I’ve seen on a lot of threads the cutoff for most admissions is a 3.8 Uc Gpa for any realistic shot at admissions to the more selective UC’s at least. My son has a 3.79 Gpa with lots of honors and AP classes that don’t get a grade bump. Realistically what are his chances for admissions into Uc Davis, San Diego state or slo? He took the SAT and was really disappointed with the results (1280)as he scored higher on all the practice tests, and now, because of the pandemic won’t get a shot at a retake. Any advice? What about that 3.79?
The cutoff for UC admissions is 3.0 for in-state and 3.4 for OOS to apply. But for admission, then a 3.79 puts him below the 25th percentile for the majority of UC’s with the exceptions of UC Merced, Riverside and Santa Cruz.
The UC’s and Cal states give extra Honors points up to 8 semesters of UC approved Honors, AP, IB or DE courses for the capped weighted GPA. The UC’s also look at the unweighted UC GPA and the fully weighted UC GPA where he would get unlimited points for these courses. UC capped weighted = CSU capped weighted
Did you use the Rogerhub calculator to calculate all his UC GPA’s?
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
**2020 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range: **
UCB: 4.22 (4.13-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.31)
UCSD: 4.18(4.04-4.28)
UCSB: 4.17 (4.03-4.27)
UCI: 4.11 (3.96-4.26)
UCD: 4.11 (3.97-4.25)
UCSC: 3.94 (3.71-4.16)
UCR: 3.88 (3.65-4.11)
UCM: 3.68 (3.40-3.96)
SDSU’s average CSU capped weighted GPA for admitted in 2019 was 3.97, so a 3.79 is still within range and a viable option. 2019 admit rate for Philosophy which was mentioned in your other post was 44%.
SLO’s GPA is based on 9-11th grades with an 8 semester honor point cap. If your son plans to pursue Philosophy, that major had around a 70% admit rate in the previous year (based on a 33% yield prediction). The middle 50th percentile GPA for the College of Liberal Arts was 3.89-4.25. He is below this range but definitely worth an application if his 9-11th GPA is at least a 3.79.
UC Davis would be a Reach school but having a few Reach schools on his college list is expected. With his SAT score, I would probably send his SAT score which could help his chances at UCR and UCSC. For UCD it would probably be neutral.
2020 Data:
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT totals:
UCB: 1320-1560
UCLA: 1350-1550
UCSD: 1310-1520
UCSB: 1290-1510
UCD: 1230-1490
UCI: 1280-1510
UCSC: 1170-1440
UCR: 1110-1380
UCM: 980-1260
Recommendations: Have him consider UC Santa Cruz and Riverside as UC options. For the Cal states, I would look at CSU Long Beach (average admit GPA for Philosophy was 3.91 2019 data), Cal state Fullerton (average admit GPA overall was 3.68 2019 data), Cal poly Pomona (average admit GPA overall was 3.83), San Francisco State as a safety.
Best of luck to your son and apply widely since it will be very unpredictable this year.
UCR has a Philosophy/Law and Society major which might of interest to your son.
Note that CSULB will use an admission formula for fall 2021 frosh admissions that very heavily overweights English and math grades. This can result in some surprises if students compare admit/reject results from CSULB based on overall HS GPA.
https://www.csulb.edu/admissions/freshmen-eligibility-index
I strongly encourage you to expand his ap list. I think even UCR. SDSU and CSULB will be a coin toss at best.
I’d add Sonoma, Chico, Fullerton, Sac and perhaps UCM as likely admits. Perhaps add a WUE school or two. Here’s some info on UNR
https://www.unr.edu/financial-aid/wue
and the WUE program list.
https://wuesavingsfinder.wiche.edu/search-results.php
Its going to be a crazy year. Good luck.
There is hope, even with a sub 4.0 GPA.
My son got into Cal Poly’s College of Liberal Arts (English) in 2017 with 3.86 (I think) and a 1210 SAT.
My daughter got into Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (Ag. Business) this year with a 3.7 and and a 1200 SAT.
The three biggest factors (most likely) in their acceptance success was the level of competition within their majors, the amount of academic rigor beyond the recommended A-G courses, and the amount of EC’s they had.
Long story short, Cal Poly and many of the UC’s are reaches for almost everyone, BUT students do get in who are below the averages, statistically.
P.S., my son has done well at Cal Poly. He has to work hard, but it has not been beyond his abilities, even though he was in the bottom third of applicants, statistically. All A’s and B’s, except a C+ in one math class, and a couple visits to the Dean’s List.
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