<p>I'm a little bit concern about my D SAT scores. She retook the SAT and based on her previous scores, D thinks she can improve around 150 points so SAT would be around 1770 (based on 2400 points) and 1300 (based on a 1600 points). She has a solid gpa between B and B+ What would be her chances for a UC system? would Berkely be out of her reach?
how about San LUis Obispo? Thanks so much for your feedback!</p>
<p>My niece just started at Cal Poly SLO this fall - and LOVES it!!! She graduated from my all girls Catholic high school. Her GPA was in the 3.5 (B+ range) also. Her SAT was around the same as your D’s. She just went thru rush and decided to pledge. </p>
<p>Now… I don’t believe that your D has the stats for a good chance to be accepted at UC Berkeley. 99% rank in the top 10% of class (and I suspect many are in the top 1-5% of their class). The mid 50% of the freshman class has a M + CR of 1220-1470, so your d, if she were to be accepted, would be in the bottom half of the entering class even if she were to improve her scores as she believes that she might.)</p>
<p>UC Berkeley would be a high reach. Cal Poly SLO would be a match, since she would be in the top quarter of their freshman class - if her SAT improves as she believes it will.</p>
<p>Did she take the ACT??? Some student do better on the ACT than on the SAT (and vice versa).</p>
<p>Also… is that her weighted GPA? Also, is that her GPA based on what CA schools use to calculate?</p>
<p>Would your D be “in-state”? BTW… app deadline is approaching… are you ready??</p>
<p>Best wishes to your d and to you…</p>
<p>JL50ish, thanks for your input. Yes, my D is ready with her online application for SLO. She just needs to click “send”. I’m trying to figure out what others in the UC system would be a match or a reasonable reach? Davis, Irving, Sta. Barbara, etc.,
The B/B+ is based on her HS calculations, but it would be about the same for the UC system too. No great hope for SAT since we expect her to be around 1770 (based on 2400), and yes, D would be “in-state”.</p>
<p>UCSB, UCLA, Berkeley, and UCSD have become reaches for many top students. </p>
<p>UCDavis is easier to get into (but your D may not like the location - my niece didn’t when she visited)…UC Santa Cruz may be easier to get into. UCI is a possibility. UCMerced doesn’t have much campus “fun” yet.</p>
<p>thanks! JL50ish. I have a better idea about the UCs now.</p>
<p>I agree - UCB, UCLA, UCSD will be high reaches for her. UCD, UCSB, UCI, UCSC, UCR, UCM will be possibilities but don’t consider any of them as safeties. UCR, UCM, and UCSC will probably be the highest possibilities for her stats.</p>
<p>However, it’s just one app for all UCs so my recommendation is to go ahead and apply to any she’s interested in as long as she realizes that UCB, UCLA, UCSD are tougher to get into (but apply anyway) so include some or all of the others. She can also consider the UCM to UCB transfer program. You can probably find out more about it on the UCM website but they have a program whereby one goes to UCM for a year or two (can’t remember which) and can then transfer to UCB. I think they’re counting on a lot of the students to just want to stay at UCM by that time.</p>
<p>thanks ucsd-ucla-dad, it’s a good option to start in a UC then transfer.
I also wonder if UC system counts EC, or they only consider grades and SAT. D has three languages, leadership activities, dance, sports, and community service. So, I wonder if she would be better off applying for a private school?</p>
<p>How did your D do on her SAT subject tests (also known as SAT II tests)? Which ones did she take?</p>
<p>Have you used the UC online calculator to see how she will fare with admissions? </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html</a></p>
<p>I think it costs $60 for each UC school that you apply to - even though you’ll use one “master” UC application. So, if money is an issue, you might want to limit the number of “high reaches”. </p>
<p>UCSB has become a reach in recent years. </p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz will be a match. But almost no UC can be considered to be a “safety” nowadays. </p>
<p>I didn’t know about the UCM transfer deal. That might be interesting if going to UCM won’t be too boring for your D’s first two years… Is she the “outdoorsy type”? </p>
<p>Have you considered any other state schools besides UC schools and Cal Poly SLO? </p>
<p>If you opt for private, will you be needing F/A or merit money? There are some in CA that give merit money - but I’m concerned that her GPA might limit any significant awards.</p>
<p>What will she major in? If she’s not sure, what are her academic interests/strong points?</p>
<p>
Yes, they count ECs as well as some other factors including ‘hardships’. This is one of the reasons why some people with lower stats get accepted whereas some others with high stats get rejected and why it’s worth giving it a shot even if it’s a reach (assuming she wants to attend the particular UC).</p>
<p>
It’s true that each checkbox is an extra charge but compared to the eventual cost of college the extra app fees are insignificant. </p>
<p>What is she looking for in a college - area, major, city/non-city, beach, north/south, etc.?</p>
<p>ucsd ucla dad…</p>
<p>Does it help your chances for admittance to a UC if you are going to major in something that isn’t “too popular” a major?</p>
<p>^^ I don’t know about that but the opposite, applying for a major that’s impacted, can have an affect depending on the particular UC. For example, if one applies to the school of engineering at UCLA, which is generally more difficult to get into than the college of letters and sciences, one will be be be admitted to UCLA based on their acceptance at the school of engineering. UCSD has a different process - one is first accepted or not to UCSD and then the app goes on to the school of engineering which usually has a more difficult cut. In this case if they don’t get admitted to the school of engineering then they’re still admitted to UCSD.</p>
<p>Some other majors, such as theatrical and performing arts, might put more emphasis on the performance capabilities of the applicant than the raw numbers. </p>
<p>Plenty of students also apply and are admitted as ‘undeclared’.</p>
<p>JL50ish and usc-ucla-dad, thanks a lot for your replies.
