Demographic: Asian Female
SAT: 1550 (780 ERW 770 Math) (did not take essay, probably can’t submit to UC)
1460 with essay (720 ERW 740 Math) (listing this on the UC application)
SAT II: 760 Math 2, 750 Literature
GPA: 3.68 UW 3.9 W
UC GPA: 4.08
Intended majors:
USC: 1st choice: Physics/Computer Science 2nd Choice: Urban Planning
UC Irvine: Computer Science or undeclared physical sciences (I’m probably not competitive enough for comp sci anyways)
School: Small, accredited private school in China, does not rank (However I am a US citizen)
APs: AP Lang (5), AP Psychology (5), AP Chinese (5), taking APES, AP Stats, and AP Lit in senior year
ECs:
Two awards for National History Day, one first place for the regional competition and another for getting into the top 10 finalists for the Washington D.C. world finals
Participated in an LGBT rights activism organization, worked as a translator and on-site volunteer
Teaching assistant for school summer camp
3 leadership positions for clubs in school
Blue belt in Taekwondo
Upcoming speaker at TEDx
I’m more familiar with USC, but I’m pretty lost on how UC Irvine will treat someone like me who’s applying to a STEM Major without academic STEM ECs. Appreciate any help!
Submit BOTH SATs. 1550 is very strong but submit the 1460 too, if the essay is required. It is very much worth it to send both scores in this case.
Nice thinking on taking the subject tests, and good job for doing well. Your GPA is low for USC and I’m not sure on your course rigor. 3 APs your senior year appears average and none look very difficult. A red flag for me is that you only one have one STEM AP (Stats) under your belt. If your school doesn’t offer physics, calculus, or chemistry; you should be fine. If they do offer it, it will probably hurt you, to be honest.
Congrats on your TEDx! That will be a big boost to your application. Really express your love for CS/physics in your applications. Have you had any experience with programming outside of school? That can also help, especially if you have taught yourself some languages.
Yeah I agree with you that not having enough STEM APs is one of my weak points right now. My school does offer AP Physics and AP Calc, but I didn’t prepare for taking the entrance exams last year mostly because I didn’t know I want to be a STEM major until my senior year. Guess I can only hope for the best now. I’m currently self-studying python both in and out of class, I should mention that on my application somewhere. Thanks for your comment!