Well, this sucks.

<p>I've been denied at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and waitlisted in Cal Poly Pomona. I virtually have no chance at the UCs I applied (LA, SD, Cal, and Irvine). I practically shot myself in the foot. The only university I got accepted into is CSUN which is where everyone ends up going in my high school. I have a 3.9 GPA, but an abysmal 1650. </p>

<p>The reason I only applied to some of the top UCs is because I had the audacity to think my extracurriculars would get me into places. I used to own a business for about 3 or 4 years, having employees and such, but I had too much faith in that ONLY and not in my SAT score. Basically, my SAT score screwed me over. </p>

<p>I really thought I had a chance. Now it seems like my fate is sealed and I'm going to CSUN.</p>

<p>is it too late to apply to some schools that are still accepting apps? Is money a concern? if not, you have options.</p>

<p>What is your major?</p>

<p>You’re right…ECs don’t count for much at UCs…maybe as just a tipping point…but not enough to compensate for low scores unless you’re a URM or something.</p>

<p>Kola:
if you do good at CSUN, you have a great chance to transfer to any UC you like as a sophomore or a junior, so you should study hard and get good grades and then you will be on your way to a UC …</p>

<p>I don’t have a major. I’m pretty much undecided. Money could be a problem, but I want to see my other options.</p>

<p>Don’t worry, my friend got into UCSD with a 3.66 unweighted/4.11 weighted and a SAT score of 1400. Really good ECs though like Editor in Chief of school newspaper, VP of a club called Key Club, Varsity Tennis and more…so you never know… :] Don’t lose hope.</p>

<p>Yeah, even if you’re unable to get into where you want this time around (and have already missed the deadlines to add any more schools), you can always try your luck at a transfer.</p>

<p>There is not such thing as an URM at a Public University in CA. I think you still have a chance at UCSD and UCI. I do not see CSUN as a fate worse then death, but if you do, I would suggest going to a CC because transferring from a Cal-State to a UC is very, very hard.</p>

<p>I was denied for Architecture at Cal Poly SLO and waitlisted at Cal Poly Pomona!! But they did only accept 100 out of 1600 applicants for architecture, so I feel good that I’m at least on the waitlist. It was my top choice though :[</p>

<p>Honestly, a 1650 isn’t very bad at all. I have a friend who was accepted into Irvine with pretty much the same stats as you, and he has hardly any extra currics. I think you have a good chance at the other UC’s you applied to. Well, except UCLA. Our valedictorian last year got accepted into Notre Dame but got rejected from UCLA and Berkeley, so they’re looking for some pretty top-notch students. </p>

<p>And as for cal poly SLO, their admissions are CRAZY this year. Kids with 2100’s on their SATs and like 3.8’s were DENIED admission. But then I have friends who were accepted with 3.4’s and 1700’s… No one knows what goes on in those admissions offices. </p>

<p>Just keep up hope, and know you’re not alone on the waitlist!</p>

<p>^</p>

<p>Sometimes I wonder whether they’re even awake when making decisions or if they just pull out of a hat ;)</p>

<p>

As was pointed out by others, you might want to go to a CC. Since CSUN is a commuter school it isn’t like you’d be missing out on a lot of the college experience by going to a CC, and many of the UC and CSU campuses have a guaranteed admission program for CC transfers.

By law, no. In practice – ever heard of holistic review?</p>

<p>they assign you a number and they spit it out like Bingo …</p>

<p>I bet it’s out of a hat. Waitlists suck, though. Does anyone have any info about Cal Poly Pomona’s waitlist? Do a LOT of people get on it? Also, is there a way of knowing how high up you are on it?</p>

<p>For those of you who are wondering why ‘stellar’ students got rejected from these schools, I have heard UC’s (esp middle grade UC’s) do similar things. They will reject “high-quality” (lol?) students with very high grades and test scores because they think that these students won’t accept the admittance anyway and they want to keep their admittance rate lower. At least that’s what I’ve heard.</p>

<p>There is not such thing as an URM at a Public University in CA.</p>

<p>Ha!</p>

<p>Yes there is. The UCs purposely will not use an objective GPA and test score formula for admissions…for a reason…so they can accept URMs that wouldn’t get admitted if they weren’t.</p>

<p>*I don’t have a major. I’m pretty much undecided. Money could be a problem, but I want to see my other options. *</p>

<p>??? Are you saying that you’re going to wait to see if you get admitted to your reaches before you apply elsewhere? It could be too late by then to submit more apps.</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay each year? If you don’t know, ask.</p>

<p>If we were talking about your stats last fall, I would have said to try the ACT. Many students find that their performance on the ACT is significantly better than the SAT.
Have you thought about regrouping and applying now to Arizona or Arizona State?</p>

<p>@lunidud, yeah I agree with you!</p>

<p>@ blondiex293 Cal Poly Pomona accepted A LOT of people from the waitlist last year. In fact, some people from the waitlist were accepted as late as August. (My brother was waitlisted at first, then acccepted late May) Not sure if it’ll be as drastic this year, but I think you have a good chance.</p>

<p>Oh wow, really? Well, I’m not sure I have that good of a chance because architecture had such high standards and only accepted 100 students, so I highly doubt that they’ll be accepting that many people from the waitlist. But maybe they will end up being able to process me for landscape architecture instead so that I can get in. </p>

<p>Thank you for letting me know this, though, it gives me some hope :]</p>

<p>“There is not such thing as an URM at a Public University in CA.
Ha!
Yes there is. The UCs purposely will not use an objective GPA and test score formula for admissions…for a reason…so they can accept URMs that wouldn’t get admitted if they weren’t.”</p>

<p>Sure isn’t working that way for MY URM kids. I wonder why they still can’t above 3 or 4 percent black anyplace besides Riverside ( where it’s 5 percent) with all that flexibility.</p>

<p>After the UC’s finish their admissions process, students who are UC-qualified that were not admitted to any of their choices are offered a spot at Merced or Riverside. So you are likely to still get accepted into a UC, albeit not one of the ones you dreamed of.
Another thought: since only your SAT/ACT score is holding you back, you could work for a year, study up, and then retake the tests and reapply. Best of luck.</p>