Chance me Please!!!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi everyone,

I would appreciate your all your input on my friend’s chances of getting into the following colleges:

UCB
UCLA
UCSD
UCD
UCI
UCSC
UCSB
and SJSU

Major Choice: Biology or Chem doing a pre-med track!

GPA Unweighted: 3.4
Weighted: I don’t know but i took 2 APs and got an A and a B on them

SAT: 1310/1500 - retaking next week aiming for 1350
SAT II Math: 650

Although the numbers aren’t top university level, I believe my EC and essays are pretty good.

EC:
I am multi-lingual.

150 + Volunteering Hours (Various Organizations, Library, Tutoring, etc…)

Played the piano for 9 years
Played the guitar for 4 years
Won certificates in both instruments
Performed in front of audiences ( Recitals, Ensembles, etc…) (Performed in Stanford)
Took ABRSM exam for Music Theory Grade 3 and 5 - passed with Merit
Took ABRSM exam for Guitar Practical Grade 3 and 5 - passed with Merit
Took 3 Guild Repertoire Piano Music Exams and passed all. (1 of them I earned a plaque) (3 of them with certification) (and my name appears in a magazine)
I teach children piano and guitar and theory classes.

I played tennis for about 4 - 5 years. I reached the sectionals tournament of USTA Norcal in the state of California with my team, Almaden Valley Athletic Club (AVAC).

I also achieved recognition in the field of art, as I do all types of mediums: Oil Pastel, Pencil Shading, Pen & Ink, Watercolor Paintings, Acrylic Paintings, Oil Paintings, Fabric Paintings, as well as Graphic Design (Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator).
I won several medals and certificates in art contests.

I am also proficient with all of Microsoft Office and know some C programming language

Good letters of recommendation.

Essay: I would rate as 7/10 also

Appreciate all the help and input!!!

2

Sorry, I meant to say 1310/1600 not 1310/1500 for the SAT section.

3

Uh I would say reach for UCB and UCLA. Guessing you are instate, all others are solid colleges for you. Are yo asian?

4

Yes, i am in state and Asian! Thank You!

5

bump for other responses

6

bump

7

You need to calculate your CSU/UC GPA: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

All the UC’s and Cal States (except SLO) use the capped weighted UC GPA and UCB/UCLA will also consider your fully weighted UC GPA. Assuming you are a California resident, the UC’s and CSU’s will give you an extra honors point for each semester of a UC approved Honors or AP course up to 8 semesters. HS course rigor is very important for the UC’s, so unless your HS has only a few AP courses, 2 AP’s will not be very competitive.

https://hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist#/list/search/institution

If your UW GPA is 3.4, your UC GPA should be in the 3.5-3.7 range. All but 3 of the UC’s have an average UC GPA of 4.0+ so your chances are low for the top and mid-tier UC’s even with solid SAT scores.

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79:

UCB: 2%
UCLA: 3%
UCSD: 6%
UCD: 15%
UCSB: 14%
UCI: 13%
UCSC: 59%
UCR: 78%
UCM: 92%

I would target UCSC and UCR for the best chances. The rest of the school’s will be Low Reach to High Reach schools but if money is not an issue, I would apply to UCI/UCD and/or UCSB. You have some good EC’s and you might want to incorporate your interest in art into some of your personal insight essays which could help your chances somewhat.

I think you need to focus on more of the Cal states due to your lower than average GPA.

The Cal states admit by major and eligibility index. They really only consider GPA/Test scores/Geographic location and HS course rigor. Other than Cal Poly SLO, your EC’s are not considered.

Calculate your Eligibility index:
If you took the Redesigned SAT:
(CSU capped weighted GPA X 800) + (SAT Evidence Based Reading & Writing (EBRW) + Math Score) = Eligibility Index

Eligibility index for ACT:
(CSU capped weighted GPA X 200) + (ACT Composite x10)= Eligibility Index

You will then be ranked based on EI and major and they accept from the top down until all spots are filled.

You will get priority at your local CSU which you can look up on this link. Local applicants usually require a lower EI to get an acceptance unless the program is highly impacted.

http://www.calstate.edu/sas/onestopkiosk/documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf

SJSU publishes their EI thresholds for each major. See link: http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/impactionresultsfreshmen/index.html

For last year, you only needed a 3200 EI for Biology or Chemistry so I would consider SJSU a safety. Some other Cal States to consider are San Diego State, Long Beach State, Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona, San Francisco State and Sac State.

Should also mention that UCB is only UC that invites prospective students to submit LOR’s unless you receive a supplemental from one of the other UC campuses.

Best of luck.

8

Thank you so much @Gumbymom for your response! I really appreciate your help!