Chance me?

State Forums
1

I’m looking at my chances at UCSD, UCLA, UCSB, CSULB, and other CSUs with similar acceptance rates to Long Beach (don’t wish to take up space listing CSUs I applied to)
Stats- White, female, CA Resident
Roughly I am currently the top 5-8% of my graduating class

GPA:
10-11 UW: 3.95
10-11 Weighted: 4.55
10-11 Capped: 4.35
Courses:
10th: World History (instead of AP Euro)
Chemistry (unable to take AP Science until completing Bio and Chem)
Spanish 3-4 (second year Spanish)
PE (grad requirement)
Algebra 2 Honors (sadly not approved by UC/CSU as weighted honors)
Honors English

11th:
APUSH
AP Lang
AP Psych
Honors Pre-Calc
AP Environmental Science
Peer Tutor (doesn’t count as one of the a-g)

12th:
AP Calculus AB
AP Gov and Politics
Teacher’s Aide (not a-g)
Photography (for career prep graduation requirement, not a-g)
AP English Lit
Spanish 5-6 (third year level Spanish)

I took drama freshman year to complete the VAPA a-g requirement, and geometry in ninth too.
My one B in 10-11 was first semester of Honors Pre-Calc. I had straight A’s first semester of senior year (and freshman year, if they look at my 9th grade grades on the transcript at all).

Test Scores:
SAT (the new SAT scoring system)-
1320
broken down-
English Section- 680
Math- 640
ACT:
English: 26
Math: 22

Extracurriculars:
•CSF from second semester of 10th through current
•Animal Aid, a student-run club at my school
•During the school year, I have a job tutoring English (reading & writing) at the middle and high school level through a local company.
•During summers, I work at Forever 21
•I have around 200 hours of community service

My biggest concerns are my math ACT scores and not having a large amount of extracurriculars. As I’ve already applied to all schools, there’s obviously nothing I can do about it. But I’m just curious, can anybody tell me my chances through their own eyes of getting into the aforementioned schools, and their reasoning? I know nobody on online forums can give me definite yes or no responses, but I would like to hear opinions and reasons of you all. Thanks!

2

CSU’s admit by eligibility index and major (UC/CSU GPA x800) + (SAT Math+CR) or (UC/CSU GPA x200) + (ACT compx10)
Your EI for SAT is 5742 and for ACT ? composite. Either way the CSU’s are safeties for you with the exception of SLO depending upon major but you are still very competitive for most of the SLO majors.

UCLA: High Match- Low Reach due to lower than average test scores but very good GPA -53% admit rate for your GPA
UCSB/UCSD: Match - 88% admit rate for your GPA. Again test scores may be an issue depending upon major.

You have a good chance at all. Good Luck.

3

@Gumbymom, how large of a factor do extracurriculars tend to be?

4

EC’s are not a factor for CSU’s. GPA/Test scores/HS course rigor and essays trump EC’s for the UC’s. But EC’s do make an applicant stand out from the rest of the high stat applicants that apply to UCLA and UCSD so they could impact your chances. To subjective to determine exactly how much.

5

Personally, I think you should be safe for CSUs (around 90% acceptance rate in my opinion for you, except Cal Poly SLO which is always a bit picky/reserved). For UCs, your GPA is well at the level for UCSD, UCLA, UCSB but your ACT score is low for the UCs and your SAT score is decent but pretty average for UCSB and UCSD and low for UCLA. I’m guessing roughly 50/50 chance for UCLA and around 78-88% for UCSB and UCSD. Making these calculations with stats from my graduating peers and online applicants from previous years.

6

@StevoMeepo – I am only a sophomore, but my plan for which classes I will be taking for the next couple years is similar to this person’s. I’ve been told by a lot of people that TA, APES, and not taking Physics are all sure to get me rejected from just about every UC - because my courses aren’t ‘rigorous’ enough overall. What are your thoughts on the rigor of @ilovelucyfan’s classes affecting his/her shots at admission because mine are similar…

7

@socalkid1: Being a TA, taking APES or not having Physics are not deal breakers for the UC’s. My older son took APES and was a TA Senior year and got into 5 of the 7 UC’s he applied. Physics is important if you plan to pursue a STEM related major and if you are taking 5 AP’s Senior year, being a TA may give you some time to catch up on Homework and work on your college AP’s.
HS course rigor is dependent upon how many AP/IB/DE courses your fellow HS students are also taking. Good course rigor can be anywhere from 4-10 AP’s depending upon how many are offered at your HS. There are many applicants that have no AP’s at their schools and still can get into a UC.

UC’s are very GPA focused, so you want to take a rigorous HS schedule but also get good grades. Strive to work hard and do your best.

8

@socalkid1 No need to worry! Taking APES instead of Physics will not affect much of your UC admissions. In my opinion, as long as you have some honors/AP/IB courses, it will still give you the same chance as someone who takes Physics. Honestly, if you are looking into UCLA or UC Berkeley, the applicant pools are very competitive in the courses they take while getting strong grades in them. Like what Gumbymom said, UCs are heavy on GPA, so take some AP courses and do well in your other regular courses (try to take around 3-7 APs throughout HS to be more competitive than other applicants). Do not worry too much though, just keep your schedule balanced and make sure you do your very best in each course you decided to take.

Good luck! :slight_smile: