Race: Asian Indian/California Resident
Scores/GPA:
SAT: 2120 (CR-660, M-800, W-660 Essay:10)
SAT II: 720-Physics, 760- Math II
GPA Top 10% of Class; (assuming there is grade deflation at my school):
9-11 UW- 3.68
9-11 W- 4.16
10-11 UW GPA- 3.69
10-11 W GPA (Uncapped)- 4.23
UC GPA (Capped at 8 Honors) -4.0
CSU EI-4572
AP’s Taken (12 by senior year) (Most Rigorous Schedule)- How important is that, does it make up for my poor GPA?
AP Scores (6 Total in 10-11)- AP Chemistry (3), AP Euro (3), AP Calculus AB (5), AP Physics 1 (4), AP US History (4), AP Spanish IV (4)
Senior Year Schedule (Rigorous Schedule?)
AP Gov
AP Stats
AP Psych
AP Physics C
AP Lit
AP Computer Science/Tennis
Total AP Courses In High School (Rigorous): 11-12
Major will be Computer Science!
Extracurriculars:
CSF (3 Years)
Key Club (3 Years)
Taekwondo 3rd Degree Black Belt (13+ Years)
1st Place Cal State Open Taekwondo Tournament
Junior Leadership Team for Taekwondo
Taekwondo Instructor Experience (200 Hours)
Volunteer as Taekwondo Instructor (50 Hours)
Intern at Social Security Office
Orange County Math Circle Competition-4th Place
Love 2 Read (Library Reading Program)
Teen Advisory Board at Library
AP Scholar With Distinction
Academic Connections UCSD Summer Camp
600+ Community service hours
SCHOOLS
- USC-Mathematics (In Dornsife Letters and Science)
- UCI- Electrical Engineering
- UCSD- Electrical Engineering
- UCLA- Materials Engineering (32% Acceptance Rate)
- UCB- CS (L&S)
- UCSB- Computer Engineering
- UCD- Computer Engineering
Your GPA is rather low for most of those schools.
USC/UCLA/UCB - low/reach
Rest - high match
(Why with so many APs you took, you ignored to take Math BC, especially for engineering admision?)
@uclaparent9 I did not take BC because I could not fit it into my schedule and also, I already “skipped” skipped one year of math. Do you think my top 10% ranking could help me make up for my low GPA, by showing how tough my school is? I also know many engineering students who took AB, and took a Calc class prior to the summer before entering college.
I was not trying to put you down. As a matter of fact your coursework is rigorous. However, you need to be aware that many competent applicants for top schools have that rigror and more. Some even elect to not take math AB and directly jump to BC in their junior year (as my daughter felt had to do). Sorry you could not fit that into your schedule, but you will get a hit for that in an engineering admision. Besides, do you realize that top 10% is a very wide range? At one end are very competent applicants (<1%) and at the other end (10%) not as much,… at least not for top UCs! Where do you exactly stand?
I see USC/UCLA/UCB as low reach/reach also
The rest are high match to low match depending on the school
Anyway I can make USC a match, or high match since it’s a private? Would attending their summer camp help? @stanfordtree2014 @uclaparent9
USC is as competitive as UCLA (perhaps only a tad less). Your GPA will be a problem for you there as well. I don’t know how much a summer camp there would help you.
@uclaparent9 Would applying to a major similar to engineering, but in the letters and science college help increase my chances? I really want to get into USC for something Math/Engineering related. I think they have a Physics and Computer Science Major in the letters and sciences, would that help my chances? Is there anything you can think of that I could do to increase my chances as much as possible?
USC is more score oriented than UCLA (generally all UCs in that regard). One thing which may help you is a super high SAT. Something above 2300, but achieving that would not be easy either. By the way have you tried ACT? I imagine, if you come up with something like 35 in that test, USC may become interested in you. (I have seen kids who do poorly on one test and, out of no where, do magnificently on the other!). ACT is more knowlage-based than SAT, so with your academic strength, you may do much better on that test!
@uclaparent9 yes I tried the act but I only got a 30 
is there anything besides GPA/tests I could do to make me stand out?
Your grades of first semester of senior year matters to USC. So make sure you make them impressive!
Frankly I do not know what else you can do. Just wait and see how things work out.
@uclaparent9 OH REALLY?! So even if my first semester isn’t over when applying, I submit my current grades at the time, and report that gpa?
^Yes. I remember that my daughter had to do that before the admission results coming out last year.
Just make sure that you round out your list with some safeties. I would say that with recent trends, all of the schools on your list are a reach with your current GPA. Your stats are good- it’s just that so are the stats of 1000’s of other applicants. Look at acceptance/rejection threads from these schools from last year to get an idea of who got in. Remember that if you rank in the top 9% of CA students you are guaranteed a place at a UC campus- but it will probably be Merced or Riverside. Make sure you give yourself some options by including some academic matches.
@takeitallin Would you recommend any matches? Money isn’t really an issue, so out of state is fine.