Alright guys, i recently transferred to a private school for junior and senior year, i decided to take some challenging classes for MY level (2 APs but 7 classes) my GPA right now is at a 3.0 weighted… i know… its bad. But! i would like to mention some of the activities I’ve taken apart of that might help my chances. Im a soccer player, 4 years of silver elite club soccer, 3 years of indoor soccer, 2 years of high school soccer (JV level), I was promoted captain freshman year and given a leadership award. Next year i plan on doing soccer Varsity level at my new school and i plan on playing football(Kicker) and to join cross country, Ive also done 1 season of swim and 1 season of Water polo. I plan on completing 100 hours of christian community service and to complete a summer law school course at UCI! ($1,110!!!). Im taking the SAT in May and I PRAY i perform well on it! I want to know my chances now and what i can do to better them! I am considering community college BUT only to transfer to UCLA, not UCI! What are my chances right now and what can i do to improve them!!! For senior year I’m taking challenging courses! Stats, Physics, AP Environmental, AP Lit, AP US/macroeconomics, Social Justice, and Intro to design.
Sophomore GPA S1 : 3.2 w
Sophomore GPA S2 : 3.2 w
Junior GPA S1 : 2.8w
Junior GPA S2 (Currently): 3.5 -i plan on raising it to a 3.7!!!
The two APs I’m taking right now are AP English and AP Psychology
What is your UC GPA? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Intended major and test scores?
My weighted 10-12 GPA so far is at 3.0 
But i have one more semester to go and so far I’m doing great! (3.5 but aiming for a 3.7) And my main intended major is political science(I want to be a lawyer). As far as SAT/ACT scores I’m taking the SAT in May for the first time. I spent months preparing for it at after school SAT prep classes to make sure I would perform my best for the first time. Im also working at raging waters as a lifeguard over the summer for job experience to help me out. if it helps, I got an 1120 on the new PSAT.
With a 3.0 UC GPA which barely makes the in-state cutoff, UCI does not look like a viable option. The UC’s are very GPA focused. UCR and UCM are possible but since you do not have an SAT score, it is difficult to give you any constructive advice other than include a couple of CSU’s on your list and your local CSU as a possible safety. Your essays and EC’s will also contribute to your application package but still we not make up for the lower than average GPA. Apply and hope for the best, but make sure you have some solid backup schools on your list.
Even if you are doing very well this semester, that’s not going to raise your GPA by much. The UCs put a lot of emphasis on GPA, UCI seems like a high reach school for you.
Yeah I’ve also been looking at UC Santa Cruz(Still out of my league) and Riverside. Is there anything i could do at all to help my admissions?! Would they take my GPA increase into consideration for improvement? And if not, should I get involved into more community service hours or into more school activities? Im becoming an ambassador/ASB member next year but would that even help at all? I know rejection will probably come my way with this school but I want to make sure I’ve done everything i can to get admitted.
One semester of an upward grade increase will help but not overcome the other 2 1/2 years of lower than average GPA. You should still apply to UCM/UCR and if you want UCSC, if the application costs are not prohibitive. If you have some other compelling reason for the lower grades other than what your originally posted, these could be addressed by your GC or yourself on the UC application.
You should be trying to find schools the fit your stats, not try to match your stats to fit the school. There are many CSU’s that will fit your needs along with some private schools such as Azusa Pacific, Whittier, La Verne, Redlands, Concordia to name a few. I would plug your stats into the SuperMatch feature on this website, to see what kind of matches you get on your list. The private schools would be more emphasis on your EC’s than the UC’s which could be an advantage.
Good Luck.
Thanks for the advice! I highly appreciate it.
I mostly agree with Gumbymom that this will be a slight challenge to get admitted as your sophomore gps isn’t very great, however if you are able to accomplish all those things you “plan” on doing and do well on your SAT I think you’ll have about a 60-70% chance of getting in. Keep in mind the Poli Sci major at UCI is competitive so make sure you really get focused now when you still have a chance! Best of luck!