You probably won’t get into UCLA or UCB, honestly. TRY TO BRING YOUR GPA UP THIS SEMESTER! They consider your GPA as it stands at the end of the Fall semester for admissions, so this semester is imperative to boosting your chances. I don’t know if you can TAG to UCD or UCI with a 3.0.
@michellelove
To be blunt, you have no chance with that GPA. Psych is very competitive at both schools, where a ~3.8 GPA is what is considered competitive in most instances at UCLA and Berkeley.
You’ll have to increase your GPA substantially to do that. You may want to apply at a later time to allow yourself time to do that.
TAG at the other schools will require your GPA to increase to at least a 3.2 or more, depending on which one you’re doing TAG with, as @lindyk8 points out.
No. Apply to some state colleges or stay another year and then try to apply to a TAG if you can get above a 3.2 at least. I don’t really buy that someone got into UCLA with a 3.0 GPA. That’s pretty hard to believe.
@boxandwhiskers People have gotten into UCLA with low GPAs. Psych is impacted, however. I doubt anyone got into UCLA Psych with a 3.0. Someone got into UCLA Philosophy with a 3.14 on here, I think? (I only remember because it was my major and pi)
@goldencub That was me It can be done, but they want good reasons for why you are where you are, and equally good reasons for why they should now view you as a competitive student. The personal statement provides an excellent opportunity for this; just make sure you do not throw a pity party about how terrible your life has been and how you deserve this or that, because they won’t be interested.
@michellelove Also, it’s true that psych is far more impacted than philosophy, so I think 3.0 isn’t quite enough for UCLA for psych; if you can bring it up, though, you’ll be far more competitive next time around. If you can afford the application, or you think you will qualify for the waiver, though, by all means apply. You might be (like me) pleasantly surprised at the outcome!
I applied to the same 4 schools as you; I was rejected from UCB, waitlisted at UCD, and accepted to both UCI and UCLA.