Low-ass GPA. Can my test scores/ECs make up for it?

<p>So... I slacked off up until Jr year, so my GPA isn't that good. I stepped it up, but I guess that wasn't enough :( Anyway here are my stats and stuff. Do I have a shot at UCB and UCLA?</p>

<p>OOS Asian kid
School = top 10 public in the state. Grade deflation galore T_T
Major: Econ or math
GPA: 3.38 UW, 4.0 UC weighted</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
AP chem - B/B (highest grade in this class was an 89.6)
USH - B/B
Precalc H - B/B
French 4 - B/B
English 10 H - B/B</p>

<p>Junior year:
AP English Lang&comp: B/B (only 2-3 people got As)
AP Calc AB: B/A
AP Bio: A/A
French 5 H - B/A
USH II: A/A</p>

<p>SAT: 2220/1470, retook in Oct and most likely got 2250-2300+
SAT II: 800 math iic 800 chem
AP scores: 5 on chem, bio, calc ab, music theory, english lang&comp
Sr sched: AP econ, AP stat, AP calc bc, AP lit
ECs/other stuff:
-Piano 9 years. Played in Carnegie Hall multiple times, won a bunch of competitions/awards, tutored for 4 years, played for a nursery home for 2 years
-Violin 7 years. Played in school's advanced orchestra for 3 years
-Unpaid internship in Credit Suisse summer before senior year
-Other stuff, but they're not that good compared to the first 3</p>

<p>Also, do you think that I'll get sent an augmented review supplement for borderline applicants? Because I'm sure that my senior grades should be all or mostly As</p>

<p>if you were in state, I’d say you’re in. </p>

<p>But you still have a pretty good shot of getting in.</p>

<p>You’re clearly a very smart kid and I think that will come across to the admissions committee through your test scores and EC’s. You definitely have a shot despite your grades.</p>

<p>I really doubt anything short of 2300 will even begin to compensate for your UW GPA. This is because admission committees need to see that you are smart and hardworking, not just one or the other. I hate it when people say “Well, applicant x is absurdly smart but also lazy. If only the ad com would see that.”
Especially given that SAT IIs won’t even be required next year, your chances look slim.</p>

<p>That said, I don’t won’t to discourage you from whatever you were going to do to maximize your chances. I had some pretty inaccurate chances for my own chance thread from people who, in retrospect, had no idea what they were talking about. In fact, admissions even for a public school like Cal are still sometimes surprising. The best advice I can give you now is that when you write your essays, humbly admit what had led you to not achieve straight As or somehow justify them.</p>

<p>Are for sure about that UC GPA? Doesn’t seem quite right. Not sure if you are weighting honors or not, but FWIW, you can usually only weight them if they are listed here.Usually not an option if out of state.</p>

<p><a href=“A-G Policy Resource Guide”>A-G Policy Resource Guide;

<p>Anyway, here is the 2010 UCLA profile.
<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/campuses/files/ucla.pdf[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/campuses/files/ucla.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>^I got 5 As (an A in a CC class during my Jr year. IDK if it’s UC transferable tho) and 8 Bs, so my UW GPA is definitely 3.38. I took 4 AP classes during my sophomore + junior years, so that’s 8 semesters of honors credit. I didn’t count the honors classes since I’m OOS. [5(4) + 8(3) + 8]/(8+5) = 4.0 weighted UC GPA</p>

<p>And in fact, I did center one of my essays around my GPA and what made me improve during my junior year. Anyone want to read and critique? </p>

<p>Also, how will UCB/UCLA know that there’s grade deflation in my school? Like I said before, for two of my AP classes, only 2-3 people total got As, while the rest of us got Bs and Cs but everyone got 5s on the AP tests. Will my guidance counselor be able to write about this to UCB/UCLA?</p>

<p>Thanks for all the replies everyone!</p>

<p>Looks right to me! You have your art class?</p>

<p>Yeah, took orchestra for 2 years. Hopefully that counts as an art class. Also, are my freshman grades considered much during admissions? Do they count towards my GPA?</p>

<p>OP, UC does not require school reports.</p>

<p>^What do you mean by school report? A file that shows average scores in each class, AP score distributions, SAT score distributions, amount of AP classes offered… etc? If so, then that’s so unfair because the UCs will never know how hard/easy a school is, and kids who get a 4.0 in A+ For Attendance High School will have an automatic edge over kids who have to work their asses off in hard schools and still end up with Bs.</p>

<p>^^
Yes. Applying UC doesn’t require your GC sending school report (at least for CA students). I’m not sure if it applies to OOS students as well.</p>

<p>^Oh :(</p>

<p>Also, where should I address my internship? I’m not planning on writing my essay about it, but I still want to mention what I did during the internship and how it affected me. Is the additional comments section the right place to do that or should I write about in the EC section?</p>

<p>wait till you get here. then you’ll find out what a low-ass gpa is.</p>

<p>OP, write it in your EC section, if it’s important. That’s where my son put his internship. You can put anything else relatively not as important as your internship (but still worth mentioned) in the additional comments.</p>

<p>Based on what I’ve seen on cc over the years, Augmented Review is for those kids on the bubble with UC-plus factors, i.e., low income, first gen to college, single parent household, overcame adversity. So, AR is unlikely in your case.</p>

<p>But UC is looking for wealthy OOS students to pay full freight, so you have a chance. If you were instate, I’d say the chance was practically nil at the Big Two.</p>