<p>I have applied to a few UC’s, but the school that i would really like to go to because i feel it best fits me and may be a “midreach” for me is UCI. My GPA for sophomore and junior was a 3.15 and this was due to one of my parents passing away during my second semester of my sophomore year. My SAT I was a 2000. I have received admission from UCR, but really want to attend UCI for many reasons. Early in my senior year i realized my gpa was pretty low and worked pretty hard my first semester. I got a 4.25 with 3 APs and 2 Honors. I recently found out from my counselor that UC’s don’t look at senior first semester. My overall GPA after my first semester was a 3.46. Should I try to call and talk to a UCI counselor and ask them to look at my first semester or would I sound too needy?</p>
<p>You have a good SAT score, your gpa is kind of low, but you also have a hardship (your parent passing away). Did you mention that in your essays? I wouldn’t call, but if UCI goes by points like UCSD then they will probably take into consideration your hardship.<br>
Good luck to you and I am sorry that you have lost a parent so young in life.</p>
<p>I did mention it in my essays, actually my first essay was based on this situation. Hopefully, the essay readers understand the great impact this has made towards my life. Thank you ‘akadavidsmom,’ but is there anyway to let them know about my improvement in grades? On another thread I read about colleges like an “upward trend” in grades. (well atleast for transfer students)</p>
<p>I don’t think they will take into consideration your seventh semester grades… I think some colleges will ask for the mid year grades if you are borderline, but I am not sure if UCI does this. I think the upward trend they look at is from 10th to 11th pretty much. It probably also depends on what major you applied for if your gpa will be high enough. Since decisions are already trickling out, it will only be a matter of time before all the decisions are released, I think you should just wait and see what happens. I think your SAT score shows that your gpa probably would’ve been higher if you hadn’t gone through such a tough time during your sophomore year.<br>
I hope you get accepted; keep up the good work your senior year!</p>
<p>I would get an appeal ready as well . especially if you want them to take into account your senior grade. </p>
<p>UC’s also have a tendency to really put value into the essay if your gpa is borderline as well. I believe UCI’s freshmen gpa last year was 4.0 weighted so definitely get that appeal ready and a few good letters of recommendations.</p>
<p>Essays appear to matter only for UCLA and Cal - the other UCs use a more deterministic method and those UCs mention that they read the essay solely to pick up factors for which their admissions formula awards points. It could be poorly written gibberish and the right facts will get someone in; conversely, a brilliant masterpiece of literature will not help at all if the facts don’t support a high enough score for admission. </p>
<p>For example, here is the UCI factors in their deterministic algorithm - get a score over the threshold and you are in, essay or no essay. [Freshman</a> Selection Criteria at UC Irvine](<a href=“http://www.admissions.uci.edu/admissions_info/freshmen_admission/fr_adm.html]Freshman”>http://www.admissions.uci.edu/admissions_info/freshmen_admission/fr_adm.html)</p>
<p>UCSD factors [UC</a> San Diego Comprehensive Review Admission Process: Freshman Selection, Fall 2010](<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/freshmen/process.html]UC”>http://www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/freshmen/process.html)</p>
<p>UCD factors [UC</a> Davis: Admission Criteria](<a href=“http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_selection_process.cfm]UC”>Freshman Application Tips | UC Davis)</p>
<p>UCSC factors <a href=“https://admissions.sa.ucsc.edu/apply/freshman_guide.cfm[/url]”>https://admissions.sa.ucsc.edu/apply/freshman_guide.cfm</a></p>
<p>Each campus has a slightly different set of factors and of weightings they will use to make the admissions decision. Thus, one student might get into a supposedly more selective campus but be rejected by a supposedly lower tier one, if the students particular facts and situation better fit (earn points from ) the criteria of the first school. </p>
<p>It is why we have posts every year in March with students puzzling over why A got in with certain stats but B did not, or why someone was offered a place at campus X but not Y. For all but the top two campuses, it is really quite deterministic. For a number of them where you can fairly accurately determine the weighting factors, and the rules by which they grant points under the factors, then you can get a pretty good idea of the score you will be given by admissions. </p>
<p>UCSD is the most transparent of the schools, both others like Davis are pretty clear too. UCSD will even tell you the cutoff score they used, once decisions are released, and you can talk with them about the specific facts where you think you should have earned more points than they seem to have assigned. If you have facts to support your interpretation, they willingly and helpfully open an appeal and when the facts are correct, change a no into a yes. </p>
<p>Each campus has a section telling you the basis for appeals. New information like senior year grades is not accepted in almost all the cases, but if a class was not reported or they misunderstood some accomplishment which matters in their admissions process, then an appeal has a decent shot. </p>
<p>Read the policy before blindly collecting recommendations and senior grades, as they tend to junk most appeals like that (since those are unresponsive to the appeals policy published by the campus).</p>
<p>Wow thanks for all the help :), but I was kind of confused on the basis to appeal. Would me appealing because i felt my high school performance was diminished due to my special circumstances be good? Also do they look at 1st and 2nd semester senior grades because like most seniors…I started to slack off a little bit my second semester, but if an appeal is in question i will boost my GPA to the best of my abilities. BTW, thanks so much for helping me! :D</p>
<p>If that was already mentioned in your application, then probably not.</p>
<p>UCI doesn’t use the point system to admit students. It uses holistic review. The others UCs, except for UCLA and cal, use a point system.</p>
<p>What is a holistic review?</p>
<p>An admissions officer at UCSB told a group of parents that UCLA and Berkeley look almost exclusively at factors other than the essay. In other words, grades and scores. </p>
<p>She said UCSB weighted things 50-50. That is half grades and scores and half the essay.</p>
<p>All UC campuses use Comprehensive Review, which requires each campus to consider 14 factors for application evaluation ([University</a> of California - Admissions](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/general_info/uc_reviews/freshman_app.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/general_info/uc_reviews/freshman_app.html)). Each UC campus gets to decide HOW it weighs the 14 factors. Davis and San Diego use point systems that assigns actual weight to each factor. Berkeley and UCLA use holistic review which considers the student as a whole package. The rest of the UCs do something in between.</p>
<p>Here’s the link to UCI’s comprehensive review. It doesn’t have the points, but it might give you an idea: [Freshman</a> Selection Criteria at UC Irvine](<a href=“http://www.admissions.uci.edu/admissions_info/freshmen_admission/fr_adm.html]Freshman”>http://www.admissions.uci.edu/admissions_info/freshmen_admission/fr_adm.html)</p>