D is unsure about her major but sometimes she mentions environmental science or business. D likes urban big cities and medium to large campus. By the way, D will be taking the Math II subject test and History.
I run the calculator numbers and we don’t qualify for need based aid, so the only option left is merit money. D doesn’t have high SAT scores or super high GPA so I worry that she won’t get merit aid. As many parents in this forum we were hit hard by the stock market, so it seems that a public college in CA is the best option for D. Unless, we find a good private college that would give my D decent amount of merit aid, but again she doesn’t have stellar sat/grades. So, at this point i think that D best alternative is a UC or SLO, or are there any other alternatives that would be a good combination of quality education and affordable tuition/living expenses given my D stats?
again, thanks so much.</p>
<p>Mom… when is D taking SAT IIs? Is there a deadline as to when those must be taken for the admission process?</p>
<p>So… would you say that you can afford the $20k-30K per year for UC education, room, board, books, etc… for a UC school? Cal Poly SLO runs a little bit less than a UC - as I understand from my brother whose D is at SLO.</p>
<p>If not, what are your other options for attending a UC school?</p>
<p>Do you have any preference between northern, central, or southern Cal schools?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t count on much in the way of merit aid. The UCs have the ‘Regents’ award which can pay for tuition but the competition is pretty stiff for it. </p>
<p>CalPoly SLO isn’t in an urban big city so you might want to consider that. SDSU is another cal state to consider.</p>
<p>she’ll be taking the satII first week of Nov. D told me it was o.k. for the SLO and UC dealines. is it really? hmmm…i say $25k is the max…Berkeley would be the perfect b/c we live close. Anyhow, D likes some private colleges outside CA, but 55K is a no no…</p>
<p>she’s ok for testing. She may want to take the SAT and ACT again in December (Dec is ok, too)- to see if she can do any better (some do better with the ACT) … Our family has some “tried and true” methods for improving scores. I could send PM you the tips if you’d like.</p>
<p>Below is testing info from UC website… Dec tests are accepted.</p>
<p>NOVEMBER 2008 November 1–30 Filing period for applicants for fall 2009
November 1 SAT Reasoning Test and SAT Subject Tests
November 5 Registration for Dec. 6 SAT Reasoning Test and SAT Subject Tests
November 7<br>
Registration deadline for Dec. 13 ACT Assessment plus Writing test
(last date for fall 2009 freshman applicants to
take test)
DECEMBER 2008 December 6 SAT Reasoning Test and SAT Subject Tests (last date for fall 2009 freshman applicants to
take tests)
December 13 ACT Assessment plus Writing test (last date for fall 2008 freshman applicants to
take test)</p>
<p>thanks, JL50ish for the info about dealines. If you could please PM your tips for improving sat scores, it would ge great!</p>
<p>[AHS</a> c/o 2008](<a href=“http://www.arcadiachineseparents.org/college.html]AHS”>http://www.arcadiachineseparents.org/college.html)</p>
<p>I often refer those interested in the UCs to look at these scatterplots from a large suburban public high school in Southern California. GPA (out of 4.0) along the y axis; SAT score (out of 2400) on the x axis. Getting into the UCs is more than GPA and SATs, but with so many data points, some trends are visible.</p>
<p>Berkeley with an SAT of 1800 and below: only 1 accepted and he/she had a GPA of 3.9. Doesn’t look good for your daughter. If you really want Berkeley, I’d try the community college route.</p>
<p>Davis, Santa Barbara and Irvine are a better bet especially if your GPA is above 3.5. Riverside, Merced and Santa Cruz look good if your GPA is above 3.0.</p>
<p>thanks ellemenope, Berkeley is ideal b/c it will cost less $$ since we’ll save in housing and living expenses. I think D would have better options now if she had attended a public HS, but instead D chose a small super competitive private HS…Anyhow, a UC or SLO would be a good option for her. D likes other colleges that are out-of-state or private but too much $$ …D needs to chose from something that is not that expensive…</p>