<p>Alright, that makes sense. Yeah, I sort of messed up the SATs. I wish I took the ACT or actually studied for the SAT. </p>
<p>Thanks though.</p>
<p>In state, Southern California, Asian Ethnicity, Male
UC GPA: 4.12 (I think I did this correctly)
UW GPA: 3.88
W GPA: 4.36
Class rank: 87 of 805 (10.8%)</p>
<p>SAT I Math: 800
SAT I Critical Reading: 650</p>
<h2>SAT I Writing: 660</h2>
<p>Total: 2110</p>
<p>SAT II Math 2c: 800
SAT II Chem: 800</p>
<p>ACT: 32</p>
<p>APs
Calculus AB: 5
Calculus BC: 5
Chemistry: 5
Computer Science A: 4</p>
<p>Planned APs:
Bio
Language & Composition
Stats</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
3 months volunteer work at a hospital
3 years in California Scholarship Federation
2 years Piano
1 year of Tutoring Math/Chemistry 2 hrs/week
3 months in Best Buddies - special needs kids mentor program
Helped raise money for Measels Initiative
Helped out at animal shelter
AP Scholar with Honor
Mathematics Dean's List for Statistics
Principal's Honor Roll
1.5 Years - San Gabriel Valley Youth Council - Community Service Program</p>
<p>Mom did not attend college
Dad went to community college</p>
<p>I know my extracurriculars are relatively weak, but I hope my GPA and test scores make up for it?</p>
<p>Which UCs are matches/safeties?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your input!</p>
<p>Honestly, I think you're a match at every UC. Your special circumstances (mom and dad not educated at 4-year college) boost your chances.</p>
<p>How much, if at all, do APs matter? If they do, how do I send them to the UC's? Is it too late.</p>
<p>Please chance me by the way haha</p>
<p>Out of State :(- Massachusetts </p>
<p>Ethnicity: White and Hispanic</p>
<p>SAT: First try, 2340 (770 CR, 780 M, 790 W)</p>
<p>SATII: 770 Spanish w/Listening, 740 Spanish Language, 730 English Lit, 710 Math IIC, 630 Bio M</p>
<p>GPA: At two of the best prep schools in the country, including what most consider the best (Phillips Andover) for the majority of the time- 2.7</p>
<p>ECs: Lots, heavy on community service</p>
<p>Class Rank: Prep schools have too much variance to rank, so no rank.</p>
<p>Other: I explained I had a family situation (my brother using drugs and having to go to rehab, etc.) for a dip in my grades. I also have a sick letter of recommendation from a teacher but I think that might not matter since they don't require them. He says he has students who went to UCLA though, and they've done very well so who knows.</p>
<p>Schools applied to: Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz</p>
<p>Your thoughts? By the way, I don't meet the minimum UC GPA (3.4) I don't think...I might because most of my classes are APs and Honors so they could be weighted up but I still qualify due to my SAT scores.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>check your UC GPA. It will boost you a lot. They give 8 semester of AP credit or if counted in courses, 4 courses worth. So during your sophomore and junior year, you can add those extra pts in for the AP classes.</p>
<p>CHance Question: So basically, 2nd semester, I'm considering dropping an AP foreign language class. I'm going to take the regular 4th year level of that class instead. Will this have a huge effect on my college admissions chances (the UCs)? Even if I tell them I still plan to study on my own and take the AP test and stuff?</p>
<p>California resident</p>
<p>UC GPA: 3.83</p>
<p>Currently ranked:
66/519 (scholastic)
74/519 (weighted)</p>
<p>ACT Composite: 32</p>
<p>SAT II Math II: 670</p>
<p>SAT II Chem: 590 (eek!)</p>
<p>ECs/Awards:
National Honor Society Student of Character
Martial Arts 2 years
Golf 1 year
VP of Chinese Club</p>
<p>Applied as Undelclared Social Science major to:
UCLA
UCSD
UCD
UCI</p>
<p>I have already used the point system for UCSD and technically I would be in. I have no idea about the others... The socio-economic factors helped me in my score for the UCSD comprehensive review.</p>
<p>Explain the point system please? Or at least link me to an explanation. It would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>Grade Point Average
To determine your eligibility, the University calculates your GPA in the "a-g" subjects by assigning point values to the grades you earn, totaling the points and dividing the total by the number of "a-g" courses. Points are assigned as follows: A=4 points, B=3 points, C=2 points, D=1 point, and F=0 points. (Pluses and minuses are not calculated in the grade point average.)
