Hi, I’m currently a junior in high school in New Jersey. I was looking at some of the UC schools and I was wondering if I had a shot at any. My extracurriculars are really good (Created my own science club, founded a gaming company, volunteer at a hospital, etc.). You could say I’m a late bloomer because my freshman year GPA was sub-par to say the least (2.8 weighted). My GPA for my sophomore and junior years is around a 3.8. My UC capped GPA is a 3.94 and unweighted is a 3.47. My SAT I was a 1450 (750 math and 700 English) and my ACT was a 33. Is there a good chance of me getting into UCLA or UC Berkeley with these stats? I planned on my majoring in Biology of Computer Science.
It is worth a shot but. UCB and UCLA are really unlikely with a sub-4 UC GPA. If you are accepted though, be prepared to pay the full OOS rate - which is pretty absurd. You may want to investigate your in-state options or CA privates as more cost effective options - U of San Diego and Loyola Marymount are two so cal privates known to offer generous aid to OOS applicants.
Some UC statistics from 2017 but 2018 should be out by August:
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 (capped weighted) and not major specific:
UCB: 12.6%
UCLA: 11.7%
UCSD: 38.7%
UCSB: 53.6%
UCD: 56.5%
UCI: 52.1%
UCSC: 75.7%
UCR: 90.1%
UCM: 96.1%
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT:
UCB: 1280-1490
UCLA: 1280-1500
UCSD: 1250-1470
UCSB: 1210- 1450
UCD: 1190-1430
UCI: 1190-1420
UCSC: 1170-1380
UCR: 1090-1310
UCM: 1020-1230
None of above stats take into account the competitiveness of schools and majors. CS is a tough admit at any of the UC’s and this year has been especially tough with 4.0+ and 1550+ SAT applicants getting rejected or waitlisted. Biology is also a competitive and impacted major at many of the top UC’s so again a tough admit.
If your parents are willing to spend $240K+ for 4 years at a UC, then by all means please apply. I definitely would not want to spend that kind of money on any school even UCLA/UCB. @NCalRent gave you some good suggestions where you might some merit aid and would make the costs more affordable. You are a Junior so still plenty of time to do some research and look for good safeties, match and reach schools to put on your list.
Thank you so much. I will definitely be weighing my other options as well. Thank you!