<p>I live in California and want to stay in California after high school and I want to know which should I consider from both the CSU and UC system. I am a junior and currently have a 3.5 GPA, I've taken nearly all the AP classes available at my school. I have not taken the SAT or ACT but will probably take both this summer. I am in a variety of extra curriculars which include 5 clubs and Track. I also have a part time job. I aspire to enter the medical field as a pediatrician.</p>
<p>It’s hard to say without knowing your SAT/ACT scores. However based on your GPA I’d say schools like Cal and UCLA will be a reach for you. You should look at UCSD and UC Davis, both of which are pretty well known for their bology and premed programs. Of course you should also apply to the other UCs (Irvine, Riverside, Merced, Santa Barbara…) as well as the CSUs closest to wherever in California you live. Cal Poly SLO is also a great school (widely considered the best CSU).
If you want to go private you could consider any of the Clairmont colleges (pretty good for bio), or some of the private schools in the bay area. </p>
<p>The Claremonts are going to be a huge reach with a 3.5, except perhaps Pitzer and only if you have strong extracurriculars and unusual circumstances, or overall if you have a high (2000+) SAT. Occidental may also be a possibility if your SAT is high.
Starting at a UC is probably better if you intend to go premed (check about possible major impaction).
The CSU’s can be impacted per campus AND per major, in biology and chemistry for instance, Fullerton, LB, LA… have Biology impacted where Fullerton and LB are both impacted at the campus level; note that chemistry/biochemistry are better majors than bio since, if you can’t get into med schools, your job prospects are better. Have you taken AP Bio and AP Chem?
Will you need merit aid? Need-based aid? Have you run the Net Price Calculator on the website to see how much each college costs? Have you talked numbers with your parents?
The SAT test date is June (then October); and the ACT is in September. There are no tests during the summer. You should prepare well (use number2.com, it’s free – as well as a prep book) and expect to take the test twice. In addition, you may have to take SAT Subjects in your two best subjects.</p>
<p>I’m currently taking AP Bio and am tasking the exam in May, According to my teacher I should be able to pass, So if I pass I’m considering becoming a Bio major</p>
<p>As a premed, you should try to get a 4 or 5 rather than a 3, THEN forfeit the college credit and retake the Bio I class (most premeds do that in order to have all the fundamentals down cold and to make sure they have a high grade to start their career.)
However there’s currently a glut of biology majors and their career prospects aren’t very good.
You can do the premed “core” (4 classes in biology, 2 classes in chemistry, 2 classes in physics, 2-3 classes in math, 2 classes in English, 1 class in psychology, 1 class in sociology, plus -recommended- biochemistry, neuroscience) plus any complementary class (ethics/philosophy/religion, a language spoken by immigrant populations in the US, any extra science class…) in addition to any major. </p>
<p>Thank you for the advice.</p>
<p>With a 3.5 with a lot of APs your UCGPA will be around a 3.9-4.1, WGPA a little bit higher… if that is the case…</p>
<p>Matches:
Ucsd
Ucsb
Uc Davis
Uc Irvine
Occidental
Pitzer
Cal Poly SLO
Pepperdine
(I would Apply to at least 5 of these)</p>
<p>Safeties
Ucsc
Ucr
Ucm
Sdsu
CSUs
University of Redlands
Usd
(I would apply to at least 2 of these)</p>
<p>Low Reaches/Reaches
Cal
Ucla
Usc
Stanford
Pomona
Harvey Mudd
Claremont Mckenna
Cal Tech
(I would apply to at least 3 of these)</p>
<p>This is assuming your SAT is around 1850-2000</p>
<p>You need to figure your UC/CSU gpa, it may be rather different from your regular one, with APs (you get an extra point, etc) and they don’t take freshman year into account in calculating your gpa. Then look at these for the UCs</p>
<p><a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucsb.pdf”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucsb.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucd.pdf”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucd.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucla.pdf”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucla.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucb.pdf”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucb.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucsd.pdf”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucsd.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-uci.pdf”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-uci.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucr.pdf”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucr.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucsc.pdf”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles-ca/freshman-profile-ca-ucsc.pdf</a></p>
