My son is in a very competitive school in the bay area (California). His cumulative weighted GPA is 3.2. He has taken 7 APs and 2 honors courses over the 4 years. He got all 4s and 5s on his APs. SAT score 1430/1600. SAT essay score 21/24 (23/24 in the first SAT he took)
Please be honest. Does he have a shot of getting into a UC or a good CSU? What do you think our best options are? Any private schools? Would love to hear stories of admissions with similar/worse stats.
He wants to major in English/ communications/ journalism. He has successfully completed a couple of classes over the summer at UCLA in related subjects.
We are completely new to the process. Please advice. Thank you.
What is his CSU/UC Capped weighted GPA, that is what the schools will consider: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
CSU’s except SLO admit by Eligibility index and major.
Once you have his Capped weighted CSU/UC GPA, plug it into this calculation for the EI.
(CSU GPA capped weighted x800) + ( SAT Math+EBRW).
Every CSU has an EI threshold and it will vary from campus to campus and from major to major. Local applicants (within the CSU service area) are given preference and usually require a lower EI for an acceptance unless the major is heavily impacted.
The non-impacted campuses take applicants that meet the minimum EI of 2950. These campuses are Dominguez Hills, Channel Islands, SFSU, Stanislaus and Bakersfield.
You can check the CSU impacted campus/major matrix here to target specific schools: https://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/impactedprogramsmatrix.pdf
The top CSU’s: SLO, SDSU, CSULB. CSU Fullerton, CSU Fresno and SJSU are impacted campuses so all majors are impacted.
SJSU is the only CSU that lists their EI thresholds by major: http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/impactionresultsfreshmen/index.html
If his Capped weighted UC/CSU GPA is 3.2, his EI is 3990. This EI makes him competitive for most campuses with the exception of CSULB (some majors), SDSU, Cal Poly SLO, Cal Poly Pomona (some majors) and SJSU (some majors).
For the UC’s depending upon his Capped Weighted UC GPA, UC Merced, Riverside and Santa Cruz may be options. UC’s tend to be very GPA focused but his SAT scores indicate he is a capable and qualified applicant. Make sure he spends time on his essays which could give him a boost in admissions.
Going to a competitive HS will be considered in his application review.
Below is some statistical admission data based only on the Capped Weighted UC GPA and not major specific:
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.00-3.39
UCB: 1.1%
UCLA: 0.9%
UCSD: 0.9%
UCSB: 1.4%
UCI: 3.1%
UCD: 4.1%
UCSC: 14.3%
UCR: 22.9%
UCM: 56.7%
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79:
UCB: 1.8%
UCLA: 2.2%
UCSD: 7.2%
UCSB: 10.1%
UCI: 11.1%
UCD: 16.6%
UCSC: 43.8%
UCR: 63.3%
UCM: 88.7%
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT:
UCB: 1360-1540
UCLA: 1340-1540
UCSD: 1300-1520
UCSB: 1270-1500
UCD: 1220-1480
UCI: 1230-1490
UCSC: 1210-1450
UCR: 1130-1380
UCM: 1020-1280
Best of luck and have him apply widely.
Another helpful link which lists the CSU campuses with # of applicants, # admitted, # enrolled, Average CSU GPA, Test scores and information regarding local/non-local EI’s and impaction. This data is from 2017:
How to check local CSU service area: https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/freshman/documents/csulocaladmission-serviceareas.pdf
Thank you so much. This gives me hope. Yes his UC GPA calculated is 3.2. Looks like since he is not looking at STEM majors, he may have a shot at some CSUs and may be even a long shot at a couple of UCs.