Yes, thats exactly what happens! I agree with the above posters for the most part. Getting a 32+ should make you a competitive applicant for UCSC, UCI, UCSB, and UCD regardless of what major you choose. UCSD might be a little tougher to get into, but still very doable.
UCSD- Reach
UCD- Low Reach
UCI- Low Reach
UCSB- High Match
UCSC- Low Match
If you get your ACT to a 33+:
UCSD- Reach
UCD- High Match
UCI- Low Reach (UCI does not seem to care much about test scores based on the accepted thread for this year)
UCSB- Match
UCSC- Safety
I’d say you have a pretty good shot at UCSC maybe even UCSB but UCI, UCD, and UCSD are all reaches. Try taking the ACT and try to get at least a 34 on both the math and science section.
Chance me back?
@QuiteAverage90 damm is UC irvine that tough to get into without a strong GPA?
@LomoKuan UCI really likes people with 4.0+ UC GPAs, as evidenced by this year’s freshman profile. http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles/freshman_profile_irvine.pdf
This shows that 83% of people with a 4.0+ UC GPA got accepted, whereas only 34.5% of people got accepted with a UC GPA in between 3.70-3.99. Plus, Computer Science is impacted at UCI. One way to improve your chances is to apply for engineering instead, because engineering is less impacted than Computer Science. In that case, depending on your engineering major, UCI will either remain a low reach, or will become a high match.
@QuiteAverage90 where can I view the impacted vs unimpacted comparisons for majors at UCI?
UC Davis: AeroSpace Engineering - Match
UC Irvine: Computer Science - Match
UC Santa Barbara: Physics - Match/Reach… IDK Sorry…
UC Santa Cruz: Computer Science - Match
UC San Diego: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - Reach
Chance back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1799487-suggest-universities-for-me-will-chance-back.html#latest
@LomoKuan UCI is more known for Computer Science than Engineering, so I assumed that CS would be impacted there. I found this to be very useful in determining which majors are more competitive than others: http://www.oir.uci.edu/applications.html Even though the most recent date is 2014, it is still useful, because this year’s average GPA/test scores did not change much in comparison to 2014. You can view average GPAs, average test scores, and number of applicants by major. You should pick your major based on this. Using these attributes together will help you figure out which majors are more competitive than others. CS seems to be an exception, because even though the average UC GPA is a 3.98 (for 2014), I’ve seen people get waitlisted with a 4.0+ UC GPA.
@QuiteAverage90 Wow looking at the pdf, it looks like Computer Engineering is 11% selectivity and Compsci is about 10%, while Aerospace is under 20%. Am I reading the PDF wrong or is engineering/Compsci at Irvine really that hard to get into?