Do I still stand a chance in UC Computer Science admissions with 2 C's in AP Calculus AB

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
1

Particularly UC Santa Cruz or Riverside.

I also had another question: How can admissions officers see if a class was significantly harder than standard expectations?

  • Would SAT Math II 800, taken Physics 1/2 with 4 A's, or community college CS courses with A's help? Also, a 5 on the AP Calculus AB Exam
2

What is your UC GPA Capped weighted, Unweighted and Fully weighted?

SAT/ACT scores?

Yes, an SAT Math II of 800 and A’s in CC courses would help but it will come down to how your GPA and test scores compare.

3

High scores are an advantage on an application, low grades are a disadvantage, both compared to the alternative. They all go into a portfolio of data points that admissions evaluates.

Very few applications are perfect. Each low grade/score has a minor impact - just don’t pile up a lot of them.

AO’s won’t know that a course was “harder than standard” as I’m not sure that has any meaning. Unless there is something extraordinary that a counselor is willing to include in their recommendation (“teacher gave all 20 students C and D grades and then was fired”), don’t try to make excuses.

4

A

Unweighted GPA: 3.65
Weighted GPA: 4.04
Weighted and Capped GPA: 3.96

SAT: 1430 (650 Reading/Writing, 780 Math, 8/7/8 Essay)

with a very rigorous schedule for junior and sophomore year

(not including two CC courses that I got A’s in, that are both CS related)

5

I wanted to know if like a 5 on the AP exam shows that my class was significantly harder? (maybe more pity for a bad grade?), Anyways, I didn’t really complain, but I mentioned on my apps that the class was very difficult (considering my schedule). However, I learned from it and chose to challenge myself to success my senior year.

Any thoughts on that?

6

I would not comment on the difficulty of the course. Having a 800 Math SAT II score and a 5 on the AP Calculus exam basically speaks for itself that you are no slouch in Math. Since the UC’s do not accept counselor recommendations, I would not address this issue yourself.

UC’s will review your application as a whole so if you have done well with your other courses, a few outliers will not be as significant as a downward trend. For UCSC and UCR, you look solid. Best of luck.

2018 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 10%
UCLA: 9%
UCSD: 34%
UCSB: 38%
UCD: 41%
UCI: 38%
UCSC: 70%
UCR: 84%
UCM: 95%

2019 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range:
UCB: 4.23 (4.15-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.32)
UCSD: 4.16 (4.03-4.28)
UCSB: 4.16 (4.04-4.28)
UCI: 4.13 (4.00-4.25)
UCD: 4.13 (4.00-4.26)
UCSC: 3.96 (3.76-4.16)
UCR: 3.90 (3.69-4.11)
UCM: 3.73 (3.45-4.00)

2019 Data:
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT totals:
UCB: 1340-1540

UCLA: 1330-1550
UCSD: 1300-1520
UCSB: 1280-1520
UCD: 1230-1490
UCI: 1250-1510
UCSC: 1200-1450
UCR: 1130-1400
UCM: 1020-1290

7

I have a similar issue to yours! @Gumbymom would it be fine to comment about how one found a course difficult, but decided to improve and put extensive effort their senior year, or its better not to comment on it (let the scores speak for themselves)

8

@HighSchoolKid123: I would give you the same advice as @JoeGamer112 and not comment about the course difficulty and let the scores show your proficiency.

9

i think both UCR and UCSC are matches for you.

Be sure to include a safety or two in your application cycle. SDSU and CPP would be good.