How are my chances of getting into a UC?

Applying to College
1

<p>I am currently a senior that is applying to UCs , more specifically San Diego, LA, Santa Barbara, and Irvine. </p>

<p>My weighted UC GPA is 3.86 and my unweighted is 3.5
My SAT is 1660 at the moment but I have intentions of retaking it again and reaching around 1900+. I believe that my academics are strong enough however, I have a weakness in extracurriculars and showing leadership qualities.</p>

<p>It's very disappointing for me to say that I have been minimally involved with clubs on campus because none have really drawn much of my attention. But I also lack volunteer work as well too because I never really thought about how important it would be for college applications, especially UCs. Unfortunately, I am currently a senior and there is not much I can do at this time. </p>

<p>I do have some extracurriculars that do not occur on campus such as piano, and I also happen to run a successful website averaging at 5000 unique hits each day. </p>

<p>How important would you say extracurriculars are in comparison to academic success?</p>

<p>What would you advise me to do and what do you think of my chances of getting into those UCs?</p>

2

<p>Except at LA, Berkeley and maybe SD, your extracurriculars aren’t that important. And your extracurriculars are much more impressive than you give yourself credit for; there are tons of applicants who actually don’t have any, rather than just not focusing on clubs.</p>

<p>Contrary to what you think, the problem is going to be your academics. I’d estimate that your stats are around the 25th percentile of admitted students at SB and Irvine, and 10-15th percentile at SD and LA; that’s not <em>insurmountable</em>, but it gives you a pretty low chance. Boosting your SAT score will help of course, but your GPA is still comfortably below the median at all of those schools. If you want to go to the top UCs, treat them as reaches, and make sure to find match and safety schools you’d be happy to attend if you don’t get in.</p>