What are my chances at UC Admission?

<p>Hey everyone :)</p>

<p>Can you guys tell me how likely I am to get into UC schools, especially UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Irvine, UCSD, and UC Davis. I'm really paranoid because my grades aren't looking too good (explained in next paragraph). I haven't gotten any supplement emails yet, so I'm really worried. </p>

<p>By the way, I live in California and am low income, if that helps in any way.</p>

<p>I applied for a regular Chemistry/Biochemistry major for all the UC's. This was NOT in the House of Chemistry, but rather a regular, unimpacted major.</p>

<p>I'm a senior at a prestigious high school ranked 3 in California in terms of academic achievement. Because grades are incredibly competitive, my school doesn't do class ranks. For example, a student who gets 4.0 unweighted at an above normal high school can very well get a 2.83 at my school (it's happened a lot with transfer students). I'm also a first generation Vietnamese American and will be the first to complete high school and go to college in my immediate family.</p>

<p>Sophmore year:</p>

<p>AP World History B/B (weighted)
Physics Honors B/A (weighted)
English A/B
Geometry Honors B/B
Vocals A
Health Ed B
French A/A</p>

<p>Junior Year:</p>

<p>AP US History: B/B (weighted)
Chemistry Honors A/A (weighted)
Precalculus Honors C(PROBLEM)/B (weighted)
AP Psychology A/A (weighted)
French A/A
AP English Composition B/B (weighted)</p>

<p>GPA:
-3.5 unweighted GPA
-3.75 capped UC-GPA (but UCLA and UC Berkeley doesn't cap GPAs)
-4.1 fully weighted GPA </p>

<p>This GPA is throughout Sophomore and Junior Year. However, I have one C in precalculus honors because I was basically studying for 5 AP classes, two honors classes and a regular class, so that workload hurt my grade in that class, but I brought it up the next semester. </p>

<p>Nonetheless, I think that this C may decrease my chances by A LOT.</p>

<p>My SAT is 2170 (660 reading/720 Writing/790 Math).</p>

<p>My ACT composite score is 33 (35 English/33 Math/30 Reading/33 Science) with an 8 essay.</p>

<p>APS:</p>

<p>AP World History - 5
APUSH - 4
AP English Language - 4
AP Psychology - 5
AP Chemistry - 4 (I didn't take the class, I self studied)
AP Biology - 4 (I didn't take the class, I self studied)</p>

<p>Currently, in my senior year, my workload is:</p>

<p>AP English Literature
AP Calculus BC
AP Physics B
French Honors
American Democracy/Economics series.</p>

<p>SAT II's
Chemistry - 770
Biology - 690
Math II - 700
English Lit - 670</p>

<p>My extracurriculars are:</p>

<ul>
<li>Volunteer at Kaiser Main Hospital/Pharmacy every week (Junior/Senior)</li>
<li>California Scholastic Federation (CSF) life member tutor (junior/senior year)</li>
<li>Swimming for three years. (sophomore/junior/senior year)</li>
<li>Cross country (sophomore year)</li>
<li>Volunteered in Nicaragua to help/tutor poor children and spread hope to the community (junior year summer)</li>
<li>Public Relations Officer of club that sends money back to Nicaragua to fund education for kids. (senior year)</li>
<li>Tutoring little brother (in special ed) everyday after school (Freshman/Sophomore/Junior/Senior year)</li>
</ul>

<p>Personal Statements:</p>

<p>Background - On how I grew up with a mom who was constantly taking overdoses of pills and how I constantly worried about her health. However, she is gradually getting better, and so, I am driven to think positively in any circumstance now, regardless of how bleak. </p>

<p>Personal Experience - My volunteer trip to Nicaragua and my experiences with tutoring homeless kids and kids with special needs.</p>

<p>So, do I have any chance at all ? I know that since this is College Confidential, everyone has much higher scores/grades than me, but please give an honest answer in terms of admission.</p>

<p>Despite your GPA, your SAT and ACT scores are great. You would definitley be a strong canidate</p>

<p>Thank you for such a fast reply, Seattle! Which schools would I be a great candidate to ? The UC schools definitely vary in terms of admission. </p>

<p>Thanks! :)</p>

<p>[University</a> of California - Freshman admission profiles](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/profiles/index.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/profiles/index.html) can give you an idea, although the semi-holistic admissions reading means that it is not completely predictable by grades and test scores. Berkeley indicates that it emphasizes grades more than test scores ([UC</a> studies](<a href=“Publications | Center for Studies in Higher Education”>Publications | Center for Studies in Higher Education) have found that high school grades are a somewhat better predictor of college grades than test scores are, although neither is that great a predictor).</p>

<p>Thanks for your response ucbalumnus. I’ve taken a look at those graphs before, but the UCLA and UCBerkeley GPA’s are still capped. I know that both of these UC’s don’t cap the GPA and focus more on the uncapped GPA. Since I took a lot of weighted classes, it is to my advantage that they uncap.</p>

<p>Because of the competitiveness of my school, there is HUGE grade deflation, so Cal focusing more on grades isn’t a good thing for me. I’m fairly confident I could have pulled off straight A’s at any other high school. </p>

<p>What is your own opinion on my chances to the UC’s? Specific guesses would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks. :)</p>