Hi. I go to a competitive public high school in California. It’s top five in California and probably top 50 in the nation. 1st question - does it really matter that it’s ranked high? We send lots of kids to ivies. I’m here today wondering if I have a decent chance at some UC’s (preferably LA, SD, or Santa Barbara). And do they really like upward trends? 1st semester was not exactly my time
(if you don’t feel like reading, here’s the important info):
UC GPA so far: 3.58
ACT: 33C (only thing I am sending in)
Sophomore Year GPA’s (2.8, 3.5)
English (B/B)
A.P. Comp Sci (C) - (only took it first semester, dropped after the first semester cause I wasn’t making progress)
Chem (C/B)
History (B/B)
Algebra II (B/B)
P.E. (A)
Public Speaking (A)
Law and Society (A)
Junior Year GPA’s (4.0, 4.0) - A’s in all classes
APUSH (4)
AP Calc (4)
AP Computer Principles (5)
Honors Physics
Spanish II
English
Art I
Hooks: urm at extremeley undiverse school
EC’s :
- Key Club
- Mock Trial
- Service Learning
- BSU (president)
- Empowering Black Youth (President)
- started a non-profit clothing with some buddies company that made around 20k this year, and we donated it all
- working at the grocery store - 50hrs total
- com. service - 80 hrs from a few gigs
I really want to also know if it matters if they are ranked! because I am going to the 13 best Hs in the nation and want to know if all the work is worth it!
Your UC weighted gpa of below a 3.6 will be a problem for all but the lowest of UCs.
No, my UC weighted gpa is a 3.88 weighted and capped.
Very competitive test scores and you have an upward grade trend, but GPA is king with the UC’s, They will take into consideration the competitiveness of your school which could hurt you since you will be compared to your peers.
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19:
UCB: 14%
UCLA: 14%
UCSD: 44%
UCSB: 54%
UCD: 58%
UCI: 65%
UCSC: 85%
UCR: 94%
UCM: 96%
URM will not be considered since UC’s banned affirmative action. All you can do is apply and make sure you have some outstanding essays.
I would like to offer you some advice. Your GPA as of now is pretty low, and UCs will be able to see your sophomore year grades which may be a problem (2.8 UW is very low). My best advice for you regarding your GPA is to show UCs that you will be taking a rigorous courseload senior year. This may help. Alternatively, you can take classes at a local community college during the summer and transfer those grades/credits to your school transcript to boost your GPA since they are the equivalent of AP classes.
I would also suggest that you retake your ACT and try to bring it above 34 or 35. Also, take some subject tests to show colleges that you are knowledgeable in your area of interest. Regarding area of interest by the way, your extracurriculars seem generic and all over the place. No doubt, your work experience may help you. But the rest of your ECs, such as your clubs, are not centered around a particular area. You need to show colleges that you are focused on a particular field you are interested, and show them that by participating in extracurricular activities that relate to that field. This summer would be the best time for you to do so.
I would say, seeing things as they are now, you probably won’t have too good of a chance at UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSB, or UCSD, but you probably have a decent chance of getting into UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside, and UC Merced. Good luck!
Chance me back here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1995754-chance-me-low-gpa-rank-cornell-rice-wash-u-ucla-etc.html#latest
When I was a freshman applicant, I got into UCSD and UCSB and I didn’t have a ton of extracurriculars. But I had a 4.0 UW GPA for all four years of high school, I took 4 AP classes (one my junior year, three my senior year – talk about a rigorous final year) and got 4s and 5s on my tests. I got a 30 on my ACT (didn’t study, took it once) and a 1930 and 1950 on my SAT (old version). I never took subject tests. I came from a great high school and a lot of my peers got accepted to fantastic schools. So did I, but I personally chose to go to a community college and transfer to UCLA.
Since ECs are secondary compared to your GPA and AP/standardized test scores, I wouldn’t freak out about getting those in order. Being eclectic and having a lot of interests is fine, just as long as you’re doing ECs because you want to and not “because that’s what everyone does to get into college” or because it’ll look good on a resume. Academics are the most important thing, so you should really focus on raising your GPA. I agree with a lot of the advice above: take a rigorous course schedule and try to do community college/local classes to get some credits out of the way and raise your GPA. HOWEVER, I will say this: if you can’t handle harder classes, don’t do them. Better to get an A in a regular class than a B in an honors class. An A is always going to be an A, no matter what. And remember, it’s the unweighted GPA that UCs care about.
If you can’t completely revolutionize your grades/scores, use the essays to get some leverage. I believe they’re the most important part because it’s the place where your authentic self gets to shine. Talk about your academic struggles and how you overcame them! Be positive and explore all you’ve learned! They are looking for upward trends, optimistic outlooks, and people who are willing to learn academically and personally. If you reflect that, schools will want you.
Best of luck!
Thanks to everyone else as well.