<p>Hello everyone! I'm currently a junior in high school residing in Southern California. I have a very low GPA because I was originally planning on enlisting to the military to go to BUD/s (training to become a SEAL) right after high school but I thought it'd be a safe route to go through college first to mature more before I swear in. I have not taken any AP's due to the fact that my school is very strict on which classes a student can apply to. You need to get a 94% or higher in the college preparation class AND you have to get it signed by the teacher. I also can't raise my gpa any further. My high school is VERY competitive, dozens going to UC berkeley, UCLA, etc so would colleges know my high school is competitive? I WILL not go to a community college because of many reasons: It will disappoint my parents and I don't want to become a failure like my sister (who work two jobs and is a former drug addict). I also plan on writing an essay to the colleges, not about the route I wanted to take as a SEAL, but how my family was VERY abusive(mostly my dad), both physically and mentally, and how it affected how I did in school.
Ethnicity: Korean
First Generation Student
GPA: 2.856
SAT: 1950 CR: 750, W: 700 M: 500 (I took the test without any preparation and I'm planning on taking one in October WITH preparation. I want to get around 2200)
Major: Undeclared. Slightly interested in Criminal Justice. </p>
<p>Courses: All CP classes, no honors or AP's.
EC: Around 300 community service hours at a soup kitchen.
1 year at an animal shelter
Varsity Wrestler(1 year in sophomore year)
FCA Club: 1.5 years
Engineering Club: 1.5 years
Guitar: 2 years
California Essay State Competition Qualifer
Game Programmer, releasing an app on Android</p>
<p>Planning on these schools, are these way out of my league? I would prefer to attend a college near my area.
SDSU
Cal State Long Beach
University of Iowa
UCSB(so far reach it ain't even funny)
PSU(#2)
University of Colorado-Boulder
Syracuse University
University of Connecticut
Ohio State University
SDSU
FSU(#1)
MSU</p>
<p>Can anyone PLEASE chance me for these schools and recommend me for any cal state or UC that I have SOMEWHAT of a chance at?</p>
<p>I think you have a decent change for sdsu, longbeach, boulder, ohio state, and UConn.</p>
<p>You should consider san jose state, chico state, cal poly Pomona, or fresno</p>
<p>With no Honors or AP classes, you probably don’t qualify for any UCs - they require a minimum GPA of 3.0 for CA residents. Look into some of the other state universities, to see whether they have minimums. Your SAT should be fine for most of the colleges your looking at. Create your list based on actual scores, not the ones you’re hoping to get. What about Arizona State? You can consider Evergreen State, in Washington, a safety, because they have close to open admissions. </p>
<p>@woogzmama Well, my SAT will definitely improve since I’m pretty much “slow” in math. 500 in math is very bad and increasing it by at least 150 points will boost it up significantly. (I have a friend who has a 800 in math and is willing to tutor me). Is it NECESSARY to have at least a 3.0 for UCs or is it basically 100% impossible for me? Either Florida State University, SDSU, or UCSB are basically my top #1’s that I REALLY want to get into, is this too much of a reach for me?</p>
<p>First you need to calculate your CSU/UC GPA see link:<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU;
The minimum GPA required for the UC’s is 3.0 but that will not get into any UC’s except possibly UCM. UCSB is way out of reach with that GPA and UC’s more focused on GPA’s vs Test scores.
Average GPA for SDSU is 3.8 so that school would be a reach. SJSU and CSULB are very competitive also.
The Cal States use an Eligibility index to rank their applicants. The calculation is (CSU/UC GPA x 800) + (SAT Math score + SAT Critical Reading score). If you around 3800 or above you have a good chance.<br>
This link is the minimum EI required for SJSU. Very few Cal States publish their EI for their majors.
<a href=“http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/admission/rec-10079.11705.html”>http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/admission/rec-10079.11705.html</a>
I would consider CSU San Marcos, CSU Channel Islands, CSU Stanislaus, CSU Monterey Bay and CSU LA.
