Chance me for Cali schools? Chance back

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Some of my friends say that I’m bound to get into one, and maybe I’m being a bit too insecure but I’m not sure how fitting I would be. I’m OUT of state, and it’d be nice if you could chance me and explain why you think so too (I can get a maybe from my friends…) for Berkeley, UCLA, and USC. If you really want I can chance back too :slight_smile:

ACT: 33 ( 34E 34M 32CR 30S )
SAT II: Didn’t send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72/4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Spanish (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Biology, 2 honors courses; School does NOT offer AP’s and I tried to take the most rigorous course load offered, it’s a new private school with only 18 seniors so…

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Chess ever since I was in 4th grade (Captain 11&12);
Varsity Soccer for two years it was offered (Captain 12)
Club soccer (9, 10, 11)
NHS (Vice President 12)
Student Council (Vice President 12)
Geography bee (10, 11, Captain 12)

Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: 130+ hours (50 in soccer camp, 40 in chess tutoring, 40 in soccer coaching)
Summer Activities: Soccer camp in Indiana for smaller kids
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Felt like they were really solid, showed my open personality and love for the ocean through the personification of being in love with a girl, so maybe 8-9
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Didn’t read but closest teacher and soccer coach
Teacher Rec #2: Didn’t read but loves me and family
Counselor Rec: She really likes me and is personal with our class since we’re only 18 seniors
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: n/a

Other

State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation, only US Citizen in all of family

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, essays, recommendations?
Weaknesses: Maybe lack of consistent EC’s? Definitely GPA though/course load

General Comments: There might be some things that I’m leaving out but I think that’s it… if you have any questions feel free to ask and I can chance you back if I have time! Thanks :slight_smile:

2

How are you going to afford cali OOS? Have you applied full pay?

3

Nope, I applied for financial aid… it’s surprising that some aren’t as expensive I thought though (Berkeley 26k!)

4

26K a year including the OOS 23K?

5

USC : high match
UCLA: high match
UCB: low reach
Chance back?

6

$55K/year for UCB and all UC’s as an OOS applicant with little to no financial aid. $26K is for in-state. Did you run the net price calculator? USC might be the only affordable California school. Since the Uc’s are funded by California taxpayers, FA is given to California applicants. You have a decent chance but can you pay?

7

Hopefully you have applied to some great instate schools.

8

@Gumbymom‌ : Financial aid is probably my biggest problem, especially with my parents’ unability to pay that much. Maybe I’m misunderstanding but do public UC Universities like Berkeley only give fa to in-state applicants? I applied for fa so hopefully I get a good package, saw somewhere Berkeley was $26k oos for some reason
@Alfonsia‌ : Got accepted into UM already, don’t really wanna stay though

9

No, In-state is around $26K but for OOS you tack on another $23K. You can apply for FA but you will not get any FA towards the $23K OOS surcharge for sure and mostly likely only Parent plus loans or Stafford loans to make up the rest. Cal Grants and the Blue&Gold scholarships are only available for California students. Check the net price calculator on the website for OOS applicants.

10

Here is the Website link:

Pay attention to the bottom statement:

Nonresidents of California, add $22,878 in nonresident supplemental tuition and fees. Costs are subject to change.

http://admissions.berkeley.edu/costofattendance

This is true for all UC’s. Use the calculator on that page to find out the real costs. Sorry.

11

Thank you for the information, I’ll definitely check that out right now. Like I said, FA is a big problem for me but apart from that, how do my chances look for each?

12

It is all a bit moot really, if you haven’t done the math?

13

To be honest you shouldn’t have much of a problem getting into any of these schools. Your academic profile is excellent, ECs are decent as well. Also the fact that you are Hispanic increases your chances as well.

Chance back?- http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1743092-nyu-and-georiga-tech-will-chance-back.html#latest

14

California publics banned affirmative action so being Hispanic will not be an advantage other than at USC. Really posters this is California…

15

Yeah I know that Berkeley and UCLA don’t take me being Hispanic as an advantage, but at least a glimpse of hope for Berkeley is nice as it’s my dream

16 
  I told my kid if he wanted to apply to UCB just to get that glimpse he would have to pay for his own application, once I was educated here about the $$ (no FA for us though). The worse case scenario is to be accepted and not be able to go because of money. As it is your rigour might be a challenge anyway, your competition will have APs and IB's and rigour out of the wazoo.
17

And that’s exactly what worries me… my school is relatively new and small (80 kids in high school) so it offers no AP’s and barely any honors courses. I took the most rigorous courses and yet other applicants still have 10+ AP’s, not to mention my UW GPA sucks. I’d be happy with one of them though

18

You will be judged on the AP classes that are available at your school. As long as you took the most rigorous schedule at your HS, you will be fine.

19

Being an OOS, as mentioned above, is $56k/year + personal expenses for Berkeley or UCLA. I agree with the others; this HUGE debt for undergrad is not worth it. USC is expensive too,as it is a private institution. I’ve heard Berkeley isn’t very helpful with financial aid. After all, it is California. The UCs make so much money off of OOS students whose parents can pay the tuition out of their pockets. Your decision affects your parents too, seeing they make $60k, so be wise! Good luck on admissions!

20

You can’t afford the UC’s. Your parents annual income is what the true costs would be for you for a year. It doesn’t serve any purpose to “chance” you since you can’t attend if you can’t pay. Your parents won’t qualify for the loan amounts needed to pay the bills.
California is OUT of money and the fees to the UC’s are increasing. California parents pay the taxes to fund these schools so the first students to get in are California residents. Your OOS status means you have to pay full fees-$55,000 per year.