I’m getting anxiety about my application recently sent in to UCSB. It is my top choice…I am a practical person and I definitely accept that there is a chance I could be rejected but I was wondering what my chances would be getting in. I am also curious if anyone out there is attending UCSB, or was accepted that thought they wouldn’t get in. My applicant profile is very unique and I am a confusing case (my grades are not good but I have a higher ACT score than you would expect, very good recs and essay, and good ECs)… I have been deferred (EA) from some schools I 100% thought I would get rejected from.
my stats are as follows:
state: NJ
gender: F
class rank: school does not have a class rank
GPA: school does not calculate GPA but I have a consistent upward trend (B/B- average freshman year, B sophomore year, B+ junior year, A- senior year)
ECs and Community Service: community service trips abroad, volunteer with children with special needs, volunteer for animal shelter, varsity soccer 3 year, club soccer player 10+ years at a national level, fine artist (applying as art major with a very strong art portfolio), Etsy shop owner, artist joined with small business, babysitting 4+ years
Essays: strong, honest, well-written, thoughtful – serves as an explanation to my rocky start as a high school student and average grades
recs: VERY STRONG
high school: i attend an extremely hard private school nationally ranked and recognized… all “regular” classes are considered honors in comparison to other schools
facts/stats noted in application: torn ACL two times in the past 3 years (how that has affected my love for soccer and college career, attending a creativity/art based semester away program last semester of senior year
I know I’m putting a lot of personal facts out there and its a long post but I thought it would be worth it since UCSB and the UCs make a point of looking at every aspect applicant, not just their grades
thoughts/comments/anything would be appreciated!
UCSB does not accept recommendations. What is your UC GPA and ACT score? http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
UC’s only look at 10-11th grades and the extra honors points for OOS applicants only includes AP/IB or DE courses.
@Gumbymom I forgot they didn’t accept recommendations oops! I don’t know why I put that in my above post. I have a 30 ACT score and 3.19 UC GPA…
The UC’s are tough schools both for admissions and for academic skills. They look at GPA and test scores first and foremost. As an OOS student, your stats have to be better than the average applicant. EC’s are supplemental and don’t make up for the grades. There has to be a balance of grades and activities. If you can’t perform very well, in a high school classroom environment, then going to a college with more difficult work may be a struggle for you. The schools don’t want to put you in that position.
To an outside observer, it looks as though your EC’s impacted your grades.
Also, as an OOS, you are looking at costs of $55K per year. I’m assuming your family afford that?
@“aunt bea” I noted in my essays and “extra information” that my grades were not affected by my EC’s (which is 100% accurate) but for other personal reasons. Luckily my family is able to afford OOS tuition costs. I think my reasoning for this post was to reach out to others who may have been accepted/attended UCSB with similar stats as me as I know a few friends who attend UCs from New Jersey (obviously OOS is going to be harder to get in because it is a UC). I actually don’t think I will struggle in college as I stated in my original post my high school is nationally recognized and ranked as one of the most academically rigorous schools. I would say at least 90% of graduates from my high school feel very prepared for college compared to others who may struggle in adjusting to the college environment, which is why I am confident I will be fine.
UCSB is a Reach even with an explanation for lower than average grades. If you look at the common data set for UCSB, only 0.87% of enrolled applicants had a unweighted GPA of 3.0-3.24. See link section C11:
http://bap.ucsb.edu/institutional.research/common.data.set.2014.15.pdf
@Gumbymom Thank you for that link I would not have been able to find that! Like I said… hoping for the best but we’ll see what happens
California universities are under pressure to admit more residents, so as an OOS, that will be a factor.
Also, your GPA is just not competitive despite your adverse conditions. The UC’s get applications from all over the world as well as from all of the states. One of the deciding factors is GPA.
I’m sure your school is competitive but your GPA (which is king in admissions, is not competitive with these kids that are 4.0’+s with 32-36 SATs). California kids attend tough high schools as well.
Check out the admitted freshman profile for fall 2015:
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/santa-barbara/freshman-profile/
Averages
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@“aunt bea” thank you for that link I appreciate it. Hoping for the best… like I said I’m not expecting to 100% be admitted but we’ll see what happens.