Good Luck to you.</p>
<p>@Gumbymom Aha my UC GPA is waaay too low. What about any other colleges listed above that are out-of-state?</p>
<p>Your GPA is low for FSU. Your SAT is comfortably within range, but not so far above to compensate for the GPA. You should be doing some of this research yourself, if you care enough about your college prospects, but I’m a mother, and so I’ll help out. Your statistics are much too low for Ohio State. You would have to play amazing football or basketball to have a chance there (you are in the 9th percentile; you are in the 14th percentile for FSU). A normal rise in SAT scores next time around will not help you very much, I fear. It might change the scenario if, as an out-of-state applicant, you were somewhere in the middle of the statistical field. Does your high school have a Naviance website (or an equivalent)? They are the best source of how students from your school have fared applying to various colleges. On the other hand, they might not be totally helpful if you are applying to colleges that nobody from your school has applied to recently. How about West Virginia University? They have a very high acceptance rate. If you were considering traveling as far afield as Ohio, WVA isn’t much further. You are in the 11th percentile for Syracuse; 16th percentile for U.Colo; you are in the 13th percentile for UConn. The statistics at Colorado, Ohio, and Conn. all are probably even less favorable for you as a non-resident of those states. It is foolish to apply to more than one or two colleges where you fall below the 25th percentile, unless you have some additional “hooks.” Improved test scores might boost you into that range, but these schools would remain reaches for you (they are out of reach right now). There are numerous four-year colleges available for someone with your GPA and test scores, but I don’t see them on your list. </p>
<p>I think @woogzmama covered the OOS schools pretty thoroughly. Have you tried the SuperMatch feature on this website? You can input your scores/GPA etc… and it will come up with colleges to meet your criteria. If you are a California resident, the Cal States offer a great education for the price and with 23 Cal States, you should have several that will accept you. Good Luck.</p>
<p>PSU will be a stretch. They typically want atleast a 3.5 and your SAT may be a little over their avgerage but nothing extremely spectacular for them. If you can actually get your SAT scores then maybe you have a chance </p>
<p>The Cal states, especially the impacted campuses, give preference to those who live in their referral area. Have you checked out the CSU Mentor website? </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.calstate.edu/sas/impaction-campus-info.shtml”>http://www.calstate.edu/sas/impaction-campus-info.shtml</a></p>
<p>@gumbymom I checked it right now. I inputted my scores (GPA and SAT) and when I typed in the colleges that I want to go to, it ranges from 55%-80% match. I don’t think this is very accurate. </p>
<p>Here is the link for Cal State Stanislaus’ Criminal Justice major:
<a href=“Criminal Justice | California State University Stanislaus”>https://www.csustan.edu/criminal-justice</a>
This campus is not impacted so it may be a good choice.</p>
<p>@gumbymom Well, I researched CSU Stanislaus and it’s just not what I’m looking for… If I applied to all of these colleges would it be very likely I’d be rejected to every single one of them? (Give or take 3-4 extra colleges)</p>
<p>If you’re going to write that essay, make sure you mention how it has helped you developed as a person or see the world differently. Overcoming challenges is good, but it shouldn’t sound like a laundry list of excuses. Good luck!</p>
<p>You odds don’t increase for any one college just because you apply to a bunch of them! Look how low the odds are in woogz post. Those very low gpa attendees are likely athletes that are just squeezing in because they want them for the teams. Don’t bother. Look for the 4 years that you will get in (use the Search and Selection forum) so you will have some choices when admissions comes around and not a stack of rejects.</p>
<p>CJ isn’t a major that gives you a lot of opportunities. I’d rethink that too.</p>
<p>I agree with @BrownParent, that your the odds of getting shut out with your list of colleges is high. If you are determined to attend a 4 year university, you need to take a look at the non-impacted Cal states. I believe most of the ones I listed are non-impacted plus your local Cal State which will give you preference. If you are able to afford privates, Whittier College and La Verne University might be an option in California. Also Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff has rolling admissions and might be an option. They are part of the WUE which is a group of colleges in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada etc… that will give you reduced tuition as an OOS.
There is always Community College for 2 years to improve your GPA and then transfer to a school of your choice.</p>
<p>I might have used an imperfect source, too, but I still think that places like Florida State and Ohio State are big reaches for you, with your current stats. Applying only to reaches is a mistake. I remind you that most of those in the lower percentiles are probably in-state students. Most public university systems have outreach programs for disadvantaged students within their own states; they often have to give admissions priority to in-state applicants, as well. They look to out-of-state students for higher tuition fees and, often, higher stats to boost their averages. Given your lackluster GPA, you should look at schools where your ACTUAL (I reiterate, not your hoped-for) scores are well above average. University of Central Florida or University of South Florida might offer you better admissions odds than FSU. University of Wyoming has a 96% acceptance rate. University of Montana’s is only slightly lower. University of Idaho and Boise State both accept plenty of students with stats like yours. Why keep pushing us for different answers from the ones we’ve already given you, instead of pursuing more plausible college options?</p>