<p>Okay I’m a California Resident.</p>
<p>I’m going into my junior year and I’m taking a super hard course load next year. With the uc cap, my gpa drops. But I’m wondering if it is significant enough to really hurt my chances.</p>
<p>Junior Year Classes: AP Calculus, AP US History, AP English, HL Chemistry, HL Spanish, and Journalism</p>
<p>I know I will get A’s in spanish, calculus, and journalism, but if i get b’s in all of the others my uc gpa is 3.83.</p>
<p>If I dropped 2 down to college prep I will most likely get a 4.0 uc gpa.</p>
<p>I want to just take my chances and go for the tough schedule, but i’m worried I will get rejected from my favorite schools.</p>
<p>I love UCSB and I really want to go there. I also plan to apply at UCLA, UCSD, UCD, and UCI.</p>
<p>Now according to my psat i should get a 1880 on the sat, so if that were to happen what would be my chances with an 1880 and a 3.83?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>SAT II Subject test scores?</p>
<p>You would be better off taking the hardest schedule possible and getting some Bs rather than take an easier schedule and get more As. You get the same grade points for an B in honors/AP courses as you do for an A in a regular class, so unless you are going to really bomb the class, take the honors/AP route. Also, the adcom takes into account the difficulty of your class schedule, so having a lack of honors/AP will end up hurting your chances. Besides, taking AP classes can get you college credit and/or placement advantages.</p>
<p>UCSB should be easy. I got in with a 3.63 uc gpa,1810 SAT, and 1250 SAT II's. I also took the same core classes as you and was accepted to all UC's except the top tier.</p>
<p>Just my opinion, but looks good for UCSB. </p>
<p>However, did not have the same experience about AP classes vs. higher GPA> In our high school, those with the higher GPAs fared better in the UC system at admission time, even if they had an easy courseload ( and there is a big difference b/w the regular classes and the AP classes in terms of level of difficulty). </p>
<p>For example UCSD comprehensive review is a point system. You get the greatest number of points for GPA. There are no points awarded for AP courses. The only 'points' you get for AP courses are those precious few that go toward the GPA cap. And you can get those points just by taking UC approved honors courses.</p>
<p>So, frankly, taking several AP classes is not so helpful for UC admissions.
It is very helpful ,though, for preparing you for a college-level workload.</p>
<p>And, as kidsdad said, if you do well on the AP exams, you get the college credits, which is great.</p>
<p>Be careful about those AP tests if you think you might want/need to re-take a class at college. UC's don't allow you to retake the class if you have earned the AP credit for it. You must go on and take the next level. You might want to take the AP class but skip the test.</p>