My chances for UCSC...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Santa Cruz
1

<p>Hello, I would love to hear what you think my chances are for the mid-tier UC schools. My stats aren't amazing, but I hope that they are acceptable for the schools that I am interested in. My low GPA can be attributed to my grades in the math courses that I have taken (I'm terrible in math). </p>

<p>Additional notes:
UC schools that I am interested in: UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine
I have an upward trend in my grades from 9th-11th grade, starting from a 3.0 and to 4.25...
I am a minority (African American), though AA is not around anymore...
I have taken around 50 A-G courses.</p>

<h2>I've been told, and have received the awards to prove that I am a good writer. I will have amazing personal statements.</h2>

<p>Courses:
10th grade: Honors English 10, Honors Spanish 1, Honors World History, Honors Biology, Geometry</p>

<p>11th grade: AP US History, AP English Language, AP Psychology, AP Studio Art 2D, Honors Spanish 2, Photography 1, Algebra 2, Physics, Academic Decathlon, Online Trigonometry (Pre-Calculus)</p>

<p>12th grade: AP Government/AP Econ, AP Environmental Science, AP Art History, AP Studio Art 3D, Honors Spanish 3, Academic Decathlon, Ceramics 1</p>

<h2>College Courses: English 2 (equivalent to AP English Literature), Computer Science</h2>

<p>UC GPA: 3.5 - 3.6
SAT 1: 700 - Critical Reading, 500 - Math, 700 - Writing; total = 1900
SAT 2: U.S. History - 700, English Lit - 700</p>

<hr>

<p>Extracurricular activities: </p>

<p>Academic Decathlon - 3 years
- President of Academic Decathlon Club - 1 year
- Captain of Academic Decathlon team - 1 year
- Various awards won...</p>

<p>California Scholarship Federation - 2 years
- President of California Scholarship Federation Club - 1 year
- Lifetime Member award (qualified for 4 semesters while in HS)</p>

<p>College Information Club - 3 years
- President of College Information Club - 1 year</p>

<p>National Honor Society - 2 years
- Vice President </p>

<p>Class of 2010 - 3 years
- Officer - Historian
- Prom committee </p>

<p>Chinese Club - 2 years
- Officer</p>

<p>National Society of High School Scholars</p>

<hr>

<p>AP exam scores:</p>

<p>AP English Language - 5
AP US History - 4
AP Psychology - 4
AP Studio Art - 4
AP Government - 4
AP Macro Economics - 5
AP Studio Art 3D - 4
AP Art History - 5
AP Environmental Science - 5</p>

<hr>

<p>If you guys need any other information to give me more accurate chances, please let me know, and I will provide the information to the best of my ability.</p>

2

<p>I think you have a good chance of getting in...it's good that your GPA shows and upward trend and your taking alot of AP and Honors classes...shows the college that you really put forth the effort.</p>

<p>SC uses a point system from 0-10000</p>

<p>So based on your GPA (I used 3.5) and combined SAT I and II score you have a raw score of 5500...the cut off is somewhere around 6000, but they give you points for other stuff too,like geographic location,high school API,awards and projects,life experiences,a-g courses,the amount of honors and AP classes, the quality of your senior year,etc.So you'll defintely cross the 6000 mark.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the chance... are my EC's okay?</p>

<p>I know you get like 500 points for initiative (3.0+ while at a under performing school), and 1000 for classes that surpass the minimum requirement... also, 250 each for awards/talent, upward trend in GPA, etc...</p>

<p>Hopefully I qualify for all of those things...</p>

4

<p>yeah I forgot you get pts for improvement of GPA over the years...EC aren't that important to the UC unless your applying to Cal or LA, and SD.</p>

<p>don't worry you'll prbly be admitted,there has been people with worse stats than yours getting in</p>

5

<p>I think the points for improvement only count if your GPA went up more than 1.5 points.</p>

<p>I really think you'll get in though. They don't factor in AP scores though...and ECs aren't really given much importance, unless you held leadership positions, which you did, so that will get you some points.</p>

<p>I'd say you'll probably get in to all four of those schools....</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the input..</p>

<p>I sure do hope I get into all four...
I'm worried about my GPA being on the low side though.
What do you think?</p>

7

<p>Well, your SAT scores show that you obviously are weaker in math..not that you were just plain lazy..so that somewhat makes up for the lower GPA. However, it probably would have looked better if you would have taken a fourth year of math...kind of to show that you didn't give up..but what's done is done!</p>

<p>I don't think it will be a problem though, your SAT score is high for those schools...</p>

<p>If anything, you'll AT LEAST get into UCSC.</p>