I’m planning to apply to UCB, UCLA, UCSD, UCD, and UCSB for a computer science major. Comparing Davis to Santa Barbara, which school would be best for a computer science major?
I’m not asking about the prior three due to the fact that they’re the top 3 but any advice regarding them would be appreciated as well.
Secondly, when doing my applications, I’ve run into a bit of an issue recording my scores. My school has two semesters with two quarter grades per semester. On top of that, we also have final exams which count for 20% of our yearly grade. The application doesn’t have a category for that type of system, so would I be fine just listing my final exam grades in the additional comment section of the application? Finally, is the UC-calculated GPA what the schools refer to regarding applications (3.0 for in-state and 3.4 for out of state?
EDIT: If it matters, I’ll be applying as an out-state student paying full tuition.
Unless stated otherwise, high school GPAs on UC web sites should be assumed to be the UC-recalculated weighted-capped version. But note that 3.0 or 3.4 is unlikely to gain admission to any of the six campuses you list.
You may want to ask directly which grades you should report for fall and spring semesters.
Be aware that CS is a highly popular major at most UCs, so you should expect admission to be more difficult than what general admission numbers may imply.
Thanks for the reply. Since my gpa is under 4.0, would that put me on the fence for CS major at any of the UC schools and does my first semester of Senior year help at all? I’ve had an upward trend generally in my classes since sophmore year, especially in math and sciences.
I’m also taking AP Computer Science as a senior and doing well in that course, if that matters.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1903428-faq-uc-historical-frosh-admit-rates-by-hs-gpa.html may help you estimate chances based on your (UC recalculated weighted capped) GPA, but you should assume that your chances are worse for the CS major than the overall campus admission rates may imply.
Exactly^^^.
AP classes are fine for the grades but it won’t matter too much when you apply because the colleges don’t really use AP’s for admission.
Do you have a full year of the fine arts requirement? Makes a difference especially since OOS students are being capped.
Does your school transcript show both quarter grades for each semester? My son’s HS sent home quarter grades but only the semester grades (2) were shown on the transcript. Is your final exam grade shown on your transcript? You should be inputting exactly what shows on your transcript. Also Senior year grades are not considered for UC admissions, unless your quarter grades are posted before the application deadline. Senior year courses are not considered in your UC GPA calculation however, a rigorous Senior year schedule is expected to be competitive.
Have you calculated your UC GPA? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
6 of the 9 UC campuses have average UC GPA’s of 4.0+ and for CS you should expect to be at or above this GPA for a solid chance at the schools listed.
@Gumbymom My transcript shows each quarter grade, so four in total, along with the final exam grade and the year average for each class.
@“aunt bea” what do you mean by fine arts requirement? The only thing I think that could qualify would be my Freshman year Art class and Sophmore year Music Appreciation.
If it’s of any importance, I have 4 years worth of religion courses in high school since I attend a private catholic high school and religion is a requirement. It’s treated like a regular class.
If the 9th grade art course and/or the 10th grade music appreciation course were year long high school courses, then they count toward the UC art subject requirement.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/a-g-requirements/index.html
Religion class grades are not considered for UC admissions. If you took a year of Art then you should be fine in fulfilling the UC VPA requirement.
I would just report your quarter grades and if you feel it is necessary, your final exam grades in the additional information section as you noted earlier.
Were you able to calculate your UC GPA using the calculator link with quarter grades? Also as an OOS applicant, only AP/IB and DE course grades count for the extra honors points in the calculation for 10-11th.
@ucbalumnus They were each 1 semester each would I still be able to apply?
@Gumbymom Yeah, I calculated it and based on that info graph of admissions by GPA, it doesn’t look like my chances are too good. A couple of my grades were high 80s, so I think that hurt me a bit. Do the UC school admissions take into account that my school doesn’t weigh our grades for AP courses?
The UC’s go by their specific GPA calculation and not by your HS GPA.
Also the Art/Music classes need to be a year long class to meet the VPA requirement.
Saw your other stats on another thread and at a your current GPA only UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz or Merced look likely. All three very good schools but not worth the OOS fees.
@Gumbymom Should I still consider applying to schools like Davis, SD, and SB? With my other grades, my GPA is a 3.8. What are some good schools for CS in NY or other states in general?
When I asked about my HS GPA, I asked because I’ve heard that most other high schools usually take into account that a course is an Honors or AP, so they aren’t graded as if they were regular courses. Doesn’t that make a difference in what shows up on your transcript, thus also affecting your GPA for UC applications?
UC’s only use grades from the a-g courses taken 10-11th grades for their GPA calculation. It does not matter how your HS weights or does not weight your classes you go by how the UC’s look at your transcript. Since you did not take a year of either Art or Music, you do not meet the requirements so it will probably be a waste of an application fee. Not sure what you are referring to as other grades? Freshman grades are reviewed to make sure you pass the a-g courses but not included in the GPA calculation. UC’s only recognize AP/IB or dual enrollment classes for the extra honors points for their GPA calculation if you are out of state. A 3.8 is still below the 25th percentile for these schools so they should be considered a Reach. If you have some solid Match and Safety schools on your list, then apply uf you want.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/a-g-requirements/index.html
What I meant was that a lot of other highschools weigh your AP courses rather than grading them as if they were regular courses. Rather than getting an 88 one quarter, it’d be a 90 because of the fact that it is an AP course. That would be an additional 4.0 for calculating your UC GPA rather than a 3.0.
Anyway, I emailed the UC admissions support and I’ll probably find a community college Art course to enroll in for a full year to meet the F requirement or prepare for one of the APs.