Chances for Penn State, University Park or UC Santa Barbara?

GPA (Weighted) = 3.1974
GPA (Unweighted) = 2.9630
SAT (No Superscore, single sitting) = 2020
ACT (No Superscore, single sitting)[Composite With Essay] = 30

AP Computer Science Exam = 5

My freshman and sophomore years were full of rather less than par grades, however, in Junior year, all my courses were either all Honors and AP’s, and I got 8 A’s, 2 B+'s, and 1 C+ in Junior year

Does an upward trend help?
Also taking three calculus this year, and three AP’s:
AP Psychology
AP U.S. Government & Politics
AP Statistics

Math 2 subject test = 750
Bio E/M = Taking Saturday (assume I get over a 700, perhaps around 740)

School doesn’t rank students.
I also have great extracurriculars (and I’ve written a book on programming and worked outside of the country)
My major of choice is Computer Science

I’m not from Pennsylvania nor California

I really would appreciate whatever input, advice, or suggestions I could get!
Cheers!

Can you afford paying out of state tuition? And by the way, I believe that you need a 3.4+ UC GPA to apply OOS to UCSB.

@emilyskates
I’ve been saving up, and I can afford both schools.
And I plan on applying for admission by exam or admission by exception

You need a minimum UC GPA of 3.4 to apply to UCSB. Here is the link to the calculator and since your are OOS, only AP/IB/DE courses 10-11th grade count for the extra Honors points.

http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

Based on your unweighted GPA, you have a very slim chance at UCSB. Average UC GPA: 4.05

http://www.budget.psu.edu/CDSRedesign/cds.aspx?reportindicator=FreshAdmn&Location=UP&AY=20142015
Less than 4% of University Park freshmen had a GPA like yours last year. Since GPA is more important for PSU than SAT/ACT, put a branch campus as your backup. Common workarounds also include applying undecided and for summer session.

Santa Barbara is $55K per year. What kind of allowance do you have that permits you to save over $200K?

Your GPA is low for UCSB.