Chance Me For UCs

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

SAT: 2050
SATII: CHEM:670 Physics 710

APs: Euro (3) Chem (4) Physics 1 (4) APUSH(5) Spanish (3) Calc AB (5), taking 5 more senior year

IB: None Offered

Honors: Honors Precalc (ONLY HONORS IN DISTRICT)

GPA: 3.72 unweighted, 4.2 weighted, 4.04 UC weighted

Ecs: Key Club (4)
CSF (3)
Taekwondo 3rd Degree Black Belt (won tournaments)(leadership team)(13 years experience)
Tennis(2)
Community Service Hours:450

Major: Electrical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering

Race: Indian

Applying for financial aid

California resident

Schools I’d like to attend:
USC, UCLA, UCB, UCSB, UCSD, UCI, UCD

2

10-12 GPA is 4.21

3

You are a qualified applicant for the majority of the schools. UCB/UCLA are always tough. EC’s look good but not outstanding. Work on.your essays this summer and make them amazing. UC’s have been unpredictable lately and I do not see a safety. Add 1 or 2 good back-up schools to your list. Good luck

4

Thanks for the feedback… What ECs do you reccomend, or how should I improve them?

5

UCB/UCLA are reaches for you, and its pretty unlikely you will get in. UCSD/UCD are approx matches. You should be good for the rest.

6

@puzzled123 what do you think is keeping me getting into UCLA? I expected that UCB was a reach for engineering…
Thanks for the feedback

7

Although your GPA and SAT are very competitive, they are still lower than average as an Engineering applicant. When the average UC GPA is close to 4.2 and SAT scores around 2100+, your best chances are if you are at or above the averages. You might want to retake the SAT this Fall to see if you can bump it up a little. You are a very qualified applicant for most schools, but with the huge number of applications these schools receive you need to be outstanding. If you can work on some Engineering related EC this summer, this might also help.

8

UC’s look at 10th and 11th grade scores. Your SAT scores are too low for LA and Berkeley since everything is impacted in engineering.

Also, your current scores would probably not work for San Diego; Davis would be a tough call because they rejected a bunch of students, this year, with higher scores.

Your EC’s are a “given”: all “honor” students are in Key Club and CSF which is where they build all of their volunteer hours. So, your EC’s are not stand-outs, unless you were the President/officer for several years.

The UC’s only have so many openings for students, and you have to compete with all of the other students in our state who are: Eagle Scouts, Girl Scouts, state champs in: football, basketball, swim, soccer, tennis, and cross while being their high school’s tri-sport athletes.

Students who get into Berkeley and LA typically have started their own programs for the community or are involved in some kind of research. They fund-raise, create, and generate ongoing programs that involve children, elderly, low income or any other needs-based service.

My children were required by their bio-tech class to find their own placements in biotech. One daughter solicited and participated in research at the local university and got this placement by contacting university professors, one at a time, explaining her training and biotech class requirement. Another daughter contacted our local vet who allowed the daughter to work summers and weekends (unpaid) learning how to read and conduct lab procedures, prepare meds, autoclave surgical instruments, etc. My son, accepted at USC and UCLA last year, an Eagle scout, was captain of his teams, and built a shed for several teams for his eagle project. He was rejected by Berkeley (B’s in physics), but accepted at Caltech: National Merit winner

Does that help you to understand what your competition is in EC’s for those top schools?
Apply to all, but also, apply to a few in-state safeties. Also, the Cal-Poly’s are excellent.

For now, I see Santa Barbara and Irvine. Riverside and Merced would be your safeties.

9

@“aunt bea” so would my unweighted GPA and weighted GPA would be only for 10-11 or 9-12?

10

@auntbea

11

This is from their site: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/q-and-a/calculating-gpa/#5

"How does UC calculate the GPA of a high school applicant who is a California resident?

In calculating the GPA for admission consideration, UC uses all UC-approved “a-g” courses a student took between the summer before 10th grade through the summer following 11th grade. Additionally, UC will grant up to eight semesters (with no more than four semesters coming from 10th grade) of honors weight for grades of C or better in AP, IB, UC-approved Honors Level, and transferable college courses."

Good luck!