Just yesterday, I was rejected by UC Davis. I was pretty surprised as it had the highest acceptance rate out of the other 5 UC’s I have applied to.
I applied to all of the UC’s in the biology field, though I was told that it does not matter what major I apply to.
My stats:
ACT: 31
UC GPA: 3.96
Weighted GPA: 4.2
I have taken a total of 8 AP classes including this senior year.
The other UC campuses I have applied to include:
UCB
UCLA
UCSB
UCSD
UCI
Am I wrong to be worried right now?
UCD admits into the College of Biological Sciences, but it does not matter which Biology major you select upon application. Biological Sciences are impacted at UCD along with all the UC’s on your list.
Did you get into UCSD?
UCSD/UCI admit into the University first and then into the major so you could get into these schools but not into your 1st choice or alternate major.
Biology is in the College of Letters and Sciences at UCSB/UCLA and UCB and does not admit by major, but you still need to meet a university minimum threshold to get an acceptance.
Also all the UC’s have different criteria upon reviewing applicants, so UCD may have not been a good “fit” as perceived by admissions, but it does not mean the other UC’s will feel this way.
@Gumbymom Oh I see, no I don’t think UCSD has released admission decisions, or not to my knowledge at least.
Yes, they released Freshman decisions yesterday, the same time as UC Davis.
@Gumbymom I just checked, I did not get in. Now I’m more worried, with my stats and already being rejected by both, what do my chances look like at the other UC’s?
UCI and UCSB are definitely possible. UCLA/UCB will be tough. What are your backup schools?
@Gumbymom I do not have any backup schools, which is mostly why I’m anxious.
I don’t think he had backup schools. Since he had high stats he knew that he would get into one of the UCs.
So you did not apply to UCSC or UCR? Are you ELC eligible? If you are ELC eligible and do not get into any of the UC’s you have applied, you will be offered a spot at UC Merced.
Rule of thumb for all applicants: Make sure you have 1 safety school on your list that you know you have an almost 100% chance of getting into, just in case.
I am crossing my fingers you hear good news with the other schools.
@Gumbymom No i did not apply to those schools, and no, I am not top 9%. Yeah, I should have applies to a cal state, but as @NASA2014 said, I was almost sure that I would have been admitted to one of the UC’s I had applied to, being the mid-teirs, UCSD or UCD. Do you know when UCI releases admission decisions? I know UCSB is the 21st.
@Gumbymom, this is going to sound stupid, but…do the UC’s “talk” to each other about applicants? Seems kind of risky for a school like Davis to deny a pretty-high stats applicant because of fit, not knowing if he or she would be considered a good fit at another UC. There was another student in the Davis thread who had gotten accepted at UCB with Regents and who was denied at UCD. Did UCD know that when deciding?
UCI usually releases in waves through March, but rumor has it that they will be releasing March 16.
UC’s can be very unpredictable especially for competitive majors. Hoping for the best…
@Gumbymom Thank you so much for your time! I appreciate all that you have told me.
@Gumbymom Do you know what kind of criteria each campus is looking for in admissions?
@ImJustaPerson:
Each UC uses the following 14 areas of criteria to review applicants. How much weight they put on each area is dependent upon the each UC so some My emphasize EC’s and essays, while others may consider GPA and test scores more important. Also admission officers are individuals, just like the applicants, so much of the criteria is subjective and can vary from person to person.
From the UC website:::
How applications are reviewed
As we consider each individual application - and rest assured, we do consider each one - we look beyond grades and test scores.
We spend time evaluating your academic achievements in light of the opportunities available to you and your demonstrated capacity to contribute to the intellectual life at UC. The 14 factors we weigh are:
-Academic grade point average in all completed “a-g” courses, including additional points for completed UC-certified honors courses.
-Scores on the following tests: ACT with Writing or the SAT Reasoning Test.
-Number of, content of and performance in academic courses beyond the minimum “a-g” requirements.
-Number of and performance in UC-approved honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate Higher Level and transferable college courses.
-Identification by UC as being ranked in the top 9 percent of your high school class at the end of your junior year (Eligible in the Local Context, or ELC).
-Quality of your senior-year program as measured by the type and number of academic courses in progress or planned.
