Hi I am a senior in high school currently and I just got my ACT score which was surprisingly very good in comparison to my gpa and I was wondering what you all think my chances are in getting into the colleges on my list/if there are any I should ask?
Information:
Gender: Female
Race: Asian
Major applying to all schools: Communications/media studies/advertising
ACT score: 35
unweighted gpa: 3.58
school gpa is out of 4.0 but I calculated my weighted to be 3.9
Colleges I am applying to:
reach(?):
BU, NYU, Pitzer, USC, all the UCs-Riverside/Santa Cruz, UW, Cal Poly,
match:
Chapman, Pepperdine, Occidental, SCU, UC Riverside, UCSC
safety: CSULB
APs/Honors taken:
freshman year: bio honors, accelerated algebra 2
sophomore year: AP EURO (4) english honors adv. journalism
junior year:
adv. journalism
AP CALC AB (4)
AP US HISTORY (3)
AP LANG (5)
AP CAPSTONE SEMINAR (4)
senior year:
AP GOV
AP ECON
AP LIT
AP STATS
adv. journalism
Activities:
I’m prioritizing talking about journalism which I hold a board position in and have been in for 3 years to add to my communications major but also I did peer tutoring for 2 years, summer job working in an English summer camp, and clubs (Secretary of Autism-Interaction Club where I work with the special ed kids at our school every week, VP of volunteer club, treasurer of a elementary school coding club)
I live in California but norcal, not socal, I am also applying to the local state university as a safety I forgot to mention! No SAT subject tests and my UC gpa is
unweighted UC gpa: 3.57
weighted UC gpa: 4.00
Weighted and capped gpa: 3.86
What are my chances for some of the colleges on my list?
CSULB would be a safety based on your GPA and Test scores.
Cal Poly Pomona would be a safety also. Cal Poly SLO would be a slight Reach with a 20% acceptance rate for Communications and a GPA below the average of 4.04.
For the UC’s, your target schools would be UC Merced, Riverside and Santa Cruz. UC Davis, Irvine and Santa Barbara could be possible but UC’s tend to be very GPA focused.
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%
Out of the private schools listed, Chapman is probably a Match. Not sure about Pepperdine, Occidental or SCU. UW GPA is a bit low of these schools. EC’s, LOR’s and ACT could make up for the GPA.
Your gpa and ec’s are on the low side for BU, but your class load and test scores are on track for accepted students. I think it would be a bit of a reach considering how competitive their admissions have gotten. Also just a tip: if you do end up applying to BU, do NOT report any AP exam score lower than a 4. A lot of the admissions people will tell you that they want you to report all of your AP scores but it actually lowers your chances if you have a lower score on your application. I also think you need to show demonstrated interest in the school since it is a reach for you, as BU does emphasize this