will be compared to the top students at your HS. If 11 AP’s is the average, then 5 would not be the most rigorous. The UC’s want to see you take a challenging course load in comparison to your fellow students. I would only take another AP class if you feel you can handle the workload. Senior year is important since your grades will keep your provisional admission. You do not want to be overloaded and end up with bad grades and loose your acceptance.

8

Hi @Gumbymom! I took 4 AP classes my junior year. They were: IB/AP Language Arts, AP US History, AP Spanish, and AP Physics 1. I think the classes I chose for senior year is the limit of rigor I can handle. Thank you again for all of your help!

9

Sorry, only saw AP World History listed which I assume was Sophomore year and the AP’s listed for Senior year. Your course rigor is fine. No worries. Other than your GPA, the rest of your application is great. You will get into some of the UC’s but not all on your list. Good Luck and let me know how it goes. I always love to be proven wrong.

10

^^^^Agree with @Gumbymom. I would say to focus on the Cal States and privates since your SAT scores and GPA are a little weak. I assume you can get into UCR and Merced. You have a lot of EC’s, which are good for the holistic practice of the UC’s but you also have to have stellar grades and scores to get in. It looks like you spent a lot of time on EC’s and those hours appeared to affect your balance in getting the best grades/scores. Sorry, just my two cents.

11

Do what you can to get your SAT up - 1900 would probably open the door to UCSC and UCR. The others will be reaches but, with your ECs, I wouldn’t rule out UCSB.

Good luck

12

ECs look good, raise up your SATs to at least 2000 and I would say that you are good for the schools you mentioned.

chance my friends

13

Thank you very much for all your help again @Gumbymom! Will be sure to let you know.

14

Thanks, where can i chance them?

15

That is true, a lot of my time was delegated to the EC’s I have, so I will focus on getting a stronger SAT over summer. Thanks!

16

If you raise your SAT score to around 1950+ you might have a shot UCSB and I think your CSUs are high matches for you. Again like all the others said, try to focus on your test scores, and you have a significantly better chance at your CSUs.
Chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1786351-chances-at-ucb-college-of-chemistry-and-other-ucs-for-a-below-average-student.html#latest

17

Update! I got into UCI, UCSB, and UCR with a 1740 SAT and 3.4 UC GPA through the school of Music! Thanks for the advice though!

18

Hi! I ended up getting into UCSB, UCI, & UCR with those grades and SAT scores! Thanks for the input though.

19

And Gumbymom I got into all the UC’s on my list! Thanks for the advice though!!