I’m currently a senior at a very competitive high school but my GPA is despairingly low (below 80 out of 100) because I failed three courses two years ago due to severe eczema which also made my depression worse. It was bad to the point of being unable to sleep because my skin was so itchy and irritated/painful and I didn’t attend class nearly 25% of the time because my health was so bad which also made me fall behind. I only took the SAT I once and scored a 2190 (720R, 740M, 730W) which is far above the average range of SAT scores for incoming UC freshmen in general, and I hope it demonstrates that I can perform well when I can do things on my own terms, meaning I can control when I take it instead of being forced to perform under especially bad circumstances (i.e. eczema flare ups) and I’ve shown a very small but increasing trend in my grades over the years. I wrote about these health problems in my essays but I don’t know if I am just wasting my time applying because I am so far below the minimum requirements. I called the UC admissions help desk and they said that my application will definitely be reviewed but they are unsure of my chances.
SAT I: 2190 (720R, 740M, 730W)
GPA: Below 80 out of 100 due to physical and mental health problems
Do I actually have a chance of getting into any UC? I just want some closure to my anxiety, whether it be hope that I will get in or acceptance that I will not.
Do you know how 80 would convert to a standard GPA?
According to College Board, a B- (80 to 82) is a 2.7, so I am below that. I’m aware that it’s incredibly low but my counselor told me she wasn’t sure how my app would be taken since my SAT and high school (and I am taking a college course this year) indicate that I am not as bad a student as my GPA does.
It’s really hard to say but your SAT is so far above average I would think the lower tier UCs would take notice.
Thank you! That’s about the same response I’ve been getting from everyone else I have asked, so I guess I will continue to have hope. If worse comes to worst, I will likely try to transfer into a UC instead of attending as a freshman as I have been told that transfer applications mostly look at senior year high school and college grades which are so far much better than previous years (3.8 unweighted GPA so far this year).
For the UC’s, you need a minimum UC GPA of 3.0 in-state or a 3.4 UC GPA OOS to apply. You do not meet the minimum, your application will not be reviewed.
http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
I called and spoke to the UC admissions help desk today asking if my application would be reviewed if I did not meet the minimum requirements and the woman I spoke to said that all applications are definitely (fully) reviewed and she did not know my chances due to my circumstances, so I am not worried that they will “cut off” my app because of my GPA.
I have heard many UCs don’t enforce the minimum but look at the entire application.
That’s great to hear but I still question the validity since every year applicants are rejected due to not meeting the minimum requirements. I hope for your sake, they are true to their word and not after the application fees.
Good Luck.
Thank you for the response and I hope that they will look at my case in depth because my SAT is eye catching enough for a reconsideration. I assume many of the applicants rejected for not meeting the minimum requirements do not have such as extreme case as mine (GPA vs SAT) so my app will be a bit unique both in a good and bad way.