Chances at UCSD, UCSC, UCLA, UCB?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey Guys, I live in SoCal and attend a prestigious public high school in this area - Current Class of 2016.
I am a Latino/Hispanic male and my parents earn around 100k.

GPA Unweighted: 3.6

Class Rank: My school does not have a ranking system but I know I am a better academic student than many others. However, other people at my school have 4.0s, 36s on their ACTs (I know of 2) and one of my friends got a 2350 on his SAT (he has a rather lackluster GPA, however). This is my fear: Competing against my peers as I know many are better than me, but if I went to my home school I absolutely know I would be in the Top 2% (home school = inner city school). All of my classes are “Accelerated/Honors” and my school features classes that aren’t commonly given at other schools. Freshman and Sophomore Year I had PLTW Engineering core classes and this year I had “Biotechnology”.

Furthermore, this year 2nd semester, I took a College Class of “Theatre, Drama, Television and Film” and I got an A in the class. On my transcript, it says I have a 4.0 College GPA because of this class.

March SAT 1680 (540CR, 610M, 530W) I’ve been studying plenty and once I finish my summer homework (I hope to finish by (7-2-15) I plan on studying every day. I already improved my math score to a 690, but I haven’t touched the other subjects.

AP Exams and Future AP Exams:
AP Spanish sophomore year: 4
AP Calc AB ~
AP English ~
AP Pysch ~

Awards:
1st Place School Science Fair 2015
3rd Place School National History Day 2014

Athletics:
I’m currently playing water polo at a public pool and last year we won first place in our division. This is my 2nd year of water polo. Freshman and Sophomore Year I was in the JV Cross Country and Track Teams. I quit since the homework load + athletics was becoming a burden.

ECs (…)

  • United States Customs and Border Protections Law Enforcement Explorer. I am ranked as a “Senior Explorer” in this program and I commandeer the other explorers and recruits during Physical Training and demonstrations. 160 Volunteer Hours in this program (Ride a longs, Shadowing officers at airport, fundraisers, etc) Started Jan 2014
  • 40 hours volunteering at the local library 2013

Great recommendations from teachers and counselor + good essays.

Oh yeah, I got accepted for this STEM Program at UCSD this August… not sure if that will help or anything.
Sorry if the order is a mess.

2

What’s your UC GPA? We can’t chance you without that.

3

My UC GPA is 3.7

4

It’s low but you might get in because UCSD has an outreach program to local high school. My daughter somebody with lower ST score then you who were admitted. Maybe 1300+ total Sat, not just CR+M. Plus if you get accept to the STEM you most likely will be accepted.

5

UCSC: Match
UCSD: Low Reach
UCB/UCLA: Reach

SAT and UC GPA is below average for these schools. Since you go to a competitive HS, GPA may be overlooked a bit, but you need to get your test scores into the 2000+ range for UCSD, UCLA and UCB. EC’s are not bad, just nothing stands out but the UCSD Stem program may help. Really work on your essays this summer which can give you an extra boost. You need to expand your list to include some safeties and solid matches. Add a few Cal States as Safeties and UCR as a good Match. Good Luck.

6

^^^^
I echo @Gumbymom Santa Cruz
Consider the Cal states.