Safety and Match Options?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello! I’m applying to colleges this year, and I am finishing up the list of colleges to apply to. I’ve already started my common and UC applications, but now I am trying to figure out what safeties to apply to. I am a Southern California resident and I would prefer to go to a school outside of my hometown (OC/Long Beach county area) with an urban or suburban setting and with a population of 4000+. I also plan to major in business. I come from a public high school. Here are my stats:

GPA:
→ 9-12: 3.68 uw, 4.14 w
→ 10-12: 3.5 uw, 4.0 w
→ Total academic gpa: 3.64 uw, 4.10 w
→ Class rank: 102 out of 803

SAT:
1320 (670 R+W/650 Math)
**I am taking it the second time this October

Extracurriculars:
-FBLA
→ 10-12th grade (11th: secretary/12th: president)

  • Top 10 in Regionals Global Business competition
  • Top 5 in Regionals Hospitality Management competition
    → 12th grade Virtual Enterprise (Director of Communications)
    → 11-12th grade Cappies team (12th: lead critic/president)
    → 10-12th grade Science Olympiad (11th and 12th: treasurer)
    → 7-12th grade Aikido martial arts (8th grade: adult class)
    → 10-11th grade Hospital volunteer program

I would appreciate some feedback! I am very unsure of what my safeties should be. My college counselor advised me to apply to Suffolk University, Pace University, and CSU San Marcos as safeties but I was wondering if there were any more options

2

Is your 10-12 4.0 Weighted GPA, your CSU/UC capped weighted GPA? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

What can you and your family afford to pay for college since affordability is one of the important factors in finding safety schools?

Cal states admit based on eligibility index and major. EI=(CSU GPA x800) + (SAT Math+EBRW) so based on your posted stats, your EI is 4520.

Your EI makes you competitive for all the Cal States, so choose a couple for solid Match and Safety schools. Also look at UC Riverside since they have an excellent Business school.

3

@Gumbymom No, my 10-12 weighted gpa is from my transcript and not my CSU/UC capped weighted gpa. However, I went ahead and calculated that and my results were:

9-12:
UW 3.67
W 4.06
W & Capped: 3.89

10-12:
UW 3.54
W 3.96
W & Capped: 3.88

4

For affordability, my family can afford between 10-20K a year, but I would also like suggestions for other safety schools even if they are out of our price range because I plan to apply for scholarships.

5

Even with your 3.88 capped weighted GPA, you still look like a solid applicant for the Cal states and UCR.

Cal Poly SLO might be the only tough CSU admit but you are in the ballpark.