Chance me for UC, small liberal arts schools, and schools good for biology

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi, I’m a white female (class of 2019) at a somewhat large, highly rated high school in Southern California. Looking at going to school for a major in the science field (most likely biology but am not confident that is what I want to do yet). I haven’t figured out exactly what types of schools would be my best fit although I would prefer a small school over a big school (I know UC’s are huge which makes me unsure although I want the best education possible). Any recommendations for schools would be great as well as categorizing the schools I’m looking as safety, match, or reach. I want to know all my options before its too late. I’m very anxious so anything helps. Thanks so much

Hooks: diabetic for 12 years, divorced parents, sibling legacy at UCLA, parent legacy at UCSD

Academics:

Cumulative GPA: W- 4.31 UW-3.85
UC GPA: weighted and capped- 4.15
ACT: 30 (English- 31 reading- 30 math- 28 science- 31 writing- ) Note: going to retake in two weeks, p sure I can bring it up ~32

Class Size: 444
Current Rank: top 15%

AP Biology- 4
AP English Language and Compostion-4

AP Calculus AB- 3
AP World History - 3
(probably won’t send the 3’s)

Senior Schedule:
AP Government and Economics
Writers’ Workshop
Math 150/151 (community college)
partaking in a 4 year biomedical science pathway with the fourth year being a two period weighted class/internship
Bio 132/133 (community college) (passed 131 last year and will get certificate of achievement/Associative degree in applied biotechnology)

Extracurriculars:

-Club soccer (5th grade - present) (captain)
-High school soccer team D1/D2(JV freshman-sophomore Varsity junior-senior)
-Varsity Lacrosse (D2) (school and club) (freshman - present) Note: would possibly be interested in playing lacrosse in college (D3?) but education would obviously come first and would only play if it was a school that I liked education wise and would not make me pick lacrosse over school
-HOSA (health occupations students of America) Club (10th grade - now) secretary-junior year V.P-senior year
-Co-president of ARK (acts of random kindness) Club
-Math tutoring at local middle school (afterschool Tuesday and Thursday 2hrs one semester for three years)
-Internship at world renowned zoo (fall/winter of junior year)
-Interned at a biotech company apart of Cosmo pharmaceuticals (summer going into junior and senior year)
-Volunteer with VAYA (Vietnamese American Youth Association) at annual cultural TET festival (freshman-present)
-Volunteer with ADA (American diabetes association) Summer camp (freshman year-summer of senior year)

  • apart of LLS (Leukemia and Lymphoma society) high school fundraising challenge where students compete against each other to raise the most money for the organization (spring of sophomore year)
    Note: will have future internship through biomed program, most likely at a UC school in their medical department

Schools looking at: UCSD, UCLA, UCB, UCSB, occidental, Williams, Amherst, any small liberal arts school good for science, would like to be on either coast

Thanks again!

2

Welcome to College Confidential as a first time poster.

First of all, UC’s do not consider legacy in their admissions decisions and your “hooks” are not hooks.

Your UC GPA is competitive, but bumping up your ACT score will definitely help your chances.

I see no safety schools on your list and as always UCLA/UCB will be tough admits overall. You have some great EC’s which will make you stand out from the rest of the competitive applicants but I think they will help you more at the private LAC’s than the UC’s. UC’s tend to more stats focused than LAC’s.

UCSB and UCSD are possible if you can get your ACT into the 32+ range.

What is your long term plan by going into a science major/Biology? Medical school?

Overall Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and Major specific:

UCB: 12.6%
UCLA: 11.7%
UCSD: 38.7%
UCSB: 53.6%
UCD: 56.5%
UCI: 52.1%
UCSC: 75.7%
UCR: 90.1%
UCM: 96.1%

25th - 75th percentiles for ACT:
UCB: 30-35
UCLA: 31-35
UCSD: 28-34
UCSB: 28-34
UCD: 26-33
UCI: 26-33
UCSC: 26-32
UCR: 22-30
UCM: 19-26

I suggest you start making your list from the bottom up and find 2 safety schools that are affordable and you are willing to attend then work on some solid Match schools (especially if you want a smaller school environment). Occidental is a great option and I would consider it a Match school.

For LAC’s in California, look at Biola, St Mary’s of Moraga, Westmont, University of San Francisco, University of San Diego and the Claremont Colleges (if you get your ACT up).

Best of luck

3

Based on your academic background and interests, look into Reed, Mt. Holyoke, Colby and Hamilton. Bryn Mawr, at which you can selectively cross-enroll at Haverford and Swarthmore, could be another good choice. These schools range from high matches to, I’d think, realistic reaches for you.

Regarding lacrosse, I’d recommend you submit a “sport-specific recruiting form” at colleges of interest as soon as possible.

Williams and Amherst may be unrealistic admission prospects and offer little in the way of sciences that couldn’t be met or exceeded at some of the aforementioned LACs.

4

Of the Claremonts, mentioned above, Pomona might most match your interests. However, you would be adding a high reach, even with a higher ACT score.

In terms of UCs, Davis would make sense.

5

There’s Pomona as mentioned elsewhere. On the East Coast, there is Wesleyan with its extraordinary record of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Here are the funding profiles for three highly rated, small liberal arts colleges:

https://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm?ot=DH,MS&fy=2014&state=CA&ic=&fm=&orgid=513706&distr=&rfa=&om=n&pid=&view=state

https://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm?ot=DH,MS&fy=2014&state=MA&ic=&fm=&orgid=404701&distr=&rfa=&om=n&pid=&view=state

https://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm?ot=DH,MS&fy=2014&state=CT&ic=&fm=&orgid=9140901&distr=&rfa=&om=n&pid=&view=state

6

Since you are unsure of which science you may ultimately pursue, you may want to favor colleges with available geosciences/geology. As a potential major, minor, or source of electives, this field could appeal to you given the opportunity to pursue it.

7

Seconding Mt. Holyoke, strong in sciences, guaranteed funded internships for all students and a beautiful campus in the Pioneer Valley, with all the benefits that come with the Five College Consortium. You could likely play lacrosse there as well.

8

I’d also suggest Emory’s Oxford college. It has a liberal arts feel but you can also experience a research university.