What are my chances for UCI?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Irvine
1

THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG

UCI is my dream school ever since I was a freshman in high school for multiple reasons. However, my application does not look that great. I was wondering if anyone could figure out my chances for UCI.

Californian Resident, Asian Male

10 - 11 UC Capped Weighted GPA: 3.79
10 - 11 Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.48/4.03

AP Lang Exam - 4

New SAT: 1340; 730 M / 610 W
ACT: 29; E- 30 R - 29 M - 32 S - 24 (Writing score didn’t come out yet)
I definitely plan on retaking the ACT and I also plan on taking the Math 2 Subject.

Towards the end of my first semester of sophomore year I was diagnosed with ADD and was prescribed Adderall to treat my symptoms. However the medication only exacerbated my mental condition which caused me to completely fail my English final; my grade tanked to a D. Second semester came and my uncle, who had suffered from ADD as well, encouraged me to drop my medication and rely on meditation. My uncle died during the March of my second semester which instigated this crazy mental growth in me, resulting in straight A’s that semester. I elaborate all of this in my essay which I put a positive spin on.

Extracurriculars
President of Code Poetry Club (10-12)
President of Pen Spinning Club (9-12)
STEMS Club (11-12)
Journalism Editor (11-12)
Tennis (9-11)

Honors:
Co-hosted a gaming podcast on iTunes which peaked at #98
CSF
NHS

Jobs:
Lead developer of an indie game company (10-12)

Volunteer:
Errand boy at a after-school academy in Korea during the summer
Delivered milk to doorsteps in Korea during the summer
Helped out at the local pantry
Total hours accumulate to around 370

Essays: I had my essay reviewed by a Harvard graduate who said that my essays are very unique, except the one about my struggle with ADD, and well written.

Major: Computer Science

My stats aren’t that great and I know UCI are very stats focused, but what are my chances?

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Wow, we are actually on the same page. Even I want to apply for Comp science and my stats are the same. My weighted GPA is a 3.79 and old SAT score is a 1860. I plan to take the ACT and hopefully get a 29. It is also my dream school… Someone on this forum said UCI is a low reach/high match for me so it may be the same for you. You mind reading my college questions and I can read yours? If you are interested, send me a message and I’ll reply. We can discuss more about this.

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Since you have a medical reason for low grades in your Junior year and since you are addressing the situation in your essay, it should help.

GPA as a CS major is going to be your biggest hurdle since UCI loves those 4.0+ GPA’s. I would say it will be a slight Reach, definitely worth an application and hope for the best. Try to bump up those test scores.

Good Luck.

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Thank you for your insight. Hypothetically speaking, if my ACT was a 32 and Math Subject test was a 800, then would UCI possibly be considered a match?

Also another quick question. On the UCI freshman admission profile, are they using UC capped GPA or just regular weighted GPA

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For the UC’s, high test scores do not make up for a low GPA but you have a medical reason. I think UCI could go either way but not a solid Match. The GPA quoted in the Freshman admit profile is UC capped weighted.