Hopeless Student for College?

<p>I am an Asian senior from a top 100 high school in California. My UC GPA is 2.85, however, if you count my freshman year it is 3.5. I will also most likely get a 4.0 this semester. I am aiming for a business-related major, and want to go to law school later on.
SAT 1- 680 CR
600-M
610-W
SAT 2- Literature-600
US History-630
I plan on taking the SAT 1 again, with hopes of a 2000 or above.
APUSH- 3
Sophmore/Junior Year
Honors English 2- B,C
Alg. 2/Trig- C,C
French 3-B,A
Honors World History-A,B
Chemistry-B,C
Athletics(PE)-A,A
Junior Year
CP English 3-B,A
Pre.Calc Honors-D,D(Super hard class)
AP Bio-D,C (Also difficult for me)
AP French 4-C,C
AP US History-C,B
Athletics-A,A
ECS
MUN
4 years varsity tennis
9 years piano
1st degree black belt in tae kwon do
National Honor Society
Tutor younger high school students every week for free.
Can I even apply to any UCs under any circumstances? I don't want to apply to any cal states besides Cal SLO and the other schools I were considering included NYU, Boston University, and USC which seem right now like insane reaches. Anyone want to help me out and suggest any colleges?</p>

<p>Would your chance be better at some of the less “popular” UCs - such as UC Merced? Does anyone know if getting accepted at UC Merced or UC Riverside is easier with a less than stellar GPA?</p>

<p>I’ve heard that Calif is considering putting a med school at UC Merced to help with its enrollment.</p>

<p>I would absolutely apply to Merced and Riverside, but does anyone know if I can somehow bypass the 3.0 minimum eligibility to apply to UCs? Is the 3.0 a firm minimum or is it just a warning to kids with subpar gpas?</p>

<p>^ I would absolutely NOT apply to any UCs. From my understanding, you will automatically get rejected since you have less than a 3.0. It would just be a waste of money. If you’re really serious about Riverside and Merced I would recommend emailing admissions about it, but I suspect they are going to tell you the same thing. </p>

<p>Look into CSUs again, they seem to be a good bet for you. They’re not prestigious and I guess that kind of sucks, but you can get a good education there and then go to law school.</p>

<p>As for other school, have you thought about liberal arts colleges? There are many that are less selective like Beloit, Rhodes, and others. What about somewhere like Chapman University or University of Redlands?</p>

<p>You would be the perfect candidate for Indiana University and its Kelley Business school. It has a stellar reputation (think top 15 in nation).</p>

<p>I am a California native and a UCI graduate…Furthermore, my entire family graduated from Calif schools…UCI, UCLA, USC, UCSD, CSUF, CSULB, San Jose St, UCBerkeley, USD, Loyola Marymount, Cal Poly SLO, UCD, UCR, USF, Pepperdine, Stanford, U Redlands…so I’m pretty familiar with Calif schools (public and private), and I understand the quality of education that you desire. :)</p>

<p>My Hubby went to Purdue and Iowa, and as I mentioned I went to UCI, and we can honestly tell you that the quality of education is very high at UA. We have 2 kids there now.</p>

<p>University of Alabama has a very strong business school… Culverhouse School of Commerce and Business [The</a> Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration](<a href=“http://www.cba.ua.edu/]The”>http://www.cba.ua.edu/)</p>

<p>UA also has a very good law school, but if you want to go Ivy or similar, many graduates do get accepted to those very top law schools, too.</p>

<p>UA is not expensive for an OOS student. Plus, UA accepts all your grades from all of your hs classes, so your GPA will be at least a 3.5 (maybe higher since UA counts P.E. and electives, too). UA accepts the whatever the highest GPA is written on your high school transcript…including the weighted GPA.</p>

<p>You would also qualify for admittance into the Honors College. [Honors</a> College - University Honors](<a href=“http://honors.cbhp.ua.edu/index.php?page=uhp]Honors”>http://honors.cbhp.ua.edu/index.php?page=uhp)</p>

<p>UA has a beautiful campus - lovely buildings and residence halls… </p>

<p>Here’s a link to its virtual tour… [url=<a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama]Virtual</a> Campus Tour - The University of Alabama<a href=“I%20recommend%20viewing%20in%20full%20screen.”>/url</a> Click on the various icons on the bottom to see different parts of the campus.</p>

<p>Since UA includes all classes for GPA (including weighted GPA), you likely would qualify for an automatic Collegiate Scholar scholarship for Out of State students if you apply for the school and scholarship by Dec 1…see below</p>

