Please Chance Me for UC's + Some Reaches

Chance Me / Match Me!
, , , , , ,
1

Demographics

  • US domestic (US citizen or permanent resident)
  • State/Location of residency: California
  • Type of high school: Competitive public
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
  • Other special factors : n/a (i might be considered first-gen at Columbia, since neither of my parents went to college in the US)

**Intended Major(s)*: Sociology w/ public policy minor

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.98 UW
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): Not given by my school, but I took 12 AP’s (this is the most rigrous course load at my school, which offers 15 AP’s)
  • College GPA (for transfers):DE at a local community college; I have >60 credits 4.0/4.0
  • Class Rank: n/a
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1560 SAT

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)

  1. Founded a think tank to help women disrupt the cycle of abuse and homelessness. Developed the first ever app for this audience with supervision from GSU professor and transitional housing workers; garnered 250+ downloads. Established app in 35 shelters across the US. App for Good Showcase. Received $1250+ in grants; impacted 4,500+ individuals through videos and social media presence. Represented organization at UNICEF conference for youth changemakers; funded by UNESCO.

  2. Writing
    Wrote a book on heuristics and biases and their influence on student learning; copies distributed to local high school students. Presented work regarding student learning at the American School Counselor Association conference. Wrote articles on technology, societal issues and policy that were published in 7 magazines.

  3. Independent researcher in Social Sciences
    I have published 4 papers in the social sciences at EuroAsia journal of humanities, Journal of Emerging Investigators, and Cornell Arxiv

4.Research Intern @ a neurodiversity research lab
Lab’s first high school intern. Analyzed research papers on perception, learning and memory. Developed apps that help boost cognitive abilities in neuro-diverse youth; Established first ever journal club that grew to 50+ members; attended psychology and sociology classes at university.

  1. Crisis Counselor @ Youth Line
    Underwent 100+ hour training in crisis management; worked the 8pm -12am shift bi-weekly to aid youth with suicidal thoughts, depression, homelessness and abuse related issues; connected them to resources near them and helped support them through tough times.

  2. Teaching assistant @ A Policy Institute
    I assisted staff with teaching their course to help young adults build a foundational understanding of global policy, sustainable ecosystems and social justice; led workshops and prepared activities to equip students to combat real-world issues.

  3. Researcher @ T.H Chan School of Public Health
    Selected through a selective fellowship (sub 10% acceptance rate); leading research on youth homelessness; met with the state governor and helped pass a bill based upon research to improve transitive resources for at-risk youth.

  4. President at Psychology/Sociology Club and Founder/President at Mindfulness Group

  5. Vice-President @ TedEx & Board Member @ Optimist

  6. YMCA - Youth Advisory Board Chair

  7. Started my own humanities journal recently; am working on writing articles on social policy and society and publishing it on a website

  8. Selected to attend JSEP @ Dartmouth
    1 of 25 students selected from over 100 applicants to take part in a free camp in international understanding; collaborated with students from Denmark and Greenland over two week to analyze the climate crisis from a sociological lens and study mitigation innovations.

  9. Selected to attend MIT’s BWSI; Autonomous Cognitive Assistants
    1 of 32 students across the nation selected to attend free-camp; learned Python, Git, Github, NumPy, Geopandas through project-based courses; developed autonomous cognitive assistant.

14.Research Intern at Stanford’s Center on Poverty and Inequality

Essays/LORs/Other

I’m a junior rn so I can’t comment on the essays; LOR’s will be strong

Cost Constraints / Budget

Not an issue if the school is worth it, but UC’s are preferred due to in-state tuition

Schools

  • Safety: UPitt, UIUC, UCSC, Cal Poly SLO, Cal Poly Pomona

  • Match: Case Western, Brandeis, USC, Emory, UCSB, UCSD, UCI

  • Reach: Cornell, Barnard, UPenn, Dartmouth, UCB, UCLA, Georgetown (EA) and Johns Hopkins

2

Recalculate your HS GPA with GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub . Use the weighted capped version for the table below.

Fall 2021 admission rates by campus and HS GPA range from Freshman fall admissions summary | University of California :

Campus 4.20+ 3.80-4.19 3.40-3.79 3.00-3.39
Berkeley 30% 11% 2% 1%
Davis 85% 55% 23% 10%
Irvine 60% 31% 14% 1%
Los Angeles 29% 6% 1% 0%
Merced 97% 98% 96% 89%
Riverside 97% 92% 62% 23%
San Diego 75% 35% 5% 1%
Santa Barbara 73% 28% 4% 1%
Santa Cruz 91% 81% 46% 9%

These are for the whole campus. Different divisions or majors may have different levels selectivity (usually, engineering and computer science majors are more selective).

3

Y so many safeties ? I’d drop Pitt and UIUC. Fine schools. But you will get into UC and they are both expensive. And you noted while you can afford, the cost of a UC is preferred

Alabama and Arizona will both be cheaper than UC. So you sub them in for Pitt and UIUC Both safeties. So if don’t want rural, just do AZ and join the Honors College. Florida State and U of SC…top honors in the country…also worth a look and we be cost effective.

I like the list. But move USC and Emory to reach. CWRU is a low reach. I’m ok with Brandeis where it is.

Certainly you will have opportunity at a UC and CPSLO. Unless you are jonesing for Pomona, I’d drop it too. I think you want a more residential experience. You don’t need it. You have schools that are better that you’ll get into.

Good luck.

1 Like
4

I did; it came out to 4.5+ after my DE’s and AP’s

5

Thank you! Berkeley is my top choice – do you think I have a fair shot there? Also what about Georgetown, under their EA program? Is there anything I can work on to make myself more competitive for admissions to my reaches, san the essays of course.

6

I don’t know about UCB - there are other UC experts on here. Based on what you said a 4.5 and the chart above, seems like you do.

Gtwon - sure, why not - you have a chance. Worst case you’ll get deferred to RD. Your ECs line up well with the major.

I would say - you need to define your activities well - that’s really it - example don’t say you’re a VP @ tedex - but what do you do, etc. For research on youth homelessness - what are you accomplishing, etc. You’ll have little space but.

Make sure you are being honest - because what you are showing and i’m not doubting you, but it seems near impossible.

Good luck.

2 Likes
7

All of your extracurriculars seem so strong, but because you are indicating such depth/involvement with so many, I would make sure that your letters of recommendation attest to your extracurricular involvement. Perhaps include a supplement with the scans of your published work along with the bibliographic citation. Include as much verifiable documentation as possible.

3 Likes
8

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.