<p>W GPA: 3.31
UW GPA: 2.68
UC GPA: 3.24
Not sure if any of these are correct, correct me if i'm wrong</p>
<p>Freshman Year
Algebra I: A C
English: A A
Debate: B A
Spanish: A B
Pathways/Heath & Safety: B B
PE: A A</p>
<p>Summer: Geometry: B B</p>
<p>Sophomore Year
English: A A
Spanish: B B
Algebra 2: C C
Biology Honors: B B
AP World History: C C
Tennis: A A</p>
<p>Summer: Chemistry: B B</p>
<p>Junior Year
Spanish: A A
AP Art History: A B
AP Chemisty/ TA: C P
AP US History: B B
Trig/Pre-cal: C C
AP Language: B B</p>
<p>Senior Schedule
AP Government
AP Statistics
AP Literature
AP Physics
Spanish 7/8 (4th year)
Elementary Calculus</p>
<p>SAT:1620 (CR:540, M:570, W:510) Retaking
SAT IIs: Math II: 580, US History 450 (Retaking Math II and Literature)
ACT: taking end of Oct</p>
<p>AP Tests
AP World History: 3
APLanguage: 3
AP US History: 2</p>
<p>Planned AP Tests
AP Government
AP Statistics
AP Literature
AP Physics</p>
<p>EC's:
Tennis (3 years)Co-Captain for JV Tennis 1 yr and 1yr of Varsity - 300hrs
Debate (1 year) - 220hrs
Key Club (3 years predicted) - 130hrs
CSF (2 semesters predicted)
Internship at Kron Communications (4 years) (Business related) - 416 hrs
Chinese Tutoring (8 years) - over 800 hrs</p>
<p>1st gen college
Low income
Family issues (Passing of both Grandfathers during junior year - made me drop AP Chemistry)
Single working parent - Dad is disabled and cannot work anymore
Sick and absent frequently during Sophomore year.</p>
<p>you really need to get a good score on SATs try to take it again so you won't solely depend on ACT score, and then write a great essay to include everything you said above but right now there is a very slight chance but I did have hear people that got in with those scores</p>
<p>People have gotten in with SATs below 1600, for some indeterminate reason. Mostly it was they had really extrenuating circumstances detailed in their Personal Statement.</p>
<p>I don't mean to add on to the criticism, but you are indeed a super, super reach. The two main criteria that the UC's regard are GPA and Standardized Testing, and those are your weakest. I'm not saying don't apply, just don't get your hopes up. You will raise a lot of eyebrows if you managed to get in.</p>
<p>Also, on your personal statement I would steer clear of writing a sob story, as any essay advisor and reader would regard such as a desperate attempt at presenting excuses. For your case in particular, the logic of your family troubles and sickness would fall apart considering you have over 300 hours leisurely playing tennis, 220hrs in debate club, and 800 hours of tutoring, among others. Why not dedicate that time to studying and pulling your sub-mediocre grades up.</p>
<p>At this point in time, it's hard to change what has already been written in stone, so to speak (i.e. your grades). Sure you can improve your SAT's and SAT subjects, but your original scores would still show and your new ones would have to be something for them to even hesitate from tossing your application in the trash. Sorry if I appear harsh, but you should have expected as much if you wanted to post with your scores. Let's just say you'd be a reach at the mid-tier UC's.</p>
<p>Also, are you sure you want to take Literature as one of your SAT subjects? I've heard that one is extremely hard. The pros are that you need little preparation/studying, but the cons are that you have little preparation/studying. Therefore mostly Super Smart students or those that are good in English do well. I know someone who got a 5 on the AP test only got a 610 on the subject test. </p>
<p>Just my opinion however. Best of luck, and hope you find success in college.</p>
<p>@moldau, I think that is a somewhat narrow-minded remark. A 4 on an AP test is often times equivalent to a 5 in terms of credit received, although 5's do look better on one's application and it might allow one to skip certain lower courses. </p>
<p>And as far as A's go, I think a B in an AP-level course is still better than an A in a regular course. Actually certain adcoms recommend the former as it demonstrates that a student seeks intellectually challenging tasks. But granted, C's are pushing it a little too much.</p>
<p>So why bother taking AP courses if one cannot achieve the highest score and the highest grade? Simply to push one's limits and intellectual capacity as well as to see where the limit actually is. It also forces the student to come to terms with reality and presents a certain level of humility. Not everyone can get A's in AP courses and score 5's on AP tests, but I think it is commendable provided they actually put effort.</p>
<p>i was thinking being low-income might help your case, but knguyen makes a good point -- why did you have so much time for tennis and what not? your chances at other UCs are also jeopardized because your GPA and test scores are pretty low, and only Cal and LA use holistic review. the others use a point system with lots of weight on SAT and GPA.</p>
<p>in any case, since you're low income, i would say to go for private schools, as they're more likely to give you enough financial aid, or state schools, because they'll probably still be cheaper than a UC even with aid. if you really want to go to LA or some similar school, try transferring later.</p>
<p>If you don't come from a wealthy background, going to a CC is an option. A lot of people knock CC's (there are a lot that don't), but leaving UCLA (assuming a normal 4 year stay) with only 11k of debt is nice. My 5 year stay will cost me around 16 grand :(. </p>
<p>If you must transfer though, don't goto a CSU. I believe I read on the UC site that they are given the last priority in terms of transfers.</p>