<p>UA scholarships for Out of State Students…</p>

<p>Capstone Scholar
An out-of-state first-time freshman student who meets the December 1st scholarship priority deadline, has a 27 ACT or 1210-1240 SAT score and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a Capstone Scholar and will receive $1,500 per year ($6,000 over four years). </p>

<p>Collegiate Scholar
An out-of-state first-time freshman student who meets the December 1st scholarship priority deadline, has a 28-29 ACT or 1250-1320 SAT score and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a Collegiate Scholar and will receive $3,500 per year ($14,000 over four years). </p>

<p>UA Scholar
An out-of-state first time freshman student who meets the December 1st scholarship priority deadline, has a 30-31 ACT or 1330-1390 SAT score and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a UA Scholar and will receive 2/3 tuition for four years.</p>

<p>Presidential Scholar
An out-of-state first-time freshman student who meets the December 1st scholarship priority deadline, has a 32-36 ACT or 1400-1600 SAT score and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a Presidential Scholar and will receive the value of out-of-state tuition for four years.</p>

<p>alright thanks, i’ll look into ua and indiana. So, I have basically no hope of a UC unless i go to community college?</p>

<p>It sounds like the 3.0 GPA rule at UCs is going to keep you out. Unfortunately, the california schools are in “cut back” mode right now…not leniency mode.</p>

<p>do you guys think i have any chance at bu, nyu, or usc? Or are those insane reaches also?</p>

<p>Those schools would also be high reaches considering your stats. </p>

<p>I know it can be upsetting when your stats don’t meet the requirements for dream schools and such. But, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be happy at many other schools. </p>

<p>If money is no object, you might want to also try…Holy Cross, Providence, or Marist, Marquette, SLU, any of the Loyolas…these have good pre-law/business types of programs.</p>

<p>yeah, but my parents aren’t really interested in paying private school money for LACs. Any other major universities to consider?</p>

<p>Try Tulane or the Colorado School of Mines. Also, have you looked into University of the Pacific?</p>

<p>If you’re planning to live in CA after graduating, your best bet is probably to bite the bullet and go to a CC for 2 years. Your scores show you have potential, so put it to good use at the CC and shoot for Haas or UCLA biz econ.</p>

<p>While UA might provide a good education, I don’t know a thing about it, I would think you’d be much better off with a UC degree if you don’t plan to work in the South. Indiana also places mostly in the MW.</p>

<p>Don’t let the initial pricetag of a private school scare away your parents. They have TONS of aid (well, ignore Santa Clara). They can be just as cheap as publics.</p>

<br>

<br>

<p>The OP’s parents’ income is too high for aid at nearly all privates. Privates (except for ivies) don’t give aid to high incomes. His parents are willing to pay for national universities. They don’t like LACs. (Frankly, I’m surprised that they know the difference…most parents don’t.)</p>

<p>oh, and, privates don’t have “tons of aid”…who told you that??? Most privates have rather small endowments and mostly give F/A packages that are mostly student loans.</p>

<p>yeah my parents combined income is 105k a year.</p>

<p>so right now, what should my safeties and matches be? I’ll going to apply to nyu and usc, but I’m also thinking about throwing in U of Washington, Indiana, and Arizona State University? Any other suggestions?</p>

<p>anyone??? bump</p>

<br>

<br>

<p>Forget about USC or NYU…neither is going to like that your grades dropped after freshman year. Don’t waste your time with their lengthy app process. Your D’s in pre-cal and your C’s in other classes are going to hurt. If you insist, pick one as your “reach,” but don’t expect much.</p>

<p>So, have your parents given you a firm commitment that they’ll pay $50+k per year for a private school? Seriously, you need to get a commitment out of your parents. Both parents.</p>

<p>Even the more desirable CSUs might not accept you if they don’t count 9th year grades. Because your GPA is low, you need to apply to more forgiving schools that will allow you to use your freshmen grades and won’t care if you slipped a bit during the middle of your school years.</p>

<p>Some possible schools…</p>

<p>Azusa Pacifica</p>

<p>University of San Francisco</p>

<p>University of Alabama - UA will count your freshman grades and all your electives…and they have a great business school [The</a> Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration](<a href=“http://www.cba.ua.edu/]The”>http://www.cba.ua.edu/) And, UA has unusually low OOS tuiton for a flagship University. UA is ranked higher than many of your other options.</p>

<p>Look into Cal States — SLO, Long Beach, San Fransisco and San Diego would all be great fits. Also consider liberal arts/private colleges — Redlands, University of San Diego, etc.</p>

<p>If you’re Christian, maybe Azusa Pacific, Cal Baptist, Cal Lutheran, Biola, etc.</p>