Hello, I want to go to a good UC for premed, possibly UCSD or UCLA, maybe Davis as a last resort. My unweighted GPA (as of now) is 3.750. I didn’t take any honors/AP courses my freshmen year but this year I took Chemistry Honors and Precalculus Honors. My grade trend has been slightly on the decline, I started with one B in first semester of freshmen year in Algebra 2/Trigonometry while taking 7 classes, then 2 B’s in second semester, in math as well as Biology, then first semester of sophomore year I get 2 B’s, both in my honors classes, but I’m taking only 6 classes this year. I’m probably going to finish out the semester with at most 1 B. I do speech and debate, been a part of Science Olympiad for 3 years, I’m in my school’s Future Practicing Physicians Network, and do volunteering as part of my school’s California Scholarship Federation Club. I also play the mridangam, an Indian classical instrument. I’ve been learning for 10 years and completed my arangetram (graduation concert), sort of like a big recital. If my GPA continues to improve, and if I do more volunteer work in hospitals and in the medical field, and score well on my SAT and SAT subject tests, will I have a shot at UCLA or UCSD. In addition, is there a possibility of attending a more prestigious school such as Johns Hopkins, or Cornell, or Duke? Thank you! (If there are any more questions I’d be happy to answer them)
I’m a current junior so don’t take my thoughts word for word:
If you get straight As junior year your GPA will go up enough for serious consideration from any of those schools. However, if a B pops up either semester of junior year it’s going to be very much an uphill fight against every school except for UCSD. UCLA’s 75th percentile of admitted applicants (for the Fall 2017 freshmen) had a 4.0 GPA with a 4.5+ weighted. You’re going to be fighting against people like those for admission and the UCs are unfortunately very statistics oriented.
Do your best and you will be okay.
I will post some statistical data for the UC’s in regards to UC GPA admit rates and test scores. You do not need to go to a “prestigious” school to get into Medical school. You want to go to a school where you have a great chance of maintaining a High GPA, access to Medically related EC’s and has a good Pre-med advising center. Medical school is all about High GPA, High MCAT scores and EC’s. Where you go for Undergrad makes little difference.
Calculate your UC GPA capped weighted and Fully weighted: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79:
UCB: 1.8%
UCLA: 2.2%
UCSD: 7.2%
UCSB: 10.1%
UCI: 11.1%
UCD: 16.6%
UCSC: 43.8%
UCR: 63.3%
UCM: 88.7%
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19:
UCB: 12.6%
UCLA: 11.7%
UCSD: 38.7%
UCSB: 53.6%
UCD: 56.5%
UCI: 52.1%
UCSC: 75.7%
UCR: 90.1%
UCM: 96.1%
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 4.20 or above:
UCB: 42.7%
UCLA: 47.2%
UCSD: 84.2%
UCSB: 82.0%
UCD: 90.3%
UCI: 94.1%
UCSC: 92.7%
UCR: 97.5
UCM: 98.1%
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT:
UCB: 1280-1490
UCLA: 1280-1500
UCSD: 1250-1470
UCSB: 1210- 1450
UCD: 1190-1430
UCI: 1190-1420
UCSC: 1170-1380
UCR: 1090-1310
UCM: 1020-1230
25th - 75th percentiles for ACT:
UCB: 30-34
UCLA: 30-34
UCSD: 29-34
UCSB: 28-33
UCD: 26-32
UCI: 26-32
UCSC: 26-31
UCR: 23-30
UCM: 20-27
It is great to have high aspirations but select some Safety and Solid Match schools before considering any Reach schools.
test scores?
Davis has gotten really competitive, I don’t have enough of your stats to really asses your chances but, my guess is UCD won’t be a ‘fall back’. My suggestion is you post your test scores and UC GPA so we can give you a more accurate assessment. If you haven’t taken the SAT/ACT do it right away… I would also suggest that you broaden your perspective of potential schools. You should look into CSUs like SDSU and CSULB perhaps some privates.
Haven’t taken any official standardized tests yet, planning to do SAT Subject Tests for Math 2 and Chemistry this June, regular SAT this coming August, SAT Subject Test for Biology next year June, and a handful of AP Tests as well. Hypothetically speaking, if I score an 800 on the Math 2 and 750+ on Biology and Chemistry, and 1550+ on SAT, how are my chances looking? I’m not really sure what UC GPA means, if that means weighted, then I’m going to most likely have a 4.1-4.2 weighted GPA my first semester of senior year. Also, you’re definitely right about broadening my perspective, I’m also considering schools that aren’t in California.
UC GPA is your GPA from the a-g courses taken 10-11th grades. Capped weighted is a maximum 8 Semesters of extra honors points for UC approved Honors, AP/IB or Dual Enrollment courses. Uncapped weighted UC GPA is an unlimited semesters of extra honor points for same above mentioned courses taken 10-11th grades. UC’s do not include Freshman year grades in their GPA calculation but still require that you self-report 9th grades on the UC application.
I linked the UC GPA calculator but I will post it again: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Again without Standardized test scores, trying to give you an idea of your chances is moot. For the UC’s, Senior grades are not considered for admission decisions but doing well Senior year is important to maintain your provisional admission.
Thank you! I used the calculator and assuming I finish with straight A’s in junior year, I will end with a 3.88 unweighted GPA, an uncapped weighted GPA of 4.38, and a capped weighted GPA of 4.21.
So your UC GPA puts in a good position. Now do well on your standardized tests, continue with your EC’s to show consistency and leadership and write some amazing essays.
Best of luck.
I wont give you credit for a 1550+ SAT until it is in the books. Sit for the core test then post back with your actual results.
This link will take you to UCD freshman class profile,
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/davis/freshman-profile/
You can also find the profiles for the other UCs in the left nav of the same page.
Hello! Update: I finished sophomore year with 5 B’s total :(, I’ve taken subject tests in math 2 and chem, did really poorly on math 2 so i’m going to retake, and on chemistry I got 710, which I’m most likely going to keep since I’m not planning on doing chemistry in school anymore. I took an official SAT, and got a score of 1540 (780 R/W, 760 M) with 17 (up to 24 points) on the essay. How am I looking now? Still have to take subject test for biology, and AP tests.
UC’s are very GPA focused so although you have an outstanding SAT score, your GPA with 5 B’s will impact your chances negatively. You still have Junior year to bump up your GPA and aim for a 4.1+ UC GPA capped weighted which will make you more competitive but the top UC’s will still be tough.