What can I do to look better to colleges?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey guys, this is my first time posting on CC and I’m a current junior in high school. I wish I had found out about this site earlier because it would’ve helped me out a lot with applying for classes and such. </p>

<p>Anyways, lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my future as a student and to be honest, I’m slightly worried about my whole college career. I’m thinking about staying in my home state of California, and applying to a couple of the UCs, mainly aiming for UCSD or UCLA. However, I’m afraid that I might not be able to get in due to my rather low GPA and lack of ECs. </p>

<p>Grades
I’ve read that UCs calculate grades by only looking at the courses that you take during your sophomore to senior year (hence 10-12 GPA). That’s a bummer because I screwed up a lot during my sophomore year and had personal issues going on in the background. I finished my sophomore year with 2 C’s and a solid 3.0 GPA (3.73 W). I’ve calculated that with the classes I’m taking this year (junior), if I get straight A’s (which is what I’m aiming for), I’ll get a 4.0 GPA (4.57 W) and raise my 10-12 GPA to a 3.5 GPA (4.15 W).
That’s where the problem comes in. I’ve been reading around on the forums a lot and I’ve noticed that most people who get accepted by UC’s have at least a 3.8 UW GPA. IF I do head up with a 3.5 UW GPA by the end of this year, I don’t think it would cut it for my acceptance to a UC, especially UCLA.
So how can I raise my GPA so that it would look better to colleges. I’m aiming to have at least a 3.8 UW GPA by the time I apply for colleges. Is that too unreasonable? How can I do that? Should I take extra courses at my community college this upcoming summer?</p>

<p>Extracurriculars
Another detail that would make me look less good to colleges would be my lack of extracurriculars. I don’t play any sports and hardly active in any of my school clubs.
So far, the most community service I’ve done is about 200 or so hours at a local art camp. I help teachers prepare for art classes and take care of kids, but I only do it during the summer when the camp runs. It’s not a school year job that I get weekly hours for.
I’ve also done some volunteering at my local library for about 4 hours a week.
I’m not sure if this counts as an extracurricular, but I’m also part of a program in my school district where for three periods a day, I’m at a different school learning film and design (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.).<br>
Anyways, I’m wondering how and what I can do to be more involved and look better to colleges. I’m also not sure what counts as extracurriculars, so if someone could clear that out, I would be most grateful. </p>

<p>All in all, anything helps and thank you in advance if you decide to help me!</p>

2

<p>The only real way to raise your GPA would be to get all As. As for ECs, anything you do outside of the classroom in terms of activities (sports, clubs, etc) is an extracurricular.</p>

3

<p>Yeah, that’s what I’m aiming for: all A’s (might be a bit unrealistic though) :/</p>

4

<p>I’m going to tell you right now, it’ll be tough. If you have a 3.0, unless you are super motivated and super driven 100% of the time, it probably won’t work out. Old habits die hard - I still have to tell myself not to procrastinate at times, and I’ve been trying to stop since 8th grade. Good luck, but you have to really, really want it. More than anything.</p>

5

<p>Yeah, it’ll inevitably be tough, but it’s something I really want. I mean, it’s my future, isn’t it? Despite the currently bad GPA, I’m not a bad student; I just had a really rough year sophomore year (or at least that’s what I tell myself). My freshman year wasn’t bad at all and if you include that, my cumulative GPA would be a lot higher. However, I don’t think UC’s count freshman year, which sucks.</p>