Applying as OOS/International from Tennessee for CS. ACT Comp is 32, 33 superscore. 34 Math, 34 English-9Writing. School only offered 4 APs and schedule worked out to where I was able to take 2. Top 10% of class.
GPA is 3.78/4.0 and 4.6+/5.0 (I heard that UC’s don’t look at freshman year grades so my GPA would be around 3.9 if so)
Few EC’s like Treasurer of Math Club, Chess Club, National Beta Club, Kenpo Karate, Rec league basketball
200+ volunteer hours at public library
(EC’s aren’t impressive but I live in a small town and go to a medium/small sized high school where there aren’t many opportunities to be in several clubs at the same time. Also, out of my graduating class, I have more extracurricular activities than anyone else as far as I know. )
My ACT score is the 2nd highest in my graduating class (It’s the smartest class since 2012 but just not good standardized test takers I guess.)
I saw that UCLA’s average ACT is around 25-30 and UCSD is about the same if not lower.
@NCalRent I thought the same for UIUC and UT Austin, which have a high acceptance rate and same average test scores, and it didn’t work out well for either
No no no, I was just clarifying what high match and match are. Low match is a school you can get into, but you wouldn’t max your potential as much as you could at a high match school. I have no idea on your chances at schools haha
Only 10-11th grade AP/IB classes are UC approved for the extra Honors points for OOS applicants. Here is a good calculator to help: http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Would that not be unfair to those whose schools did not offer many AP’s? My school only offered 4 and they are only possible to take for juniors and seniors. Also, those who had to take PE (students who don’t play a school sport) and career elective courses (at least 3) had no room in their schedules to fit another AP course (which last 2 semesters each) except for 2.
@gumbymom We have AP English Comp, AP US History, AP Biology, and AP Chemistry at my school. Anyone can take AP English and History by the 11th grade because AP English requires only 2 previous English credits (1 English credit is required per year). However, AP Biology required Biology 1 and 2 to be taken first, while AP Chem required Chem 1 and Chem 2. Because of an elective I took my freshman year, I was unable to take Bio 1, so I took it sophomore year. Due to having Bio 1 in 10th grade, I could not fit Chem 1 into my schedule. So I tried to take Chem 1 junior year and could not because of my 2 AP’s (English and USH) which took up 2 periods for 2 whole semesters. I also had to continue taking another elective so I could not take Bio 2. Finally, I arrived at my Senior year when I was finally able to take Chem 1, however AP Chem requires Chem 1 and 2 beforehand so I could not take that class, same applied to AP Bio.
If schools offer no or only limited amount of AP’s, this will not be held against the applicants. You are judged based on what is available at your school.
If your school offerred 15 AP classes and you elected to take only 2, then you be judged accordingly.
Many OOS applicants complain that their “Honors” classes are not recognized by the UC’s for the extra honors points. My son’s HS only had 2 UC approved Honors classes besides the AP’s which were Honors Pre-Calc and Honors Chemistry. Honors Bio/Honors English were not UC approved so no extra points, so that is not a huge advantage over OOS.
You also have to remember, the UC’s are funded by California taxpayers, so the advantage should be given to in-state applicants including FA. If applicants do not like the limitations, then do not apply. It is as simple as that.
@Digitallyshrewd I’m in the same situation in with those schools (although I was wait listed and not denied from UIUC). I’m extremely worried know because UIUC has a 64(!) percent acceptance rate, which is one of the highest of any school I’ve applied too and I considered it my safety. IT Austin is high too with 40% and I thought it was a match considering the ACT average for both schools is around 27-30