chances for a mediocre student?

<p>Im a junior right now, and my gpa for the most part is VERY low, averging about 3.00 BARELY. Math is bad, C in geo honors both semesters, and one C for 1st semester junior year. I'm really bad at math, especially for somone asian. I live in southern california (626) area. </p>

<p>I've taken honors and AP classes through since freshman year.
9th: English honors
10th: World history, english, geometry honors
11th: US AP, english honors,
12th(projected): Bio AP, English AP, Euro AP</p>

<p>Took the US AP and Psych test in May, no scores yet.</p>

<p>SAT's are low to say the least, 1680 total.
In a few handful of clubs: Junior civitan service club, red cross, technology class etc. </p>

<p>Basically, with what i have, what are the chances i'll get into a UC? Which ones? Berkely is out of the question, but is there any way i can get into UCLA?</p>

<p>mofom4n:</p>

<p>UCLA: Super Reach</p>

<p>Figure out your UC gpa and look at the UC website for average gpa and sat for each school. Your sat should be OK for the lower UCs, but if the 3.0 is weighted, that will be a problem. UCs are meant to take only the top 12% of CA high school grads. Cal and UCLA get the very top, SD next. You probably need to look at Riverside and Merced.</p>

<p>lets put it this way -- hello UCI</p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegesofdistinction.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.collegesofdistinction.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>great schools for B students.</p>

<p>what are my chances at irvine? Is it a big reach?</p>

<p>mofom4n:</p>

<p>UCI: Reach</p>

<p>haha, you're asian and you're stupid... haha</p>

<p>just because he does bad in school doesn't mean he's stupid Oistrakh... i hope you were being sarcastic...</p>

<p>also not everyone who is asian gets good grades, has 2100+ SAT scores, and is involved in 20+ extra curricular activities</p>

<p>Do you have to stay in state? There are dozens of state colleges big and small and many private colleges that would take a low B/C student with slightly above average ACTs/SATs and honors and AP course choices. You show tenancity which is a desireable trait. On top of it, there are many states where Asians and Californians in general are in a minority and schools would like the diversity. This board isn't really geared toward your question and the posts are few and far between. I don't know much about California, but you could look into some of the excellent City Colleges that have transfer programs that have been discussed on this board, some of the city colleges even have dorm space available. Or, start thinking about states outside of California. Put your stats into the many college search finders and start researching. The schools are out there and many turn how fine, quality graduates that go on to good grad schools or find good careers. Good luck to you and do not on any level get discouraged. And shame on the posters who mock these kids, they might be your boss some day.</p>

<p>Oops bad spelling above, I apologize and should proofread what I write. At work I have an editor LOL that fixes my spelling and punctuation.</p>

<p>"And shame on the posters who mock these kids, they might be your boss some day."</p>

<p>so, so true. a lot of people on these forums don't seem to think it's possible to be successful unless you go to a top 25 university and if you end up at a third tier university you will be doomed to the lowest paying jobs lol</p>

<p>also momofthreeboys no reason to apologize for your spelling. i mean it's just an internet forum, who cares? not like you're writing an essay... sorry, i shouldn't talk to older people like that... but it's true lol</p>

<p>

Why would someone that has lower grades than me can be my boss one day?</p>

<p>grades aren't everything</p>

<p>minimum gpa for uc is 3.00.......csu for you...!!</p>

<p>remember, einstein failed math. bill gates dropped out of school (right? am i mistaken?) </p>

<p>i know plenty of people with 1700+ SATs but are way smarter than I am, just like i know plenty of people with good grades, but i'll swear they're idiots. that's just life</p>

<p>I know a CEO of a major international company who says he would rather hire the 3.0 grad who can relate to people and has outside interests than the 3.9 grad who just looks good on paper :).</p>

<p>"Why would someone that has lower grades than me can be my boss one day?"</p>

<p>Are you being serious? Do you not realize that success/failure in high school in no way determines how successful you will be for the rest of your life?</p>

<p>Last time I checked, Bill Gates was still running Microsoft, and he was a college dropout (Harvard) as was Paul Allen (Washington State). Fortune magazine ranked these two as the #1 and #3 richest people in the world earlier this year.</p>

<p>Hey, motherofthree boys hit it right on--you don't have to stay in state--and only the top 50 colleges are super competitive. </p>

<p>Look at some of the schools that are right below the top 50 to 75 and you'll find excellent schools that still take 3.0 students if the test scores are good and the grades have been showing improvement. Also there are community colleges that allow those who had problems in high school to recover and get into great universities a year or two later--(and at a reduced price overall).</p>

<p>Also, I wouldn't play down the UCs that are not UC Berkeley, UCLA or UCSD--schools like UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara are still in the top 10 to 15 best ranked public universities in the country. Go to a community college and transfer to one of these, I say.</p>

<p>Also, let's talk out-of-state schools. Some universities, like Univ of Kentucky, Univ of Arkansas, and Univ of Oregon take students in the 3.0 to 3.2 GPA range. It will cost more--but you get a great education this way.
Heck, that's exactly what my own son is doing--he's going to Indiana University at Bloomington since it's got a top 10 ranked business school (other than UC Berkeley or USC, no other undergraduate business school in California is anywhere close to this ranking)--yet his UW GPA was about 3.27--and oh, I almost forgot to mention--he even qualified for a small scholarship that the school gives to some out-of-state students.</p>

<p>So, anyway--don't rule out college so quickly--take a look around and find a few schools that specializes in what you are interested in majoring in, and that you and your parents can afford--and then put together a great application. Good luck to you.</p>

<p>it is your major and job that matters more than university.</p>

<p>bad major + good university<good major + bad university</p>

<p>but </p>

<p>good major + good university > good major + bad university </p>

<p>and to Calcruzer,</p>

<p>Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard because he felt Microsoft was more important, I think, rather than being dropout material if that is what you are insinuating.</p>