I really want to go to UCSB, as it is my number 1 choice school.
UC GPA: 3.6 or 3.7 I can’t tell if one of my classes is UC approved as it isn’t on the UC website but my counselor said it was (IB Business Management HL 1)
UW Academic GPA: 3.5
Weighted Academic GPA 3.92
ACT: 33 composite (35 english, 32 math, 32 reading, 31 Science)
IB Math SL: 4/7 passed
Good but not amazing ECs (couple hundred community service hours, job at a restaurant, couple years of sports, few clubs, not a lot of leadership unfortunately)
Teacher letters of Rec should be solid
CA resident
Basically I took a lot of Honors/AP/IB classes and got mainly As and Bs, GPA is at an upperward trend.
I think I have a decent chance at UCSB if I applied as a econ major, but do I have a chance at Engineering? Most likely civil/environmental engineering? I plan on taking some SAT subject tests to boost my chances.
You have a very competitive ACT but a below average GPA. Since Engineering majors are usually the most selective, for the best chances you want to be above the averages for GPA and test scores. Test scores are definitely above the average but with an average UC GPA of 4.17 and the 25th percentile of 3.92. your GPA is low in comparison. UCSB does more emphasis on EC’s and essays, so there is always a chance and definitely worth an application. Just make sure you have some good backup schools on your list and do not focus on just one school. You can succeed anywhere as long as you willing to work hard.
When we toured UCSB, the admissions person who did the presentation said that, for engineering they want to see top math classes with top scores. They want to see top SAT/ACT math scores. They would like to see top SAT II math scores. She said, “MATH, MATH, MATH we want to see MATH.”
We know a student with about the same weighted GPA from a competitive HS that did not get into UCSB Engineering this year, but did get into engineering at a couple of other UCs like UCR and UCSC. They don’t take letters of rec at UCSB - I believe Berkeley is the only UC that does that.
UCSB also does not have Civil and Environmental Engineering. If those are what you want, you might want to look elsewhere. The CoE at UCSB is smaller than most of the UCs, but very good.