<p>I will be transferring from Arizona after second year of community college as a physics major and I want to declare a double major in mathematics and physics once I can at whatever school I end up at</p>
<p>Chances for these schools:
UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB
University of Michigan
University of Illinois
Cal Tech
Cornell
University of Chicago
Columbia</p>
<p>HS GPA: 3.6979 Weighted</p>
<p>SAT: 1950
SAT II: Math 2: 750 Chemistry: 710</p>
<p>Community College GPA: 4.0
(Classes like Calc 1-3, Linear Algebra, Diff-eq, Gen Bio, Java Programming, Gen Chem, Calc-based Physics, Philosophy, English, Literature, Organic Chemistry, Beginning Italian Conversation, etc.)</p>
<p>Extra Curricular Activities:
-Math and Physics tutor
-Community service teaching ESL to adult learners on Saturdays
-Took a lot of dance and gymnastics classes for fun throughout high school and 1st year of college
-Chamber Singers baritone section leader in HS all 4 years, performed in musicals, concerts</p>
<p>I believe my essays will be very good, I have not written all of them yet, except the UC ones which I think were very well done and will stand out.</p>
<p>You have little chance at Cal Tech. Cornell CAS (I’m guessing), Columbia SEAS and UChicago will be reaches. Berkeley is a matchish. You should be a match at the rest of the UCs. I’m not too sure how hard it is to get into Michigan and Illinois as a transfer, but you should be good.</p>
<p>First, are you a full pay student all of the UCs will cost over $50K and you will not get a cent aid other than any Fed money you might qualify for which is a drop in the bucket at that price. Same for UMich. So if you can afford this you’re fine, you should get into some of these.</p>
<p>The rest are uber reaches. Your scores are low for all of them and coming from a CC makes them tough. Apply to a few, you never know, but you’d be wise to add some less competitive colleges.</p>
<p>Actually I went to and graduated high school in California so i qualify for in-state tuition and Caltech only looks at college grades, essay, letters of rec, and the admissions test on math and physics they have applicants take so they won’t see the SAT scores. They will see the high school GPA though unfortunately. Also, the UC’s only see college grades and pre reqs so I really should have a solid chance at Berkeley. But yea, I understand that for all of the other higher end schools my high school GPA and SATs are low. But I don’t think it really is necessary for me to add other schools to my list since I don’t see why UMich, U Illi, or the UCLA and below schools wouldn’t take me. I’m not wrong to think that am I?</p>
<p>The problem is the UCs won’t treat you the way they would if you were transferring from a CCC. Do your parents live in CA? As long as they’re still CA tax payers, you’ll at least be in state for tuition purposes. So hopefully a UC works out, but it can be quite competitive, more so for impacted majors, if you’re not a CCC transfer so the transfer stats could mislead.</p>
<p>Caltech takes so few transfers it’s like winning the lottery. Your scores on their test will be key, but your 950/750/710 suggests that the off the charts score you’ll need may be tough.</p>
<p>As long as you don’t need aid, you will probably be OK at one of the state schools.</p>
<p>Well I at least know I will get in-state tuition since I satisfy this exemption [UC</a> Tuition Exemption for California High School Students, Office of the Registrar](<a href=“http://www.registrar.ucsb.edu/ab1543.htm]UC”>404 - Page Not Found)
And I did mention that my family and I have lived in cali my entire life but we just moved to AZ recently because of financial issues and I would like to come back. So we did pay taxes in cali for a long time, maybe that will win me some sympathy, maybe even subconsciously make them think of me as an in-state applicant (lol). If not though, that really sucks for me. I feel all of the stats (the ones the UC’s will see like college GPA and classes and thats it) put me ahead of pretty much most applicants and admits. Considering when looking at the stats of previous admits I see that I am well above most of them in academic performance and rigor. Oh, and I’m pretty sure physics is not an impacted major, not many people major in physics, so that will help.</p>
<p>Are you talking about U of I? If you are, I saw you have a great chance. I go to UIC, which is different but is within the same system. They value high GPA the most but also good essays. Please chance me too!</p>
<p>@ OP
I think you need to omit your HS stuff when talking to these people sheesh. You’re finishing your 2nd year yes? You didn’t say whether or not you would be getting your AS, but I would imagine that means you’re nearing the 60 credit mark? In that case you’re already a college student. You have a 4.0 after having taken the hardest courses a physics major (and for that matter most engineers) at CC can take. Getting A’s in Calc I-III, LinAlg., DiffEq, Gen Chem, and Calc-based Physics is a phenomenal start in college, don’t let anyone take that away from you. If your high school stats are really going to affect your competitiveness at this point, then there isn’t much you can do to remedy that (unless you invent a time travel machine, in which case you can try applying to MIT).</p>
<p>That said, just look at the statistics, people that are applying to University of Chicago and Cal Tech are also top notch and there are a few thousand every year applying for a small number of slots. Does that mean don’t apply to a Cal Tech or Cornell, heck no! Again looking at it from a statistics standpoint, if you apply to enough schools, you’re bound find at least one sympathetic admissions office :-)</p>
