Chance me for UCs?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m going to be a junior next year. I know its a bit early, but just want to see if I’m on track. I qualify for in-state in California.

GPA:
I’ve gotten all A’s Freshman and Sophomore year, so my current GPA is 4.00 unweighted, 4.26 weighted.

Classes:
9th - Honors Algebra 2, Honors English 9, World History, Band, Biology, Spanish, PE,
10th - Honors English 10, AP Euro, AP Calc AB, AP Computer Science, AP Physics 1, Spanish, PE, Band
11th(Planned) - AP Eng Lang, APUSH, AP Calc BC, Honors Chemistry, Band, Spanish
12th(Planned) - AP Eng Lit, AP Gov, AP Macroeconomics, AP Statistics, AP Chem, AP Spanish, Band

Tests:
Got a 32 on my ACT last year, but I’m hoping to raise it to at least a 34, so pretend that’s what I got.
Haven’t taken the SAT, but got a 210 on the PSAT.
Took 4 AP tests this year
AP Calc AB(5), AP Physics 1(3), AP Euro(3), AP Computer Science(4) . Scores were much lower than I expected. Which of these should I plan to send to colleges?

Extracurriculars:
Cross Country in 9th grade, Science Olympiad, KEY Club, Programming Club, Spanish Club, no leadership positions though.
Went to a couple national festivals with school band and did very well.

Volunteering:
Animal Shelter
Food Pantry
Tutoring
KEY Club
I have about 200 hours so far.

Awards:
No major awards. I participated in a programming competition and got 3rd place, technology competition 1st place, awards for solos in band. (Will be more specific in actual application of course)

I think my extracurriculars/leadership is really weak. My GPA is very high (so far), and I think I can get test scores up. What UCs (UCLA, UCB, UCI, UCD, UCSD, UCSB specifically) do you think I have a chance at?

2

http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
(SOPH + JUNIOR YEAR ONLY)

If your UC GPA will be above 4.0,

UCD/UCI/UCSD/UCSB Match

UCB/UCLA Low Reach

My cousin got rejected from UCB/UCLA with around a 4.2-4.3 UC GPA and with a 32 ACT, but got accepted to UCSD and UCI (didn’t apply to the other ones).

If you continue to get all A’s junior year, that will better your chances for UCB/UCLA.

Admission essays are also important too and good ECs will help you.

3

It would improve your application and chances at UCLA/Cal quite a bit if you could attain some leadership positions in the clubs you are already participating in

4

You are certainly on the right track. Keep getting As, (a B or 2 won’t kill you) nail the SAT, write a strong essay and you are a strong candidate for all the UCs.

A leadership role in one or more of your current activities would help. Maybe you can coordinate an event or two at the animal shelter or food pantry - or have a role in your band that requires you to do more than just show up and play. They don’t need to be elected or even official positions - you just need to have someone who can vouch for the role you played. Think about it this way - What came of the 200 hours you’ve spent volunteering? Help raise $x, placed 50 dogs in new homes, 5 kids you tutored went for a D to a B - they love stuff like that…

Keep up the great work and you’ll have plenty of options when college rolls around.

5

A few leadership positions, even one, would greatly improve your application. A college that sees a student involved in many activities, but a leader in none, can easily assume the student is only in those activities to make themselves look good instead of actually putting in work (though I’m sure that’s not the case, it’s very easy for them to assume). As far as your grades, those are perfect. I would report any 4’s and 5’s on your AP scores always. Maybe consider reporting the 3’s? I’m not sure if the UC system grants credit for 3’s even though they are considered a passing score, there’s a good chance they do, and if so you should report the scores. Your ACT score, honestly, is fine. A 32 is already very difficult to achieve and the extra two points (which you may not even get) likely won’t make too much of a difference. Go try and calculate your “UC GPA”, there’s a page on the UC’s website. Your 4.26 likely won’t be the same in the UC weighting system.

As far as your chances go, UCLA and UCB are a toss up for any student. You really cannot predict who will get into those schools and who won’t. The other UC’s you are definitely on the correct track for but don’t forget the importance of the application essay when you apply in about a year.
Best of luck to you.

6

Actually, @MN8286 whether or not the OP is a minority or no will have no bearing on his/her chances at UCs. Affirmative action is not used anymore by the University of California.

7

@IncorpXand Yes, thank you. I was just on my way back to edit my post. I’m so used to hearing the “minority” part of these posts that I included it out of habit. When applying for the UCs you are able to check “prefer not to answer” and move on, the application is “race blind”, if you will.

8

You do not need to send any AP scores until the end of your Senior year and you only send them to the school you will eventually be attending. You self report on the UC application.

If you continue to keep up your grades, you should have a good chance at all the UC’s although like stated in the above posts, UCLA/UCB could go either way. I agree a leadership position could help and do not discount the impact of the UC essays could have on your application, so spend time on these items.

Good Luck.