- How important are SAT and ACT scores there? On their websites, they seem to treat SAT similarly to other colleges, but from talking to others and reading forums, it seems that they hold these to a very high regard. Is a strong SAT preferable to a strong GPA, or vice-versa?
- How does score choice work there? I'm not sure if I completely understand their score choice policy, but from what I understand, one does not have to send all SAT subject tests? I'm hoping this is true, as subject tests were 770,580,770 (math, physics, us history), and I would like to avoid giving out that 580 to colleges.
- How much does school quality matter relative to GPA (general question, I guess). Naturally, I assume someone who gets a 3.5 in a private college-prep school would not be considered lower than someone who is homeschooled and got a 4.0, but how do colleges account for this?
- How important is senior year? I've seen that they don't use senior year grades in the general application, but that they look at course vigor, and sometimes will look at your grades to see if you've improved. How important is this?
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Test scores are considered “Very Important” for all UC Campuses, but they do tend to be more UC GPA focused vs. test scores. For the top UC’s, you need both competitive GPA and Test scores to have a decent chance for an acceptance.
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Score choice only works for the SAT subject tests, you can select which subject tests you want to send since they are only “recommended” and not required. Subject tests are not weighted as heavily as your SAT I/ACT score and the UC’s want all of the SAT/ACT scores but will only consider the highest score from a single sitting.
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School quality is factored into your admission decison. Attending a competitive school will be considered along with what types of classes are available at your school. Students are not penalized not taking many AP/IB courses if they are not available. Each school sends a School Report which states which classes are offerred, what are the school averages etc…
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Senior year grades will be considered for your HS course rigor, making sure you complete your a-g courses and for maintaining your provisional admission. If you do not pass your Senior courses, your admission can be rescinded.
Only in special circumstances will the UC’s consider your Senior grades in their admission decison ie. receiving a supplemental review or being placed on the waitlist or appealing your decision.
What UC’s consider “Very Important”: UC GPA, Test scores, HS course rigor and personal insight questions.
EC’s, awards, volunteering activities, special talents are considered “Important”.
First generation college student, Geographic location, State Residency and work experience are considered also.
Thanks for the reply! Very helpful.
If you have specific UC campuses you are interested in researching/applying, I have a more detailed breakdown of their application review considerations.
I was looking at the UCSB campus as a safety. Unfortunately, I’m an out of state student so it might not be as financially viable as other safeties that offer the same quality of education. I think that with my academic profile, UCLA and UCB would be a “maybe” (around 25%) school for me. Does this sound reasonable to you? UC gpa (according to online calculator): 3.9, high proportion of honors/ap courses taken relative to courses offered, very high school quality (average sat 1350) SAT: 1550, ACT: 33, Subject tests 770, 770, (580). ECs are okay, but could have more leadership and missing academic awards due to competitive nature of school (member of top state orchestra, one of the top 8 debaters in state, recipient of extremely competitive selective music scholarship, etc…). If it helps, massive improvement in 10th grade UC gpa vs 11th grade UC gpa.
Doing a little more research (on naviance), apparently my “converted” GPA (4) falls right in the national average for those accepted to UCLA and UCB, and it says I’m on “great” track for these schools… a far cry from 25% which I had estimated myself at.
The average UC GPA for admitted students at both UCLA/UCB for the capped weighted UC GPA was around a 4.2 for 2017 admits. OOS applicant averages are slightly higher. You are a competitive applicant but if UC GPA is correct, it is below average for all but 3 of the UC campuses at a 3.9.
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 12.6%
UCLA: 11.7%
UCSD: 38.7%
UCSB: 53.6%
UCD: 56.5%
UCI: 52.1%
UCSC: 75.7%
UCR: 90.1
UCM: 96.1%
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 4.20 or above:
UCB: 42.7%
UCLA: 47.2%
UCSD: 84.2%
UCSB: 82.0%
UCD: 90.3%
UCI: 94.1%
UCSC: 92.7%
UCR: 97.5
UCM: 98.1%
UC’s are very GPA focused so below a 4.0 will be tough. Also do not expect any financial aid so paying around $65K/ year should be considered. Definitely run the Net price calculators. OOS admissions are also now capped at all campuses so a more difficult admit for the top UC’s.
Thanks again. I suppose it’s worth applying to if my chances are about 10%, if not for options.
If the UC’s are affordable, yes it is worth applying. Stats alone cannot tell you your chances. Your EC’s and essays will all contribute to your chances and they all have a “holisitic” application review.
