I’m currently a junior and I have:
Unweighted GPA: 3.55
Weighted GPA: 4.63
ACT: 33 (im retaking it soon, hoping for a 34)
SAT: im taking it in march (PSAT is 1390, expected SAT according to College Board is 1500)
EC: Double bass/Orchestra (about 12 hours put into these two per week), Guqin (about 3 hours per week)
Volunteer: about 80 hours per year
Leadership: Principal Bassist in 5 orchestras (im running for VP and Pres of two clubs this year though)
Clubs: 4 clubs
Awards: I have a couple math competition awards and bass competitions and science fair, number one in the state for Double Bass
HOWEVER…
I have 4 C’s on my transcript and 12 B’s out of 27 classes so far
I’m not looking for financial aid because i’m very lucky to have parents who have high paying jobs, but going into college I want to double major in Music Education and Biology or Biochem (I haven’t decided which one yet) as I want to go on into grad school for a PharmD degree to be a pharmacist.
assuming I can get the same grades as this semester, my unweighted GPA will be a 3.63 and my weighted will be a 4.68
My absolute dream school is UCSD, but I feel like its a bit of a reach so I was wondering if there’s a chance I could get into this school along with Rice, UNC-Chapel Hill, NYU (Shanghai), UCLA, USC, UC Davis, University of Wisconsin - Madison, UC Berkley, John Hopkins, UC Irvine, Tufts, UCSB, Texas A&M, UT Austin?
I just wanna know where i’m at and if I have a shot, along with what else I need to do to up my game and improve my resume? Please help!
The UC’s do not use Freshman grades in their GPA calculation so only 10-11t grades for the a-g course requirements.
The UC’s look at 3 GPA’s: Unweighted UC GPA, Capped weighted UC GPA and Fully weighted UC GPA.
Capped Weighted if in-state CA is a maximum of 8 Honors points (8 semesters) for UC approved Honors, AP, IB or DE courses taken 10-11th grades.
Capped weighted if OOS, would only include AP/IB or DE courses taken 10-11th grades. HS Honor’s designated courses for OOS applicants do not get the extra Honors point.
Fully weighted is an Unlimited # of honors points for these courses taken 10-11th grades.
If you’re looking for a great school that will help launch you into the world, you will have many options.
Your stats are superb, and you are clearly capable of great things. Your ACT is at the 75th percentile for UCSD, so keep working on your GPA and you stand a good chance there, and even for others on your list. But there are many good schools that aren’t on your list, remember.
Focus on the person you want to be and not the person you want others to see, and you’ll do very well.
I’m curious as to where College Board forecasts this.
1390 is 96th percentile according to the PSAT report. 1500 is 98th from the latest SAT report.
The CB Growth Assessment indicates a mean 11th PSAT to 12th SAT increase of 30-40 points for all 1390 combinations, which aligns with the percentiles.
Was this specifically called out on your score report?
Also - can you specify the scale and weighting method for your school? A weighted grade more than a full point higher than unweighted isn’t possible with what most consider to be a typical weighting scheme (+0.5 for honors, +1 for AP), but this can vary widely.
hey! I’m new here too.
Anyway, your chances of going to UCSD is most likely a match, based on my research I have been doing lately for myself. I am also a junior!
Based on PSAT scores- your pretty good at taking standardized test, so I’d definitely aim for a 1500+. Also, don’t become too dependent on getting a 1500, as I am sure you will be fine, you should still study, because the SATs are much harder than the PSATs.
The only thing is I would work on you GPA grade, your weighted grade looks great but most programs and colleges I am looking at is 3.8+ (unweighted), which I’m sure you’re familiar with.
Yes you’ve gotten some rough grades in the past but we’re Juniors so keep working on those grades!
Otherwise, your stats are great and you’ll prosper wherever you go. Good Luck!
Also there is always a chance in getting into any school you desire. If your passion is strong you’ll exceed in any area of work.
