Ok so I have always wanted to go to UC Davis but I’ve pretty much accepted that there’s hardly any chance I’ll get in. So now I’m aiming towards UC Santa Cruz cause it’s not as hard to get into and well, I’ve kinda messed up my high school grades.
I’m a junior right now. I’ve always had good grades, I’ve always been an A Student. But my father was sick for two years and he passed away my sophomore year and from there everything went really downhill.
I haven’t taken many APs. I took Calc AB( but didn’t pass the test), European History, English Language, and Calc BC (which I’m failing…)
Yeah so basically I’m a mess. My weighted GPA is a 3.6, unweighted 3.4 (those are both rounded sorry I don’t remember the exact numbers)
I haven’t taken the ACT but I got a 2020 on my SAT.
I’ve done musical theater since I was eight, but only community and high school. I have quite a few lead roles under my belt. I was VP of my choir program for two years (this year being my second). But earlier this year the president dropped her position and so now I am the president of the program and most likely will be next year too. I’m historian of our chapter of TRI M, which is a music honor society (community service).
I’ve given up on doing good in math, so next year I’m retaking Calc BC and taking AP Gov.
Do you guys think I have any shot of going to UCSC?
My backups are University of Arizona, northern Arizona university or maybe a CSU. (I live in CA by the way)
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
I think you are selling yourself short. I can’t speak to the UC schools but I see good student and interesting person who has had a very rough time.
If you plan on taking calc BC next year, can you drop it this year? In fact, do you need to take Calc BC at all? I’d take an alternative course, like AP Stats If you can’t drop the math class, get a tutor. You may not get an A or B, but maybe a C?
One last thought, your coursework (grades) trumps your EC’s. You also may have to give up the Choir presidency to concentrate on schoolwork. I’m just using that as an example -what I mean to say is scale back on time spent on EC’s until your grades improve.
We sign contracts at the beginning of the year that say that we can’t drop AP classes and my counselor doesn’t really seem to want to help me. And if I don’t retake it, it’ll be on my transcript which I don’t want.
And yeah, I cut back on theater a lot. And choirs a class during the school day and doesn’t really take a lot of time.
Thank you for the feedback, I really hope you’re right and colleges see something in me
You are probably right about Davis but, with your stats, a compelling personal statement could get you in. UCSC could go either way but you should definitely apply. Take a look at SDSU, UCR and, depending what you want to study, CalPoly Pomona or CSULB.
I am sorry about your father. That is very hard. Next year, when your counselor writes your rec, please insist she note what has happened in your family. Is there a teacher you are close to who can help you as an advocate, or can your mom or some one in your community who knows you well come in and talk with your counselor? I think your ECs are good. Keep it up as best you can. Have you thought about retaking your course this summer at a local community college? Cali schools are usually really good about accpeting credits or course work from Cc’s. Good luck to you
What’s your EFC? Does it match your parents’ budget?
Do you have areas of interest (ie., history, theater…)
Yeah most of my teachers and my counselor know what happened and I’ll be sure to ask him about writing about it. And I’m retaking it next year for sure. I won’t be home this summer sadly. Thank you for the advice!
Wow I really don’t know anything about EFC…is this something I need to start researching?
And yeah, I want to study law but I’m still trying to figure out what kind of law and what major for that type of law.
Yes, you need to research the EFC. Run the Net Price Calculator on each schools web site and see how the numbers look. Talk to your parents about how much they can afford.
Law is post-college. The best major for most top law school tends to be philosophy, but a strong English, political science, or economics backgound is excellent too (or major in one /minor in the other…) For Patent Law, STEM.
But really, yes you do have a shot at UCSC as long as you retake Calc BC. For your interests, I’d look into Occidental, Chapman, LMU LA, perhaps Pitzer, depending on how well you rectify your grades situation and how good your essays are. CSU’s don’t have a good track record for law school, but perhaps the Huntington program at Sonoma would be a good safety to have?
EFC is very important: it’s the calculation of the minimum your parents will have to pay for college.
For UCSC, Chapman, Occidental, and Sonoma, (four different types of colleges for FA purpose), ype “net price calculator” and the name of the college. Write down the results and bring them to your parents, along with your EFC, and see what they say. Be ready for them to be in shock because costs have skyrocketed beyond any adult’s imagining.
You can also secure a spot at UC Riverside if you apply in July (it’s not binding so if you have better offers, you can turn them down, no problem).
@MYOS1634 has given you good advice. I just saw recently what all the SCOTUS majored in undergrad. History, English, poli sci, I think. You need to be a good thinker and writer to go into law:-)