I am considering going to U. San Diego however I’m not sure if my grades are good enough to ensure my admission. I have a 3.2 GPA and 1720 on the new SAT including the writing portion.
Can anyone suggests what else I can do to better ensure my admission to U. San Diego? Perhaps more extra-curricular activity? What does U. San Diego look for the most?
<p>I would say the GPA & SAT are by far the most critical factors for you. If there's time to get your grades up, do it. If not, SAT prep will still help you considerably.</p>
<p>i would say to think about improving your SAT scores, and try to pull up ur GPA to some around 3.5~3.7 and pull up ur SAT scores to 2000-ish. that would ensure u a place in university of san diego</p>
<p>Is 3.2 your UC weighted GPA? If so, then I think your chances are very slim. Academic achievement is the most important factor, ac****ing for 75% of the criteria for admission. For Class of 2004, average UC-weighted GPA was 4.1. Only 1.6% was admitted with your GPA range. Look at the link for UCD admissions criteria.</p>
<p>bettina - this user is talking about USD which is a private Catholic school, not UCSD.</p>
<p>Oh USD? So easy to mentally insert the C when it's written out.</p>
<p>I think you are in range at UCD. Look at the stats on collegeboard.com. They admit 66% of applicants; 76-100% of accepted students had gpa of 3.0 or higher. </p>
<p>Most important thing is to try to get very good grades 1st semester of Sr. year. Retake SAT also, but prep. Be sure your application highlights your character/personal qualities and that you write a good essay.</p>
<p>Very important admission factors:</p>
<pre><code>* Secondary School Record
* Standardized Test Scores
</code></pre>
<p>Important admission factors:</p>
<pre><code>* Character/Personal Qualities
* Essay
* Extracurricular Activities
* Talent/Ability
</code></pre>
<p>Considered:</p>
<pre><code>* Alumni/AE Relation
* Class Rank
* Minority Status
* Recommendations
* Religious Affiliation or Commitment
* Volunteer Work
* Work Experience
</code></pre>
<p>The University of San Diego is by no means a selective institution. The average gpa is a 3.6 and the sat is an 1165 (Old SAT). Your SAT is the same as their average but your gpa is not. Just try and raise your GPA and try new ecs as well as write a really good essay on why you want to attend USD. I don't know if they offer early decision/action, but if so, take advantage of that and do it.</p>
<p>SirWatson1 - You wrote "The University of San Diego is by no means a selective institution." Just curious: do you consider UC Santa Barbara to be a selective institution? I do as I think many others do in California. If you compare the stats of UCSB's incoming class to that of USD's in 2004, you'll find that they are quite similar. </p>
<p>UCSB: Avg. SAT 1182 USD: Avg. SAT 1167
UCSB: Avg. GPA 3.76 USD: Avg. GPA 3.66<br>
UCSB acceptance rate: 53% USD acceptance rate: 51%</p>
<p>Source: UCSB and USD's web sites.</p>
<p>How does your SAT break down as writing would be the least stressed. The average GPA unweighted is 3.67 but if you have an upward trend and do well 1st semester you should be good. Also if you have taken challenging classes that would help. Good luck!!</p>
<p>Funny you should ask about UCSB. I studied there for a summer of my junior year in high school. In my opinion it is not a selective institution. Also, those I know view it as simply a party school. I appreciate the statistics and your argument; however, your logic only works if I view UCSB as a selective institution. My experience there as a student and what others say about the school leaves me with the notion that UCSB is not a selective institution. I realize the two schools are very analogous in statistics. You may think UCSB is a selective institution because it is much more well known and overly spoken about.</p>
<p>Sirwatson: What is your definition of a "selective school?" I find it amusing that you would define two schools that only accept 50% of applicants as "not selective." USD and UCSB may not be AS selective as say Yale or Harvard, but they are still relatively hard to get into and definitely can be considered "selective schools." And, I hardly think that studying at UCSB in a HIGH SCHOOL summer program qualifies you to speak about yourself as a UCSB student. </p>
<p>Yang, I am very familiar with admissions at USD. The most important factors they consider are overall GPA and the quality and rigor of your high school curriculum. If you have taken challenging courses in high school (APs, honors classes, topped out in math, science, languages, etc.), that is important to them. They also look for strong recommendations and extracurriculars. Diversity is becomming increasingly important to them as well. I would say USD is going to be a reach for you based solely on the bit of information you have supplied but I do not have your complete application in front of me so I can not comment further. If you would like to PM me with some more information about yourself, I can give you a better idea of your chances.</p>
<p>Carolyn, my definition of a selective school is one with an admission rate less than or equal to about 35%. I personally find 50% to be too high. You might as well flip a quarter and hope for tails. All I am saying is that we should reserve the word selective for schools that really exhibit somewhat of a statistical hardship for admission. Selective should be associated with UCB and UCLA but not so much with UCSB. A 1 in 2 chance is neither selective nor in anyway risky. Consider a casino, if the customers statistical chance of winning each game was 50% they would not be running a very good business. Now would they? This is merely my connotation of the word selection. Let us view its definition: </p>
<ol>
<li> Highly specific in activity or effect (Merriam-Webster)</li>
<li> Of or characterized by selection; discriminating (<a href="http://www.dictionary.com%5B/url%5D">www.dictionary.com</a>)</li>
</ol>
<p>Now, the definitions are rather subjective so you may interpret them to incorporate 50% as highly specific or discriminating. However, I do not think that stastistical percentage lends itself flawlessly. In my mind, highy specific and discriminating go in cases were 1 is chosen for more than 2.</p>
<p>I hardly think your ignorance qualifies you to comment on the program in which I participated in at UCSB. The same program is offered to incoming freshman of UCSB and is equivalent to taking summer classes there. The summer at UCSB put me in real college classes with real college students. I took political science and middle east history. There were no other high school students in my classes and no one knew how young I was. The professors and TAs treated me like everyone else. The program was designed to allow accomplished high school students experience college rigor. And more importantly, I received college credits.</p>
<p>Sirwatson,
Everyone is entitled to their opinions and to debate but I take offense at you calling Carolyn ignorant. She has helped so many people on this forum and knows more about college admissions then most folks in the field. She is trying to be helpful and particularly is knowlegable about Ca colleges. This forum is great if everyone can stay respectful of each others comments.</p>
<p>"Everyone is entitled to their opinions and to debate but I take offense at you calling Carolyn ignorant."</p>
<p>I don't believe I was overly offensive. However, that is YOUR opinion and I respect it if you feel that way. :)</p>
<p>My opinion is that she attacked my position to speak on behalf of UCSB when saying I wasn't qualified to do so. In my mind, I believe I am allowed the ability to refute her. The FCC even allows this. Was it in somewhat of an uncouth manner? Perhaps I did go a bit overboard and for that I apologize to Arizonamom and especially Carolyn. Let us dwell on the argument rather than the slight ad hominem. :)</p>