Low GPA, High SAT, chances at UC's

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>I've seen a few threads where people get opinions on their chances at certain colleges, so I thought I'd make one too.</p>

<p>I have a relatively low GPA of 3.45 UW (3.9W) and an SAT score of 2270 (690 CR, 800 M, 780 W)
I took 3 honors courses in sophomore year and 3 AP courses in junior year, and will be taking an honors and 3 AP courses in senior year.
I got B/C in AP Chem and B/B in AP Calc BC. I'm worried that the C may drag me down along with B's in math.
SAT 2 Math II 800
SAT 2 Chem 770
SAT 2 Bio 650
My extracurriculars include 3 years of band (trumpet), 2 years of water polo, and 4 years of track. No major awards in any of those activities. Additionally, I have ~40-50 hours of volunteering at the local library and ~80 hours of volunteering/interning at my fathers electronics company.
I anticipate my UC essay to be average. </p>

<p>I would be applying as an engineering major. </p>

<p>What chances do I have at making the following UC's? More specifically which UC's (if any) do I have a very high chance of making?
UC Berkeley
UC Los Angeles
UC San Diego
UC Santa Barbara
UC Davis
UC Irvine</p>

<p>Also, any tips for what I should be doing/focusing on?</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

2

<p>Everything except Berkeley, you stand a reasonable chance. UCB is a reach but not impossible</p>

3

<p>[University</a> of California: StatFinder](<a href=“http://statfinder.ucop.edu%5DUniversity”>http://statfinder.ucop.edu) reports, for the 2008-2009 cycle (latest available), the percentage of engineering applicants with unweighted HS GPA of 3.40-3.59 and total SAT score of 2100-2400 was:</p>

<p>Berkeley: 8.7% (combined with lower GPA ranges)
Davis: 71.3%
Irvine: 83.0% (combined with lower SAT score range)
Los Angeles: 10.3% (combined with lower GPA ranges)
Merced: 95.4% (combined with higher GPA ranges and lower SAT score ranges)
Riverside: 97.2% (combined with lower SAT score ranges)
San Diego: 58.6%
Santa Barbara: 77.5% (combined with lower SAT score range)
Santa Cruz: 90.4% (combined with all SAT score ranges)</p>

<p>However, admissions selectivity probably has increased since then. So consider your actual chances to be lower.</p>

4

<p>Note that some schools offer big scholarships for your test scores:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>Thanks for the info ucbalumus! It was very helpful and much appreciated!</p>