I am from Texas and thinking about applying to UCSB. I would love to go there but have already applied to a few other colleges and don’t want to pay another application fee if there isn’t a strong chance I would get in. My intended major would be global studies. I am 13th in my class of 362, putting me in the top 4%. My unweighted GPA on a 4.0 scale is a 3.96 and my weighted GPA is a 5.4. I took the SAT (new) once and got a 1340, but am planning on taking the December administration of it. I have been involved in many clubs at school (Serteens, Rho Kappa, Mu Alpha Theta) as well as starting an environmental club at my school this year. I volunteer at the local library a couple hours a week and will start volunteering at our local museum soon. I’ve been recognized as a rotary scholar and received an academic excellence award for being in the top 10% of my class all four years. Recently I was elected by the Optimist Club to shadow the District Judge so that was another nice thing to add to my resume. How are my chances?
I just used the calculator for UC GPA and it says my unweighted is 3.94, weighted is 4.26, and weighted + capped is 4.10
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19:
UCSB: 49%
Your GPA and test scores are on target so I would say a Match-High Match school. You have good EC’s and if you write some equally good essays, you stand a decent chance for an acceptance.
Is UCSB an affordable option since as an OOS student, you will receive little to no financial aid with a price tag of $55K/year? Especially if you are balking about the application fee.
@Gumbymom thank you. That’s what I’m trying to decide, if the tuition is worth it. I’ve been dreaming of going to either UCSB or CSULB for years so I honestly don’t know how much it’s worth to me. I’ve been accepted to the University of Texas already and yes it would be insanely cheaper for me to go there, but I don’t know if I should give up on my dream schools for the sake of cost. This has been my internal struggle for months.
As a CA taxpayer let me say come on out! We appreciate the $100K+ gift that OOS kids make to our university system. Sure, the classes will be large and impersonal. But it’s on the beach! You’ll have so much fun! That should be worth $100K to your parents 
Wow, thank you all, you’ve been very influential in helping me make a decision.