What Are My Chances At UCSD and UCLA?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello there! I aspire to attend University of California, San Diego (UCSD), or University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I know my resumé isn’t very impressive, but I’d really appreciate it if you would chance me at these amazing university. Thanks in advance!

Overall unweighted high school GPA: 3.98
UC GPA: 4.0
ACT composite score: 31
I am in the top 15% of my class, ranking at 6/39.

In terms of classes, I have taken AP World History, AP Human Geo, AP Calculus AB, AP Government, AP Computer Science, AP English III, AP U.S. History, AP Psychology, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, AP English IV, and AP Biology (12 AP classes total).

Extracurriculars:
ALA Girls State - I ran for Governor and won
Quiz Bowl - 9th and 10th grade; in 9th grade, we were state runner-up champions
STEM Festival - I won 2nd place in Biology in 11th grade
National Honor Society - 10th - 12th grade
Student Council - 11th and 12th grade; I was class representative in 11th, and President in 12th
Volunteering - I’ve volunteered at hospitals during 10th - 12th grade, and acquired over 200 hours.
Science Olympiad - I’ve won three awards during 10th - 12th grade
Yearbook - 11th, 12th
National History Day - 9th, 11th, 12th; I have advanced to state competition in all three years.

Major:
The main reason I plan to attend these colleges is for Bioinformatics. Ever since I signed up for UCSD’s Bioinformatics course, I developed a passion for learning coding languages, especially Python and Ruby. This, combined with my extensive knowledge on Biology inspired me to check out UCSD, since they have been ranked #1 in Bioinformatics since its founding. After looking into the university some more, I found the perfect major - Biology with Specialization in Bioinformatics. It combines the two subjects I love most, so this major is what I am aiming for. If I could get into UCLA, however, I might consider their Bioinformatics major as well.

With all this, do you think I have a good chance at being accepted into UCSD and UCLA? I’d love to hear any opinions on this.

(Note: I am not a California resident)

2

What is your UC GPA? You need to calculate that.

What are your parents SAYING about paying $55k per year for a UC OOS? Have you asked them specifically? Many parents will not spend that much for an OOS public, even if they’re well-off. Be sure to ASK them about that amount.

3

@mom2collegekids My UC GPA is a 4.0, and my parents are well off and are able to pay for my tuition. I also have a good amount of money saved up thanks to my job and scholarship money, so cost is no issue.

4

Full pay OOS is a major hook for you.

5

Your ACT score does not appear to be competitive with local incoming students.

6

Don’t let aunt bea’s comments discourage you. She predicted that I would only get into UC Merced but I ended up getting accepted into ALL the UC’s. I got accepted to UCSD and UCLA with lower stats (29 ACT), less extracurriculars, and less AP classes than you.

7

how can your uc gpa be 4.0 if your unweighted gpa is 3.98 with all those ap’s? Your uc gpa must be higher, 3.98 implies for a much higher UC gpa…

8

@briantr, the OP is not instate.

9

@“aunt bea” since when did being in state for UC’s give you a higher chance for being accepted? I don’t know if that is true or not, but it seems extremely unlikely as they make more off of OOS students…

10

There is political pressure to admit more children of tax-paying residents. They do like the OOS funds. @TomSrOfBoston is absolutely correct^.

11

@“aunt bea” so they like both? Which do they like more? Are you just saying that they kind of have to fill a ‘quota’ of California residents then they prefer OOS because of the tuition?

12

No one can predict what the UCs will do but, the recent admissions have been interesting.