Is there anything I can do?

<p>Hey Guys,</p>

<p>I've been on a bit of a topsy turvy ride recently, switching schools a lot, and going through some personal stuff. I wound up at Mission San Jose High School in the midst of this, and found myself struggling to tread water for two years. In my third year, I feel as though I'm ready.</p>

<p>But the problem is that much of the damage has already been done. I had no extracurriculars in my Freshman and Soph years, and wound up with a cumulative GPA in the doldrums of 3.0-3.4. I realize that I have one more year and one final shot at getting myself a chance of getting into a good UC, like Davis or Cal. Clearly, with my current record, this is never going to happen.</p>

<p>Assuming I do well in my Junior year, getting 4.0 both semesters and a ~2200 SAT score, what chance do I have of getting into one of Cal or Davis as a Bio Major? My GPA has gradually risen back up, going from 3.0 or so in freshman year to 3.5 or so in Soph, and onto 4.0 in Junior year if that means anything.</p>

<p>So my questions are:</p>

<p>1) What chance does my record give me of getting into Cal/Davis?
2) What can I do to rectify my earlier scores? (Is there a way to take outside/community college courses and make the older grades seem less significant...etc)
3) What are some good extracurriculars for me to do?
4) If I were to go to Community College for a year or two, get high grades there, and then apply for a transfer to Cal or Davis, how likely would I be to succeed in that?
5) Is there any way I can make myself really stand out despite a poor academic/sporting record? Like some sort of competition, association, activity, e-c, etc.</p>

<p>Thanks, and yes, I know I was a mess, </p>

<p>Ahmer</p>

<p>1) Your chances are hurt very significantly, but luckily you still have three semesters to go - junior year and first semester senior year. You absolutely need to get straight A’s all three semesters.</p>

<p>2) Take the strongest courseload your school can offer and get A’s in them. This will show colleges that you CAN handle the workload and that the previous grades were definitely a result of personal problems. </p>

<p>3) Commit yourself to a few clubs for the rest of your high school career. Maybe try Science Olympiad if your school has it. Get some community service clubs in. Also, look for local internships that are relevant to your major. </p>

<p>4) I think pretty likely.</p>

<p>5) It’s a bit late to shine in sports, but you can still do well in academic competitions. Do well on your PSAT and get semifinalist. Participate in some science competitions (SciOly comes to mind) and do well on those.</p>

<p>Well, in a nice turn of events, I found out my overseas volunteering is a +.</p>

<p>I did about 300 Hrs of volunteering at a hospital in a third world country.</p>

<p>Does that have any impact?</p>

<p>Also, Im taking 5/6 UC weighted classes:</p>

<p>3 AP
2 Honors</p>

<p>In Soph and Fresh, I took as many honors as possible…</p>

<p>Does that help at all?</p>