What are my chances of getting into UC schools?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
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I know I’m not quite the smartest person or hardest working person, however, I do have somewhat decent grades. I really want to get into a UC. I want to major in art and political science, though I feel like I probably don’t have the greatest chance of going to a UC.

GPA: 3.2 (3.3? I don’t know)

SAT: not taken yet, will take it soon. PSAT score from last year was 1020, though I do feel I’m ready for the real SAT coming up!

I have volunteered at the library over the summer, joined several clubs over my high school years so far, and … that’s probably pretty much it.

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@flow3r: Welcome to College Confidential and hopefully I can help answer your questions.

First, the UC’s have their own GPA calculation for 10-11th grades only in the a-g course requirements.

Here is the UC GPA calculator and please post your Capped Weighted UC GPA: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

Without a definitive test score, it is hard to determine your chances but I will post some information for comparison sake.

Below is the admit rates for 2017 based on the UC capped weighted GPA:

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.00-3.39

UCB: 1.1%
UCLA: 0.9%
UCSD: 0.9%
UCSB: 1.4%
UCI: 3.1%
UCD: 4.1%
UCSC: 14.3%
UCR: 22.9%
UCM: 56.7%

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79:

UCB: 1.8%
UCLA: 2.2%
UCSD: 7.2%
UCSB: 10.1%
UCI: 11.1%
UCD: 16.6%
UCSC: 43.8%
UCR: 63.3%
UCM: 88.7%

Also here is the 2018 data for SAT scores of admitted students. For the best chances you want to be at or above the 50th percentile (average).
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT:

UCB: 1360-1540

UCLA: 1340-1540
UCSD: 1300-1520
UCSB: 1270-1500
UCD: 1220-1480
UCI: 1230-1490
UCSC: 1210-1450
UCR: 1130-1380
UCM: 1020-1280

Based on your posted information, UC Merced seems the only UC where you would have a solid chance for an acceptance. Why the UC’s in particular?

If you are a California resident, I suggest you consider the many great Cal States that would love to have you as a student.

Based on the link below, what is your local Cal State? Your local Cal State will give you priority.

https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/freshman/documents/csulocaladmission-serviceareas.pdf

Once you have your SAT score, CSU/UC capped weighted GPA and college budget, please post this information and posters can give some suggestions for good schools that will fit your stats/budget and major.

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@Gumbymom Thank you so much for this! I want UC schools mainly because of pressure from parents, to be honest. They think UCs are better than CSUs and other colleges. My local Cal State is CSUN, which is my alternative if I don’t get into any UC schools. I’ll be sure to post my test scores, which will be fairly soon since I will be taking the SAT in about 2 weeks.

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Many of the Cal States major programs are on par with several of the UC’s so depending upon your intended major, you can get an excellent education at your local Cal State for the fraction of the costs at a UC.

You need to educate your parents that California offers so many great schools beyond the UC’s and you need to find a school that fits your stats since it will be very difficult to get your stats to fit any most of the UC schools.

Would your parents be open to community college with a guaranteed transfer to a UC? The UC’s offer the TAG (Transfer admission guarantee) for 6 of the 9 UC campuses so something to consider if they are pushing the UC’s.

Here is some TAG information to help you out: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/guarantee/index.html

Best of luck.