(i have copy/ pasted and edited the paragraph below from an email i sent to my counselor)
(i am a resident of California)
i was wondering if you have any information regarding the taking of college courses during the summer. I heard that cerritos offers a program with free tuition for high school students but i also heard that in order to take advantage of this, you have to attend cerritos after high school and finish your degree (this may be rumor but this is what i have heard). The main reason i am interested in this (besides the obvious of knocking off some college credits) is to basically bulk up my college application. I have an unfortunate GPA and no extra curriculars so i need everything i can to make it to a decent UC right out of high school. Which leads me to the following question, do you know what i can do to immensely improve my odds of college acceptance? I know sports help (but i do not have a free period next year) and i know that community service slightly helps; but i was wondering if you had any knowledge of something that gives a bigger bang for the buck, something that really standing out to colleges. I have interest in the medical field so i applied for a high school student intern ship at Kaiser but i found out about it kinda late and i would be surprised if they accepted me (with all the other kids applying before me and such). Do you know of any internships or programs?
Thank you, any guidance you can provide me with would be greatly appreciated.
sincerely
The best way to improve your chances at a UC is to get your grades (GPA) up by taking rigorous HS classes, do well on the ACT/SAT and have a compelling reason for your lower than average grades (which can be addressed by your counselor or yourself in one of the short question essay prompts). UC’s are very GPA focused, so not knowing your Grades (GPA) and test scores, it is difficult to make any suggestions. A paying job would be considered a good EC and it what you learn about yourself as a working student could translate into a very good essay.
weighted gpa of 3.32, i have not taken sat/ sat yet. I am currenly taking challenging cources (ap) and planning on taking more aps my senior year.
Like I stated above, a paying job would be an excellent EC. Internships for HS students are hard to come by and the majority are probably already filled by now. Doing some test prep and getting a good score on your ACT/SAT will help to show you are capable student. Taking AP courses in your Senior year will help with course rigor, but not your GPA since the UC’s only use 10-11th grades in their GPA calculation.
At the end of Junior year, calculate your UC GPA: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Once you have your test scores and GPA, you can then better evaluate your UC chances. As it stands (based on GPA only) , UC Merced and UC Riverside look like the most viable options. If you are a CA resident, consider some of the many good CSU schools along with some privates. Your intended major will have a definite impact on which schools to consider.