I have been taking ap classes since 9th grade and have A and B for 9-10th grade. I overloaded myself and i took too many ap and honors classes and my gpa went down. I failed 3 classes but i am going to retake them this summer. I have been involved with many extra curriculars and i plan to take the SAT. I was also going through some family problems in the beginning of my junior year . I’ve been trying to find some hope and do more research but i don’t have much hope for myself. Will i still be able to have a chance at getting into a UC.
I didn't do so well in my junior year of high school will i still have a chance at getting into a UC
Depends on your UC GPA and the specific target UC. If you retake failed courses. UCs will allow for grade replacement of your F grades. However, class must be the exact same. If you failed AP stats retaking a non AP stats class, would not mean grade replacement.
i think my UC gpa is around 3.5 and my gpa is 3.8 after i retake my courses. my goal was UCLA and UCSD
Here is the UC GPA calculator so do not guess, calculate. UC’s will consider all 3 GPA’s, capped weighed, unweighted and fully weighted.
If you applying for Fall 2021, then GPA will be VERY IMPORTANT since test scores are optional.
UC’s in general consider GPA, HS course rigor, test scores and the personal insight essays Very Important. EC’s, special talents, SEAS are also a consideration in their application review.
Below are some UC admit rates based on the Capped weighted GPA. UCLA would be a Reach school regardless of your qualifications. To be honest, a capped weighted UC GPA below 4.0 will be a tough admit for the majority of the schools, but addressing your family issues and how they affected your academic performance in the personal insight essays can help.
Make sure apply widely and have 2 safety schools which are guaranteed admission, affordable and you would love to attend.
2019 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 1%
UCLA: 2%
UCSD: 9%
UCSB: 6%
UCI: 7%
UCD: 9%
UCSC: 40%
UCR: 53%
UCM: 80%
2019 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 12%
UCLA: 7%
UCSD: 33%
UCSB: 32%
UCD: 47%
UCI: 35%
UCSC: 72%
UCR: 87%
UCM: 96%
2019 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range:
UCB: 4.23 (4.15-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.32)
UCSD: 4.16 (4.03-4.28)
UCSB: 4.16 (4.04-4.28)
UCI: 4.13 (4.00-4.25)
UCD: 4.13 (4.00-4.26)
UCSC: 3.96 (3.76-4.16)
UCR: 3.90 (3.69-4.11)
UCM: 3.73 (3.45-4.00)
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
25th - 75th percentiles for ACT composite + language arts
UCB: 28-35
UCLA: 29-35
UCSD: 26-34
UCSB: 26-34
UCD: 24-33
UCI: 24-34
UCSC: 24-32
UCR: 21-30
UCM: 18-26
Best of luck and remember if a you are a California resident, then a community college transfer with a guarantee as a TAG for UCM, UCR,UCSC,UCI,UCSB and UCD are another option.
thank you so much for this information. Do you recommend i take the SAT and do you know any good safety schools?
If you are a California resident, then your local in-service area Cal State makes a great safety school since you get priority. Another safety school would be one of the non-impacted CSU campuses which requires a minimum 2.5 GPA for admission for this years admission cycle. The non-impacted campuses are CSU Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills, Bakersfield, Stanislaus, East Bay and San Francisco (some programs).
UC Merced could be a safety school if your UC GPA is 3.8 or higher and possibly Riverside but it is very dependent upon intended major.
Community college would be another safety if you are unhappy with your college choices.
What is your intended major? What is your calculated UC capped weighted GPA? I would still consider taking the SAT or ACT since you may change your college list and find some schools that may require these tests. I always like to keep my options open.
Here is the Cal state local service area information: https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/freshman/Documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf
I want to major in biomedical engineering and my UC gpa is a 3.5
Bioengineering is a highly competitive major for the UC’s and even the Cal states. A 3.5 UC GPA might get you into UC Merced but for the rest of the UC’s they are going to be High Reach schools, even UC Riverside will be a tough admit.
Only 4 of the Cal states offer Bioengineering: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, San Diego State, CSU Long Beach and San Jose State. A CSU GPA of 3.5 will not be competitive for these schools either unless you are within their local service area and even then, these schools are impacted along with the major so there is no guarantee.
You might have to look out of state or consider community college with a transfer to a UC or CSU. Arizona State might be an option along with the University of Reno.
You can look at schools through the Western Undergrad Exchange (WUE) where you get reduced tuition as an OOS applicant.