Hi there guys! Let me just say thank you for taking the time to, read this post as an upcoming senior I am incredibly worried about getting admitted into colleges in general; looking at UC and Claremont Schools going in as a Physics Major. Wondering if any of you guys have suggestions for colleges for me as I am a California resident and I only want to stay in California for school. Here are my stats:
Weighted GPA: 4.5
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
UC GPA: 4.31
Class Rank: Top 2%
AP Tests: Chemistry - 3 , Calc BC - 5 , Calc AB Subscore - 5
ACT: Composite - 29 (33 Math, 32 English, 27 Science, 24 Reading) {Will definitely retake this fall for hopefully a 30}
Extracurricular: Played baseball for 2 years up until JV (left afterwards due to injury), Vice President of tutoring program at local elementary school, Work out two times a week with the baseball trainer, On Board of the Foreign Language Club for Spanish, Had internship at Moores Cancer Center over this summer, Work for Help the Children to give back to the community, Volunteered at local church (soup kitchen) as I was going through Confirmation.
Senior Course Load: AP Physics, English 12, AP Stats, AP Spanish, AP Gov, AP Econ
I also have 3 teachers in core subject that have already agreed to write a letter of recommendation for me. Mom went to UCI and uncle works and went to UCSD, if that matters.
Thanks in advance to anyone who reads or replies to this forum, I appreciate it. 
Legacy not considered by UC’s. If you uncle is a Professor at UCSD it may help, but since UCSD does not accept LOR’s, not sure how the connection could help you there?
Your GPA is competitive but you need to bump up your ACT to at least 32+ for most of the Claremont colleges and top UC’s (UCLA/UCB). If you can get your test scores up, look at USC also. UCSB has a very good physics department and you might want to check the College of Creative Studies.
https://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/
With current stats, the Mid-tier UC’s (UCI/UCSB/UCD) are good Match schools. Get your scores up and UCSD/UCB and UCLA are within reach. Make sure you have some safeties such as UCR/UCSC.
Good Luck.
Thank you for the response once again Gumbymom really appreciate it and your promptness. My uncle is an assistant professor at UCSD.
Also, do you have any private recommendation as well; such as Santa Clara University or Oxy?
A 30 is not competitive for Mudd, Pomona, or CMC.
What about for Pitzer or other privates? @intparent
I am not sure of the strength of the Physics programs at SCU and Occidental. USC is another school to consider if you get your test scores up. Pitzer might be possible. I second Cal Poly SLO as a solid choice.
Pitzer is test optional, but it also has only a 13% acceptance rate.
@Gumbymom thank you for your other suggestions and your opinion about the physics program. do you have any other private school suggestions in California that would fit my bill?
Again, not sure about their Physics program, but USF or USD might be some good options. Both are very good private schools just not sure if their sciences are as strong as the UC’s, USC or The Claremont colleges.
USD is a beautiful campus and the kids there seemed happy, enthusiastic and engaged. That said, the day we toured there were five different tour groups. Each group had two guides and before we left, they introduced themselves stating where they were from and what they were studying. It is a small sample size (10 guides) and several had science minors but I didn’t hear any science majors. My kids noticed it as well. “I’m majoring in Spanish with a minor in Biology.” “I’m majoring in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry.” I’m not sure what the requirements are for a minor but it seemed backwards - as if you would major in Chem with a minor in Psych or major in Biology with a minor in Spanish.
@rockydog1 USD looks like a great school for the right kid but look into the science programs and whether or not a Roman Catholic college is a good fit for you.
Do yourself a favor and take a practice SAT test. While the new SAT is closer to the ACT, they are still different, and some students do better on one v. the other. That might be you, so give the SAT a practice run and see if that can be a better result for you.
Schools will accept either SAT or ACT.
Good luck!
Occidental or Cal Poly SLO would be in range with your current test scores.
As others mentioned, UCSB looks like a solid match for you. Their physics department is very, very strong (especially through College of Creative Studies). I believe you’d have a chance with a 29 ACT, but their physics department is very competitive so if you’re able to raise it to a 30+ you should be ok. UCSD has a strong program as well. They released the UC Freshman Profiles for 2016 and UCSB was on par with UCSD for freshman stats, so even with your impressive GPA, I would call it a match (and not a safety). Good luck to you!
@ColdinMinny Hi there! I actually took the new SAT and got a 1350 on it… don’t know if that makes a difference pretty disappointed in the score
@BayAreaRecruiter awesome thank you for the tips! Just saw the UC updates for the freshman profiles and my ACT scores fall in the range for UCSD and UCSB… should I retake or what’s your opinion for at least a 30?
@Rockydog1 that’s a good question, and I think it could be worth it if your practice tests show you doing better than your current score. Your stats are certainly in range when you look at a general freshman profile, however for the UC schools with really strong physics programs (UCB/UCLA/UCSB/UCSD/UCI), in all likelihood their average profile for physics is slightly higher than the general. I know this is true for UCSB, and I’m guessing the others as well but I don’t know for certain. On another note, UCSC has a strong physics program (not as regarded as UCB/UCLA or UCSB), but it’s a strength of UCSC and could be a great safety. UCD is such a wonderful school, but I don’t hear much about their physics program so hopefully others on this thread are more familiar with their program (or hopefully you can meet with the department on a tour). Good luck to you! Keep up the great work!
@BayAreaRecruiter wow thank you for your in depth response I will be applying to all the UC schools, but my main thing is that I want to go into med school and I decided to go in as physics in order to differentiate myself. Is this a smart idea lr should I go in as bio with my profile right now?