My son has overall GPA of 4.1. second semester of his junior year was 4.5, and last fall semester of senior year 4.5. His SAT is 1520 and he got rejected by Davis, UCLA, George Town. Still waiting from NYU. He is on waitlist of UCI and UCSD. What should we do? Please advice. Seeing him sad is just so devastating. Please advice.
What was his intended major? Did he have any safety schools on his list?
Has he opted into the Waitlists at UCD and UCI?
Has he tried appealing his decisions if he has new and compelling information not submitted in his application?
Has he considered taking a Gap and reapplying to a better mix of schools?
NACAC will post a listing of colleges that still have open spots in May and many times there are some good schools on that list.
For colleges that accept Letters of Continued interest, I would submit such a letter outlining any new accomplishments and why he would be an asset to the school.
What was his UC GPA caped weighted and Fully weighted?
HS course rigor?
EC’s?
Did he spend time on his college essays and did they reflect his personality, goals and make him stand out as an applicant?
Stats are only part of any application unless you are targeting Cal states which admit by academic numbers only. The whole application is reviewed so GPA and test scores only will not get you into competitive schools.
Is he a US citizen, OOS or International for the UC’s?
Hello Bumbymom,
He is US citizen (born here). He really want to go to UCI. He opted in for both school. He is not here so I don’t know UC GPA. Fully weighted is 4.1. He was struggled his freshman year. He spent a lot of time on his essay. He was undeclared but he is really interested in computer science. What do you think his chance of getting in on waitlist?
Going from Undeclared to CS at any school is going to be difficult with no guarantees. UCSD does by lottery and UCI has GPA and pre-req courses before changing if possible. Does he have any other schools options where he has been accepted into a CS program?
UCI Waitlist stats 2019:
Waitlisted: 17,019
Waitlist opt-ins : 8,483
Waitlist admits: 1,496
UCSD Waitlist stats 2019:
Waitlisted: 20,000
Waitlist Admits: 4,300
His chances on the waitlist will all depend upon how many students enroll by May 1.
He may want to consider University of the Pacific–very good academics, coop program and pretty campus. Often RIT has openings in May (if I’m remembering correctly). It’s also quite a good school with interesting programs.
Both still accepting applications.
Colorado School of Mines is taking applications until April 1. Westmont College in Santa Barbara is taking applications until June 1 I believe.
Colorado school of mines is an amazing school.
Thanks. Let me tell him look into these school
another nod for Co School of Mines
Community College should be a consideration for every California student. I can assure you that within months after high school graduation the stigma of CC all but disappears. In fact, within a year the wisdom of the choice becomes evident. The admission rates from CCC is more favorable than Freshman admits. CCC class size is small and the focus is on teaching. There are many teachers at CCC who are or who have also been UC instructors and prefer the small class size of the community colleges and/or some of the facilities. (My son’s chem labs were all new with top-notch equipment.) Most of them have also worked in industry and not just academia. The money saved by going to community college opens up more possibilities for upper division and graduate work. The possibility of doing all of one’s college work without debt is invaluable. For some students the ability to focus on coursework and maybe a job is immensely helpful versus the distraction that “college life” on a campus can be. Another valuable benefit of starting at a community college is the ability to general ed classes to be potentially hone in on passions and thus majors. Then when transferring they can better choose institutions by their reputation for specific majors.
Many “kids” who go off to college at age 17, 18, or 19 will be home by Christmas due to homesickness, overwhelm, difficulty connecting, or myriad other reasons. Others who finish the year will, for other reasons, decide not to go back for a second year. By reading in these forums (look at the transfer student section and/or all of the “UC transfer” admission categories for many examples) you will see how many students started somewhere else and then chose to go to community college.
Have a conversation with you son about the benefits of this choice.
For a personal example here is my son’s story: My son only got into safety schools, and decided to go to a CCC instead. It was not an easy decision as community college was looked down on at his high-achieving high school. He is waiting now on admission decisions to many of the UC’s. He has gained admission already to a few out-of-state flagships which are known to be in the top 10 for his chosen major. He has a good chance of getting into some of the top UC’s. At community college he has achieved a 4.0 GPA, completed all of his general ed, and all of the lower division requirements for his major, and completed the honors program. He has been a tutor in math and chemistry, including being an imbeded tutor for organic chemistry. He participated in research at a UC one summer, and we are hopeful he will have an internship in the industry in which he’s interested this summer. He was selected as student of the year at his college for an industry-specific society and we’re crossing our fingers that he will get the scholarship his school offers for this major. I am nearly certain that he would not have had such success - and learned so much - if he were “away at college.” Of course every student is different, but for my son, CC has been the perfect choice.
Best of luck to your son.