Chance me... for UCs

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
1

<p>I am currently a senior…graduation 2009…</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Caucasian
Resident of CA</p>

<p>Freshman Year- first semester/second semester
Biology- B+ / A-
Computers- A (one semester)
Geometry- A- / A
Honors English- A / A
Spanish- A / A+
World Geography- A (only one semester)
Health- A+ (only one semester)
P.E.- A
GPA: 4.0 / 4.2</p>

<p>Sophomore Year-
AP European History- B+/B -got a 3 on AP Exam
Ceramics - A+/A+
Chemistry - A/A-
Honors Algebra 2- A-/A-
Honors English- B/B (this class is super intensely hard)
Spanish 2- A/A
GPA: 4.2/4.2</p>

<p>Junior Year-
AP Language- B+ / A- (3 on AP exam)
AP US History- B / B -(5 on AP exam…this teacher is also intensely hard and i had him for AP euro too)
H/Pre-Calculus A /A
H/Spanish III A /A
Physics A /A
Teacher’s Assistant A (one semester)
GPA: 4.3/ 4.6</p>

<p>This year’s schedule: AP Literature, AP Government, AP Economics, AP Calculus AB, AP Physics, Honors Spanish 4</p>

<p>Rank: 27 and 35/300= i have 2 ranks…</p>

<p>This is a very annoying factor about my school. the easy classes are extremely easy, pretty much just show up=A or B. whereas the honors/AP courses are intense. but some of the honors classes like spanish are incredibly easy. so people who took easy classes and a couple easy honors classes can have a higher rank and same GPA as me. do colleges take this into account?</p>

<p>overall weighted: 4.22
overall unweighted: 3.8
10-12 weighted GPA: 4.33
9-12 weighted GPA: 4.22
I don’t understand why my school gives so many different GPAs?
UC Gpa: 4.05 i think</p>

<p>Varsity Basketball all 4 years…
ACT Score- COMPOSITE: 30 ---- English-31, Math 28, Reading-35, Science-24. (retaking this)
SAT:
<em>1ST TRY</em>
Critical Reading 670
Math 610
Writing 710
total: 1990</p>

<p><em>2ND TRY</em>
Critical Reading 720
Math 640
Writing 640
total: 2000</p>

<p>SAT II US History: 710
Taking another subject test.</p>

<p>Done alot of volunteer work,tutoring,mentoring, etc.etc.etc. involved in a bunch of clubs. over 500 hours community service</p>

<p>Could you chance me for:
UCLA
UC Berkeley
UCSD
UC Davis</p>

<p>thanks.</p>

2

<p>SD and Davis are a match. UCLA is a reach and UCB is a high reach. What major are you applying under?</p>

3

<p>I want to major in English. Is that a competitive major?</p>

4

<p>UCSD and UCD no problem. I feel like you have really good shots at UCLA and UCB. That is a strong application stat wise, but you could use more extra curriculars.</p>

5

<p>UCB/UCLA - slight reach
UCSD - match
UCD - safety</p>

<p>Your stats are great, just make sure your essay is fine and you're good to go.</p>

6

<p>English is not a competitive major.</p>

7

<p>ok, thanks everyone for your input i appreciate it!</p>

8

<p>UCB/UCLA - slight reach
UCSD/UCD - match</p>

9

<p>collegemom,
Correct. English is not a competitive major, but UCLA & UCB are competitive campuses, regardless of major. (Just even <em>more</em> competitive for Engineering, for example.) Some of the most brilliant students are in the English dept., because students who are esp. strong in Eng. Lit. & who are very intellectually inclined seek Berkeley as one of the most illustrious U's in the country in which to study great literature & literary theory.</p>

<p>The OP has an excellent program, & great record with sufficiently weighted courses for the UC a-g GPA. The big unknown are her competitors' profiles, because the UC reaches (like the private Elites) get so many apps. Key to this unknown factor are accomplished competitors who have significant personal challenges (economic or other); who have nonacademic accomplishments including quantifiable, awarded talents of a nat'l or internat'l level; who have strong leadership indicators; who have a strong track record of community service. Those are all specific areas of application review. She's great in the comm. svc. area.</p>

<p>Melissa, rank is not as imp. for U.C. as it is for private Elites. However, the ratio of accomplishment to challenge is a bigger factor for the reach UC campuses than for private reach U's.</p>

<p>The UC essay is an essential factor when evaluating the candidate's fit, level of interest, & preparation for a large public U. which demands independent study habits & drive. Do not blow the essay off. I have young acquaintances who have done that recently, & ended up with only an acceptance to their lowest level campus (whereas classmates with the same stats, same school, same socioeconomic background were accepted to better). Accept harsh criticism about your essay, esp. the essay content, before submitting it. It doesn't have to be an academic masterpiece or artificially sophisticated; it should, however, not be superficial or trivial. They may ask you to describe an aspect of your identity or character that reveals an imp. part of your personality & sheds light on your motivation & some IMPORTANTLY unique quality about you -- not, for example, something about your personal preferences, lifestyle, etc. The essay should be substantive, and one that the committee can see as relating to college future & beyond, even if you don't specify that connection.</p>

<p>Good luck. Berkeley positively rocks for Eng. Lit.</p>

10

<p>If you are applying to Letters & Sciences (where English dept is housed), intended major is NOT a factor in admissions; colleges know that most kids change their major 2-3 times. While class rank is officially NOT an admission criteria, it de facto is. After all is said and almost done, the selective campuses will compare all acceptances (and penidng rejects) from each HS and see if there are any holes, i.e., did they accept the 14 of the top 15 students, but somehow #10's essay didn't score highly enough to be an accept upon first read. In such cases, #10 may also recieve an acceptance letter, or at least further consideration, just bcos gpa+test scores match his/her competitors. (Source: Moore reports)</p>

<p>Of course, there are always outliers, where you have to say 'huh?': the only top 10 kid from our local HS that was rejected from Cal recieved a merit scholarship from Johns Hopkins (so stats were obviously great).</p>