I applied to every single UC in the system. My stats aren’t great. My average GPA is like 3.5 and I did poorly on the SAT’s : 1700. I am a California resident. My EC’s aren’t amazing but I did my required community service for school, played sports all four years, and did outside sports such as horseback riding and swim teams. I was seriously surprised and shocked when I was rejected from places like UCSC and UCR. Not to sound like a snob but the California colleges are always complaining about lacking enough money, but then they go an reject people like me who are more than happy to pay for school.
Your stats are in a very competitive class this year with more students having higher GPA’s and SATs. Your sports and EC’s are a small portion of your application. The California schools like high GPA’s and high SATs.
I’ll try to be constructive here. I understand your disappointment but, perhaps you were being a bit short sighted.c constraining your applications to UCs. These schools are designed to take the top 5% of freshman applicants. A quick glance a the freshman class profile info (widely available on the internet) for each UC shows your stat below average for all the ones you didn’t get into.
So, the thought must have crossed your mind that this result was a likely outcome. You’d have easily been admitted into all the CSUs except SLO and SDSU.
Of course, that is water under the bridge. It is really important to look forward - at the doors that are open to you now. Assuming UCM is the only school to accept you, you have few choices. Merced is a good school and merits at least a visit before you decide it’s not for you. Your local CC is another option but, i will caution that transfer admission to the top UCs is more competitive than it is for freshmen. - In short, you might wind up in the same spot 2 years from now.
If you were my son, i’d encourage you to go to UCM and make the most of it, The student body has grown substantially over the last several years and there are lots of clubs/activities etc. Visit campus, talk to some current students - see what they think.
Good luck
Just because you can pay for a UC, doesn’t mean you do not have to have the Stats to go with the money. @NCalRent is correct in that your college list was liimiting. Nothing can be done now but I also agree that you have several choices: CC to UC transfer, enroll at UCM if accepted or take a GAP year and improve your application by retaking SAT plus some work experience/ internships. Good luck.
The UC system does not consider the ability to pay as a plus factor in admissions. In fact, students coming from low income families or schools with a high percentage of free lunch eligibility actually get a boost in the admissions process.
What are your other options at this point? There are still many private and out-of-state public universities that would be happy to welcome you to their freshman class this fall.