What are my chances for UCs?

Applying to College
1

<p>First of all, I realize I am not an academic person. I bet colleges take one glance, see the dichotomy that is my application, and wonder what went on with this guy. </p>

<p>I have had a low unweighted GPA in sophomore and half of junior year.
Sophomore year:
Unweighted for 1st semester: 2.86
weighted: 3.17
Unweighted for 2nd semester: 2.0 (received 2 Ds and several Cs)
weighted: 2.16</p>

<p>Junior year:
Unweighted for 1st semester: 3
weighted: 3.571
Unweighted for 2nd semester: 3.14
weighted: 3.71</p>

<p>Senior year:
Right now, my grades are wavering between a:
3.67-4.0 unweighted GPA
4.17-4.5 weighted GPA</p>

<p>SAT reasoning: 2110 (am taking again come November 5; aiming for a 2250)
SAT II math: 740.
SAT II chem: 760
SAT II world history: 700</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: vice president of speech and debate club in freshman year
12 years of classical piano (will take level 10 CM test)
6 years of clarinet (first chair in both of my years of high school orchestra)</p>

<p>I don't think I have many extracurriculars, and looking back, I realize i should've went and participated in some competitions or something)</p>

<p>I don't really know what happened in 2nd semester of my sophomore year. I think I kept telling myself "Cs were fine... they're still passing, right?" -- until they turned into Ds. </p>

<p>I've heard of academic renewal for UCs-- if I apply for this to remove the two Ds from my transcript, will the UCs see me missing several classes and wonder? (I know those grades are already validated by taking the next level classes the year after) Are there any ways to get my grades changed to reflect my ability?</p>

<p>I also know colleges like to see improvement. However, HOW BADLY they would like to see improvement is a mystery to me.
Will the colleges see my dramatic changes in GPA from sophomore to senior year? Starting from ~2.5GPA increasing to ~3.6 and finally again to somewhere around 4.17-4.5, and will that be a large factor in possible acceptances?</p>

<p>I expect to get into UC merced without much effort, and UC Santa Cruz does not seem too difficult either.</p>

<p>However, I would just LOVE to attend into UC Davis or Irvine (knowing berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD are so improbable that I'd not hope for any miracles). Is it possible for this to happen for me, or have I doomed myself already?</p>

2

<p>The D grades will prevent you from using the courses for a-g requirements.
[University</a> of California - Admission requirements](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/requirements/index.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/requirements/index.html)</p>

<p>You need a GPA of 3.0 or better to be UC eligible. Up to 8 semesters of honors courses as listed in [University</a> of California Doorways Home](<a href=“http://www.ucop.edu/doorways]University”>http://www.ucop.edu/doorways) can be given +1 in GPA calculation if you got C or higher grades in them.</p>

<p>Alternatively, you can become eligible by exam:
[University</a> of California - Admission by exam](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/requirements/examination/index.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/requirements/examination/index.html)</p>

<p>However, if your GPA is on the low end, you may only be admitted to the least selective UCs like Merced and maybe Riverside and Santa Cruz.</p>

<p>See the profiles to get an idea of what admitted students had for stats:
[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)</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your help. Apparently, I qualify for admission by exam.
However, if i can make up the D grades, what would my chances be for davis or irvine? will it be too low for me to even hope for admission?</p>

4

<p>hey thank you for that site <a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/rheir[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/rheir&lt;/a&gt; equirements/examination/index.html
Was kinda helpful and i never came across that before.
But i fail to understand 1 thing…
Their UC score cutoff says 63minimum for international students(non residents)
and that accounts to 25 in ACT.
I am sure i shall cross 31+ in ACT for all sections and its my 1st and last shot so I have to do my best anyway.I have a very low GPA because I have been through severe challenging tragedies in life during my 11th-12th grade.
So,do you think scoring 31+ in ACT shall compensate for my low GPA ??
Also I have been an active member of my high school football and throwball team.Learnt classical dance for 10yrs and music(vocalist) for 7years.We don’t have much facilities in my school but I have participated and won in every smallest of events held in my school and city.</p>

5

<p>Another question i have is how UCs go about the selection process if one intends to apply via the application by exam process.</p>

6

<p>can someone please tell me more information?</p>