Only the grades you earn in "a-g" subjects in the 10th and 11th grades - including summer sessions - are used to calculate your preliminary GPA. Courses you took in ninth grade can be used to meet the Subject Requirement if you earned a grade of C or better, but they will not be used to calculate your GPA.</p>
<p>Honors Courses: The University assigns extra points for up to eight semesters of University-certified honors-level and Advanced Placement courses taken in the last three years of high school: A=5 points, B=4 points, C=3 points. No more than two yearlong UC-approved honors level courses taken in the 10th grade may be given extra points. A grade of D in an honors or advanced placement course does not earn extra points.</p>
<p>The courses must be in the following "a-g" subjects: history/social science, English, advanced mathematics, laboratory science, language other than English, and visual and performing arts. Also, they must be certified as honors courses by the University. In these subjects, as well as in computer science, acceptable honors-level courses include Advanced Placement courses, Higher Level and designated Standard Level International Baccalaureate courses, and college courses that are transferable to the University.</p>
<p>D and F Grades: If you have earned a D or F in an "a-g" course, you must repeat the course with a grade of C or better in order to apply it toward your Subject Requirement. The original D or F grade will not be included in the GPA calculation, and the new grade will be used. If you repeat a course in which you initially earned a grade of C, the second grade will not be used. </p>
<p>I copied and pasted this right off the UC site.</p>
<p>Tak47:
UCLA: Reach
UCSD: Slight Reach/High Match
UCD/UCI: Match</p>
<p>Oh, that's just to determine eligibility though, it doesn't mean you're "in," it just means you meet the minimum criteria for admission.</p>
<p>There is a different point system that is used by UCSD to determine acceptance. It is based on a very strictly defined set of criteria and allocated points in the various categories. All sum up to a number that, if it is above the cutoff point for the year, means you are admitted. There are various posts here and on other websites, as well as a description on the UCSD web site. At UCSD's site you will only see the formula and the maximum points, but not the strict rules they impose on the readers to grant the points. </p>
<p>For example, community service of less than 100 hours, even if 99.999, is given zero points. From 100 to just under 200 gets half points, and from 200 and above full points for the category are assigned. Very specific and objective. No difference between 201 hours and 400 hours of service, but every applicant is judged on the same scale. Do some googling to find the various descriptions of the point rules. I believe that one has to be president or vice president in an activity to earn any leadership points, and the number of such positions and the nature of the activity are also prescribed to determine now many points in the category one will get. </p>
<p>There are a number of categories related to the applicant's context, that grant points based on factors such as attending a low performign high school, having significant traumas or disadvantages, having qualified under ELC, representing the first generation in college, and the depth of participation in summer preparatory programs. </p>
<p>One can plug in your guesses on how you will be assigned points in the formula, but you may not be aware of the specific rules and the strict policies that UCSD will use. Also, you can find out the cutoff points in prior years but the cutoff for this year will be set once they sort all the applicants, with the value chosen to yield the intended number of admits. Since this is a year with an extraordinarily large number of applications everywhere, it is likely to be higher than last year's but we just won't know until after decisions.</p>
<p>UCSD is candid about the reason for rejection -- they will tell you the cutoff and how you were assigned points on the formula. One can sometimes win an appeal if in the talk with the admissions folks, you learn a criterion for additional points that you realize you are qualified to claim. For example, one may not have listed the title of their leadership as President of a particular club, and when told that only certain titles qualify, the applicant can appeal by revealing that additional information. I suspect that in some categories, such as 'special challenges' or 'special talents and achievements', their is some softness and interpretation that someone could push on in an appeal, making a case for why a higher number of points should have been assigned. As a theoretical example, full points on the special achievements for sports titles is based on first place positions in regional or wider area competitions. One might have listed a competition by a title that does not seem to match these rules, but with a solid case presented, it might gain the extra points during an appeal. </p>
<p>Of course, the admissions officer to whom you speak to learn why you were not accepted will look at the gap between the cutoff and your current point total -- if the categories you are debating won't bring you over the line, then they won't hear the appeal. On the other hand, if they believe there is a plausible case to re-evaluate point allocations for someone who might then be admitted, your appeal is taken under consideration.</p>
<p>That's crazy, never knew that. Then again, I didn't apply there. Do any of the other UC's do this?</p>
<p>Different formulas and somewhat less strictly prescribed, AFAIK, at all but UCLA and UCB. UCSB seems the least defined, in that about half is the combination of GPA + SATs and the other half of the point score is assessed on promise in various ways, such as talent, special circumstances etc. Each school has different factors and different weighting, plus they may give credit on a category in one school that another will not (maybe not all require Pres or VP to be granted leadership credit). I don't know about the other schools, but have researched UCD, UCSC, UCSD, and UCSB. UCLA and UCB use a system more akin to private universities and not as far as I can tell constrained by a predefined formula. </p>
<p>On each school you can find some information about the categories, and at most you can figure out the weighting. This is the way all but UCB/UCLA read essays - trying to find items that fit into the formula and assigning the appropriate points. The grammar or even the content are irrelevant except when it highlights facts that the school's point system will factor into the total.</p>
<p>This is the reason that someone may be admitted to some campuses and not to others, but the results look odd. It is because one school may weight a particular factor more heavily the results in the candidate being accepted at that school, even if it is 'harder to get into' on average or more prestigious, while the supposedly lesser campus rejects the person.</p>
<p>Yeah, that's wild I never knew that they actually used some kind of formula to this degree.</p>
<p>Wow.</p>
<p>So how do they calculate # of hours of community service? Is it from the self-reported EC sheet where it asks how many hrs/week and weeks/yr? Or should we have explicitly claimed a certain # of hrs from the beginning?</p>
<p>Thanks for this info, by the way, pretty interesting, at least to an East Coast kid like me.</p>
<p>The UC application has hours per week and number of weeks for each activity, which is simply summed up to create your totals. No need to claim a specific total, they will figure it out. </p>
<p>Then they audit about 10% of the applications, although that percentage is a number I read somewhere and nothing I found on any official UC website, but I am certain it is nonzero since we are already hearing of applicants that received a letter seeking validation.</p>
<p>chances for someone i know:
CA Resident
4.1 UC GPA
1990 SAT
720,700 SAT IIs
above average EC.s and Essays
applied engineering to all UCs</p>
<p>^
Davis, Irvine: Low match.
San Diego - Match.
Berkeley, LA - Rejected.</p>
<p>Thanks for the chancing.</p>
<p>Really, though? Not even reach or something?</p>
<p>Some people have different ways of saying the same thing?</p>