What are my chances of being accepted into highly selective universities?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m looking for some other opinions regarding my chances on being accepted into selective schools. Currently I am a junior (rising senior) with a 4.26 weighted GPA and an SAT score of 1400.

First of, let me explain my circumstances very briefly. At the end of middle school, family circumstances left me and my mother with no option but to move cross country where we could live with a family member mid school year. My father remained without a home for some time (doing better now, rents room). These new living conditions were not ideal to say the least. I shared a room with my mother and suffered greatly from OCD and anxiety during this period of my life. MY family member whom we were living with was an alcoholic and a drug user, and my mom and I were not happy living there. My mom searched for a job and found one months after. After 2 years, my mom had saved enough money for the both us to move out into our own apartment. By this time( 16 years old sophomore) , I had started working because my mom could simply not afford to add all of the additional expenses to her budget and did not want to have me move schools again (no child support from father). I worked approximately 30-35 hours a week (late nights up till 3 AM on weekend, 11-12Pm weekdays) so that I could pay for myself in many areas (clothes, soccer (fees, uniforms), food, etc), I became extremely independent. School slowly faded as my primary focus. Fast forward, I realize these circumstances came at the expense of my academics. My schedule thus far

Freshman :
honors geo
honors english
honors bio
CP Hist

Sophomore :
honors alg 2
honors chem
AP Eng Lang (5 on exam)
CP hist

Junior :
Honors Pre Calc
Honors Eng III
CP physics
CP Hist

Senior : i plan to focus on my academics and step back on working for my final year
AP Stats
AP Calc BC
AP eng Lit
AP Environmental
Honors Spanish 5

EC’s
Varsity soccer player
Club soccer player
Soccer trainer for local soccer clinic
Mentor in (11,12)
Rotary Interact (9)
DECA(10)
Relay for life (10,11,12)
Work with leader of a non-profit organization helping to create database for homeless veterans (something i am passionate about)(letter of rec)
Work ( as mentioned) took up a majority of my time (letter of rec)

I wish things in high-school had been a bit different becsause i wholeheartedly believe that had i the luxury to focus on school and EC’s i could have upwards of a 4.5-4.7 GPA, but because I cannot go back, I plan to do as best as I can from here on out.

My question: will colleges look past my lacking course rigor and lower GPA in lieu of my other accomplishments?

My dream school is UCLA (out of state)
also looking to apply to
Villanova
BU
Boston College
USC
UCSB
UNC
all out of state

as my reach (target?) schools

or what other target schools should i be looking at?

thank you :slight_smile:

2

Yes, many schools will look past your lack of course rigor and GPA but you have many out of state public universities on your list were GPA/Test scores are very important.

As an OOS student, you will receive little to no financial aid at UCLA/UCSB. Expect to pay $60K/year to attend. Will this be affordable based on your financial situation?

Not sure about all the other OOS schools and their costs, but you need to determine an affordable budget before making a college list.

Then run the Net Price calculators for each school of interest to see if you may be eligible for need-based and/or merit aid.
After you determine which schools are affordable, then look at their common dataset to see where you GPA and test scores are in comparison to their averages.

3

The first and most important question: where is the money coming from? There is no financial aid for UCLA/UCB OOS, and you can figure $60-70,000 / year. You can borrow approx. $5000 / year. UNC does meet full need, but it has a hard cap on OOS students of 18% (including recruited athletes). Imo it would be a serious reach.

For BU, BC, and USC run the Net Price Calculator (available on their websites) to get an estimate of how much they think you can pay (note that both parents incomes will be considered, whether or not there is child support).

If you need full tuition, go to the various threads that are available on CC. In some cases there are clear guidelines (get these scores/GPA, get this much scholarship), in others the school can decide how much ‘merit’ aid to give you. In general your grades & scores should be well in the top 25% of admitted students scores to get significant merit aid. You can see the stats on how much merit aid a school typically gives by searching college data + (name of school).

For example, if you scroll down the ‘money matters’ tab for Boston College you will see
(http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=144)

Cost of Attendance: $68,000/year

of the 2000+ admitted students, almost half got some form of aid, and BC ‘met full need’ (remember they decide what your need is, not you). The average amount given was $37,6000, meaning that the average student who received aid was expected to pay about 1/2 the cost.

