I am an incoming junior in high school and I want to apply to UCSD senior year. I live in California. My freshman GPA was 4.29, my sophomore GPA was a 4.5, and if I maintain straight As as a junior I will have a 4.7. I am also on track to be my class valedictorian. My extracurriculars are student council: Freshman class rep, Sophomore class rep, and current Junior secretary, Key club, a school google club, I volunteer at my local junior high and I’m in my school’s avid pathway. I plan to do the social justice club as a junior, and tennis.
I have taken AP European History as a sophomore, and honors courses in English, Math, and Chemistry. For junior year I will be taking AP Lit, AP Environmental Science, AP psych, AP US History, and Honors math, French 2, and Avid.
For senior year I will take AP stats and AP english, and I am not sure about any others.
My PSAT score was very low: 1040 out of 1520 I believe. I haven’t taken the SAT, we take that junior year.
It is a lot higher than the average PSAT score in my school.
I do not know if this makes a difference, but I do come from a low income community and my mom did not attend college. My sister is the first in the family to graduate from college.
With this information, what are my chances of getting accepted into UCSD? or UCLA? And as a far reach, an ivy…such as Dartmouth?
You have good chances for the UCs- but keep in mind that the UCs value test scores as well as GPA. Start studying for the SAT now in whatever way works best for you.
Did you run out of time and loose points because you left questions blank? Or did you answer all questions but incorrectly? Or a combo of both? Was math or english your lower-scoring section? I’m more than happy to give you study suggestions based on what you had a hard time with!
Your financial and first-gen status will work in your favor at the UCs and Ivies alike, probably more so at the Ivies or other private schools. I think you have a chance at top-25-top-50 schools. However, you’ll have to work to get your SAT up- which is doable!
I received a 520 on the Reading/English and 520 on the Math. I ran out of time so I did a lot of guessing and the I did not understand many of the math problems. I have started to practice on college board, but what is getting me is that the math questions do not make sense.
UC’s only use 10-11th grades in their GPA calculation and all UC’s use a capped weighted UC GPA while UCLA/UCB also use the fully weighted UC GPA. First generation can help, low income would make you eligible for good aid. Test scores need to be significantly increased 1400+ and much will depend upon intended major. HS course rigor, EC’s and essays will all contribute to your overall chances.
Even with top scores and GPA, there are no guarantees so compile a list of solid safety and match schools. UCLA/Dartmouth/Ivy schools will always be Reaches.
The rogerhub UC GPA calculator only calculates your UC GPA (capped weighted) and Fully weighted so it as accurate as the inputted grades and the correct number of UC approved honors courses for the extra honors points.
It does not take into account test scores which will be a huge hinderance based on what you have posted unless you get them up into the 1400+ range.
UC’s consider GPA/Test scores/HS course Rigor and essays very important. EC’s are important especially with leadership but not weighted as heavily as your GPA and test scores.
Until you finish out Junior year and have a real UC GPA to post along with test scores, it is impossible to determine your chances. You are definitely on the right track so keep up the good work.