You report all a-g courses and grades from 9th-11th and admissions will see the upward grade trend between 10th-11th. Yes an upward grade trend is helpful especially if your course rigor also increased. If you have a compelling reason for the lower grades in 10th then it can be addressed in your personal insight essays and a 3.6 is not bad. UC’s tend to be more GPA focused vs test focused but your test scores do show you can be a competitive applicant. Your overall application will be reviewed by admissions so it is up to them to decide how much of an impact a year of good grades will make in their decisions.
Econ is impacted/selective/capped at UCLA/UCB/UCSD and UCSB. It will also be considered selective at UCD starting 2021.
UCSC would be your target school while UCI, UCD and UCSB would be within Reach.
For UCB:
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.
https://www.econ.berkeley.edu/undergrad/prospective/freshmen
UCLA:
Complete all pre-major courses with a minimum 2.5 grade point average and a “C” or better in each course. Note that your grade in the Writing II course is not calculated into the pre-major GPA, but you must earn a minimum grade of “C” in it. If you are a transfer student, your grades in pre-major courses taken prior to entering UCLA will be calculated into your pre-major GPA (each course will be calculated as four quarter units). Students may visit the undergraduate counselors in 2263 Bunche to declare the major year-round. Students must declare the major between 72 and 135 units (AP units will not be included if they bring your total over 135).
All courses for both the pre-major and the major must be taken for a letter grade.
You are allowed a maximum of one course repeat in the pre-major and you can repeat that one course one time only.
You must be in good standing at UCLA at the time you apply in order to be considered for admission. This means that you cannot be on Probation or Subject to Dismissal status.
Pre-Major Courses:
Economics 1
Economics 2
Economics 41
Math 31A
Math 31B
Economics 11
Any L&S Writing II Requirement
UCSD:
Students admitted to UC San Diego as freshmen, wanting to declare a major must follow the steps below:
- Meet and complete these two criteria BEFORE your seventh quarter. Students cannot be enrolled in the screening criteria courses in their seventh quarter. When counting quarters, only count Fall, Winter and Spring quarters and DO NOT count summer sessions.
2.5 grade average across Econ 1 and Econ 3
2.0 grade average across Math 20ABC (or 2.7 grade average across Math 10ABC)
- Apply NO LATER than your seventh quarter. When counting quarters, only count Fall, Winter and Spring quarters and DO NOT count summer sessions.
UCSB:
Admittance to the Economics and Economics & Accounting Major at UCSB
To enter the Economics major at UCSB, students must attain a 2.85 GPA or better in three courses: Economics 1, 2, and 10A. In calculating this pre-major GPA, the Economics Department only counts the grades from courses taken at a University of California campus. A student who has completed all courses except Economics 10A at a non UC college or university must earn a B or better in Economics 10A at UCSB. All other pre-major policies apply.
For students who have not met the pre-major GPA requirement, the Department is offering another avenue for admittance to the major. This avenue is open to students who have completed Economics 10A once and receive a grade of C or better. Students cannot have taken the course any other time, even if an “NP” was received in the first attempt. Students meeting these criteria will have two additional opportunities to take a comprehensive exam on the material in Economics 10A.
The first opportunity for the re-take exam is in the beginning of the quarter immediately following the quarter Economics 10A was initially completed, and the second opportunity is the final exam for Economics 10A at the conclusion of the next quarter. Students may take one or both of these exams.
UCI admits into the University first and then into the ECon Major.
UCD admits in the division within the College of Letters and Sciences.
UCSC admits into the University and you must take the Econ pre-req to declare the major.
All students must complete Econ 1, Econ 2 (or the equivalent), the first calculus course (AM/Econ 11A, Math 11A, Math 19A or the equivalent), and meet the required combined 2.8 gpa before declaring the major. We encourage students to declare the major or minor as soon as they have completed these requirements.
Print a Petition for Major/Minor Declaration and Academic Planning Form. Be sure to indicate your expected graduation term (EGT) on the petition. Your EGT can be found in your Student Advising Summary on your MyUCSC Student Portal.
Bring verification of your grades in Econ 1, Econ 2 and your first calculus course (print out an unofficial copy from your student portal).
Attend a Declaration of Major Advising Session.
The most recent UC admission data available.
2018 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 10%
UCLA: 9%
UCSD: 34%
UCSB: 38%
UCD: 41%
UCI: 38%
UCSC: 70%
UCR: 84%
UCM: 95%
2019 UC capped weighted GPA averages:
UCB: 4.23
UCLA: 4.25
UCSD: 4.23
UCSB: 4.16
UCI: 4.13
UCD: 4.13
UCSC: 3.96
UCR: 3.90
UCM: 3.73
2019 Data:
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT totals:
UCB: 1340-1540
UCLA: 1330-1550
UCSD: 1300-1520
UCSB: 1280-1520
UCD: 1230-1490
UCI: 1250-1510
UCSC: 1200-1450
UCR: 1130-1400
UCM: 1020-1290