Hello! What are my chances of getting into a UC? Preferably UCI or UCSB. I am currently a Senior.
GPA: UC Weighted GPA is 4.0 (Should be near 4.1 if not higher after I submit a couple online classes)
ACT: 23 Essay 8(I know it’s very low, studying and hoping to get a lot higher in the ACT this October)
Weighted Classes:
Sophomore Year: Honors Spanish 4
Jr Year: AP Spanish 5, AP Env Science, AP English 3
Sr year: AP Stats, AP Chem, AP gov, AP English 4
Online classes: AP Psychology
Community college classes taken during summer: Sociology
EC: I’ll be on leadership my senior year (ASB), women’s basketball manager 2 yrs, JV football, LEO Club 2 yrs, KEY club 2 yrs, Youth leadership program, Latinos Unidos (Latino Club) 1yr, Financial adviser/designer at my sister’s hotel 4 yrs
Family income: ~14k.
Short Background: I am Chinese but born and raised in the country of Panama. I can speak 5 languages (English, Spanish, Hakka, Cantonese, Mandarin). I was once an immigrant (Came to the US when i was in 1st grade). Single mother of 5 children. Very low-income parents. First generation college student. ALSO I did not attend high school during my freshman year due to an injury that I have on my arm ever since I was a born. During this year of absence, I went back to Panama (I studied there for a bit), and I also traveled to Guangzhou, China (in which i studied abroad in a university for a couple months). I was in Panama because of family related reasons and in China to seek doctors to fix my arm (in which, nothing happened due to them concluding that it is better that I do nothing to my arm for now). However, due to not doing freshman year, I have to take online courses and summer classes to make up for the credits that I need to graduate.
Please chance me! Sorry if my background is a little bit confusing, I tried to make it as short as possible.
you are a strong candidate for most programs at UCSC, UCR and UCM. UCI, SB and D could go either way but, will require compelling essays and/or a stronger SAT/ACT. B, LA and SD are unlikely for most programs but, apply anyhow because.you never really know when if comes to UC admissions without applying.
I’d encourage you to also apply to SDSU and CSULB just to keep your options open.
@Gumbymom I’m not sure in what to major on atm but I’ve been thinking of going into a major that’s not as impacted and then transferring to a major of my choice. My UC GPA is weighted and no, my regular weighted GPA is 3.89 but my school shows us our UC gpa since the UC system doesn’t take some classes into account for the total GPA
If you plan to pursue a competitive major like STEM/Pysch etc… it can be difficult to switch majors later on so just be aware of that fact. Any areas you are leaning towards?
Freshman admit rates (2016) for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19:
@Gumbymom I’m currently leaning towards biology and then going into med school or computer science atm. By any chance, do you know what early decision is?
Early decision:
Early decision plans are binding — a student who is accepted as an ED applicant must attend that college.
You should consider Early Decision if 1) you can afford the school without substantial financial aid 2) the school is absolutely your 1st choice 3) are willing to attend the school not matter what 4) it is binding and you must withdraw all other college applications if accepted.
Disadvantage of Early Decision is that if you are in need of financial aid, you cannot compare FA from other schools since you need to commit to the ED if accepted.
If you are leaning towards Biology or CS, you will probably want to apply to either these majors since they are competitive and could be difficult to switch into later especially at the UC’s.
@Gumbymom Oh, how would I do this early decision thing? Does this mean that I have to send my transcipt in early to the school of my choice? Uh no I do not, but do students with an ED have a higher chance of being accepted? Btw, I have a question. So this summer, I have done sociology in community college and I also finished 4 online classes. That’s 5 A’s in total; I was wondering if these A’s are taking into consideration when they calculate my GPA because it was done in the Summer of 2017 (SR year).
UC’s do not offer Early decision only Regular decison and those are schools you originally asked about.
The colleges that offer Early Decision usually have a deadline by October or November. ED at some schools will give an applicant a higher chance at an acceptance but not all.
Classes that meet the a-g course requirements taken in the summer before Senior year will be calculated in your UC GPA.
For private schools, 9-11th grades including classes taken in the summer prior to Senior will be reported on the application. Private schools will also ask for Mid-year transcripts for your Senior grades.
@Gumbymom So i can only have 1 ED school of choice? Wait, do UC’s also ask for senior year transcripts? and do they take that into account as well? I only heard that as long as you maintain a 3.0 senior year, you’re good to go
You do not submit any Senior year transcripts to the UC’s unless you are asked for a supplemental review. You only send final transcripts to the UC you will ultimately attend.
To maintain your provisional admission at the UC’s, you need to keep a 3.0 weighted GPA (unweighted for UCLA/UCB) and no D’s or F’'s Senior year.
Some UC’s after the initial application period will ask for a supplemental review questionnaire to be filled out by some of the applicants. Reasons for a supplemental review: Leadership positions/special talent/disability mentioned in the application and the schools want more information. Another reason could be you are a “borderline” candidate and they want to see Senior year grades to make sure you are on track.
UCB has replaced their supplemental review with letters of recommendation and UCB’s LOR candidates can also be random.
Only a few applicants will get a supplemental so it is not a good or bad omen if you do receive a questionnaire or do not receive one.