Chance me for UWashington and UCSB

White female in MA at a somewhat competitive high school outside of Boston
I know my chances are probably slim for both of these schools but I’d like a more specific idea of my chances before submitting my applications

ACT: 31 composite and 7 writing

GPA: 3.3 UW, 4.03 W, 3.92 UC
My extremely low GPA freshman year is dragging me down, but my transcript shows improvement. Traumatic circumstances damaged my grades junior year but I ended with A’s and B/B+'s

APs: AP Bio (3), AP Lang (4), AP French, AP Psych, APHUG (senior year classes)
my school only lets us take AP classes junior + senior year, but I’ve been taking all honors since sophomore year

School does not rank

EC:
Volunteer work at local dog shelter (200+ hours)
Work (abt 20 hrs/week)
Tutored 4 French kids in English for 2 years (10 hrs a week)
National World Language Honor Society
French Club
France exchange junior year
Painting + art hobbies

Essay: writing about the generational connections of art in my family and learning to value my artistic talents OR writing about my cultural experiences on an exchange program in France

Recommendation Letters:
AP Bio teacher: probably strong, I also took an out of school AP Forensics class that she led
APHUG teacher: strong
GC: average

Disciplinary: suspended freshman year for skipping school, will this affect my admission chances? I’ve had no disciplinary problems since this incident

Courses
9th grade: PE, Algebra 1, Art, English, Physical Science, Honors French 2, Honors World History
10th: Honors Biology, Honors US History 1, Honors English, Honors French 3, Geometry, Art 2, 1/2 year Psych course, 1/4 year CPR, 1/4 year Nutrition
11th: Honors US History 2, Honors Chemistry, Honors French 4, AP Biology, AP Lang, 1/4 year AP Forensics (online class proctored by teacher), 1/4 year Walking, 1/4 year Yoga
12th: Honors Anatomy, Honors English, AP Psych, AP French, AP Human Geo, Pre-calc

Intended major?

Is UCSB affordable at $65K/year with little to no financial aid?

A UC Capped weighted GPA below 4.0 will make it a tough admit. Your ACT is within range. you have good EC’s and HS course rigor.

Below is some UCSB statistical data:

Admit rate for UC capped weighted GPA of 3.80-4.19 and not major specific: 38%

ACT 25th-75th percentile: 26-34

Average UC Capped weighted GPA: 4.16

Worth an application but UCSB will be a slight Reach.

Best of luck.

@Gumbymom thank you for the info! Intended major is biology

Since Biology is in the College of Letters and Sciences, UCSB does not admit by major, however you will be admitted as a Pre-Biology major if accepted and Biological Science majors are impacted/selective at the UC’s.

Overall acceptance rate for OOS applicants: 38.7% but few matriculate due to costs.