Not sure about these schools

Hi everyone, I’m currently a junior, and I have a few schools in mind, but I’m not really sure where I would stand with them, and what would be some other schools to apply to. I’ll list my info below :slight_smile:

Major: Physics
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Half White and Half Latina
UW GPA: 3.45
W GPA: I haven’t calculated this
SAT/ACT: I haven’t taken them, but I plan to take both (soon) and retake the one that I did better on
PSAT: 1240 (90th percentile)
APs: Took AP Bio sophomore year and scored a 3, currently taking AP Chem and AP Euro, planning to take AP Calc, AP Physics, AP Psych, and AP Stats next year (possibly AP English too but I’m not very sure)
Honors: Freshman year- took 5 honors classes, Sophomore year- took 5 honors classes, Junior year- taking 3 honors classes, Senior year- will be taking honors English if I don’t take AP English.
Sports: I’ve been rowing since 8th grade (I sweep and scull), and I’ve been on varsity since sophomore year. I hope to row in college, and I will start emailing some coaches once I get a few more erg tests in :slight_smile: I have also been playing soccer since I was 5 (in high school I’ve been on rec indoor and outdoor teams), and this winter I’ve joined the swim team (technically I’m varsity, she calls it “Varsity B”, but it’s basically JV haha)
ECs: I’ve been playing clarinet since 5th grade, I’ve gotten into multiple honor bands throughout high school (New England Music Festival Concert Band for 3 years, districts, multiple Sousa honor bands, and hopefully all-state next year), I’ve been section leader in my high school band since freshman year, and during freshman year, my band went to Canada to perform in a competition (I performed with my high school’s chorus, band, and MIT’s concert band) and my high school band received a bronze rating. I also play with a college band. I have also been playing piano since 6th grade. I was student body president during freshman and sophomore year, this year I’m secretary, and next year I plan on running for class president again. I have been a part of speech and debate club, Tri-M honors society (I plan on running for president of the society next year) since freshman year, I am a part of NHS (I plan on running for Vice President next year), I did math team freshman and sophomore year, and I am a part of Rubik’s cube club. Over the summer, I volunteered at a camp that was for children with life-threatening diseases, and I hope to volunteer there again, as it was completely life-changing.
Other info (I really don’t know if this has an effect on anything, but I’ll add it just in case it does): I go to one of the top 15 ranked schools in Massachusetts, my class size is 110 (and I would say that I am in the top 25%). My dad went to an ivy (he was first-generation Latino).

I’ve been looking at UCSB, UCSD, UCI, UCLA, UCBerkeley, Syracuse, Northeastern, and RPI, but I’m not really sure what my chances are at these schools/which other schools would be good safeties, matches, and reach. (I feel like most of the schools I’ve listed are reach considering my low GPA). Also, I’ve heard that female STEM majors have an easier time getting in- is this true?
Thank you for any help!! It’s really appreciated!

You need your SAT and ACT scores so that we can chance you.
Currently, your GPA is not competitive for the top UCs. Are your parents willing to pay OOS fees for the UC’s? As a non-resident, the fees are $55K per year. There is no financial aid for OOS students.

The UCs do not use affirmative action to admit students so the URM status does not matter.

Speak with your parents about what they can afford to pay and check the school’s Net Price Calculators before you apply to a school.

At many schools, female STEM majors are becoming more common.

Agree with the above poster. You need to be realistic when choosing schools. Are you sure you want to pay full price for an impacted UC where it is difficult to get the classes you need?

First find out how much your parents are willing to spend each year for college? Are you eligible for need-based and/or merit aid and are they required for you to attend college? As stated above by @aunt bea, the California UC’s give little to no financial aid (need-based) and little merit aid (scholarships) to OOS applicants. The UC’s also have their own GPA calculation which includes only 10-11th grades and honors points for OOS applicants are based on the # of semesters of AP/IB or DE courses taken during this time.

https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

Until you have finished your Junior year and have your GPA, test scores etc… it is difficult to give you any suggestions other than to continue working hard and doing some research on your target schools.

Here is a link for the UC’s Freshman profile to give you an idea of their selectivity, target UC GPA and test scores.

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/profiles/

Being a Female STEM major will give you no advantage with the UC’s. Look at some private schools instead.

Definitely need more info. Why do you want to major in physics if you’ve never taken it?