I know my GPA is low and I messed up a lot during my initial high school years, but I was able to bring everything together. In my sophomore year, I got a 1 on the APCS test. However, I started coding more and became pretty good at it. I became the president of a music club in junior year (still am) and also copresident of my school’s computer science club in my senior year. (I also wrote about what I did after I failed the test and how I changed).
Schools I applied to:
UC Irvine
UC San Diego
UC Berkeley
UC Santa Barbara
UC Davis
UC Los Angeles
MIT
Cornell
Harvey Mudd
Rice
NYU
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
My father wouldn’t allow me to apply to any lower UC’s or any Calstates like Slo or Pomona because he didn’t want me to go there. So… UCI, UCSB, UCD were my backups.
Around March, I found out I was rejected to all schools and waitlisted for UCI, UCSD, and NYU. After this, I opted in the waitlist for UCI and UCSD, since my father told me I wouldn’t be able to go to NYU for financial reasons. Today, I got rejected to UCI so now I only have UCSD’s waitlist left to rely on. I’m not sure what happened… I’m just lost right now.
Sorry to hear about the rejections. It has been a rough year for CS majors.
Since you did not get into any of the UC’s, were you offered a spot at UC Merced? Are you in the top 9% of your HS class or state?
You have 2 options:
Take a Gap year, work and save some money, strengthen your application and apply to UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside and some of the Cal states such as San Diego State, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach if you want to stay in-state. Also look at other out of state options where your stats would put you in the 75th percentile of applicants.
Consider going to a California community college and transfer by way of TAG for UCD/UCI/UCR/UCSC or UCM or transfer to a CSU or private.
You may want to contact the folks at UC Merced, even if you didn’t get a notification from them that you qualify for admission as you are certainly UC Eligible. They will often take students out of cycle (after the May 1 deadline). A polite phone call from you and/or your HS guidance counselor might secure you a spot.
A posted above mentioned CC>UC transfer, which could be a good fallback.
Sorry that you’ve had such a rough time of it. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?
Talk with your Dad. Find out from him if he will again prevent you from applying
to some of the lower UC’s in two years, however you will be able to TAG at UCSB, Irvine and Davis.
Still waiting on UCSD waitlist but it’s a low chance that I’ll get it. I’m trying to mentally prepare myself to go to a CC… My dad won’t let me go to to a lower UC if offerred a position (bc of the top 9%). But I’m still really upset and unsure of what went wrong.
Honestly what went wrong is that you did not apply to any affordable safety schools and it was a very tough year for CS majors. Your dad’s limitations on your applications really hurt. You might consider taking a gap year and reapplying to a wider range of schools.
NACAC has a list of colleges with openings right now. Your WL isn’t likely to happen. Assume it won’t. Either apply to CSUs with space, conatct Merced, go to CC, look at the NACAC list, or take a gap year. Your father has done you no favors.
A CEO that I want to read more on to figure out how he has been so successful in various different fields (and has been described by an ex-GS banker, who’s sure to have known many smart people, as one of the smartest guys around) went to a UC. And not even a top UC. He went to UCSC. Then he was incredibly successful at one place. Then he got a master’s from Stanford. Then he’s gone on to revolutionize a different but related field."
@PurpleTitan and OP, I myself spent three years at CC and after another three years graduated from a CSU. There’s no shame in it. I owe my current job to the degree I earned nearly thirty years ago. I have a lovely house, nice kids, a husband, and pets. I have travelled all over the world. There are many ways to get a degree, but at the end of the day, we all just want a happy life, right? In your shoes, OP, I would sit down with your dad and tell him what option appeals to you, because his option is not happening.
I agree with @Lindagaf , I have been at my CC for 3 years and will be transferring next semester. CCs are not only affordable but also close to home so you don’t have to wait to reapply or go to a university you know you won’t like. I have a lot of high school friends who got into prestigious UCs because their parents, like yours, expected nothing less. Now they are either on academic probation or starting over at a CC because they realized their parents dreams weren’t theirs. This education is for you, if you’re only doing this for your dad then one day you might end up like one of my friends. Your dad will be proud of you no matter what you decide, sometimes it just takes a while for him to realize that. It took a while for my mom when she found out I was going to a CC and it made her feel that she couldn’t brag about me. Now she’s proud of me no matter what school I transfer to or what my major is.
OP, I’m so sorry you were boxed into the corner. Can I ask what your dad thinks now? If you don’t get into your last option, is he ok with CC? I can’t imagine he’d be ok with CC but not another UC.
If you have no options, what is his expectation of your freshman year?