How hard is it to get into a UC?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
1

Hi everyone, I’m starting my junior year in hs. I’d like to know your opinion in this:

  1. Is it really that hard to get into a UC?
  2. Are CSU’s bad for pre med? Will it affect my chances of getting into medical school?
  3. with a 4.0 gpa, being on cheer at hs, volunteering at the library and an elementary school regularly, do I have a shot at getting into a UC?
    Thank you!!
2

^^btw, I’m from California:)

3

The UC schools focus on weighted gpa based on a very specific method that they use. If you search under rogershub uc calculator you should be able to find one. That being said most of the UC schools only consider 10-11th grade GPA and the averages are anywhere from 4.0-4.4 depending on the school. Having a 32+ ACT or 2100+ SAT would help a lot too but their main focus seems to be on gpa.

4
  1. It depends on what UC. UC Berkeley and LA are extremely selective while others like UCSC and UC Merced are not.
  2. No. Med schools look at GPA and MCAT, not where you went.
  3. You need to calculate your UC GPA and see what your SAT/ACT scores are like the person above said. If those are your only EC activities, UCB, UCLA, and UCSD may be difficult to get in, but the others should be fine.
5

Would it help to mention that I also dance and take piano and singing lessons? What else could I do to be a better candidate?

6

if you want to go for the more competitive UCs, you may want a leadership positions in a club or something, maybe some work experience from a job or internship. Something small like tutoring is great and easy to do.

But main things for UCs are GPA and SAT/ACT so take care of those first.

7

And essays

8

Here is a link that has the admit rate, average UC GPA, SAT/ACT score for each UC campus for last year:

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/uc-freshman-application-data.pdf

This will give you an idea of how your Stats match against the averages.

UC GPA calculator: http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

As stated by several posters the most important parts of the UC application are GPA, test scores, HS course rigor and essays. EC’s with leadership will also boost your chances.
Your chances for admission will also depend upon your major. Highly competitive and impacted majors will require a higher than average GPA, tests scores etc…

9

Thank you all!!

10

Just remember to have a balanced college list which includes safeties, matches and reaches. CSU’s are excellent options for Match/Safety schools so you might want to consider schools such as Cal Poly SLO, San Diego State, Cal State Long Beach and Fullerton. Good Luck.

11

If you are in the top 9%, your chances of getting into at least the lowest ranked UC (Merced) or the other lower ranked UCs should be good. If your GPA is on the low side for UCs, you can overcome this with a high SAT/ACT score. Work on getting your stats high per stated above. Also, there are many more graduates from the UCs who go to medical schools than graduates from CSUs.