hey guys,
can you chance me for all the uc’s , usc and slo. my intended major is computer engineering.
gpa 3.7
-going to have taken 6AP’s by the end of hs.
sat: 2100 (math:800, writing 650, cr:650)
subject tests: math 2 : 720
us history : 720
notable EC’s
-CA boys state ( prestigious leadership and citizenship program)
-cal poly slo summer engineering camp
-ace (architecture, construction, engineering) mentorship program
-volunteer tutor at my school (3 years)
co founder and president of a club
-basketball team manager(1 year)
lots of community service and activism
-130+ hours
-one of my community activities I did was help raise awareness about oil companies drilling in low income neighborhoods, and i ended up being interviewed by the LA Times and Al Jazeera
i’m african american, male if that helps
also my specific gpa trend is
-9th: 2.8/2.8
-10th: 2.3/ 3.66 (1 ap)
-11th: 4.33/4.33 (1 ap/ 2 honors)
-12th: I’m taking (4 aps/ 1 honor) expected either 4.6/4.8
my college counselor said this is the upward trend colleges like and that I should include in my essay what caused me to improve
(-also expecting terrific letters of rec for usc)
i got the highest marks in their classes (calc and APUSH).
UC GPA? http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/ and also need Cal Poly SLO GPA.
CP CSU GPA is the same calculation as the UC GPA but add your 9th grades into the calculator.
You have a good upward trend for your GPA and competitive SAT. California publics banned affirmative action so URM status will not bump up your chances. For USC, it will help however your GPA will be a problem for most of the top schools even with the upward grade trend.
UCB/UCLA: Reach
SLO/USC/UCSD: Low Reach
UCD/UCI/UCSB: High Match
UCSC/UCR/UCM: Match
If you write some compelling essays, they could boost your chances. UC’s and SLO are very GPA focused so that is your main stumbling block. You look like a very capable applicant and have really turned things around. You happen to pick a competitive major for many of the schools.
Good Luck and prove me wrong.
Uc gpa? And then I’ll chance!
What is your Cal Poly GPA using 9th grades?
I stand by my chances with your UC GPA of 3.7. Since 9th grades are involved in the GPA calculation, it will be lower than 3.7 so SLO is probably a Reach for any engineering.
I agree with @Gumbymom.
BTW. The UCs are not allowed to use affirmative action in admissions decisions, but USC may use them.
Apply and see what happens at the private colleges.
Very slim chances at SLO, especially for engineering.
@Gumbymom what do you think I can do to make myself look more appealing? or if anything?
should i mention that i speak 3 languages fluently - amharic (the native ethiopian language,) french, and english.
-and i forgot to mention that i was born in ethiopia and immigrated to this country, so ethiopian/ African specifically, (i know only common app looks at that distinction)
-my essay is going to be focused on coming to this country and how my family values education, and how that improved our lives.
still no better?
UC’s and Cal Poly SLO are very GPA focused, so it is what it is. USC will be slightly easier since they will consider your URM status. Your EC’s are good, your upward trend will be duly noted so your essays will be vital in bumping up your chances. There is no way to know how much impact your essays will have, all you can do is your best. Apply to all these schools, just be realistic. I wish you much luck and hope my chances will be completely wrong.
You are a very strong candidate for UCR, UCSC and UCM.
@Gumbymom how about chances for cal poly pomona? and what does high match necessarily mean like for ucsb and ucI specifically because they have awesome computer science departments/schools!
Apply to USC and Santa Clara. If you are African American, don’t waste your hook on the UCs.
Cal Poly Pomona is a definite match. High Match means around a 50/50 chance for an acceptance. It could go either way depending upon how they receive your essays and EC’s. There is no harm in applying, just be aware of your chances. I agree with @DrGoogle, then USC and SCU are very good options where your AA status will help.
Ok hey guys again especially @Gumbymom ,
I just recently found about Harvey Mudd and Claremont McKenna and haven’t looked too much into it, but Do you think they would be good school for me to apply to and study engineering? My friend went to CMC and did a 3-2 program where he did 3 years at CMC and 2 at Columbia and got a mechanical engineering degree. The top 5 schools students transfer to for the 3-2 program are Columbia, USC(yay!), Stanford, Berkeley, and one other school. This sounds really cool because I was looking at a 3-2 with Pepperdine and Usc but you have to do the 3 years at Pepperdine for a natural sciences degree which I don’t like, but at CMC you get a thorough liberal arts and management education. What do you think my chances would be for like CMC and Harvey Mudd?
Thanks
sorry to be “re-bumping” this thread, but i had a quick question for @Gumbymom . I was working on my cal state application and I was calculating my Gpa and I remember you and many others had said that cal states include 9th grade grades , but for some reason when I go on the csu mentor website, they specifically said
“Your high school grade point average (GPA) is calculated on all a-g courses completed after grade 9.”
I thought cal state gpa’s included 9th grade, but luckily for me it does’t. I guess I just want to confirm with you guys b/c this is a shock to me. Please respond soon.
Cal poly SLO includes 9th grades while the rest of the CSU’s use 10-11th. Calculate your CSU GPA using 10-11th and SLO will recalculate using your 9th grades.
hey @gumbymom I just got my sat scores at 2am from the november test date and scored a 2180! it was actually ironic because when I wrote this post, I hadn’t retaken the SAT yet and still had my 1960 but since then I’ve retaken it twice and scored 2110 and 2180 respectively. also 2200 superscore for USC. Do you think this increases my chances? I know I still have a relatively low gpa, but I hope my essays and letters of rec will play a critical role in whether I get admitted or not.
Hi guys, just wanted to update this post with the school i’ve gotten into.
Accepted- UC santa cruz, UC riverside, Cal Poly pomona, sdsu, csulb, lmu
Rejected - ucla, ucsd, ucd, cal poly slo
waiting - uci, ucsb, ucb, usc, cmc
Thanks for all the help! From the schools I have alreaady been accepted to I am deciding between UC santa cruz and Cal poly pomona. Any advice in those regards for a computer science major?
Update:
accepted to : UCSB for computer science!!! omg and also Claremont McKenna with an extremely generous financial aid package. Like i totally wasn’t even considering the school bc they don’t have an engineering school but now i have to bc of how much they’re offering.
rejected: Uc irvine and berkely
waiting: dream school - usc (should find out by today or tmrw)