I want to be a biology/zoology major, and get my PHD in marine biology. Should i apply undeclared?
I would be an out of state student from Alabama. How do they feel about OOS students?
I did badly my freshman year of high school (mostly C’s, a few B’s, and one D). How is freshman year weighted?
I slacked my freshman year because the curriculum and people in my public school were terrible. I would skip all the time because I could not stand it. I messed up. Because private school was too expensive, I now attend a fully accredited online high school (American High School). I’ve had all A’s my sophomore and junior year, and I will continue to have through my senior year. Do colleges look down on online high school, or home school in general? I know they like to see progress.
I made a 30 on the ACT. Should I take two of the SAT II’s? Can I get a good scholarship with a 30?
I will have over 800 hours of volunteer work. I volunteer at the Zoo, the Alabama Department of Archives and History, the Alabama Shakespeare festival, and the humane society.
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Humane Society: Required 6 hours a month (feeding, cleaning, programs)
ADAH: I work every Tuesday and Thursday (receptionists, gift shop)
Zoo: Every Friday (giraffe post cashier)
Shakespeare: Whenever they called me (usher, folding papers, special events)
I am on the zoo teen program as well. It is a volunteer program where you come in and feed and clean the animals, go on programs and present the animals, work on special events, and help with summer camp (2 weeks required). You’re basically a docent. I made my way up to being a zoo teen leader. This is my only leadership role.
I will have taken 6 AP classes by the end of my senior year.
I took a scuba diving course and got my license over the summer.
I’ve had a job at Chappy’s Deli for a little over a year.
I will start practicing writing my essays now. Hopefully I can have a good one.
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SOOOO, do I stand a chance (good, fair, poor?) I really don’t have much help with the college process at all.
Are there any other things I can do to boost my resume?
I would love it if you could give me as much detailed description and feedback as possible.
• I don’t really think it matters what major you apply for in terms of acceptance rate, with the exception of the engineering majors and the super impacted majors(forgot which ones are impacted for UCSB but I’m sure you can look it up). I would suggest just applying straight for your major in your case.
•If you don’t tell 'em that you’re OOS, they won’t find out/know. Unless you’re from Texas or something and got a hardcore Texan/Southern accent, but even then, doubt anyone would care lol. They’d probably say something along the lines of, “Oh? You’re from _____ ? That’s so cool, I always wanted to visit there.”
•Luckily for you, Freshman year isn’t weighted into your UC GPA(they actually don’t look at it much/at all, unless it shows an upward trend, which in that case would be good for ya).
•Well, I don’t know much about online courses/online HS, but seeing as how you’ve said that you have taken 6 AP courses, I don’t think you’ll be viewed much differently from the students who went through the “traditional” route.
•That’s a pretty solid ACT score, but unfortunately for OOS students, they don’t get much(if any) funding/grants from the state/university that in state students get, so you’ll have to rely on applying for outside/private scholarships. Never applied for any of 'em(didn’t need to), but I’m sure high standardized test scores will help.
Yeah, for sure take the SAT IIs. If you get waitlisted to any campuses, your SAT II scores could act as a tie breaker or put you above the other candidates(doing extra could only help you).
Your stats seem good, and you have a lot of extracurriculars. You have a fairly good shot at getting into the UCs.
Onikage34: •If you don’t tell 'em that you’re OOS, they won’t find out/know. Unless you’re from Texas or something and got a hardcore Texan/Southern accent, but even then, doubt anyone would care lol. They’d probably say something along the lines of, “Oh? You’re from _____ ? That’s so cool, I always wanted to visit there.”
lol, I asked how they feel about OOS students to see if anyone knows if the school accepts many OOS students or not. I should have worded it better. But thank you for replying; you were very helpful.
UC has an overall cap on out of state students. UCs were created using state taxpayer money to educate in-state students. OOS and International students are seen as sources of cash-flow to augment the budget, so are allowed, but capped (they are allowed in order to bring money into the system, not in order to be given free education). UCLA and UC Berkeley usually are most favored by OOS. Since OOS and in-state are essentially different pools of applicants, the entrance cutoffs are slightly different for the two.
I do know that Alabama is using state taxpayer money to give high-achieving kids a free education, however, they are trying to rise in the rankings. UC is different. UC already has several campuses that are very high in most rankings. Their goals in attracting OOS are different- diversity and cash flow.
Your freshman grades are not considered in your UC application.
You will get no financial aid for the OOS differential in fees.
If you are low income, you may wish to look to Questbridge.org for help in navigating the college process.
Marine biology in CCS- you couldn’t do much better!
Most “outside” scholarships seem to have higher cutoffs (either practically, because of the competition, or explicitly) of 32 - 34.
@ItsJustSchool So I’ll definitely have to pay the non-resident tuition fee of $23122, is that what you are saying? But am I still eligible for the scholarships they offer to help me pay for the rest? I am working on bringing my act score up to a 32. Can you use scholarship money to help pay for other things than tuition, like books or room and board? If I can figure out how to pay for the first year, are there scholarships I can earn while in college to help me pay for my other year? Thank you for your response.
@lauren00, Of the $58,500 estimated cost of attendance, financial aid will not cover the out of state surcharge: “Nonresident students pay an additional $24,024 in nonresident supplemental tuition.”
There are scholarships for later years, but they are usually very competitive and usually for upper-division. You can look on the UC website at the Scholarship Resources.
Your best bet would be one of the very competitive National scholarships; especially something oriented towards women STEM majors. I can’t help here- I, too, will be searching some out for my DD.
The UC’s are very stingy with money for OOS students and you will get little if any money to help with the $55,000+ cost. They admit OOS students primarily to help meet their budget shortfall so OOSs are are expected to be full pay.
Your EC’s are great- I love that you are volunteering in areas that really interest you! While the UC’s won’t count your freshman grades they may consider them in the overall picture. Your ACT is a little on the low side as UCSB has become more selective.
UCSB is a great school but really not worth $55,000+ per year. You might be better off to stay in-state for your undergrad to save money and then apply for grad schools at UCSB.
