I have a very low GPA, but I go to a fairly competitive high school (ranked 6th in California and 76th in the nation). Which UCs should i apply to?
Stats:
Unweighted GPA: 3.4
Weighted: 3.8
SAT: 2290
AP Bio: 5
AP Stats: 4
SAT Bio: 800
SAT Math 2: 800
SAT chem: 760
EC: Robotics (3 years, am one of four team leads); Band/Marching band 2 years; about 110 service hours
Thanks in advance!
Intended Major? Weighted GPA your UC GPA? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Are you in the top 9% of HS class?
Where have similar students at your HS been accepted in the UC system?
You can use this link to see the UC admission rates for your HS:
http://universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/admissions-source-school
What does your own guidance counselor tell you? If you truly are at a “competitive high school”, that person will have the best information about your chances of admission.
My intended major is biology. My UC GPA is a 3.7. I am in the top 9% of my HS class. I have 2 AP courses
How many AP classes does the top students take at your HS? If you are in a competitive HS, I would expect that you would have more than 2 AP’s by end of Junior year? Are you not allowed to take AP’s until Junior year? My son went to a school ranked 280th in the state. Overall he had 10 AP’s by the time he graduated and still not nearly as many as some of his friends.
Being top 9% gives you UC Merced as a safety.
Your GPA will be taken in consideration of the competitiveness of your HS.
I would apply to a wide range of UC’s but with a UC GPA of 3.7 with 2 AP’s, probably UCR/UCSC and UCI would be your best chances.
I would still apply to some of the other UC’s since you never know how your EC’s and essays will be received by admissions, but UC’s are very GPA focused. Great test scores do not make up for a lower than average GPA.
I agree with Gumbymom. Be realistic, because UC Schools are incredibly numbers-focused- your GPA has to get you in the door before they even look at the other components of your application. If you have a lower GPA, look at small liberal-arts colleges- they are more likely to look closely at the qualitative aspects of your application rather than the numbers.
Students at my high school can only take AP courses during 11th and 12th grade. Unfortunately, I only had space for 2 AP classes in my schedule. Also, which CSUs would i have a fair chance of getting into?
You would have a good chance at SLO and excellent good chances at the rest of the top CSU’s: SDSU/CSULB/CSUF/SJSU/CPP.
Sorry, I meant excellent chances at the rest of the CSU’s.
Good luck
Thank you Gumbymom
You seem like a good candidate for UCR an most of the CSUs.
In my opinion, you should apply to all the UCs that you would be willing to attend, because it is so easy to do since it is basically one application with a few small add-ons. It is my understanding that the UC adcoms compare you to the other kids at your school and make a selection.
Leadership in Robotics is a big plus. As I’m sure you know, that should be featured in at least one of your essays. Your experience probably involves planning, organizing, teaching, teamwork, helping other teams through “coopertition”, and winning competitions.
One additional thing you probably need is an activity that demonstrates interest in Biology. Maybe that is reflected in your service hours.
UCM/UCR/UCSC
http://universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/admissions-source-school
was easy to figure out your HS from ranks you posted, just search it here and you’ll see avg admit gpa for your school. (frosh gpa by hs tab)
If I figured out your school correctly, of those who applied from your school to go to UC Santa Barbara in fall of 2015, over 48% were accepted. (Thank you @dota2fan for that great link!)