Should I apply to UC Merced and UC Riverside?

Applying to College
1

I really want to go to UCSD, so will it look bad to them if I also apply to UC Merced and UC Riverside? Since they are lower tier schools, someone told me it will put me down if I apply to lower level schools, since they can see all that. Is this true? Does this actually affect my chance of getting into UCSD?
Also do I even have a chance at getting into UC Merced and UC Riverside with a 3.71 UC GPA and 2110 SAT score?

2

Yes, you can make it into UC Merced and UC Riverside with that GPA and SAT score. But no, I do not think it will look bad because those are your back up schools. If you don’t make it into UCSD, you would not have anywhere to go for college. I can be wrong about that, and I also think that you have a pretty good shot at UCSD

3

Applying to UCM and UCR will not effect your admission decision at UCSD. Are you in the top 9% of your HS or California?

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/california-residents/local-path/index.html

If you are in the top 9% (ELC eligible), then you will be guaranteed admission to UCM if you do not get accepted into the other UC’s of your choice. I would save the $70 application fee if this is true.

Your GPA is below average for UCSD although test scores are competitive. 25th and 75th percentile for 2016 was 4.00-4.27. UC’s are very GPA focused so depending upon major, it would put UCSD as a Low Reach.

I would definitely add UCR/UCSC/UCI/UCD and/or UCSB to your list along with some top ranking Cal States to make sure you have several options in the Spring.

4

You will hear lots of rumors from your friends, few of which are true. They’ve probably also told you that you really need to have some community service hours, that colleges look for well-rounded students so be sure to be involved in lots of things, that if you have a bad grade they will “understand” if you explain how lousy the teacher was, etc.

5

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary says that students with 3.40-3.79 HS GPA had the following admission rates for 2015:

6% UCSD
64% UCR
80% UCM

Be careful in that the top 9% calculation for ELC is not dependent on your high school’s notion of class rank. It is actually based on a recalculated ranking of recent previous classes at your high school, so your GPA is compared against a top 9% threshold GPA set by recent previous classes at your high school. GPAs for this purpose are those recalculated by the UC method.