Chances at UC System/California Schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I'm a rising senior in California, and I am looking for a school that has a decent level of ranking and prestige, but I also know that I'm not exactly Ivy League material. I was hoping that maybe you all would have some recommendations for schools I should look into? </p>

<p>Some of my interests (and majors, possibly) are in Biology, Business, Law, Environmental Science, Psychology, and Epidemiology.</p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

<hr>

<p>GPA: 3.57 unweighted, 4.28 weighted</p>

<p>4+ Years History
4+ Years Science
4 Years Math
4 Years English
3 Years Foreign Language
2 Years Visual and Performing Arts
2 Years Physical Education
4+ Years Electives (including Computer Programming, Marketing)</p>

<hr>

<p>SAT: 2100
SAT Subject Tests: World History, 750; Literature; Biology E (no results yet)</p>

<hr>

<p>AP: World History (5), Biology, United States History, Environmental Science, English Language, Psychology, Economics, English Literature</p>

<p>Honors: English 74 Honors, French 5 & 6 Honors</p>

<hr>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Ice skating - 12 Years with YBSS; 4 Gold, 2 Silver, Freestyle Skate Level 5
Forensics/Speech and Debate - 8 Years SBS Speech, 4 Years with National Forensics League; Varsity Individual Events, 2 Silver, Degree of Merit, Degree of Honor
Theater Arts - 4 Years Prominent Roles in LHS Spring Musical; 6 Years Tech Crew with CCSF
Vocal Performance - 5 Years, Mezzo-Soprano, 1 Year Advanced Vocal Choir with LHS
Living & Biological Systems Intern - 3 Years with Exploratorium
California State Assembly Intern - 2 Years; Newsletter Committee
Global Leadership Adventures Student Ambassador - 2 Years Foreign Exchange (Costa Rica - Ecology; China - International Diplomacy & Economics); 1 Year Ambassadorship
SPCA Volunteer - 3 Years
Martin de Porres Soup Kitchen Volunteer - 3 Years</p>

2

<p>Your weighted GPA and strong prepatory classes indicate you may be admitted in the top UC’s - Berkeley, UCSD, or UCLA. If money is an issue, check out California Polytechnic - SLO. I would advise you to steer away from the sciences (where a lot of premed majors get weeded out and there is more competition for admittance) and look closely at some of the engineering - environmental engineering or urban planning - more unique majors that don’t have the same level of competition. UC Berkeley is equivalent to a west coast ivy and they have a great program in that field - CalPolySLO has great technical training. Perhaps you could do a little bit of volunteer internship this summer for an urban planning firm. </p>

<p>These more technical degrees are within your capability, and will be a stronger resume when considering medical school or law school or even an MBA later on. </p>

<p>I think you should apply to some ivy’s as well . . but be focused - research these kinds of jobs and see what you think, then try to get a little exposure this summer - even opening the mail or organizing contacts for a local small firm will read great on your application and you can almost always transfer back out of engineering, but rarely transfer in.</p>

3

<p>Thank you! The problem mostly is that my math skills are not the best, although above average, and I fear that engineering would be too difficult for me…</p>

4

<p>Other opinions? :)</p>

5

<p>I think you should check your school’s naviance. According to ours, nobody gets into UCLA, UCB, USD with uw GPA less than 3.8. Please add more safeties.</p>

6

<p>I think you have a pretty good shot at getting into UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and everything below that with your grades, ECs, and test scores. As for Berkeley, LA, and San Diego, you’re right on the line. Still, with your ECs you definitely have a shot at getting in. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>Thanks! I know I shouldn’t really expect to get into Berkeley or UCLA or anything, considering its reputation and the fact that my grades aren’t awesome.</p>

<p>Are there any other somewhat prestigious schools I should look into that are in CA?</p>

8

<p>Not like Stanford or anything, but just nice, somewhat high ranking schools?</p>

9

<p>GPA is a bit weak for Berkeley/LA, but you have some pretty nice EC’s. If you write great essays and have great recommendations, you have a shot at the top UC’s. Retake the SAT if you think you can do better; 2100 is a tad bit low for the top UC’s. You have a decent to really good shot at the rest, though. Good luck.</p>

<p>Chance back, please! <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1160541-chance-rising-senior-senior-member.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1160541-chance-rising-senior-senior-member.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<ul>
<li>Bump ?? -</li>
</ul>

11

<p>aaaaand bump.</p>

12

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13

<p>After looking at the past decisions thread for ucla and berkeley, it seems that the u.w. gpa for ucla is a big deal vs berkeley is more flex on the gpa. So I think with your excellent extracurriculars, you’ll probably get into ucb. But who knows GL:)</p>

14

<p>you need to figure out your weighted gpa using the UC cap of 8 semesters of AP/honors. You list 7 AP’s without scores. How did you do?</p>

15

<p>Your academic profile is impressive enough and your course selection has certainly rigorous enough. You may be interested in the “Hidden Ivies.” Schools such as Bowdoin, Carnegie Mellon, Davidson, and University of Chicago may fit your interests. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1187535-what-my-chances.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1187535-what-my-chances.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

16

<p>I’m not really allowed to leave California, but I’ll definitely consider applying to “Hidden Ivies.”</p>

<p>How do you calculate your UC GPA?</p>

17

<p>^
These are the steps for calculating your UC (University of California) GPA:</p>

<ol>
<li>Disregard freshman and senior year grades.</li>
<li>Take all the A-G* courses you have and add them up, with 4 being an A, 3 a B, 2 a C, 0 for D and F</li>
<li>Divide one point for each AP or UC-approved honors course up to 8 points</li>
<li>Divide by the total number of classes you used to calculate your total</li>
</ol>