Need to find a safety school

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>My primary interest is Astrophysics. UC Santa Cruz has a reputation for its Astronomy program and seems like a safety school for me but something worried me when I looked at its admission stats (see below). If you don't think UCSC is a safety school for me, then which school do you think is? I prefer to go to a school in CA, NY, or MA, but other states on the East Coast is fine too. Really anywhere besides the Southern, Midwestern, or Western (except CA) states.</p>

<p>Asian male in CA</p>

<p>ACADEMICS
SAT: 1400/2100, 1420/2090
GPA:
-9-11: 3.54 UW, 3.69 W (Other people's UW GPA may be low, but my W GPA is also low...)
-UC GPA (10-11): 4.17
Rigor: 2 H and 1 AP Junior year. 6 AP Senior year. Not too impressive. =(
APs: Though I only took 1 AP class, I took 10 tests (5,5,5,5,5,5,4,4,4,3)
Rank: Bad (because of 9th grade)</p>

<p>ECs/Work Exp./Vol. work
-Will self-study introductory Astronomy
-UCLA summer program: math institute for young scholars
-Participated in several clubs Junior year and will continue to participate in some Senior year. Will start Mu Alpha Theta and possible Astronomy club next year.
-~150 volunteer hours by time of application. Volunteering include tutoring, library work, teacher assistance
-Possibly work experience (at a private educational institute for enrichment and test prep) next month (if not, then more volunteer hours)</p>

<p>Awards: none =[ unless you count National AP Scholar Award</p>

<p>So, about UC Santa Cruz, it's pretty lenient on admission but what bothered me is that 96% of its admits were in top5 of their class, despite having subpar GPAs and test scores. My scores are way above UCSC standards, but my GPA is about average and my rank is apparently low. My school gives rank for both 9-12 and 10-12. Obviously the latter significantly higher for me, but which one will UCSC consider?</p>

<p>Any suggestions for safety schools?</p>

2

<p>Someone respond. Now. =(</p>

<p>My SAT II scores are Math 800, Chem 740, USH 740 if they matter.</p>

3

<p>SAfetys?? How about Stony Brook on Long Island New York. Its well known for its science and math departments. You should definetly look into it. Help me out?</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/966020-help-me-out-chance-me-few-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/966020-help-me-out-chance-me-few-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>I don’t live in NY so I don’t consider that a safety; it’s admit rate is only 40%.</p>

5

<p>ok… How bout your local community college lol</p>

6

<p>Why don’t you take a look at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY. They offer a B.S. in Physics Area of Concentration in Astrophysics. MSU’s Space Science Center originated from a joint NASA-Morehead State-Kentucky NSF EPSCoR venture to develop a large aperture (21-meter) radiotelescope and satellite tracking station and associated laboratories. </p>

<p>It is a beautiful campus with some of the nicest people you would ever hope to meet. The area is rural but offers lots of outdoor activity.</p>

7

<p>UW-Madison? I know it’s in the midwest, but it’s well known for engineering, and they offer Astro-physics.</p>

8

<p>^^ Thanks but I try to avoid the South.</p>

<p>^ I’m going to apply there but that’s not a safety for me. I’m not instate and my GPA is not high enough for it to be a safety.</p>