<p>Going to attempt again in October, I'm positive I will get at least a 2100, and possibly a 2200, I'm studying 2 hours daily every weekday over the summer.</p>
<p>ACT:
1st attempt: 32
Going to attempt again in September, aiming for 34 or higher.</p>
<p>SATII: Math (760), Bio (770)</p>
<p>Others:
- 150 hours community service
- DECA (Business Club):
- 3rd in Northern California for Math Marketing
- 4th for presentation, 8th overall for Advertising Campaign in States competition
- YouTube Channel on Technology (relates to my major, computer science)
- 2,800 subscribers
- My technology guides and reviews have been watched 1.1 MILLION times
- Started an organization this summer to raise money for charity through online gaming. Raised about $700 so far.
- Intro to Computer Science course over the summer, got an A
- Intro to Programming in C course over the summer, got an A</p>
<p>What are my chances of getting in? I'm extremely passionate about technology and would love if I could further develop my knowledge by majoring in Comp Sci at great college.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken high school seriously until junior year. At the summer, end of the sophmore year, I went to India and realized I’m taking everything I have for granted. While others in India are yearning to learn but forced in mediocre schools, if any, I am slacking off, even though I am given the opportunity to attend one of the nations top 50 high schools. The vacation to India opened my eyes, and I realized I need to make the most of my given situation. I tried throughout junior year, with 3 AP courses, and got a 3.67 unweighted, 4.167 weighted GPA.</p>
<p>-.- Don’t even trip about it. You’ve definitely got what you need to get in.
Take SAT’s again, if you really want to. You can pass 2000 easily.
Don’t bother with ACT’s. SAT’s are good enough.</p>
<p>You’re pretty far in the clear - I would say you rank as one of the high achieving students. As much as I love UCSB, I think you should aim higher. Apply to the top tiers (Cal, LA, SD), as well as some privates that pique your interest.</p>
<p>The reason I say aim higher is because, academically, your GPA is virtually the same as mine. I took 4 AP’s junior year, and took 5 senior year. My SAT’s were 2050, and I was considered a “high-achiever.” I applied as a Computer Engineering major, which is impacted, and got in. Computer Science isn’t impacted depending on the UC, and I believe at UCSB, it isn’t. If you plan on getting 2100 in SAT’s, you have a higher chance of getting into a top-tier.
Despite that, engineering and computer science at UCSB is lauded a lot - sometimes said to be better than UCLA’s or UCSD’s.</p>
<p>Also, you want to realize something about UCSB Computer Science - we have three different departments of Computer Science: a BA in the College of Letters and Science, a BS in the College of Engineering, and a BS in the College of Creative Studies.
Since you’re really into Comp. Sci., then I suggest the BS options.</p>
<p>The College of Creative Studies BS is a bit more fancy - you have more of a chance to do research with your professor while taking upper division courses. If you’ve excelled and have done advanced work, some upper division courses will be waived which reduces your time needed to graduate - always awesome. It’s certainly special.
You can find a description about Computer Science at the College of Creative Studies [url="<a href="http://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/computer_science/“]here[/url”>http://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/computer_science/"]here[/url</a>].
I don’t believe any other UC (or college) has this type of program. It allows for incredible opportunity within the field, as well as the opportunity for a closer relationship with your professors - always helpful.</p>
<p>I doubt I’ll get into top tier as their Average admittance UC GPA is 4.1 or so, mine is 3.6.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it. It’s good to know UCSB is my safe school, since it’s pretty good for engineering. What is a BA/BS, and what are the different colleges available? Do I select which one when I apply to the UC?</p>
<p>When you apply to the UCs, definitely write about your vacation and how it changed your habits in your personal statement. It might make the difference, they like to see that type of growth in students.</p>
<p>A BA is a Bachelor of Arts degree - it applies to two categories: liberal arts degrees and, for lack of better words, “watered down” math/science degrees. A BA in Computer Science is less… involved… or in depth than a BS in Computer Science.
A BS is a Bachelor of Science degree - the standard first degree in most math/science degrees and liberal arts degrees. A BS usually needs more classes on the major to be taken than a BA math/science degree.
Hence why I told you to look at the BS’s. You seem to know you really want to do CompSci (I extrapolated that from your 2 summer Intro to CompSci and Intro to C++ classes, and how well you did).
