I was just waitlisted at UC Davis and now I am concerned that I will not get in to UCSB, since it is more competitive.
UCD Major: biomedical engineering
UCSB Major: chemical engineering
Weighted GPA: 4.4
UC/CSU GPA: 4.16
SAT: 1330
AP: 4 on Calc AB, 4 on biology, 3 on AP Lang, currently enrolled in Chem and Stats
EC: President of a club that ends the stigma behind mental illnesses, Link Crew Leader, AVID Tutor, Part-time job at a local veterinary clinic
Please be honest with me. I know my SAT score is on the low end. I got a 730 in the math section, English just isn’t my best subject.
Are there other schools that you have applied to and have gotten accepted/rejected by? I think that would be helpful to determine your chances.
That said, I think you still stand a chance at UCSB given your stats. Your GPA is excellent and although your SAT is on the low end, it is just below their average. You seem to be taking a good amount of AP’s, and your EC’s are relatively good (as long as you expanded on them in your essays and application).
You should be optimistic but don’t set your focus on getting in. You are a strong applicant for many schools, and you should understand that even if you don’t get in, you have many other options. I am not the best person to be chancing you, but I hope my thoughts help to raise your confidence. I wish you the best of luck!
To be honest, UCSB’s Engineering programs are very difficult admits since they have a small program in comparison to UCD. That said, every UC campus reviews applicants based on their own criteria, so it is hard to predict the UC acceptances. The UC’s are trying put together a well rounded and diverse student body so UCD may have felt you did not fit into their profile, while UCSB may. You have competitive stats but as you know that is only part of the application. Best of luck and hopefully you have some backup schools.
@Gumbymom thank you for your input! Im not sure if this matters at all, but do I have a higher chance since I’m a girl and ucsb’s engineering program is mostly males?
Being female might be an advantage at private schools but not at the UC’s. Majority of engineering programs are predominantly male and there was a poster I believe last year that was quoting studies on the UC’s indicating that being female was not an advantage. My understanding is that admission officers do not see an applicants personal information such as race/sex etc… to remove bias. Some information can be inferred by the content of the essays but since I am not an admission officers, I do not know how much of this is true.
As I stated, all you can do is hope for the best and that you applied to some good backup schools.
I am in the same situation as 11akalei11 (waitlisted at UCD and am now unsure of UCSB - my dream school)
If you guys could chance me or give me feedback that would be awesome (I know my SAT is low)
UCD Major - Marine & Coastal Sciences
UCSB Major - Environmental Studies
Already Admitted to Cal Poly SLO - Soil Science
Weighted GPA - 4.08
SAT - 1260
Have taken 4 AP’s (AP Physics 1, AP US History, AP Enviro Science, AP Computer Science)
EC:
Lots of environmental outdoor work with organizations, UCD Bodega Marine Lab Assistant, Basketball for 2 years, Baseball all 4 years (1st team All-League infielder, varsity since Soph year), Nominated for Global Glimpse Program (taught English in Nicaragua), helped coach 6th grade boys basketball team.
Essays - thought they were pretty unique & pretty solid
It might come down to your ECs. UCSB is very holistic, probably more so than Davis. On their website, they say their decision is based 50% on test scores/GPA and 50% on ECs, so these could really tip the scale. Good luck!
@Dodgercoop99 It might be…I’m not completely sure. All I would say is that rejection at one campus doesn’t mean rejection at another, so don’t lose hope!
You guys are all going make it in UCSB, but me. As it seems apparent that your ECs are way better than me, UCSB, which prefers those extracurricular things more than UCD does, would likely pick you guys over me, for sure, lol.
@HomeWithKevin for UCSB, it could come down to your essays, especially if you have something to show that might explain why you didn’t do many ECs, such as having a job, family obligations, etc.