I’m currently a junior in hs, class of 2022. I’m taking 4 AP’s and I passed all of them with A’s this past quarter (my school splits semesters and calls them quarters) except for AP Chem. I passed with a C. As you could imagine I’m pretty upset. I got a 60% on the last test (Gas Stoichiometry) which dropped my A to a C and now I’m worried this will affect my chances of getting into any UC’s. Of course if I can pass the AP exam with a 3 it will raise all grades to an A but it’s getting pretty difficult and almost everyone I’ve asked didn’t pass the exam. Should I be worried?
One or 2 C’s will not keep you from applying and getting accepted to many of the UC’s. It will depend upon what you plan to major in college and how the rest of your application is presented. Grades and GPA are Very Important in the UC admissions but they use 14 areas of criteria to evaluate all applicants. Test scores may or not may be considered for next year’s admission cycle but please prepare just in case.
Calculate your UC GPA’s at the end of Junior year to see where you stand.
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Some UC statistical data to help gauge your chances and make sure you apply broadly.
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%
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%
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 4.20 or above capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 38%
UCLA: 35%
UCSD: 71%
UCSB: 73%
UCD: 84%
UCI: 55%
UCSC: 85%
UCR: 97%
UCM: 98%
2020 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range:
UCB: 4.22 (4.13-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.31)
UCSD: 4.16 (4.04-4.28)
UCSB: 4.15 (4.03-4.27)
UCI: 4.11 (3.96-4.26)
UCD: 4.11 (3.97-4.25)
UCSC: 3.94 (3.71-4.16)
UCR: 3.88 (3.65-4.11)
UCM: 3.68 (3.40-3.96)
No, you shouldn’t be worried. Like @Gumbymom said, it won’t destroy your chances, especially since it is in a class as hard as AP Chem. The best thing you can do is aim for that A for your remaining quarters because the all colleges value improvement. If you got a C first quarter and then stepped up your game for the remaining quarters and got a B or an A, its very likely that the C will have little impact on their decision seeing as you did better in the following grading periods.
Weighted capped UC gpa - 3.64 (I know, yikes)
SAT score - 1540
PSAT (junior year) - don’t remember but 96th percentile
AP Classes:
-Freshman Year
AP Human Geography: Score of 4
-Sophomore Year:
AP World History: Score of 5
AP Physics 1: Score of 3
AP Computer Science A: not being submitted
AP Environmental Science: not being submitted
- Junior Year:
AP United States History: 4 (prediction)
AP English Language: 5 (prediction)
AP Biology: 4 (prediction)
AP Calculus BC: 4 (prediction)
AP Physics C Mechanics: 3 (prediction)
AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism: 2 (prediction)
AP Spanish Language and Culture: 5 (prediction)
-Senior Year:
AP Phycology
AP Seminar
AP English Literature
AP Spanish Literature
AP Chemistry
AP Statistics
AP Government
AP Economics
AP Physics 2
Extracurriculars: Younger then grade level (will be 16 at time of graduation) thus internships/volunteering was limited due to age restrictions. Same thing with work experience.
- Arabic School Volunteering
- Teaching math to elementary School students who don’t speak English
- Possibly hospital volunteering this summer when I am of age.
Immigrant, first generation US college student, moving many times inside of the US including across states, low income family, couldn’t work bc of age/immigration papers, 16 at time of graduation
3 clubs sophomore year, none junior year (covid)
Significant improvement in GPA from sophomore year to 1st semester junior year to 2nd semester junior year
biochemistry or molecular/cell biology major, pre med route. Planning on applying to all the UC’s except for Merced and I am out of state. Thoughts on chances of admission?
help plz idk if my gpa will allow me to have a chance even as a reach school 
You will definitely have a chance seeing as your class schedule is extremely rigorous but your GPA is low. Berkeley is definitely a reach but not an impossible one. Sadly for you, your amazing SAT score is useless as the UC school are now test-blind meaning that you may submit your scores but they are not used in making your admissions decision. Don’t bank on Berkeley. Your GPA might be much higher after junior year so that could help. If you don’t mind me asking…are you applying in any other state or for schools that are not UCs? You should definitely look into Cal Poly SLO in California but also in other states.
Just looking at your AP scores, you can tell your strength is Language and Social Sciences, not natural sciences.
If you plan to be BME/Biochem/Bio major, most colleges heavily looking at Chemistry and Biology, next will be maths and Physics. So may be kind of too late now, but most Bio/Biochem students would have all these AP classes done by Junior year to have them showing on their transcript.
Course strength is very important, it also allows you to tie-in your essay and interest. That said, you may want to look at your Junior year transcript and explore your strength, apply to an area you are best at (if going to UCB is your goal). But if you are aiming at Bio/Biochem/BME/pre-med, the chance is not high for UCB but there are a lot of other options in California.
UC is test blind (not test optional) this year, they MAY be test blind next year (your 2022 year) given how bad California’s pandemic situation is now. Test blind will be to your disadvantage since you have high SAT.
I should have made it clear I’m a Junior currently so I’ll be applying next academic year. As well as this I believe the UCs will be test optional for out of state students in 2022 so would that change admission chances? Thanks for the insight!
UC Berkeley will be test blind for the 2022 admission cycle also so unfortunately your excellent SAT score will not be considered.
All UCs are high reach because you would be aiming for a large enough merit scholarship to make them affordable, since there is no need-based financial aid for non-California residents in the absence of a few high reach merit scholarships that have need-based award amounts.
I wouldn’t be worried about getting into a UC. I would be worried about applying and then NOT being able to pay the Non-resident fees and tuition.
The UC’s are public universities, sponsored, in part, by California taxpayers. Since you and your parents don’t reside in the state, you haven’t paid in-state taxes and don’t get the benefits of instate tuition.
You would be expected to pay, as a non-resident, $65K per year, regardless of which UC admitted you. They are very expensive for non-residents.
Most UC scholarships are few and far between, and are uber competitive. They are not enough to cover your health insurance ($~2500).
How will you pay? (Student Loans or working wont cover it.)
The big money comes from the State of California for its residents.
Federal funding wont cover the costs.
A Federal Pell Grant runs about $6K. Your first freshman loan is about $6k. That’s $12k.
Where will you find the other $53K ?
Your parents, at low-income status, wont qualify for that kind of loan.
I’m sorry to burst your bubble. The states are out of money because the Pandemic has affected every aspect of funding. They just can’t fund every student who wants to attend.
[color=blue]New students who are not residents of California will not be eligible for our need-based grants or most scholarships.[/color] We encourage you and your family to develop a plan to meet your educational expenses until the time you graduate from UC Berkeley.
Nonresidents of California frequently inquire about assistance with Nonresident Supplemental Tuition. Unfortunately, [color=red]institutional funds to cover nonresident expenses are not available[/color]. Additionally, financial aid appeals typically do not result in the offering of more need-based institutional gift aid.https://financialaid.berkeley.edu/how-aid-works/meeting-nonresident-costs/
The universities are going to be very careful in how they fund the prospective students.
You need to speak with your guidance counselor and find targets that are affordable since you have some time to research.
Also, it doesn’t appear as though you’ve looked at UC requirements, nor worked with a guidance counselor. The UC’s have the “F” requirement. A graded Visual or Performing Arts course for 1 year is a requirement.