<p>Hey I just finished off my junior year and my GPA was really good except for first semester because I had a job. I know colleges probably understand but my GPA was too low. First Semester of junior year I got a 3.1 weighted. ( I know it's terrible, but like I said I had a job and I had just transferred to a new school at this point that was way more competitive than my old school). The good news is my second semester of Junior year I got a 4.1 weighted. So in my opinion that was a great accomplishment to go from a 3.1 to a 4.1. Overall my GPA from 10-11 was averaged at 3.66. I know UC will never consider that GPA no matter how many explanations I had. So my question is: Should I go to community college and transfer to a competitive UC lke UCLA or UCB or should I just go to a cal state straight out of high school? I know UC's give priority to 2-year colleges that's why I dont want to go to a cal state and transfer.. Can someone please give me suggestions on what I should do? Thank you. </p>
<p>Is 3.66 your UC-weighted GPA or unweighted GPA for 10th-11th grade courses? Also, is it only a-g courses?</p>
<p>Your GPA may still be enough to get admitted to less selective UCs like UCM, UCR, UCSC, although it depends on the rest of your application as well. Indeed, if your UC-weighted GPA is 3.9 or higher, you may be eligible for guaranteed admission at UCR if you sign up in June or July: <a href=“http://admissions.ucr.edu/whyucr/ourguarantee”>http://admissions.ucr.edu/whyucr/ourguarantee</a> .</p>
<p>Of course, if you are aiming for UCB or UCLA, admission as frosh is less likely. Also, CSUs are not necessarily non-good colleges.</p>
<p>does anyone know a website that will help me calculate my a-g course GPA? thanks.</p>
<p>Follow the instructions here:
<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU;
<p>If you are unsure of a-g categories or honors designation, look up your high school here:
<a href=“http://doorways.ucop.edu”>http://doorways.ucop.edu</a></p>
<p>@ucbalumnus thank you!</p>
<p>UPDATE: i think my UC gpa is lower than the 10-11 average…i think I will only get into the less competitive cal states…now im seriously considering community college.</p>
<p>@xniano it depends what you want to do with your major. If you plan to work after your 4 years, the Cal States are the way to go. SDSU, Chico State, SLO, CPP, CSU Fullerton, CSULB, SJSU all have excellent programs that will get you ready for the job market. If you plan on Grad School, then UCSC, UCR and UCM will be good options with your GPA. Remember UC’s give you a chance on their essays to explain the drop in grades. It is worth a try and apply. You can do a CSU-UC or UC-UC transfer, if you maintain good grades in your 4 year university. Good Luck.</p>
<p>CA has a great CC system with assured paths to four year schools. Good luck.</p>
<p>That doesn’t make sense for your gpa to be lower, since it is weighted for qualified honors or AP those 2 years–what does that mean ‘lower than the average’ what is it? That was a huge improvement semester over semester. Did you continue working? Why were you working? What is your Sr year schedule what levels did you attain in your core classes?</p>
<p>@BrownParent My 10-11th grade average GPA was 3.66 weighted but when I took my a-g gpa it was even lower because we can only weigh around 8 of the grades… No, I didn’t continue working, I stopped after 1st semester, that’s why my GPA significantly increased 2nd semester. I was working to gain experience to build my resume and help my parents out. My senior schedule is AP Calc, ERWC (similar to college prep english), AP Psych, AP Gov, Health, and Dance 2. I always take AP’s and honors so maybe that would help with my application and the fact that english wasnt my first language will also boost my chances. I also have a lot of EC’s and community service hours. and I really dont want all my efforts to go to waste because of my GPA. I dont know, what do you suggest? </p>
<p>@Gumbymom I want to major in Political Science and go to law school. That’s why I want to get my BA at a good school so it would look better for law schools. I know I messed up my grades but I would gladfully enroll in SDSU but since it has become so competitiv these past few years, I dont think they’ll accept me. My main goal is to go to Berkeley because their legal studies programs are unbeatable. SO can I go to like CSUN and get a 4.0 and transfer to UCB or UCLA? I feel like its impossible; I just cant imagine good UC’s taking people from Cal States haha.</p>
<p>Law school admission is heavily numbers based. Your undergraduate GPA and your score on the LSAT will matter a lot more than the name of the institution on your diploma. A decent school is good enough.</p>
<p>You still didn’t give your UC gpa. What is your SAT? They will look at UC gpa but they will also look at all your transcripts and sr year schedule. I was asking about work because I wondered if you were low income and had no choice about working. UCs do look at your accomplishments relative to your background.</p>
<p>You would probably have a better chance to try to transfer from a CC. You can do the prereqs at a CC. You may have a good shot if you can maintain high grades and have a target major that can only be satisfied at particular UC campuses.
<a href=“Legal Studies Undergraduate Program | Jurisprudence & Social Policy / Legal Studies”>Legal Studies Undergraduate Program | Jurisprudence & Social Policy / Legal Studies;
<p>I hate to see someone put all their eggs in a basket with law school. It is a very costly and uncertain, even dismal, career choice right now.</p>
<p>@BrownParent my UC GPA is like 3.4 (Terrible) but i took the SAT recently and I still havent recieved my score yet. but based on how I did, i’ll probably get in the 1600-1700 range. I’m still debating if I should go to a cal state and transfer (which is a great risk) or go to a CC and transfer easily. I would probably settle for SDSU but I dont think they’ll accept me because they primarily focus on stats as opposed to circumstances. SO i think im going to go to a CC. Thank you. You were extremely helpful. </p>
<p>No specific major is required to be a pre-law student. Political science is the most popular, but far from the majority of majors among LSAT takers: <a href=“http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/AAS/Phil/upload/LSAT-Scores-of-Majors.pdf”>http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/AAS/Phil/upload/LSAT-Scores-of-Majors.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://lawschoolnumbers.com”>http://lawschoolnumbers.com</a> can give you an idea of how selective law schools are with respect to undergraduate GPA and LSAT score. Note that law employment prospects are law-school-ranking-dependent, and are not very good other than for graduates of top 14 law schools, or graduates of top regional law schools looking for jobs in the region.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus yes, that supports my point on how I should go to a CC and transfer to Berkeley and continue law school there; I want to go to a good law school. I want to have priority over the people from lower ranking colleges. That supports my point on how I should go to a CC and transfer to Berkeley and continue law school there. Thanks. </p>
<p>If you are interested, you may have a shot at UCSC, UC Riverside or UC Merced. UC Merced is still allowing transfers out to other UC’s so if you get in and do well you can move on if you like.</p>
<p>@lab317 I would honestly settle for UCSC. I know someone whotransferred from UCSC to UCLA. but I feel like they wont accept me…but I’ll give it a shot!</p>
<p>What is your UW GPA?</p>
<p>@AnnieBeats my UW is way too low it’s like a 3.16 :(</p>