I’m going to be a senior next year and need to think about the oh-so-glorious future.
My unweighted gpa from 9-12 is around 3.7-8.
My weighted gpa from 9-12 is 4.15 (finally got an A in chemistry, yes!)
I have no community service, but I may have a service towards the community (I tutor ninth graders in physics, and have accumulated 300 hours over the past 2 years)
I was in feminism club, but the club made me uncomfortable
I was in economics club, because for some reason I see economics as romantic (queer, I know)
Captain of the sprints team (definitely not the fastest, but a very hard, passionate worker; put in cerca 200 hours this year)
No job experiences (might not even work senior year)
Got a couple of awards for track (one is very special to me and that’s the Coach’s award; the other is an award given to those with a gpa higher than 3.0 and it’s an All-scholastic athletics award)
One of two kids from my (fairly large, more than 2000 kids) school to go to Boys state in the summer
A personal victory: got an A in chemistry! Woooh!
Yes, just wondering “what are my chances” of getting intoi UCSB? (DA DA DUM-- AND THE WORLD’S SMALLEST VIOLIN IS BEING PLAYED)!
Also, my indubitably awesome SAT scores are 1920 (the coolest breakdown ever- 610 math, 680 critical reading, and 630 on the writing) . Also, I took the physics Sat subject test but don’t know my scores yet. By the way, I want to major in astrophysics in college and am self-studying physics now (I love physics and the problem solving and conceptualization that comes with it; on a personal note, read Intro. to Cosmology but understood very little of it; oh well another obstacle to overcome.)
What is your GPA without 9th grade grades? The UC’s look at 10th and 11th grades. Also, why would you join clubs that you don’t feel comfortable joining? You are padding your college resume and that’s not good. Are you a California resident? That makes a difference.
My gpa without 9th grade is 4.28. I have never thought about padding the old college resume. I’ve joined several clubs and left many of them due to disinterest. Feminism club was a new club at my school and I was 1 of 2 guys to join; they weren’t that friendly but did like having conversations. I live in CA.
Awesome and you never know what to expect. I visited ucsb and really liked the environment and they have a really good physics program. I’m not sure how to calculate uc gpa but 10th grade my gpa was the 4.0 both semesters with no weighted classes and 11th grade my gpa was 4.5 first semester with weighted classes and 4.6 second semester taking the same classes. To obtain a 4.28 I just did the average of my gpas
UCSB doesn’t seem to place as huge an emphasis on test scores as some other schools, which is great because some brilliant people here just aren’t great test takers/couldn’t afford private tutoring to increase scores. So with your GPA, awards, and involvement I’d say you have a good shot! Although I would recommend cultivating your interests in astrophysics a little more, and doing so in a more tangible way (club involvement, small research internship with a local university, taking a course on Coursera and getting a certification), because a lot of applicants who are shoe-ins on paper get rejected because they lack a compelling passion or personal statement. Good luck!
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks writing my UC personal statement and common app (for other schools). In them, I spoke about what drives me - what I think about when I wake up and what keeps me from sleeping at night - physics. Specifically, I’m really interested in a field of physics called cosmology - which deals with the big bang and the evolution of the universe. I’m trying to finish up studying for physics this summer and have also been researching colleges heavily. I have already asked two teachers for letters of recommendation as to give them ample time to write a letter. I’m very excited
If you’re interested in physics @ UCSB, you should know that they don’t offer a dedicated cosmology or astrophysics major. I know that they do offer an astrophysics minor, if that’s acceptable for you.
I think you have a pretty good chance. I had a 29 ACT and around 4.29 UC GPA and I got into UCSB, UCSD, among others. Physics might be more competing though and keep in mind admissions are super weird!