<p>Well, before we start, i'd like to thank you for taking the time!</p>
<p>Gender: female
Ethnicity: Chinese
Location: Northern California
High School: Public with about 600 in my class pretty decent
HS graduating year : 2012
Class Rank: No ranking system, possibly 10 percent
ACADEMICS:
GPA - Unweighted: 3.92
GPA - Weighted: 4.1 (will get higher by the end of this year.)
Test scores:
SAT I: 2100, taking again, hoping for 2250 next time
SAT II: Math II(730) Bio (750) , retaking, hoping for 800 on Math
APs:
Junior: Bio 5
Extracurriculars:
Co-founder of website aimed to help bring academic resources to underpriveleged children.
Research:Possibly entered into a fair, did research for Center of Urban Foresty Research
President of SAT Tutor Club,
President of Environmental Science Club
Secretary of Chinese Club
Secretary of Chess Club (Might win tournament this year)
Volunteer at local Chinese school as a TA
Volunteer at local Chess Club
Enrolled in local Chinese school for 8 years
WORK EXPERIENCE:
Photographer for local newspaper
HONORS & AWARDS:
Various regional art awards (Mostly 2nd and honorable mentions)</p>
<p>Colleges:</p>
<p>UC Berkeley
UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Cruz
UCLA
Dartmouth</p>
<p>Also, anyone have any other recommendations on colleges?</p>
<p>In at UCSC, SB, and Davis. LA looks pretty good, Berkeley will be close. I think your essays will make or break you for Berkeley and LA. As for Dartmouth, I’m not familiar enough with the section process because I did not apply there. G’luck!</p>
<p>If you do get a 2250, your chances will improve greatly. UCs care only about your numbers; they could honestly care less about your ECs – which is slightly disappointing, but whatever.</p>
<p>You need to think about the state the UCs are in right now; with the constant budget cuts and fee increases, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to graduate from a UC in 4 years (thus, also making it more expensive.) If you need financial aid, it will be very difficult to get it from a UC. (Example: the UCs gave me $500 in financial aid. That was it. Every other school I was accepted to gave me nearly full ride or full ride through aid and scholarships.)</p>
<p>If you’re considering an impacted major, it will be difficult to get the classes you want. You also have to consider whether the work/classroom environment of the UCs are right for you; many of your classes will be large and you won’t get much one-on-one time with your professors since TAs are the ones with the close contact to students. (At least, this is what my best friend who went to UCLA hated about the UC system.)</p>
<p>Anyway, with the scores and numbers you have now:</p>
<p>UC Berkeley - can’t say; if you raise the SAT you have better chances. Cal is hard to predict and you’re on the fence in terms of SAT scores.
UC Davis - acceptance
UC Santa Barbara - likely acceptance
UC Santa Cruz - acceptance
UCLA - same as Cal
Dartmouth - waitlist/possible acceptance (SAT is low)</p>
<p>You should look at more private schools. They’re more generous with scholarships and aid.</p>
<p>USC
All of the Claremont Colleges – mainly Pomona and Claremont McKenna
Santa Clara
Loyola Marymount
Reed
NYU
UVA
Wake Forest
Vanderbilt
Occidental
Barnard
Boston College
Carnegie Mellon
Georgetown
…and other similar schools</p>
<p>I’m saying this as a fellow Asian, your stats are pretty good, but they are too stereotypically Asian. With all the affirmative action and everything, it’s better to have one or two non-Asian ECs. But this issue is less important at UCs than privates. I agree w/ everyone else, you will almost definitely get into UCSB, UCSC, USD. UCLA & Cal are maybes. </p>
<p>UC Berkeley cares about numbers first and foremost but to say “UC’s only care about your numbers; they could honestly care less about your ECs” is generally not the case. There are plenty of instances that I am aware of when someone of the same gender, both unhooked, with lower stats is accepted over someone with higher stats within the same intended major. Cal is extremely holistic in their selection process, as well as the other top-tier UC’s. The top-tier UC’s WILL look at your EC’s, leadership, community service and the like. </p>
<p>My S, a freshman at UC Berkeley this year, received generous merit aid that was NOT need-based and most of which was not tied to a work program either. He also did not receive one of the Regents Scholar awards or any others.</p>
<p>Some of the private schools that are used as examples in post #3 for being generous with scholarships and aid are simply NOT- namely Boston College and USC. Boston College, for example (where my D attends), gives virtually no merit-based aid with the exception of a couple handfuls of Presidential Scholarships each year. USC, as the other example, is generous with merit-based aid IF you happen to be a National Merit finalist, semi-finalist, or commended recipient. I cannot comment on many of the other schools on Zelda’s list with regard to your chances of receiving merit aid for someone with your profile.</p>
<p>If you want to see what your admit rate at the various UC’s are for someone similar to your profile, go to the link below and click on “Custom Tables” and enter up to 3 “mean characteristics” at a time. Make sure if you are ELC, you note that:</p>
<p>As an alum and current grad student at USC, I have to disagree with your statement that they give out no aid. OP gave no insight as to whether or not she was applying for financial aid – but given the state of the economy and many families these days, I’m going to assume she might. </p>
<p>USC prides itself on being able to cover most (if not all) of a student’s demonstrated need. I came from a very middle class family in Northern California. The UCs said that I didn’t show a “demonstrated financial need” despite having a mediocre EFC and my parents living off one in income at the time; USC, on the other hand, covered about 90% of my college career through a combination of grants and scholarships (I took the rest out in loans.)</p>
<p>USC also has many scholarships that aren’t for National Merit students that incoming freshman can apply for. A few of these $5k scholarships and a student can cover a large portion of their education.</p>
<p>^I was basing my merit-based FA comments re. USC on everyone that I know who was not a hooked applicant and NOT a NM scholar and NOT referring to their “demonstrated financial need” generosity in my previous post.</p>
<p>Both my kids got merit aid packages of less than $1,500 at USC. For the UC’s being in such dire financial straits, UCB and UCLA were sure generous with their FA packages with both my kids and many of their classmates who were accepted-- much more so than USC.</p>