My last chance thread if i get enough people

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Santa Barbara
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<p>I visted UC Davis and UCSB this past week because on paper they were my top 2 schools. but after this week UCSB is my clear number 1 choice</p>

<p>AP scores are in and all of my teachers have made the grade changes they promised for passing the Ap tests i took so what your about to see is what my college app will look like in november</p>

<p>So can you please tell me my chances to get into UCSB? comments are appreciated and percentages would be nice</p>

<p>Major- geography or geological scienes (Its actually Biology but i heard biology is popular so im going to follow my teachers advice and pick 2 less popular majors)</p>

<p>SAT II: 640 Math 2 (retaking in Oct.) , 560 U.S History (cannot retake for obvious reasons)</p>

<p>ACT: 28 = 1920 SAT according to UC translation scale (i know i need to retake but what score whould i aim for? Im thinking my goal should be to get a 30 but what do you guys think i should aim for?</p>

<p>GPA: 3.55 UC GPA (Low I Know) 14 AP/H Classes including senior year and 1 semester of algebra 2 honors (stupid teacher followed the school policy to kick you out if u have a C in an honors class. only teacher in the school to actually follow this guideline)</p>

<p>Grade Progression-
10th grade- 3.20 UC GPA
11th Grade- 3.80 UC GPA
is this progression that UC's want to see? i only included 10+11 because that is when they start calculating GPA</p>

<p>So 10th+11th grade average come out to be 3.55 GPA</p>

<p>Rank: Top 10% out of 750+</p>

<p>Senior Courseload:
AP Biology
AP Calculus BC
AP English Lit.
Goverment/Econ.
Drama 2 or Marine Biology (Non AP/H)
Sport</p>

<p>Essays: (i kind of integrated the 3 topics below into my two essays)
1. when i was a freshman my parents got in an accident and i had to start taking care of my whole family. what i mean is that my chores got tripled, i needed to help my parents move through the house, and i had to walk my bro to school before i went. My school and his school are in 2 opposte directions.
2. how my parents accident coupled with my volunteering at the hospital and retirement has changed my outlook on life and how i found my true calling which is medicine because God has blessed me with intelligence and lots of empathy towards the needy and weak.
3. i also included in my essay a great quote from one of a famous surgeon (i am drawing a blank on his name right now) but it said " i was never the smartest in med school, but what i lacked in ability i made up with through discipline." i think this quote really applies to me and i explained why. </p>

<p>Hook: Family Accident as mentioned in Personal Statement</p>

<p>Location: CA- Instate advantage?</p>

<p>Ethnicity: White (More Specifically Mideastern but according to US Census form Mideastern is considered White)</p>

<p>Gender: Male</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Volunteer:
1. 150 hr. at local hospital
2. 100 hr. at orthodonist- i started doing this cause hospital was offering less hours and i wanted healthcare related work</p>

<p>Clubs/Sports:
1. 4 year NHS (Vice President 2010)
2. 4 year CSF
3. 4 year MESA
4. 4 year track and field (Captain, 4 year varsity, and 2 time league champ)</p>

<p>School Related Project:
1. as VP of NHS I organized and participated in painting the school mascot in the school ampitheater. </p>

<p>Awards:
1. 2008 League Champion
2. 2009 League Champion
3. 2008 most improved thrower</p>

<p>Work:
1. Paid Tutor at my High School</p>

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<p>Even with your current stats, I think you’re in. </p>

<p>Though, if your current high school is very competitive or so, well. . . .it might be match then. -____-</p>

<p>I had lower gpa and sat’s than you. . .yet somehow i still got in. im attending UCSB in two weeks. =D</p>

<p>you gonna be a senior?</p>

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<p>Thanks for the chance, my high school is the not the best. it has had an API of 3-5 the couple of years check out this about my HS thread</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-general/960193-my-high-school-low-performing-confused-about-api.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-general/960193-my-high-school-low-performing-confused-about-api.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I know everything look good except for GPA. Im am very very very nervous about it</p>

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<p>I think you’re good then. ;)</p>

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<p>is your GPA weighted or unweighted?</p>

