Very low GPA but higher SAT.. do I have a shot at some UCs/other schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi guys, I was wondering if you could chance me for some UCs and a few others. My GPA is low but my SAT is a bit better.</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian
School: Really, really ("really" is an understatement) competitive public high school (top 5 in CA, top 100 in the nation)</p>

<p>GPA 10th - 11th grade: 3.37 UW/3.81 W (HUGE upward trend) .. I think this would be like 3.67 if you "capped" it at 8 semesters of honors/AP (but I think schools like Berkeley don't look at capped?) --> however, would this change at all if this was 3.4/3.85?
If 9th grade matters it was 3.7 UW (no honors/AP are available that year) both semesters
SAT: 2270
SAT IIs - Math: 770, Physics: 750, History: 780</p>

<p>Took basically one of the hardest course loads possible throughout high school (as you might be able to tell from the weighted compared to the unweighted).. 6 classes so 12 semesters worth of APs/Honors.. 3 Honors 10th grade, 3 APs 11th grade. Scored 5s on 2 AP exams taken, 4 on 1 (Physics AP). Taking a somewhat tough courseload this year, 3 APs, 1 Honors.</p>

<p>The class that REALLY hurt me was Physics Honors and AP... out of the 4 semesters I got 3 C's and the 4th semester managed to pull off an A. Overall I had 5 Cs which REALLY hurt my GPA (all in honors/AP classes). What I'm wondering is if the 750 on the Physics SAT II will at least somewhat help me or show I understood the subject (or the 4 on the AP test) despite the horrible grades. </p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<ul>
<li>Volunteered for 5 years in an organization that does community service: soup kitchens, book drives to help hospitals, etc. also was a member of a magazine staff that related to this</li>
<li>Varsity Cross country/track - my times are probably enough to get on some of the teams but I don't think they would warrant "getting help" into the school type times</li>
<li>3 years officer of a small club</li>
</ul>

<p>So the schools:</p>

<p>UC Berkeley
UCLA
UC SD
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC SB</p>

<p>Boston University
U Penn (I know, big reach..)
Dartmouth (same as above)
Columbia (again, same)
Purdue
Villanova
NYU</p>

<p>My essays I feel were fairly good.. do I have a shot at some of these schools, even with such a low GPA? I applied to the top schools because I figured I might as well apply to a few "high reach" schools.. was that pointless or is there perhaps a really small chance there as well? </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>IMO If you go to a really competitive school, 6 AP/Honors courses should be nothing :/</p>

3

<p>You should be in at all of the UCs. The only questionable one would probably be Berkeley. But your SATs are really good, so that may outweigh your low GPA. Plus the fact that your high school is really competitive I guess.</p>

<p>As for the others, I have no idea...</p>

4

<p>You are in luck. At UCs a high SAT score can over ride a lower GPA. I think you are in at all UCs below the top three and have a good shot at SD. Penn, Columbia and Dartmouth? Probably not.</p>

<p>And keep in mind the rankings in Newsweek do not even include the nation's top high schools, the magnets and prep schools, so claiming top 5 high schools in the Country is nonsense.</p>

5

<p>ur ethnicity hurts you, in at Nova,BU, and Purdue. Ivies are reaches. NYU depending on school is low reach-reach. UCLA and UCB if in state are matches, high matches if OOS. The other UCs u shud be fine.</p>

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