Chance Me For UCs and USC!

Race: Asian Indian/California Resident

Scores/GPA:

SAT: 2120 (CR-660, M-800, W-660 Essay:10)
SAT II: 720-Physics, 800- 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- 3.70
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

Extracurriculars:
CSF (3 Years)
Key Club (3 Years)
Taekwondo 3rd Degree Black Belt (13+ Years)-What My Essay is about
1st Place Cal State Open Taekwondo Tournament
Junior Leadership Team for Taekwondo
Taekwondo Instructor Experience (200 Hours)
Volunteer as Taekwondo Instructor (50 Hours)
Social Security Office Internship
Orange County Math Circle Competition-4th Place
Love 2 Read (Library Reading Program)
Teen Advisory Board at Library
AP Scholar With Distinction
USC Discover Engineering (3 UNIT COURSE)-LAST SUMMER
600+ Community service hours

SCHOOLS

  1. USC-Computational Mathematics (In Dornsife Letters and Science)
  2. UCI- Electrical Engineering
  3. UCSD- Electrical Engineering
  4. UCLA- Materials Engineering (32% Acceptance Rate)

Any other recommendations overall, would be helpful! I am always open to listening to new schools I should apply to, out of state and in state UC’s are fine as well, money is not an issue!

Lol, if I have a good chance then I don’t know what you will have. Half a shoe-in?

UCLA - Pretty significant reach.
UCSD - Reach
UC Irvine - Match
USC - Low Reach

@LomoKuan Isn’t UCLA about the same as USC, in terms of acceptance rates, then why would USC be a Low reach and ucla a high reach? And how can I increase my chances at USC as its my #1!

USC is only marginally less competitive than UCLA. Both are reaches for you (as I had mentioned to you in an earlier post)

how is your school grade deflation you’re getting 3,3,4,4,4,5 youre grades seem right

@BucketsUCSC our valedictorian only has a 3.87 with 15 APs. And if a 3.68 is top 10% then it has to be very deflating.

No it just means that kids at your school aren’t on par with the academic rigor the administrators are placing on you. Like I go to a grade-deflating school. Kids who get B’s in AP courses are next to guaranteed 5’s

@MathFan21 I feel like UCLA is a lot more GPA based, and like previous posters mentioned, USC is just slightly less competitive, especially for majors like engineering which is very competitive at UCLA. USC takes into account more extracirriculars and test scores, so that’s why I put USC as a lower reach

@LomoKuan Do you recommend any match schools or anything I can do to improve my chances at USC?

You should consider UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara are good match schools. I would also look at Cal Poly SLO (excellent Engineering school).

@Gumbymom Thanks for the advice! What do you think my chances at UCSB, and the schools listed above are?

@MathFan21 I think UCSB is a perfect match for you

USC/UCLA - Reach
UCI- Match
UCSD - High match

UCSB is a Match, SLO is a High Match.

@Gumbymom @stanfordtree2014 Do you think I could increase my chances at USC, if i wrote about how taekwondo made me a better person, taught me leadership, etc. and I wrote my “Why USC” supplement on how I took a 3 unit course there and enjoyed what I learned?

UC Irvine is definitely a match school for you. I would say that if your SAT Score was in the 2200 range, you would have a lot more leverage in the high UCs. But otherwise, looking good and Good luck!

Chance me back please!: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1833262-nyu-stern-class-of-2020-early-decision-chances.html#latest

@mathfan21 I think UCSB, UC Davis, and UC Irvine are match schools for you. Cal Poly SLO for engineering would be a bit tougher so that would be more of a high Match.

agree with @LomoKuan

@MathFan21 I couldn’t think of a more generic essay so I suggest you find somehing more unique