Will an ACT score of 30 hinder my chances at these top schools, despite a UC GPA of 4.44?
Here are the averages for all UC’s last year:
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/uc-freshman-application-data.pdf
Much will depend upon HS course rigor, EC’s and essays along with your test scores and GPA.
Your GPA is very high, and your ACT is slightly below average for Cal and UCLA. If you can get your ACT to a 32+, I think both schools will either be matches or high matches (depending on your major).
Haha “despite” a UC GPA of 4.44? Unless I’m confused that’s actually pretty high… Anyway, I actually got into UCBerkeley as an out of state student with an ACT of 30 so take that for what its worth. My UC GPA was lower than yours (mainly because my school offered very few advanced courses). What’ll make you shine are your ECs and your essays, which I’m pretty sure were the determining factor for me to get in. Sure a higher ACT score would be nice, but obviously you can work with it.