Here is what UCLA and UCB look at when reviewing the applications:
- BERKELEY
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Very important: Academic GPA, Application essay, Rigor of secondary school record, Standardized test scores -
Important: Extracurricular activities, Volunteer work, Work experience -
Considered: Character/personal qualities, First generation college student, State residency, AP/IBLH exam scores -
Note: Thorough review of academic performance; likely contribution to intellectual and cultural vitality of the campus; diversity in personal background and experience; demonstrated qualities in leadership, motivation, concern for others and community; non-academic achievement in the performing arts, athletics or employment; demonstrated interest in major. - LOR’s by invitation only as of 2017
Division (L&S, CNR, CoC, CED, CoE) matters for admission selectivity.
Within CoE (but not the other divisions), major matters for admission selectivity. Changing majors within the CoE after enrolling is not guaranteed, unless one is CoE undeclared.
Note that L&S admits students as undeclared; admission to capped majors (e.g. CS, economics, psychology, ORMS, statistics, art practice, and a few others) is by college GPA in prerequisite courses (and portfolio for art practice) after attending for a few semesters.
The business major is in a separate division and admits students in a competitive holistic process. Frosh intending business majors begin in another division (usually L&S), take the business major prerequisites, and apply (usually in their second years). They also need to take prerequisites for a backup major in case they are not admitted to the business major.
* LOS ANGELES
- Very important: Academic GPA, Application essay, Rigor of secondary school record, Standardized test scores
- Important: Character/personal qualities, Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Volunteer work, Work experience
- Considered: First generation college student, Geographical residence, AP/IBHL exam scores
- Note: GPA, test scores, course work, number of and performance in honors and AP courses most important. Essay considered. Strong senior program important. Extracurricular activities, honors and awards also reviewed. For the College of Letters and Science, the applicant's major is not considered during the review process. The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science admits students by declared major, with more emphasis on science and math programs. The School of Nursing also places more emphasis on science and math programs and requires the submission of an additional supplemental application. The School of the Arts and Architecture; Herb Alpert School of Music; and the School of Theater, Film and Television admit students by declared major (within the school), and put more emphasis on special talents through a review of portfolios and/or auditions, which are the most significant admission factors for these schools.
If you are using the Rogerhub UC GPA calculator, the GPA that the UCs use for publishing admissions percentages is the Weighted and Capped GPA. (as an FYI, for OOS, only AP classes and dual-enrollment classes are eligible for adding weight to the GPA, with a maximum of 8 semesters ie 4 AP classes). Also if you have grades for specialty classes, for example PE or Robotics or Auto Body Repair that are not on the California a-g list, these grades should be omitted from the GPA calculation.
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/admissions-source-school
You can use that to show you the mid point GPA for freshman admissions to each UC and from each CA HS.
You are going to hate hearing this but, all the UCs heavily weigh GPA. They don’t give a lot of wiggle room for applicants from competitive high schools. There is some - look up your HS and compare it’s avg GPA with others.
With a 3.9 and 1550 from a really competitive HS, , I’d assess you chances like this:
UCB -unlikely
UCLA -unlikely
UCSD -unlikely
UCSB - coin toss
UCI - coin toss
UCD - coin toss
UCSC- likely
UCR - likely
UCM - Safety
I would also apply to SDSU as a safety
Good luck
Interesting, thanks for the help. Avg. gpa at my school is a 3.69 I think? A lot of people that I have a better academic record than have (apparently) gotten into ucsb easily (not sure how they weight this). According to naviance, out of those applying to LA and Berkeley about 1/3 of the 78 people that applied were accepted.
OOS acceptance #’s tend to be higher for the UC’s in comparison to in-state applicants but there are far less OOS applicants applying and even a smaller percentage enrolling due to costs. UC’s offer little to no FA to OOS students, so many will be accepted but many cannot afford to attend and UC’s are aware of their lower OOS yield. I would be curious to know if 1/3 of the 78 applicants that were accepted, how many ultimately enrolled at UCLA and UCB?
with a 3.7 your best shot at a UC will be UCM. UCR will be a coin toss and the rest will be unlikely. UCs have some subjectivty to their admissions so, apply to any that interest you, a compelling application might get you in… but don’t count on it. Honestly they wouldn’t be worth the tuition…I would suggest you focus elsewhere.
If you are from a Western State, there’s a program called WUE which discounts tuition at some of the public colleges in the 15 states that participate. UCM, CP Pomona and Chico all participate
see the full list here:
http://wue.wiche.edu/search_results.jsp?searchType=all
I think about 2/5th of the people accepted enrolled? @Ncalrent 3.7 is average at my school, not my own. In general, I think my focus should be outside the UCs to be honest. My high school performance was strong, excluding a very weak sophmore year.