<p>do not declare a major, even if it is for the lesser chosen ones. it is better to go in undeclared and change once you are already in than to chance not getting in because you declared (i saw many of my friends who went in declared biology or another and get rejected, some with better appstats than me). plus, it looks weird that your true calling is medicine and you are majoring in geography? yeah, go undeclared.</p>

<p>try not to play the “sympathize with me” role in your essays. you need to make them something that the admissions reviewers want to keep reading, something fresh, not something that nearly all other essays are going to look like.</p>

<p>everything else looks good, most of your stats (except GPA and SAT scores) are much better than mine were, so you shouldn’t have much problem getting in. plus, OUHSD schools are pretty good on their admittance (ACHS grad myself).</p>

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<p>ACHS? Thats cool i wish i went there my freshman year then i had to transfer to OHS because my Dad got a new job. </p>

<p>Yes, your right about the “sympathize me” part my counselor told me just to tell them what happened and that i have moved on. </p>

<p>also my gpa that is above is the special UC GPA which only weights up to 4 AP classes so it kinda screwed me because all those honors classes sopomore year hurt me a little. </p>

<p>Unweighted is a 3.45
Weighted is a 3.95</p>

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<p>also I will follow your advice about going in undeclared</p>

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<p>i think you will be in, but shoot for a couple a’s just in case</p>

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<p>^^^^
what do you mean? i thought they only look at grades up until the end of your junior year? where do i get those couple A’s you are talking about?</p>

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<p>well they will see your first semester senior year before they give you a decision. plus if you get denied then you would have a good reason for an appeal afterwards</p>

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<p>ajdavidson07: are you serious? i thought they only see your senior grades when you send in your trancripts in july after you graduate? If thats true i am so ecstatic!!!</p>

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<p>Applications are due end Oct.
First semester HS generally ends around end Dec.
Does UCSB ask for transcripts or updates post application?</p>

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<p>post application. you self report what classes you are taking per semester, since grades are not in at the time the application is due.</p>

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<p>I know that is what i thought from the beginning but ajdavidson07 confused me a little bit</p>

<p>So guys what should i aim for on my ACT to boost my chances at acceptance that is the one thing i can improve before november. what specific score should i aim for 30+?</p>

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<p>Ehhh… you’re extracurricular are pretty good but your grades/SAT aren’t great. Even so I think you have a pretty good shot.</p>

<p>Also, don’t talk about God in your essay. Even if it’s a big part of your life, it makes some people <em>really</em> uncomfortable. It’s one thing to make a few comments about the work you do with your church, your youth group, etc. but it’s another to be like “God inspired me, He is so amazing, etc.” because you never know what kind of person will be reading your admissions essays.</p>

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<p>Halie: first of all im not very relgious i only goto church during the holidays </p>

<p>the second thing is in my rough draft essays i said " I have been blessed with…" so the word “God” isnt even in my essays</p>

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<p>bump 10 char?</p>

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<p>ha idk why i confused you. they still see your grades, you have to update, i just didnt explicitly say every detail. </p>

<p>i say be motivated this next year, do the best you possibly can, retake the ACT’s and aim for THE BEST YOU CAN DO, not an actual numberical value because that is almost impossible to aim for, and hope for the best. </p>

<p>and yes, try to get a few more A’s lol</p>

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<p>“God has blessed me with intelligence and lots of empathy towards the needy and weak.”</p>

<p>"Halie: first of all im not very relgious i only goto church during the holidays</p>

<p>the second thing is in my rough draft essays i said " I have been blessed with…" so the word “God” isnt even in my essays "</p>

<p>Also, don’t say “the needy and weak”. Honestly.</p>

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<p>Haha you are taking this too seriously. I’d say definitely re take tests in oct, my scores from that sitting are probably why I got in since i only had a 3.4 but had a 2090 on the sat and mediocre sat 2 s. You don’t have to apply for a less crowded major because all of the l&s majors are weighted equally except music and theater I think. It’s really a hit or miss case; there are always going to be people with higher stats than you who don’t get in and people with lower stats that do get in. All you can do is make sure you study for the oct tests, make sure your essays acurately represent you, and pray for the best! Don’t stress too much, it’s not worth it :)</p>