Personal info:
Asian female, Southern California, Sister went to UC Berkeley, parents immigrated to America, both went to CSULB, not that concerned about financial aid
Numbers:
c/o 2018
UW GPA: 3.4-3.5
*my school does not rank students but I am pretty sure I am in the bottom of my class because my school is extremely competitive
W/UC GPA: 3.78
SAT: 1400, but taking it again so hopefully it can be 1450 or 1500+
Subject Tests: Took Math II (most likely 750-800) and US History (600-750)
AP Scores:
- Human Geography (4)
- Statistics (5)
Currently taking Calculus AB (4-5), Language (3-5), and USH (3-4)
Next year I’m planning to take AP Comp Sci Principles, AP Calc BC, AP Literature, AP Biology for a total of 9 AP Courses
Extracurriculars:
FBLA- will most likely be on cabinet next year (want to be Treasurer), 3rd place entrepreneurship for Southern California leadership conference, went to state competition in Sacramento
Korean Club Cabinet (DIA --> Vice President)
California Scholarship Federation
MUN
Piano for 12 years
STEM Club
Volleyball- 4 years
Pep Squad-2 years, went to USA Nationals to compete
Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institute, studied Symmetry in Mathematics
(hoping to go to Brown Leadership Institute this summer)
Volunteer/Work:
Volunteer to help elementary to high school students learn coding
i also volunteer in my local Senior Citizen center to teach elderly about electronics
Red Cross/ Key Club about 30 hours
SCHOOLS APPLYING TO/ THINKING ABOUT
CSULB
CSUF
UCM
UCI
UCR
UCSD
UCSB
UCB
UCLA
NYU (really want to go here)
USC (dream school)
Smiths College
Barnard College (maybe ED)
Northeastern (maybe ED)
Wellesley
Babson
Emory
Indiana University- Bloomington
Chapman
Boston University
Major (interested in): Economics & Mathematics, Computer Science, Data Science, maybe Business Administration
Please chance me or give me recommendations for schools, majors, how to improve my chances. Anything is appreciated! Thank you!
Hello. I am a rising senior myself so I am not sure how accurate my advice will be but for most of these schools you seem like a competitive applicant. Your GPA and SAT scores do seem a bit low for UCLA, UCB, NYU, USC, Emory, and a few others. But you did mention that you will be retaking the SAT, so I suggest you try to obtain a score above 1500 to be more competitive for these schools. The fact that you have done piano for 12 years and have gone to nationals for pep squad will definitely play to your advantage, but the rest of your ECs may not help you stand out among the rest of the applicants as they are the typical ECs that many participate in. That said, your profile is definitely impressive and you definitely have a good chance of getting into a lot of the schools you have listed above. Good luck!
CSU’s admit by eligibility index and major
Eligibility index= (CSU/UC GPA x800) + (SAT Math+CR)= (3.78x800) + (1400)= 4424
UCR/UCM/CSULB/CSUF= Safeties
UC’s do not consider legacy.
UC’s are also very GPA focused, but going to a competitive school can hurt your chances at the top UC’s but might help for the mid-tier UC’s.
Getting a good SAT score is important, but many times will not outweigh a lower than average GPA. You have some good EC’s showing leadership. Write outstanding essays and you have should a decent chance at UCI/UCSB. UCLA/UCSD and UCB are always tough admits.
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%
Chapman will be close to a Match school while USC will be a Reach with your GPA although they love high test scores. LOR’s and essays may give you a boost for USC.
Best of luck.
As far as UCs, UCR and UCM are a pretty safe bet. The rest are pretty unlikely but, worth an application. CSUs except CP SLO will almost certainly admit yoo. One add - to consider SDSU.
It’s kind of ironic (to me at least) that the aspects of the app that are secondary (matter a bit less) are where you’re stronger. You have a lot of ECs (a little generic, so your essays have to shine and reflect your passion for them), but your UW GPA is really low and your test scores could be higher. Also, if you don’t get 4s or 5s on the AP tests the UCs won’t count them for credit. Things are so competitive these days (especially for UCLA, USC, UCB, and your top school NYU) that you truly have to be flawless to have confidence in your apps, so I’d think about some backups that you’d be willing to live with just in case. And your majors are some of the most competitive in the country, even as an in-state applicant. Data Science sounds like the least competitive one to me, but look into the programs these schools offer for all your majors (see their course schedules if you can) and figure out whether you’d actually want to study that. I don’t know if NYU has a great STEM program (in my mind they’re known for liberal arts), so the UCs and CSUs, which are research and practical-knowledge based, might be better suited to you. However, I’d say that your app as it currently stands isn’t strong enough. Use your remaining time in high school to boost your GPA, retake standardized tests, and think long and hard about what you’re going to write in those essays! That’s the part that really sways the app, IMO.
Best of luck!!
You have decent chances at all of the UCs except for Berkeley and LA. Chapman is a good match, USC is high reach but not completely out of the picture at all. You should do well at all the the private/LAC schools you mentioned. And surprise! I think you fit pretty well within NYU’s stats. High match.
Keep working hard!
Definitely add SLO and SDSU to your list.