Where did I go wrong?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
1

<p>rejected from:
UCLA
UCSD
UCSB
UCIrvine
UCBerk(I’m assuming)</p>

<p>Accepted only to Riverside.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.8(weighted) ~3.3 (uw)
SAT- 1700
Rank: ~50/ 600
AP classes taken (and passed with exception of English 12 and Physics B):
Bio, Physics B, Spanish, Econ, Government, English 11 and 12, European History, United States History</p>

<p>Major: Biology/Microbiology</p>

<p>EC’s:
Varsity football- 3 years
Varsity Track and Field- 4 years
The Academic Club- 3 years
The Trivia Team- 3 years
Key Club- 4 years
Speech and Debate Club- 4 years
Model U.N.- 2 years</p>

<p>I knew my SAT’s were a bit low, but I thought my essays were stellar and my EC’s would have picked up some slack in the SAT/GPA department. </p>

<p>I’m planning on appealing at Irvine and SB, should I even bother?</p>

<p>Many Thanks.</p>

2

<p>I mean appealing gives you like what a 5% chance at best? I mean if you really think it's worth it go ahead, but I'll be honest I don't think they'll budge. I mean it probably was a combination of your SAT's and GPA. You have to remember this was a tough year for everybody, believe me you are not the only one in this situation. Do you have solid backups?</p>

3

<p>If it makes a difference in the appeal, my GPA went up by about .3-.5 points. I took classes at a community college and I was not able to include it on my HS transcript at the time that I sent my application in.</p>

<p>Will this be a big factor in the appeal?</p>

<p>Back up's include:</p>

<p>Cal Poly Pomona
Cal State Long Beach
UC Riverside</p>

<p>Oh, I forgot to mention: 29 ACT.
Both my SAT and ACT's were taken only once... I understand that it's a "horrible" score, but what more can I do... </p>

<p>I'm just gonna contemplate and think about what I will write for my appeal.</p>

<p>Does anyone happen to know the links or how-to page for an appeal to UCSB or UCI?</p>

<p>Many Thanks.</p>

4

<p>Either there is some unknown factor that is playing into this or, you got the bad end of the college lottery.</p>

5

<p>Yeah, that SAT is pretty low, but I'd go ahead and appeal. What's the worst that could happen? On the other hand, if you don't, you might regret it later.</p>

6

<p>both SAT and GPA are low.</p>

<p>suck it up and go to Riverside.</p>

7

<p>his ACT is good tho^.
i would appeal, since your GPA went up as well.
gl! :)</p>

8

<p>I don't think it was the stats, people get in with lower stats</p>

<p>what was your major?
and did u write your essays well?</p>

9

<p>Just go to UCR. Then, work your ass off and go to a good grad school.</p>

10

<p>SAT's not that bad; I'm almost certain that it was your GPA that led to your downfall.</p>

11

<p>You didn't "go wrong." Even at the UC's, admissions is not solely stats based. There's more to it than that. It's where you stand, with everything there is in your application (not just your statistics and your ECs), in relation to the entire pool of applicants for that particular year and the needs of the college's community for that particular year. No one who has not sat on the admissions committee can tell you what "led to your downfall." Despite how it feels, these decisions are not personal.</p>

<p>I'm sorry you didn't get into the schools you wanted. It happens to a huge number of perfectly qualified students every year. Please do not let it determine your worth as a person or a student.</p>

12

<p>So the admissions officers judged that you weren't a good match for their college. It either means:</p>

<ol>
<li>their judgment was wrong, in which case you aren't to blame or, more likely:</li>
<li>you weren't a good match for the college, in which case why would you want to go in the first place?</li>
</ol>

<p>Best of luck. I do hope you find a good college.</p>

13

<p>Your GPA, SAT, and ACT are too low for most of them. I've heard from people with 3.6 GPA (uw), 2100 SAT, etc. not make it. </p>

<p>I don't think an appeal would help that much but better to try then not at all. </p>

<p>Good luck, and try to think positive about the safety school's you will probably choose from.</p>

14

<p>dont worry about it too much man.</p>

<p>i was rejected from SB, SD, and UCLA.</p>

<p>i had a 2310, and a 3.80 UC GPA. only problem was my junior year was signifcantly worse than my sophomore year.</p>

15

<p>An appeal is worth it, especially if you can show that you left out self-reporting community college UC transferable classes which would have boosted your GPA.</p>

<p>I am surprised at your situation. Your profile fits "within the envelope" for the mid-tier UCs. Did you self-report your AP scores on the many tests you took? What about SAT 2s? Did you discuss all the hardships and adversity you faced?</p>

<p>Do appeal. Also, keep in mind the option of CC + transfer to a UC in a year or two. Good luck!</p>

16

<p>UC's are largely GPA heavy, and SAT second. </p>

<p>A 3.3 unweighted means.. you got an average of 4 B's per semester or so. If you had 4 B's 2 A's that wouldn't look so bad, but what did your transcript look like? Multiple C's balanced with a few A's?</p>

17

<p>i'm out of state and got into UCSC and UCSB. My gpa is 3.58ish. My SAT was 1750, and my ACT was 29, with a 33 on the science. I've had only 3 C's. How many C's have you had? That's probably where you went wrong, and your essays must not have been top notch.</p>

18

<p>Most likely your GPA (UW). From the huge gap between your weighted and unweighted under that GPA range, it seems you had mostly B's across the board in your transcript. I would think UC admissions would prefer students who have a good mix of A's along with B's across their transcript than having mostly B's regardless of whether the courses were weighted or not.</p>

19

<p>Papanda:</p>

<p>The UCs favor gpa highly. Unless you had mitigating family circumstances, with a 3.3, your odds at the big three were slim.</p>

20

<p>Yes, I did self-report. I've passed all of my AP tests with 3's or higher with the exception of the 2 AP's I'm taking this year (English and Physics B).</p>

<p>SAT 2:
USH- 740
Bio Ecology- 700
Math level 2- 600....</p>

<p>As all of my other tests, I took it in one sitting and as you can tell I was brain-dead by the third test(math).</p>

<p>On the GPA Issue:
I'm very weak in the math department, I've passed most of my math classes barely with C's or B's.
However, I've taken most AP/honors Sciences my school had to offer and got A's on all of them. Math is really my only weak point.</p>