I’ve wanted to go to a UC school forever, especially UCI. What do you guys think my chances are? I’m out of state.
I’m an Indian female and I go to a pretty competitive prep school.
In freshman year I got four Bs and two As. Sophomore year I got all As. Junior year I got 4 Bs, two of which were APs, and one A. This year I’m taking two APs. My GPA is now a 3.6 (weighted) including my arts and leadership courses. I have a 26 on the ACT (not superscored) and a 1790 on the SAT. I’m taking the SAT again aiming for an 1850. My essay is very good but I don’t know how much influence that has.
ECs:
One year playing lacrosse
6 plays
About 300 volunteer hours tutoring
About 90 volunteer hours working in a hospital
One year in an anti-prejudice club
One year in spirit club
If any more info would help, please ask! Thanks!
A 3.6 and sub 1800 SAT is going to make UCI a rear impossibility for you. I am not saying don’t apply. All the UCs have a measure of subjectivity to the admissions process. UCR is more likely but, honestly, could go either way and probably isn’t worth the OOS premium.
I’d take a look at private schools like LMU and USD. Both are in nice locations in SoCal, are likely to accept you and will charge a rate similar to an OOS UC.
Good luck
Agree with @NCalRent that UCI will be tough with your GPA. If your UC GPA is above 4.0, UCI is more forgiving on test scores. Average UC GPA: 4.03 Average SAT: 1878. Essays and EC’s are always a factor so they could help your chances. Since you are OOS, expect to pay around $55K/year with little to no FA.
You should consider some of the privates mentioned in at above post and possibly look at UCSC and UCR.
http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
You do not list your intended major. If you plan to go into the STEM field, you need to be above the averages for the best chances. You might also want to look at University of Redlands, Concordia (near UCI) and University of the Pacific for privates.
Thanks guys, and yes @Gumbymom I do plan on majoring in biology
I know you are OOS and will pay a premium tuition. If you plan on biology, the UC’s are good and probably have better reputations for biology and other science fields than the private colleges named above. You might look at the lower tier of UC’s: UCSC, UCR and UCM. They are excellent research institutions which can give you research opportunities, that you will need for post graduate fields, whether in biology, medical, health sciences, etc. Also, UC’s are prestigious in CA because they accept the top 9% in CA.
Biology is a very competitive major at the UCs.
Paying $55K per year, is overpriced if you were to get into Riverside or Merced.
The CSU’s will also be $36K per year.
Your scores just aren’t competitive with the incoming freshman from instate. Sorry.