Hey guys, stressed senior here
I’d like to be chanced for UCI, UCSB, UCD, and UCSD.
GPA - 3.62 (weighted)
SAT - 1330 (650 RW, 680 M) - retaking in November
SAT II - Math II and Literature
Major - Pharmacology/ Pharmaceutical Science
APs - AP Lang, AP Physics, AP US History, AP World History, AP Calc AB
Planned APs/classes - Calc BC, Ap 2D Art, Vietnamese Speaker 4, regular English, Physiology
Extracurriculars - VSA (4 years), Leadership (5 years)
Awards - A science fair award, an art reward, and a dance award
Trying to make my essays as great as possible to compensate for my low GPA
Since my major is relatively small at UCs, would that mean it would be harder to get into?
your gpa is pretty light for all of those UCs. UCR and UCM seem like your best candidates. Any CSU but SLO would love to have you in just about any program.
Agree that your UC GPA will impact your chances at these UC’s and they tend to favor GPA over test scores. Consider adding the UC’s mentioned by @NCalRent along with some Cal states so you have options in the Spring. A Biochemistry major would fulfill Pharmacy school requirements.
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’ve had an internship not related to my intended major and I’m shooting for over 300 hours of community service, but how much would that help?
honestly, community service hours play no role in CSU admission (really minor factor at CP SLO) and a relatively minor role with all the UCs. For UCs GPA is king, then test scores, then course rigor, then ECs. Of course essays also play a big role and kids with your stats are admitted to top UCs every year… so, please apply to any of them you are interested in… just understand, it isn’t likely and plan accordingly. If you are looknig to stay in SoCal, SDSU, CSULB, CPP have programs that should work for you. In N Cal, SJSU Chico and perhaps Sonoma are worth a shot.
Apply broadly and decide after you get your results.
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good luck
Thank you for your honest opinion :3