DIdn't get into UC Davis with 35 ACT

Applying to College
1

I just read the email containing my decision from UCD this morning, and I am shocked to find that I was denied admission.

Here are my stats:

(Applied for Computer Science and Engineering)

3.8-3.9 UW GPA ~4.5 weighted (4.08 UC GPA)
9 AP’s total including senior year
35/34 ACT (taken twice)
1920 SAT
800 Math Level 2, 800 Chem, 800 Physics SAT 2’s
Robotics club, church leadership, library volunteering, cello for EC’s
I wrote my first essay on my moves and how they shaped me as a person, and my second essay on

I agree that my EC’s are very weak, but I thought I still had a strong shot I am so stressed out atm, not because I got denied to Davis, but because I applied to UCLA and Berkeley (which is my dream school). Now, I feel like I will 100% get denied at UCLA and Berkeley (applied to EECS, which is nearly impossible to get into), and I’m honestly hopeless. I have never heard of anyone with my stats get denied at UC Davis, and this is a bit traumatizing. Do I have any hope at getting into UCLA or Berkeley? Also, what are some possible reasons I might have gotten denied? I’m killing myself at the moment because I feel like I got denied because of my 1920 SAT (which I had to submit if I wanted to submit my SAT 2’s)…

Thanks in advance for the responses.

2

try to relax and wait til other notifications come in. could be ‘tufts syndrome’ - google it.

3

I still think you have a decent chance to get into one of the two. So don’t lose hope.

4

More evidence that you should believe UC when they say that they practice holistic admissions! Every year scores of rejected applicants take to CC and complain about being rejected despite high scores. Obviously they aren’t enough.

5

I agree that UCs practice holistic admissions, but this is a bit depressing. Have you ever heard of someone with a near perfect score get denied to Davis? I understand if it’s Cal or UCLA, but it’s Davis.

6

Yeah, I’m betting that Davis figured that your stats suggested they won’t need to save a seat for you in August.

And in terms of sending that lower SAT, they don’t need to report that because they can use your ACTs and really, that is the primary reason for the obsession about the scores-for schools to game the US News ratings. So sending a low score would not be held against you.

7

@Lseraphim2 my son is in the same boat. He got waitlisted with a 35 ACT, 2190 SAT, 800 Math2, 800 Physics and pretty good EC’s. He’s worried about Berkeley as well. Computer Science major

8

Seems like a lot of quality applicants got Waitlisted at Davis this year

9

Are you instate or out of state? If you are out of state, that may have been a factor. Or maybe there was something in your essays that they viewed negatively.

10

The computer science major seems to be very competitive at most schools. I don’t think you can say you were denied because the UC’s are practicing more holistic admissions––I don’t really think there’s an explanation of why you were denied. But, would someone with a 35 ACT, 3 800 Subject tests, and 3.9UW GPA really fit in at UC Davis? I’m not sure.

11

I was in-state too… :frowning: I saw other admits with low 30s ACT get in, so I’m just confused as to what made them look at my application so negatively.

12

But were those accepted with lower ACT scores in the same major? That makes a HUGE difference. My son was rejected by UCD as well. In his case, I did see others in his degree with lower stats, but in each case they were either OOS or first generation. The First Generation bonus seems to be a really big deal this year at the UCs.

13

Your major is probably one of the most popular ones, so it probably had a higher threshold for admission than other majors. UC Davis says that “alternate majors may be considered” (in http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/freshman-admission-matrix.pdf ); did you indicate an alternate major, and what was it?

14

UC admissions decisions are so unpredictable that this says nothing about your chances at Cal and UCLA. You roll the dice. Sometimes you win; sometimes you crap out. It stinks. Please don’t let it get you down. You are one of many stellar candidates who will be disappointed by a very arbitrary admissions process.

15

Scores aren’t everything, important yes, but not a gaurantee of admission. Also, major matters a lot. I don’t think you should worry about cal or ucla. Maybe ucd recognized that you might be an easy admit at either of those two?

16

Yes. Low 30s ACT for Computer Science & Engineering (my major).

17

Looking at the decisions thread for UC Davis, there is a trend of overqualified applicants being waitlisted. Why would Davis do that? Just wondering.

18

But what were the other students’ GPAs?

UCs are generally thought to look at GPA as being more important than SAT or ACT scores.

The essays also matter.

19

@brendalil Agreed.

20

Every UC will review each applicant independently based on the 14 areas of criteria listed on the UC website. Each campus will view every applicants essays, EC’s, GPA,test scores differently and try to find the students that best fit their campus (holistic review). UC’s also favor applicants from disadvantaged socioeconomic circumstances and first generation students. If you want admission decisions based only on stats, then consider the CSU’s which only rely in GPA and Test scores. No one can really predict admission results with so many variables. All any applicant can do is apply and hope for the best. Remember, which college you attend will not define you. It is what you do with the opportunities you are given.