What are my chances to get into UCSD?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
1

I have a 31 ACT. SAT 2: Bio = 710, Chemistry= 680, Math 2=640. I have a 3.95 unweighted GPA and a 4.59 GPA on my transcript. I was able to calculate this to around 4.27 for the UC unweighted GPA. I took AP Euro sophomore year and got an A both semesters and a 3 on the exam. I took AP Biology, AP Language, and AP US History. For both semesters, I got an A in bio, B in Lang, and A in US history. On the AP exam I got a 3 for Lang and Bio and a 4 for US history. I am taking AP Calc BC, AP Chemistry, AP Gov’t and Politics and AP Lit this year. My extracurriculars are not plentiful: I am VP of Chemistry Club for senior year, I participated in Academic Decathlon for 3 years, I participated in Science Olympiad for 2 years, I also was asked to join the Science Bowl team this year as well. I have no volunteer hours but I put my unique story in the additional comments of my application:

From 8th grade until the summer after my junior year, I went to visit my grandmother who was in a persistent vegetative state in Stockton (40-45 mins away) at least 3 times during the weekdays and once during the weekend. With my mom, I would massage her parts of her body: arms, legs, feet, etc so they would retain strength. I would stay from around 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm and I would talk to her always waiting for a response but never got one. Her condition stayed the same until the summer after junior year where her kidney was deteriorating and was ultimately was put to rest a month into my senior year.

Will they take this information seriously and consider it as “volunteer work?” I have all the evidence to back it up, with sign in sheets if requested. I applied for Human Biology and Biochemistry. If I am not admitted, is it smart to take a gap year and apply next time? I know I will be able to raise my ACT score to at least a 34 or higher and will be willing to study to get a better score on the SAT 2s. My AP scores really are mediocre, but do they take them in the account greatly when considering my admission? I am retaking AP Biology exam but I didn’t mention that in my application sadly.

2

Try this UC GPA calculator and your unweighted UC GPA cannot be any higher than a 4.0.

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

This calculator will give Unweighted UC GPA, Capped Weighted UC GPA (most cited GPA by the colleges) and Fully weighted UC GPA.

2018 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCSD: 34%

2019 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range:
UCSD: 4.16 (4.03-4.28)

25th - 75th percentiles for ACT composite + language arts
UCSD: 26-34

I think your experience with your grandmother would have made a good essay, so did you use your experience in one of the 4 required essays? To me, it would be hard classify as “volunteer work” since it dealt directly with your family. If you assisted other individuals in the same manner, then I would classify it as volunteer work. It is what it is at this point since applications are submitted.

Why UCSD? Did you apply to other schools? AP scores are not as highly considered in UC admissions vs. SAT, ACT and GPA but good scores help validate your HS AP class grades.

If you decide to do a Gap year, make sure you do something meaningful during that time and not just to increase your test scores.

3

I sincerely thank you for replying so quick. Your insight is so meaningful. I meant to put weighted GPA instead of unweighted GPA. I applied to LA, Berkeley, Davis, and Merced. I’m not going to lie, I thought UCSD would be somewhere between a safety school and target school for me. I now realize that my accomplishments are very mediocre compared to so many of the other applicants here. Though it might sound very foolish, I would rather use the time to reevaluate myself instead of going to UC Davis or Merced. Even though I didn’t utilize my time effectively to learn, I did put some effort into it. I guess I realized what I wanted to do a little bit too late.

I have many questions about using my time to do something meaningful during my gap year. Of course you are don’t have to answer all of these questions. I just want to have a little bit more insight. Is it possible to take more AP exams during a gap year so I can at least show that I am academically active? Also since AP exams are very expensive, I wonder if I can obtain a fee waiver for them and the SAT/ACT. I have had free and reduced lunch all the way through junior high and high school. Also what do you suppose is the best way for me to use my time? Should I take a couple of courses at my local CC so I can earn credit or devote my time to volunteer work and community service. The local CC here has a few classes related to premed including Medical Terminology which my sister has completed a couple of days ago. How would this strengthen my application for next year when I apply? I also do intend to start studying for the MCAT though I know it would be extremely difficult especially for me right now. I know my application is at least decent right now but how would you suppose is the best way to complete my academics. I have to admit that my SAT 2s were taken on a whim with only a month to allocate my time to study. I would think that I could at least achieve a 750+ if I try my hardest. My ACT is the higher between it and my SAT, but both of these tests were taken with maybe a week of studying.