If you look at the admission tab, you will see that 81% of BC students were in the top 10% of their class, and that the SAT score range (old V + M) for the middle 50% of admitted students was 1310-1440. In general, for merit aid you would be looking to be in the top 25%

I’m sorry- this is a lot of cold water. But the fact is that paying for college is one of the hardest parts, and getting set on something unaffordable just makes it harder. Idk how your UW GPA looks, which will matter. Also, you have no social science course scheduled senior year.

4

I would say my UW GPA would be anywhere from a 3.8 to a 3.9 because I have consistently received A’s in all of my classes (only 2 courses up to this point in HS are at a B+).
Appreciate the valuable information. Maybe I had it all confused. I was under the impression that USC would provide significantly less aid than UCLA considering that USC is private and UCLA a public UC.

5

@wolf0729: UC’s like UCLA/UCB are California public schools so taxes paid by the residents of California help fund these schools. California publics will give in-state students the best aid.

USC is a private university, not funded by California tax payers, so they can disburse their merit and need-based aid to whomever they deem qualified.

6

Oh I see,
Regardless of tuition/pricing, what are my chances of actually being admitted to UCLA/USC?
*I have also taken my second SAT and i’m hoping to receive a score around a 1450. (did absolutely no prep for first exam)

7

You look like a qualified and competitive applicant based on what you have posted.

USC might be a better option since they do offer FA while UCLA is worth an application but if it is unaffordable, why bother other than for bragging rights?

UC’s have their own GPA calculation and for OOS students, you get extra honors points for AP/IB or DE courses taken. I suggest you calculate your Capped weighted UC GPA and Fully Weighted UC GPA and then repost.

https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

BTW: UC’s require a yearlong Visual/Performing arts course. I do not see one listed??
Senior year grades not considered for admission purposes for UCLA but for USC.

You had difficult circumstances which you can elaborate on for your personal insight essays for UCLA. They do not accept Letters of Recommendation and HS course rigor is very important. Intended major is also be important for both schools and neither is a solid match/guarantee.

You also need to come up with at least 2 safeties: Guaranteed admission, affordable (little to no debt) and you are willing to attend. Safety schools are the most important schools to have on your list and the most difficult to determine if you need financial aid especially if you are looking OOS.

8

I have the visual/performing arts covered. I only listed the core subjects. Would you have any safety’s you would recommend (for what its worth, I am a NJ resident, my father lives in CA)? And i will calculate that GP and repost.

9

If you want to get in-state tuition for California, you need to move to California now if your father will allow. Do your parents have joint custody?
You need to be in-state 366 days prior to your residency determination and if you graduate from a New Jersey HS, then the UC’s will see that you are coming to California for educational purposes and not grant in-state tuition.

Safety schools are usually your in-state schools like Rutgers.

10

SAT 1400 in the new scale would be too low for top UCs from OOS.

11

Regarding California Residency for Divorced or Separated Parents:

If a minor student’s parents are separated or divorced, the residence of the parent with whom the minor maintains his principal place of abode will be considered the residence of the minor.

The principal place of abode is typically the residence of the parent with whom the student spends the majority of his/her time. For example, the principal place of abode for a student who spends the school year with one parent and summers with the other would be the home of the parent with whom the student lives during the school year.

A minor student will derive residence through a California-resident parent only if s/he begins living with the parent prior to reaching the age of majority. The parent must satisfy all applicable residence requirements. The student must provide clear and convincing evidence that s/he changed their domicile to the California- resident parent’s home prior to the student’s 18th birthday.

12

I would not be able to move in with my father before I turn 18 so in state tuition would be out of the question.
I think the only schools i may apply to are USC and Pepperdine. How is this list?
USC + Pepperdiine
Villanova
BC
BU
Northeastern
Penn State
TCNJ/Rutgers

Thoughts?

13

I am not too familiar with the majority of the non-California schools, but USC and Pepperdine look like good choices. Just be aware that Pepperdine is a very religious school so you need to be comfortable with that aspect integrated into your college education.

14

Okay. I will check them out this summer in CA. I appreciate all the help.

15

Best of luck.

16

I think that Rutgers is a very good choice (great school, I expect you to get in, being in-state it should be affordable, the folks that I have worked with who were from Rutgers were top-notch).

I don’t know TCNJ.

I think that you might find the finances difficult at the other schools. Have you run the NPC and do you know what you can afford?

It sounds to me that you are likely to do very well where ever you go (whether Rutgers or TCNJ or elsewhere). Good luck with this!

17

Yes, the admission officers of UCLA will consider your context. They are human beings who will probably empathize with your situation and read your app holistically.