Updated Chances for Avg. Californian =)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I finally got ahold of all my scores (finally), so I just want to make one last-ditch effort before I start my applications. Thanks to all who've replied before, it helped a lot. But hopefully these scores can put something into perspective</p>

<p>Avg Student with a rising trend. Had almost straight As 2nd sem junior year. Pacific Islander heritage with single parent.</p>

<p>Freshman Year: 4.001 / 3.907
Sophomore Year: 4.037 / 3.762
Junior Year: 3.999 / 4.287</p>

<p>Cumulative: 4.0 UW, 3.6 W</p>

<p>SATs:
Oct SAT - 1910 (700 CR, 650 W, 560 M)
PSAT - 198 (71 CR, 59 M , 68 W)
May SAT - 1840 (670 CR, 610 W, 560 M)</p>

<p>SAT IIs
2005
Math IIc - 550
World History - 570
Lit - 580</p>

<p>2006
Math IIc - 570
US History - 640
Lit - 720</p>

<p>APs
Lang and Comp - 5
US History - 3
Physics - 2</p>

<p>ECs
NHS
CSF
Sophomore Class President
Improv Club (not founded but resurrected)
Computer Club (started)
Highest Honors all 3 years
After-school tutoring 6th grader
Summer job at retail store (gonna continue in the fall, maybe)</p>

<p>Not much volunteering since year-round theatre steals my soul
Theatre: (fall/spring)
03 - (actor / -)
04 - (actor / sound tech)
05 - ( Stage Manager / chorus)
Community Theatre - 05 & 06</p>

<p>Looking for colleges in california with good history or american studies programs. Eventually want to go into secondary education</p>

<p>colleges
Pitzer (EA) (should I submit my low SATs?)
Loyola Marymount
Occidental
Santa Clara
University of the Pacific
UC Irvine
UC Santa Cruz</p>

<p>and the reach schools
UC Los Angeles
Claremont McKenna</p>

<p>Thank you, and have a good summer =)</p>

2

<p>prolixity:</p>

<p>UCLA: Reach
UCI: Match
UCSC: Safe Match</p>

3

<p>Your GPA looks very solid. (BTW, your stated "weighted" and "unweighted" GPA numbers appear confusing.) However, your SAT scores are only average to below average. Your EC's, including stated interest in theater, are solid, but they will have less weight than your academic numbers (GPA and test scores).</p>

<p>The UC's will look at your SAT I scores from one sitting, i.e., while you can take the test multiple times, you cannot combine individual test scores from different test dates to form a higher aggregate scores. Therefore, your best sitting thus far is from your October test date (1910). This would not be the case with most private colleges, i.e., Pitzer and Claremont McKenna, who will allow you to mix and match the best individual scores to form the aggregate SAT I score. </p>

<p>In evaluating your situation, you obviously struggle with Math (all your Math test scores are 560-570), but if you can boost this score, it would open doors for better consideration by the schools you have on your list. You might wish to take advantage of this summer to better prepare yourself for this portion of the SAT and re-take the SAT I in October. The best way is to perhaps get the help of a tutor who can help drill you on the type of test problems on the test. The other best way is to get a book that has practice tests and do ALL of them. Repetition is of utmost importance. Be sure to register with the College Board for the October test date.</p>

<p>You mention that you are in a single-parent household -- will you need financial aid? Many of the private schools on your list are quite expensive. If Pitzer is your first choice and possible EA, examine closely your financial aid needs (I don't know if they are "need blind" in their admissions policy or if they satisfy 100% of demonstrated financial need, but you will want to research this.) The cost of attendance is in the $42-44K range, I believe. In your case, IF YOU DECIDE TO APPLY TO PITZER COLLEGE, you will NOT have to submit your SAT scores.</p>

<p>The private schools on your list may not offer significant financial aid, so seriously consider your needs before going through the arduous process for admissions. Unfortunately, every year there are many students who apply to colleges without giving ample thought of how the 4-year education with costs upwards of $180,000 will be paid for. Talk to your parent(s) and, combined with research on financial aid available for EACH college, put together a spreadsheet of what is feasible. </p>

<p>For the UC's, UCLA is a REACH for you. UCI is a MATCH to slight REACH. UCSC (an under-rated school, IMO) is a solid MATCH. Good luck to you!</p>

4

<p>BTW, one school that is not on your list but that you may wish to consider is Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. It has a solid History program that will prepare you well for secondary teaching as a career. It is one of the best values in education in California.</p>

5

<p>actually, my mother works for stanford, so i get a pretty good scholarship deal each year i'm in school (1/2 of stanford's tuition goes to my school, so i'd only have to pay 15K+)</p>

<p>thank you for the reply, it was really helpful. a very good analyzation that i'm not good at SAT math :-(. but i don't think i want to take the SAT again. i might take the ACT, but i don't know. i'm sick of standardized tests.</p>

<p>i was planning to apply to Cal Poly SLO, but I wasn't sure about their history dept. so thanks for the heads up. i'll definitely look into that now.</p>

<p>p.s. the GPAs are fall/spring, in case they looked confusing. some of the classes i had to take were only 1.5 credits instead of a regular 10, so the numbers may look weird</p>

6

<p>anyone else? i know i'm not the <em>only</em> average person in here.</p>

7

<p>did u switch ur gpa between W and UW? well ur not necesarily that average, only on CC standards. UCLA is a reach but some of the other UC schools like UCI and UCSC are very good matches and safeties. if ur SAT scores were just a bit higher i think u have big chances at UCLA. overall it doesnt look bad at all</p>