My mom is reluctant to let me do a gap year and my dad is also pretty unhappy when I tried to explain it to them. I really didn’t want them to be disappointed. My mom says that she is happy for me whatever I do, but I can tell that she doesn’t want me to do it. I felt pain when I realized that even UCSD is a difficult college to get into. However I do want to ask about what I could do so I can get accepted to UC Berkeley or UCLA. Will high test scores and AP scores be able to do it for me? If I take the MCAT and I am able to get a decent score can it play a huge role in my admission to those colleges? I obviously am not prepared at all, but I want to know what are the possibilities.

After writing this, I can say that I do regret not doing my absolute best in each AP class that I took. I do want my parents to be proud of me and if I can at least get accepted into UC Berkeley, I’m sure my parents would be proud of me. Also, I haven’t asked but how would a part time job work for this as well. My dad is a supervisor for a restaurant in Reno, and if I can get some work, is it something that I can elaborate about in my personal statements? Please you really don’t have to answer all of these or any of these questions, I just want any kind of insight. Is it possible to be in regular contact with you through email? If it’s not, that is completely fine by me.

Thank you, I hope you have an amazing Christmas :slight_smile: - Dion

4

First of all, your stats are within range for UCSD but definitely not a Safety but closer to a high Match target. If you addressed your dedication and compassion towards your Grandmother in one of your essays, it would make a greater impact than listing it as a volunteer EC. UCSD is not a definite no for you at this point.

UC Merced would be a Safety and UC Davis is closer to a Match/Target so if you are willing to attend either of these schools, you will do well.

Since it looks like you are leaning towards a Medical career, there is an advantage of being a Big fish in a small pond so UC Merced might be a great school as a possible Pre-med student??

Regarding GAP year:

  1. AP exams are for HS students so I would not put any time into taking any more or retaking any exams. For some schools you will get some to little college credit towards your major and if Pre-med, Medical schools will not accept AP exams for college credit in the Medical pre-req courses.

  2. Do not take any CC classes during your GAP year if you want to maintain your Freshman status. Taking CC classes will then make you a transfer and you will need 90 quarter/60 semester units (Junior level) to transfer to any of the CSU’s or UC’s, so you are looking at 2 years or more.

  3. I would look at volunteer/community activities that are Medically focused if that is your interest. Also a part-time/full-time job is an excellent EC.

  4. You can retake the ACT or SAT during your Gap year if you plan to reapply as a Freshman. The UC’s tend to be more GPA focused vs. test focused so nothing can really be done to improve your HS GPA but bumping your test scores can help.

  5. If you are not happy with your options after this admission cycle, the CC to UC route is well defined and a good option. Get excellent grades at the CC, use UC TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee) at one of the participating UC’s and reapply in 2 years to UCSD, UCB and UCLA.

Best of luck and Happy Holidays to you.

5

Thank you so much for answering me. Lets say that I do get accepted at UC Davis and I plan on transferring to UCLA. On their website, they say they give UC students and people who have went to their local CC the highest priority. Do you know how hard it will be to get in? I have seen that transfer students have a higher percentage admission usually so can that work in my favor? I have realized that UC Davis is competitive but much less competitive and I am well above people who got accepted in the scatter grams that they show in Naviance from my school. I know this is not a clear indication of my acceptance to UC Davis, but do you think I have a medium to high chance to get into UC Davis? I did see you saying that it will be a match school for me I just want to know my chance to get in. It is about an hour and 30 minutes from where I live so it looks like a good choice. Will it also be possible to retake my SAT exams as well? Online I have seen that an admission officer said that UC colleges will not take SATs taken after high school which is a real bummer for me. Can you support this claim? I really am so sorry asking you so many questions. I had finals and now have a C in my Calc class but my teacher said she can change it if I do well on the retake. I have also been very distressed because I took the ACT last Saturday again and I know I did not do well on the science and reading because I ran out of time. So I’m feeling very down right now, but I’m happy because of you answering all of my questions. If I do take the gap year or I get accepted to UC Davis and decide to try and transfer, can you look at my 4 personal statements before I send them. If not, can you tell me where I can find a place online where I can do so? Once again I can’t stress the amount of gratitude I have for your insight.