-Quality of your academic performance relative to the educational opportunities available in your high school.
-Outstanding performance in one or more specific subject areas.
-Outstanding work in one or more special projects in any academic field of study.
-Recent, marked improvement in academic performance as demonstrated by academic GPA and the quality of
coursework completed or in progress.
-Special talents, achievements and awards in a particular field, such as visual and performing arts, communication or athletic endeavors; special skills, such as demonstrated written and oral proficiency in other languages; special interests, such as intensive study and exploration of other cultures; experiences that demonstrate unusual promise for leadership, such as significant community service or significant participation in student government; or other significant experiences or achievements that demonstrate the student’s promise for contributing to the intellectual vitality of a campus.
-Completion of special projects undertaken in the context of your high school curriculum or in conjunction with special school events, projects or programs.
-Academic accomplishments in light of your life experiences and special circumstances, including but not limited to: disabilities, low family income, first generation to attend college, need to work, disadvantaged social or educational environment, difficult personal and family situations or circumstances, refugee status or veteran status.
Location of your secondary school and residence.
Maintain hope–you do have a reasonable chance for UCI and UCSB. If you don’t get into these, then community college is a very good alternative. You have a few ways of approaching that–live at home and attend a local CC (saving lots of money), or decide which UC you want to attend eventually and then attend a CC that feeds into that school through a TAP program. For example, see this thread regarding UCSB and SBCC:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/468098-backdoor-way-to-get-into-ucsb.html#latest
Possibly the #1 strategic mistake that UC applicants make: not applying to UC Santa Cruz. Give yourself a desirable safety (UCSC is underrated IMO). The mid-tier UCs (UCD, UCSB, UCI, UCSD) aren’t safeties for the average UC applicant. So if you don’t apply to UCSC (or UCR), then you are effectively declaring UC Merced as your safety by default.
Are you sure? You may not be top 9% in the local context (i.e. your high school), but what about the statewide context? With ACT Composite of 31 and UC GPA of 3.96, you would still be top 9% statewide, if your ACT English with writing score is 7 or higher, which is a low bar. In this case you should still be offered UC Merced. Check the statewide 9% calculator at:
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/california-residents/admissions-index/
Hey @Corbett , I’m in a very similar position to you. The UCs that I applied to are UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCB, UCD, UCSC, and UCR.
Stats:
SAT (New): 1350 (650 Writing/Reading, 700 Math)
Essays: 6, 5, 6
UC GPA: 4.02
Weighted GPA: 4.32
APs (only listing those during 10th & 11th grades): 8-9
Pretty good ECs, did a summer internship, good volunteering background
Major: Biology/Biological Sciences
Those are just the basic admission stats I threw out there. (I also do not qualify for the top 9%)
This weekend I was also rejected from UCSD and UCD. I was somewhat shocked at UCD, because I was at least expecting to get waitlisted. Like you, I’m also increasingly worried about my other UC admissions now.
My top school at this moment has shifted to UCI, and I feel that UCB, UCLA, and (maybe) UCSB are out of reach now. I applied to some CSUs and have received admission offers from them, but I applied as a comp. engineering major because I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do pre-med biology until after I turned in my CSU apps and was working on my UC ones. For now, I’m just nervously waiting admission info from the other UCs. I’m hoping for the best for both of us right now, good luck!
@Kobe4Lyfe98 Yeah it truly does seem like UC’s are getting more demanding whether it be of test scores, GPA, or EC’s. I’m concerned that as we both chose Biology subjects for our major, that choosing a major under the College of Letters and Science did in fact lower our chances of getting into UC Davis and San Diego. Hopefully UCSB or UCI doesn’t weigh our chosen college as much. At this point I’m just hoping for UCSB or UCI. I didn’t apply to any other campuses besides the 6 UC’s (Maybe I was too naive). I read that UC Davis only accepted around 5,400 applicants from the 71,000 freshman applications or so. UCSB accepts a lot more than 5,400, maybe around like 26-27,000, so here’s to hoping we are one of those accepted. Thanks for your input, at least I know im not the only one who was surprised with UC Davis decisions. Good luck to you too!
@rocket88 Thanks for your support! I appreciate it. Hopefully I do get accepted in UCSB, and yeah I’m starting to accept the possibility of CC.