hey guys,
I’m going into senior year and have no idea where to aim for?!!?!?! my sisters have pretty much gone to prestigious colleges all their lives and i feel like I’m going to disappoint. i have my school counselors saying i pretty much suck and have to aim for my safety schools and an independent counselor saying privates will love me.
the school’s I’m looking at are like ucsb, ucsd, ucla (sister went there), usc, cal, cal poly slo, uc irvine, and of course stanford but my grades are baggage :(((
here are my stats
-freshman year 2.8/2.8
-sophomore year 2.3/ 3.66 (1 ap)
-junior year 4.33/4.33 (1 ap/ 2 honors)
-senior year I’m taking (4 aps/ 1 honor) expected either 4.6/4.8
so my average is a 3.4ish but for uc’s/ cal states it’s a 3.65ish b/c they don’t count freshman year
i know my gpa trend is really weird but I was dealign with some stuff during my first couple of semesters of hs like family death (father) and like lack of maturity.
-sat : 1960 (aiming for 2050 in october)
-sat2: math 2 : 720 us history : 720
-ap exam: chemistry: 3 us history: 5
EC’s
-CA boys state ( prestigious leadership and citizenship program)
-cal poly slo summer engineering camp
-ace (architecture, construction, engineering) mentorship program where industry professionals work with students on projects like designing a student center for a college campus
-volunteer tutor at my school (going to be my 3rd year)
-co-founder, vice president of my school’s fashion club (we hold bi-annual clothes drive, and going to be president next year)
- managed the basketball team my freshman year
lots of community service and activism
-130+ hours
-one of my essays is focused on giving back to the community and how i want to be a politician/ community leader
-church volunteering : food banks, car washes, adopt- a - block,
-community activism: i’m currently working with community leaders and activists in LA to stop this oil company near where I live from expanding. i’ve personally been interviewed by The LA times and Al Jazeera regarding our movement.
Letter of Recs are probably going to be 10/10 : i got the highest marks in my calc and us history class and i’ve having them write mine (the only school i’m applying to that accepts recs is usc and … stanford)
i’m african american, male if that helps
cal poly slo is my 1st option but i feel like i won’t get in there because it is a state school and all they look at is literally GPA and SAT and don’t ask for subject tests, letter of rec, interview, essays, ap scores, or additional comments section where i can talk about extenuating circumstances (which really hurts me because all of those are my strong suits) & engineering at slo is way harder to get into then the other majors
pls chance me on all the schools i listed??? thanks guys!!
I had a very similar GPA trend (2.5, 3.4, 4.1, 4.1) and a lower SAT score. I managed to get into UCSB and UCI for Biochemistry, but I consider myself to have been extremely lucky. To be completely frank, your chances at getting into the colleges you listed for engineering are pretty slim. If you were to apply for a non-impacted major, I would put Cal Poly, UCI, and UCSB as high matches. Unfortunately, UCSD, Cal, USC and Stanford would all be reaches regardless of whatever major you choose.
Obviously, getting a 2050+ on the SAT and writing some good essays would help increase your chances of getting into all these schools.
@mototriu thanks for responding! I’m so worried about how my gpa trend will make me look. do you think explaining how my father dying and like lack of maturity affected my grades will help?
and do you think having a kickass senior year will help? b/c some people have told me that colleges don’t really look at senior year, but i feel like for me it’s a special case because I want to continue to show that upward trend. i just want to know before I spend my whole senior year trying to get a ridiculously high GPA like 4.8 and it not be worth anything.
i really want my extra stuff on my application like extensive extracurricular, lots of volunteering, great letter of rec, high SAT2 scores, good essay and interview to help boost my application and give me “points”.
Your scores and GPA are the issue.
The problem is that the major is very competitive and they have to look at your possibility for surviving those tough courses.
Your ECs only get you so far; it’s fine for getting involved in the college community, but you also have to go to class and get a good grade.
I believe, except for the top 3 UC’s, you have a chance to get into all other UCs in your list if you improve your SAT by 100 points. But for USC, may be! For Stanford, to be realistic, no way!
Yes, addressing any difficult circumstances would help. The only schools that would see your first term of Senior year are USC and Stanford. If I were you, I would direct most of my attention at improving my SAT score and writing stellar essays. Apply broadly and with an alternate major (in case you don’t get into the engineering program). You should also consider applying to some state schools such as CSULB, SDSU, and CPP.
UC GPA calculator: http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Don’t guess on your GPA since you need to formulate a balanced list of schools. Cal Poly SLO will use Freshman grades so plug those into the UC GPA calculator to get your CP GPA. CS/Engineering is extremely competitive so unless you have a UC/CP GPA of 4.0+, you will need to rethink your list. Also the UC’s do not accept LOR’s (exception UCB this year), unless they ask for them in a supplemental review of your application.
All the schools on your list are Reaches at this point, so it is ok to apply for a few but you need some solid matches and safeties. I would suggest UCR/UCSC and maybe UCI. Cal States such as SDSU/SJSU/CSULB and CPP.
CS at SLO and many of the top tier UC’s have around a 10% acceptance rate. Essays and EC’s will help for the UC’s and USC but I do not think it will help overcome your GPA. Good Luck.
thanks for the response guys, i appreciate it! and thanks @mototriu , I’m definitely going to be spending the bulk of my time on SAT prep and improving my essay! and @crystal9ucla , yea that’s the plan! and are u referring to cal, ucla and ucsd as top 3 uc’s?