Hello collegeconfidential! I want to know my approximate chance of getting to UCSD. Although I am out of state and financially unstable, I am determined to go to this college if I have the opportunity. Before I start posting my academic and general background, I would like to mention that I lived overseas in 2 countries for approx 4-5 years starting from 7th grade to 10th grade. Even though I was barely able to learn during those years due to foreign societies and languages, when I came back home to the US I filled in my gaps while getting decent grades.
My background:
State of residency: North Carolina
Ethnic background: Half Hungarian and Half Egyptian
Aiming for: Bachelors in Computer Science/Software Engineering
Work experience: Since 2013, I have been a waiter for 22.5 hours a week.
Academic:
GPA (weighted): 4.0 (4.09 nonofficial gpa which includes my 1st semester during my senior year)
GPA (unweighted): 3.869
ACT score: Comp: 23; Math: 26; English: 21; Reading: 22; Science: 23
SAT score: N/A
Honors and APs during the course of my Junior and most of my Senior year: 4 honors (English, PreCalculus, etc.) and 1 AP (AP environmental)
As you can see, my GPA is not the issue, it is my standardized test score. I struggle extremely when it comes to pacing during the ACT. Its already fairly late to try again to get a better score. The way I look at it, due to my unique academic background of being abroad in 2 countries for most of my middle school and half of my high school gives me an advantage. Counselors at school mentioned this to be a fairly decent advantage also. During my Junior year, I took many classes that filled in gaps in my education. I took 2 English classes, etc. I also currently have a single parent that has a fairly low income. I thought I would mention that due to it being taken into account during the application processing. I plan on applying for a lot of scholarships and if I know I can attend UCSD with low financial risks in the future, I will most definitely attend.
GPA is competitive, ACT is very low. Average ACT score is 30. If you are unable to retake to raise that score, I think UCSD will only be a dream. Yes, they will take into account your unique background, but it will not make up for you low test scores. I hope you have some good backups and Good Luck to you
I also applied to NC state university and UNC Charlotte. I researched and looked at acceptance charts and I found people with competitive GPAs and a 23 ACT composite score get in. It is rare but it is possible. I really want to retake my ACT, but the next time I can take it is in April. The next SAT test is going to be in the middle of March if I submit a late registration. You think if I inform the University that I am going to try to take the SAT in the middle of March I will be in the nick of time before I receive my reply which is going to be sometime in March?
Sorry, I think I replied to my own thread, not your post. Therefore I am going to past everything I mentioned in this reply from below.
“I also applied to NC state university and UNC Charlotte. I researched and looked at acceptance charts and I found people with competitive GPAs and a 23 ACT composite score get in. It is rare but it is possible. I really want to retake my ACT, but the next time I can take it is in April. The next SAT test is going to be in the middle of March if I submit a late registration. You think if I inform the University that I am going to try to take the SAT in the middle of March I will be in the nick of time before I receive my reply which is going to be sometime in March?”
Thank you, I acknowledge that. I am prepared for not getting accepted. Regardless of me mentioning that, I still have hope and will continue to do what I can to get a better chance.
Decisions will be made by March and they would only consider Jan test scores. You could always attend another university for 2 years and then try to transfer if you are set on attending.
Also, you will get little to no financial aid as an OOS applicant and outside scholarships will hardly make a dent in the $55K/year tuition/board. Low income financial situation is only taken into account for in-state applicants.
Thanks for that information. I would also like to ask if I can qualify for in state tuition and financial aid after the first year if hypothetically I do attend a college out of state. If that is possible, can I accomplish that by getting a local address or does the OOS tuition and financial aid status not change from the time you apply to get into that college?
Don’t kill his hopes just yet… If you write a phenomenal personal statement and when they give you a chance at the end of the application to voice comments and you tell them what happened, you still have a chance. It sucks that your ACT is so low… Dont give up hope though.
@WhosonFirst: Yes, no one on CC can chance anyone accurately because you do not see the whole package, just statistically, the posters chances are low due to the ACT. Also, from what has been posted, even if OP got in, they may not be able to afford the cost.
Thank you Hydro. I do try to do as much as I can for ECs, internships, etc… I just get caught up with school and work 5-6 times a week for 4.5 hours a day. I hope they take work into consideration. I also mentioned in the application that I took an online course for computer science that was on edx (CS50X).
