I am an incoming high school senior and I am not entirely sure where I stand regarding which schools I stand a chance at getting into. Sophomore year I struggled quite a bit for personal reasons, and although I’ve become a much better student since, my GPA has never recovered-- it is currently a weighted 3.0 and unweighted 2.7. Despite how horrible my GPA is, my transcript shows a drastic improvement. I have since retaken all the D’s, F’s, and even a couple C’s that I had gotten. This past year I even took on multiple AP and honors classes and I would say that I have become slightly above average as a student, earning a 3.6 last semester as well as an SAT score of 1450 and ACT score of 31 and a decent amount of extracurriculars.
Although everything besides my GPA is fairly decent, I have limited myself to only considering schools with acceptance rates above 80-85%. But am I selling myself short by doing this? I would love to get into a Cal State or even one of the less selective UCs, but I am not sure if my low GPA will automatically ruin my chances.
There’s nothing lost in applying to reach schools, as long as you also have safeties! With your upward trend, good test scores and powerful essay, you certainly have shot at some more selective schools (say 50% admission).
UC GPA? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Intended major? AP classes and test scores? SAT 2 subject test scores?
Minimum UC GPA to apply is 3.0 in-state, 3.4 OOS.
If you’re out-of-state, University of California of any campus (and correct me if I’m wrong) won’t accept you with anything lower than a “C” on your transcript. This is on their website, and it really is unfair, in my opinion. Cal State is a different story, however.
@codemachine: All a-g UC and CSU courses need to be passed with a C or better unless grade validation is used for Math and Foreign Languages only. OP has stated that they have retaken the D’s and F’s, so they should be fine to apply unless their GPA does not meet the minimum.
Without your UC GPA and an SAT breakdown, it is a guess - those re-taken courses could bump your GPA significantly. Assuming around a 3.0 though, I don’t see a UC happening unless you have a really compelling back story.
Cal States to consider include Sonoma, Sac, Humboldt and San Marcos - depending on major SJSU and CalPoly Pomona could also fit.
Good luck.