UC chances?

<p>Hello.
I'm an incoming senior at a private, competitive Catholic School. My unweighted GPA is a 2.96, and my UC weighted is a 3.0. My SAT is a 1770, with the lowest score in math. My ACT is a 25. I'd like to get into UC Riverside or UC Merced at least. I have some good extracurricular and I am multilingual. No APs so far, one semester of honors, taking AP Gopo and AP Psych in my senior year. I really want to get in either at Merced or Riverside so I can stay relatively close to home and get a UC degree. I'm not considering CC at this point.</p>

<p>Thank you! </p>

<p>Average UC GPA for in-coming Freshman 2014 for UCR and UCM:
UCR: 3.77 SAT: 1800 ACT: 25
UCM: 3.61 SAT: 1740 ACT:24
You just make the minimum required GPA at 3.0. Your SAT/ACT is about 50th percentile for both schools but UC’s weigh GPA more heavily than test scores, so your GPA will hurt your chances. Good news if you look at their Freshman profile, they did accept about 22% of their students which had a 3.0-3.2, so there is some hope although this group may include recruited athletes. I would say High Match/Low Reach for both schools. You will need to cast a wider net for schools that you would have a better chance for acceptance. Look into the many Cal States such as San Marcos, Channel Islands, Northridge, Fresno, Sac State etc… where you would get an excellent education and lower price tag. Good Luck. </p>

<p>I’m also looking at Cal Lutheran, Cal poly Pomona, Pepperdine, and other local schools. Would you happen to know how I rank at these campuses?
Thanks!</p>

<p>E: my math on the SAT and ACT was very weak (like a 490 SAT), but the other portions helped bolster it. I am retaking both, and hope to hit 1800 and 27. </p>

<p>@M4TT77‌: What is your intended major which would affect your chances at some these schools??</p>

<p>I would say Merced maybe. Cal Poly-no, it is too competitive and is a good deal for a number of engineering candidates who have the grades and Scores. Cal Lu and Pepperdine, probably not. Are you wealthy? Those schools cost money. </p>

<p>Please forgive my unorganized posts, using my phone.</p>

<p>Bio or psych major, possibly going in undecided if necessary. My dream goal is to become a trauma surgeon, so a good pre med program would be nice. I slacked off seriously, and got a rude wake up call 2nd semester of Junior year. I’m playing catch up now :(</p>

<p>Also considering UoP, CP Pomona, CSUN, UofA, UNLV, and UNR. I’d like to stay in Cali and attend a UC preferably. My GPA is 3.0 UC weighted, higher if you add in religion class, other non A-G classes, and freshman + senior grades. Getting into UCM is all I want at this point. </p>

<p>Mother is alumna of Davis and UoP, father has no degree, if it makes a difference. I’n a 1st generation American who is fluent in a dying language. We’re well off enough to afford some private schools, getting in is my worry. </p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

<p>Your UC GPA is just at the cutoff for qualifying and under the 25th percentile for UCR and UCM. You do have a chance for acceptance at these schools but a slim chance. Having no AP classes or course rigor will hurt you with the UC’s, since rigor is considered highly by the UC’s. Go ahead and apply to the UC’s and write great essays, you never know with admissions.
UoP would be a good choice since their pre-professional programs are very good and they may consider legacy which would be a boost.<br>
All schools will meet your requirements for Pre-Med since there is no “Pre-Med Major”. You need to take the required classes such as Bio, Chem, Ochem to apply, but you need stellar grades and a great MCAT score.<br>
If you plug your STATS into the SuperMatch feature, your 100% matches include Cal State San Marcos, Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State Stanislaus. Also on the list is UCM, Monterey Bay, CPP, San Francisco State and several other Cal state schools. All you can do is try and Good Luck. </p>

<p>Thank you again, you’ve honestly been so helpful throughout my college search.
Do any of these schools consider senior grades? I’m planning on taking several APs my senior year.</p>

<p>Most of the schools will look at the difficulty of your senior schedule so it is good that you are taking several AP classes senior year. </p>

<p>For your major I believe you have a decent shot at Merced, CP Pomona, and other Cal states.</p>

<p>Additionally, for your gpa it depends where you got your lower grades. Most of these colleges put a lot of weight on junior year vs. sophomore year, so if it is only your sophomore year that is dragging you down then that will look better than if you had a poor junior year, but even if you did have a poor junior year you still have a shot at these schools.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>My sophomore year bogged me down, Junior year average was around a 3.5- much better. I had some personal issues to deal with freshman and sophomore years, unfortunately. </p>

<p>@M4TT77 In that case, that significantly increases your chances, so good for you! Merced and CP Pomona are still high matches/low reaches however, so be sure to apply to many safety schools.</p>

<p>Thank you!
You can only put 5 ECs on the UC app right?</p>

<p>I believe there is room for no more than 10 EC’s, awards etc…</p>