Is there any possible way that I'll get admitted to UCSB?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>UCSB is by far my number one. I haven't visited, but plan on doing so this summer. So far, I love almost everything about it. I'm currently a junior at a catholic college prep school in Washington. I know I'm out of state, but witht he whole financial drama that California is experiencing at the moment, my college councellor said that due to out-of-state tuition being practically double what in-state is, UC's are more likely to accept more out-of-state applicants than they have before. That's one thing that is possibly working in my favor, another being the fact that I don't go to public school. I've heard that colleges take into consideration the fact that private, college prep schools' cirriculums are generally more difficult than those of public schools.</p>

<p>I plan on mentioning my ethnicity, african-american, in my personal statement because although UC's aren't allowed to participate in affirmative action, UCSB is one of the least diverse UC's (3% of their student body is african american, i think) and there's a possibility that it could be 'secretly' taken into consideration. </p>

<p>What's working against me are numbers, though. At the moment my GPA is a 3.3 unweighted, and a 3.7 weighted, I think. I've taken the AP or honors course in all my subjects when possible, since freshman year, with the exception of one physics class and all my math classes. I know my GPA is very low, but hopefully after this semester it'll be a 3.4 unweighted, hopefully 3.8 weighted. I haven't taken my SAT's yet, but am very good at standardized testing. I've consistently scored in the top 5 percentile on every one i've taken. When I do take my SAT and ACT next month, i expect to do very well. As far as extra curriculars go, mine are just okay. i've got fifty hours of voultenteer work and plan on doing more (a lot more), a presidential position in a service club, a year of work experience, no sports, but some other little things instead.</p>

<p>form what i've read on this website and on others, the odds are against me but admittance is not impossible. or so i believe.</p>

<p>i know this school would be a reach, but i want to go for it anyway.</p>

<p>so, am i just wasting my time or do i have a chance?</p>

2

<p>It is going to be harder for you to get in, because you’re out of state, but I would say you definitely have a shot. You also have to keep in mind that UCs have their own GPA calculation system, where I believe they only count A-G courses taken in 10th and 11th grade. From the UC packet that I have, the admits to the university had an average GPA of 3.94(UC) and average ACT of 27. Applicants with a 3.7-3.99 GPA are admitted at a rate of 65.9%, which I would say you have, since the GPA is weighted, but this is probably lower for out of states. Anyway, good luck with getting in.</p>

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<p>Honestly, I doubt you will get in. My friend was president of two clubs, and treasurer of one club. She had a bunch of extra-curriculars, and an award for her community service involvement. Her GPA was a 3.7 unweighted and a 3.8 weighted. She had a 33 on her ACT. </p>

<p>UC’s are all about GPA, because so many people apply to them. Basically, you need at least around a 3.8 of a 3.9 weighted to have a chance of getting in as am in-state student, unless you have some really extraordinary quality or you are lucky. My friend got into a really good school because she was highly qualified, but she didn’t get into UCSB because for that school, it usually comes down to GPA. As an out of state student, it should be around a 4.0.</p>

<p>You will have much better luck applying to a private school, especially one that has an affirmative action policy. Also, private schools are a great choice to apply to because they some of them can look past your GPA and test scores and get to know you as a person. I don’t think any of the UC’s truly have the time to do this.</p>

<p>By the way, this year, the average GPA of UCSB admits was I think a 4.1 and last year a 4.03 . Admission rate was around 48% but almost all of the people that applied were had at least a 3.0 weighted (UC policy for applicants, some exceptions) and most had higher.</p>

<p>Good luck anyway, maybe you still have a chance.</p>

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<p>I think with a 3.7 plus UC GPA and being a full pay OOS, AA student, you have a fine chance.</p>

<p>Though frankly, as an AA student with good test scores you can get into much better schools, especially for $48K/year.</p>

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<p>While skt may or may not be correct in terms of the average of who is admitted to UCSB, what it takes to get in can best be determined by the statistics, which are located here: (this is the statistics of who applied and who got in by GPA ranges for all of the UCs)</p>

<p>[University</a> of California: StatFinder](<a href=“http://statfinder.ucop.edu/library/tables/table_16-2008.aspx]University”>http://statfinder.ucop.edu/library/tables/table_16-2008.aspx)</p>

<p>As you can see, people with GPAs of 3.60 to 3.79 were admitted at a 46% rate, and those with 3.80 to 3.99 were admitted at a 73% range. (Mikester’s numbers are essentially correct for the 3.7 to 3.99 range)</p>

<p>What this tells me is that you need a 3.7 GPA (this is the UC GPA, which is a modified weighted GPA, in which only the first four year long honors courses get to count the extra grade points for being honors courses). And that this is the weighted GPA needed presuming you get the average SAT score, which is about an 1850 or so for UCSB (remember this is a “single sitting” score–the UCs do not superscore).</p>

<p>Anyway, this is the minimum to get in (actually, you will need better numbers, since these are the averages for in-state students).</p>

<p>My guess is that you will need about a 3.8 UC GPA (modified weighted) and about a 1900 to 1950 “single sitting” SAT score to get in. If you have a 3.7 UC GPA and are already a junior (that is, you will be a senior this fall), then you will need at least a 2000 to 2050 “single sitting” SAT score to get in. This is what you should be looking at as a goal. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

6

<p>FWIW, a 2040 SAT is about the 98 percentile for African Americans. If you hit that, you will be in pretty good shape for SOMETHING.</p>