Of course, taking a BS in CompSci doesn’t mean you’re stuck with it. If you find something else you like better, you can always switch and still make it within four years, as long as you don’t switch too late.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Your first request in the above quote is ambiguous - I’m not sure if you mean what UC’s there are, or what colleges within UCSB. I think you already know what UC’s there are, so I’m going to assume the latter.
The different colleges within UCSB (for undergraduates):
College of Letters and Science
College of Engineering
College of Creative Studies</p>
<p>College of Letters and Science - like most similarly named segments within other universities - encompasses the majority of the majors offered at UCSB (haha… majority… majors; I should be an English major…). What was it… 60% of the students are within that college? The BA in Computer Science is offered there - but that’s for non-hardcore people. Don’t worry about that, unless you want more information about it.</p>
<p>College of Engineering covers all of the engineering majors offered at UCSB, as well as Computer Science (since it’s so related to engineering, anyway). The BS degree in CompSci offered at the College of Engineering is more specialized (technical/in-depth, you can say) and is the standard degree for most undergraduates wishing to major in Computer Science.</p>
<p>The College of Creative Studies is a college that’s unique to UCSB, and, is the smallest of the three undergraduate colleges. If I have my facts straight, only around 350 undergraduates go to the College of Creative studies - that’s because there are only *eight[/] majors offered within that college. Those in the College of Creative Studies are said to be given more opportunities than standard students, which can be seen on the [Wikipedia</a> page](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_Creative_Studies"]Wikipedia”>College of Creative Studies - Wikipedia) about it. It’s incredibly interesting, and makes me wish I had signed up for that right off the bat. The good part about it is that the CCS accepts admissions into it throughout the year, so if you decide that you suddenly want to be a little bit more special in the middle of Winter quarter, you can apply for the Spring quarter, I believe.</p>
<p>And, yes, you select which kind of degree you want on your UC application, when you apply.</p>
<p>And, hey, don’t worry about apologizing. We were all clueless at one point. Since I’m an incoming freshman this year, I don’t know a lot - all of this is from research I’ve done in the past. I’m glad to be of any service to future undergrads, no matter where you end up. =]
Oh, and always shoot higher than you expect. You never know what might happen… Lotta jackass friends of mine who didn’t deserve to get into certain schools got into certain schools. Hopefully, you’ll be one of them. x]</p>
<p>Dang! I got in with a 30 ACT and a 1930 SAT! Barely any volunteer work, no clubs, just sports! I got a 4.6 though so I’m pretty sure that is the sole reason I got in!</p>
<p>I was accepted into my 2nd choice major (electrical engineering) with a 3.93 GPA and a 32 ACT with decent ECs and a kickass essay. My first choice major was MechE. I think I was pretty much borderline and lucky because a lot of my friends had around the same stats, even higher, and literally none of them got in for engineering. Try to beast that ACT. Computer science should be easier though. Also, UCs tend to be very weird with admissions. I was waitlisted at Davis, accepted at Santa Cruz, and rejected everywhere else (didn’t apply to Merced or Riverside). Good luck!</p>
<p>blingdoop is right when it comes to UC admissions; my friend equated it to the admissions officers taking the stacks of paper and throwing them down a flight of stairs - the ones that reached the bottom steps were admitted.
In short: it’s so incredibly, frustratingly arbitrary.
People who don’t deserve to get in will get in. People who deserve to get in won’t. It’s so random and almost evil.</p>
<p>My AP Lang/AP Lit teacher, who I regard in the highest of esteems, put it the best way I’ve heard when it comes to the college essays:
</p>
<p>The best advice I have for you, and any future undergrads, is to completely disregard any rejection letters from any college. Just because you didn’t get into LA or Cal doesn’t mean that other people are better than you - it just means that the admissions officer was on crack that day. You will end up where you belong - have faith in that.</p>
<p>If you’re curious, I was accepted to CPSLO, Davis - rejected other UC’s (didn’t apply to Merced, Riverside, or Santa Cruz).
To be honest, my application to UCSB was actually a fluke - at the time of application, I thought UCSB was a horrible school. Once I did research on it, after my rejection from UCSD, I realized that I wanted to go there more than Davis. =]</p>