6

You never answered my question, what is your career goal? Medical school? Research?

Other than UCSD, UCD and UCM, what other schools did you apply? What major? Why did you not apply to UCLA?

I will post the UC statistics for all the campuses below. So did you recalculate your UC GPA’s?

2018 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 10%
UCLA: 9%
UCSD: 34%
UCSB: 38%
UCD: 41%
UCI: 38%
UCSC: 70%
UCR: 84%
UCM: 95%

2018 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 4.20 or above capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 37%
UCLA: 41%
UCSD: 70%
UCSB: 80%
UCD: 89%
UCI: 75%
UCSC: 92%
UCR: 96%
UCM: 98%

2019 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range:
UCB: 4.23 (4.15-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.32)
UCSD: 4.16 (4.03-4.28)
UCSB: 4.16 (4.04-4.28)
UCI: 4.13 (4.00-4.25)
UCD: 4.13 (4.00-4.26)
UCSC: 3.96 (3.76-4.16)
UCR: 3.90 (3.69-4.11)
UCM: 3.73 (3.45-4.00)

25th - 75th percentiles for ACT composite + language arts
UCB: 28-35
UCLA: 29-35
UCSD: 26-34
UCSB: 26-34
UCD: 24-33
UCI: 24-34
UCSC: 24-32
UCR: 21-30
UCM: 18-26

Transfer students do not submit ACT/SAT scores. Transfer students are accepted based on GPA, completion of General Ed and major pre-req courses for your major.

UC Davis can be very competitive and if you are targeting a Medical career, you want to attend a school where you can get a great GPA 3.7+, access to Medically related EC’s, good Medical school advising and a good science background for preparing you for the MCAT. You can find these opportunities at all the UC’s but UCLA will be extremely competitive.

Also the reality is that 60% of Freshman students that plan to pursue Medical school, never make it to the application process. Make sure whatever you study, you have a backup plan.

Just so you understand, that transferring will take around 2 years from the Fall of 2020. Many things can change but I think the CC to UC transfer route is a better route than a UC to UC transfer. I also think that if you get into UC Merced or UC Davis, that you should grasp that opportunity, do not go in with the idea of transferring and “bloom where planted”.

Why UCLA? Prestige will not get into Medical school. High GPA, HIgh MCAT, and great medically focused EC’s are what will get you into Medical school.

See what happens with your admission decisions this spring and go from there. Make no plans for transferring or a Gap year until you hear from all the schools.

7

I’m sorry for not answering, I assumed you thought I was planning for premed. I have been studying biology already for my AP exam already so I want to go to a biology major. Thank you for clarifying. I think maybe I will stay at UC Davis if I do get accepted and then look for a career in premed. I also applied to UCLA and Berkeley. I am still not sure about trying to transferring to UCLA. I will be looking to get into a decent medical school so yes maybe staying at UC Davis is very good option. Do you know if getting into Biology is significantly harder than other majors at UC Davis? I really hope that I get into UC Davis, it looks very promising. I also wanted to do a paid internship for the Kaiser Permanente Launch program in the summer. I really hope I get in so I can gain more experience. I’m sorry for bothering you so much, I won’t ask many more questions. My weighted GPA is 4.27. I did have a pre AP chemistry class my sophomore year which counts as honors according to the UC a-g classes.

8

All US Medical schools are “decent”. Biology is an impacted major at UC Davis but probably not a great major as a backup if Medical school does not happen. You do not have major in Biology to get into Medical school. As long as you take the Medical school pre-req courses, you can major in anything subject you want.

You also want to keep your Undergrad debt as low as possible since Medical school is very expensive. Make sure all the schools are affordable.

Please update with your decisions and best of luck.