<p>What would probably go a long way to distinguishing you as a transfer student is explaining why “that” school’s physics and math programs are so appealing to you. Is it just for the prestige of the name or is it because they have some Nobel laureate you just have to do summer research for or you’ll die. Physics and math are offered at thousands of colleges in the US, so this background info gathering will be most helpful in narrowing down your choices.</p>
<p>I’m assuming with a 4.0 you are smart enough to know that you may be rejected from all those highly selective schools. To be honest there isn’t a way to dive into an admission’s officer’s head and know exactly what they’re looking for at the exact time they’re reviewing your application (unless you can read minds, in which case, have fun ruling the world). If you feel your grades and EC’s truly reflect your academic persona, then you should be hope that you don’t go to a school that doesn’t appreciate what you have to offer.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot da6onet for taking the time to write all that and say those kind things, that made me feel good. Yeah, I was just focused on other things in high school but I really enjoy math and science now and feel I have done very well in catching up and have a lot of ambition. I do realize that I will probably get rejected from those higher schools because of my SATs and high school grades, but I will apply anyways. I am fairly confident I will be accepted to UCLA and University of Michigan which are my first choices right after UC Berkeley because of their physics and math departments. At least I can continue performing at the level I am now and apply for summer internships with The Department of Energy and others and maybe have the opportunity to get into a superb graduate program. As of now my career goals are to become a string theorist and to do research on the cutting edge of physics as I am extremely curious about the nature of reality. I will be extremely happy if Berkeley takes me! haha [=</p>
<p>Oh, and yes I will be finishing my 2nd year but I won’t be getting an associate degree because I think I don’t have enough communications classes or something. And yes, I agree about making it clear why “that” schools program is just what I need and plan to do exactly that.</p>
<p>Der, I think you’re misunderstanding CA’s rules. You would have indeed qualified when you graduated from HS, but since your family left CA and are AZ residents, you would no longer qualify for in state tuition in CA. And no, UCs don’t give former residents sympathy. They also don’t give OOS aid of any significance. Michigan doesn’t either and I not know about Illinois.</p>
<p>I understand If I don’t live in the state I would be out of state tuition, but there are several conditions that can qualify someone for exemption for paying out of state fees. attending a california high school for 3 years of more AND graduating from that school is one of the conditions you can meet to qualify for out of state tuition exemption and pay in state tuition. I have seen several sites talking about this. This one says “Students enrolled or in the process of enrolling at a University of California campus after January 1, 2002, who attended a high school in California for three or more years, and who graduated from a California high school (or attained the equivalent), may qualify for an exemption from nonresident fees.”</p>
<p>I think I saw your post in the UC forum a little while ago. I personally think that your GPA is solid enough for any of these schools, but they’re reaches for anyone as a transfer. Keep in mind that a transfer’s situation is quite different from a freshman applicant’s. I think that schools admit transfers based on the number of spaces they still have in the year that you’re applying to. So, for example, if you were to apply to NYU and they had 50 spots one year, then the admit rate would be based on those 50 spots. So how do those spots get there in the first place? Well, it’s usually a combination of students who drop out, students who fail courses, students who graduate early, and students who transfer out of NYU themselves. This means that you’re effectively hoping that more people will leave a school so you can be admitted yourself. In short, applying for some safeties wouldn’t hurt you at all (save for the application fee).</p>
<p>Again, I believe you are misreading the info. If you are no longer a resident of CA, and you’re not, you will pay OOS tuition. There are no exemptions today. UCs are on a crusade to find full pay OOS students and are not issuing them exemptions. Having once lived in CA and/or graduating from a CA high school does not matter once you become a resident of another state.</p>
<p>Are you not reading the quote or the link I sent you? It says exactly what I am saying, how can I misread that? It says after Jan 1st, 2002, non-residents can be exempt from paying non-resident tuition if they went to high school in cali for 3+ years and graduated from that school. Non-resident is what I am since I moved away and am a resident of Arizona now. I went to Rancho Cucamonga High School all 4 years and graduated from there so I will qualify for this exemption.</p>
<p>I read the link from UCSD and you will definitely qualify from what it states there. It does say that it doesn’t grant the student residency status, it only exempts them from out of sate fees. It also said something about how it doesn’t change Financial Aid, which I’m assuming means that since you are still not a resident of the state, you can not qualify for sate aid, etc.</p>