<p>also, I understand ucr is starting some new kind of guarantee that their graduates who fulfill certain requirements could go to their medical school…I’m very hazy on that, I just saw something about it and don’t have a kid who is pre med. I do have a niece who went to UCSB premed, became an EMT there and is now waiting for results of her residency, following medical school.</p>
<p>I calculated my GPA & it looks like by the end of the semester my overall GPA should be a 3.5, my CSU a 3.37, my UC a 3.6, and my Uncapped a 3.65</p>
<p>That cannot be right if you have a bunch of AP’s soph and jr year the UC weighted should be much higher than your UW.</p>
<p>CSU and UC GPA Weighted are the same calculation so it should be 3.6 according to what you stated above. My younger S has a UC/CSU GPA of 3.73 and ACT 31. He got into SDSU, CPP, CSULB, SJSU, CSUF, UCR for Computer Science (very competitive major). Denied UCD and probably UCSB,UCSD and UCI. Biology is very competitive at all the campuses, so I would say UCSC, UCR and UCM would be Matches, UCI/UCD/UCSB would be Low reach. Add in a couple of Cal States for safeties (not SLO or SDSU, very competitive these days). I would look into CPP, CSUF and CSULB. You may want to consider Microbiology instead of Biology. Less applicants and you get a great background in the sciences.<br>
For the GAP (Guaranteed Admission Program) for UCR, you need a UC/CSU GPA weighted of 3.9 and a SAT for 1600 or ACT of 25 to qualify. Older son qualified last year, younger son not.</p>
<p>Well I took one AP class sophomore year, and I’m currently taking 3 and the UC GPA only accepts 8 AP credits which explains the uneven GPA.</p>
<p>I’m also interested in being a Biological sciences major since a variety of my dream schools offer it.</p>
<p>Biology is a very competitive major for the UC system. UCR is planning on opening up a Med School so by attending there, you have a better chance for acceptance into their Med school program. If you look at the current admission threads for UCD/UCI/UCSB/UCLA/UCB, you will see many kids getting denied or waitlisted with UC GPA of 3.9 and above. You would need to get a really great SAT score of 2100+ or ACT of 31+ to make up the GPA deficit. Each year admissions is getting more and more competitive. I am just looking at the stats for this year and you would really only have a realistic chance at UCSC/UCR/UCM. They are many posters that overestimated their chances this year and may end up at a CC instead of a great Cal State or lower tier UC. For undergrad, it doesn’t matter where you go, it is what you do when you get there. As long as you meet the Med school course requirements with excellent grades and get a great score on the MCAT, you should be ok. Good Luck next year.</p>
<p>In the UC’s I’m interested in UCD, UCI, UCSB, UCR, & UCM. In the CSU’s I have “guaranteed admission” to SDSU and am interested in CSULB, CSUF, and SLO, which should I apply to?</p>
<p>Apply to SLO for sure. From what I’ve heard the campuses at CSULB and CSUF are not that great so you might want to visit the schools before committing. You can also check out SF State, Chico State, San Jose State, and Sac State. </p>
<p>@CJGuerrero21: I agree you can apply to SLO but do not use it as a safety or even a match based on your GPA. Admissions were extremely tough this year and applicants with GPA’s 4.0+ and SAT scores of 2000+ were waitlisted or rejected. Check the SLO admission threads to see some of the Stats. You must live in the SD area, but my understanding is they give priority to SD residents for SDSU but not “guaranteed”. Nothing is guaranteed when it comes to admissions. I would definitely visit as many schools as you can before making any decisions. I like said in the prior post the Mid-Tier UC’s are good choices but are still a low reach. UCR/UCM are matches.</p>
<p>Which from the UC schools should I apply to?</p>
<p>^
Apply to UC Berkeley and/or UCLA as reaches
Choose two from UC Davis, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine -low reach/high match
Choose three from UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz -match/safety</p>
<p>For the UC’s, I would apply to UCSD as reach. I wouldn’t waste my money on UCLA/UCB unless you get a spectacular SAT score. UCD/UCI/UCSB as low reaches. UCR/UCSC as possible matches. Not UCM because if you are in the top 9% of your class, UCM will be the default UC if not accepted into others. I would also include SDSU/SLO and CPP. Both my sons applied to at least 10 colleges. You can narrow it down if this is too many by visiting some of the campuses. Application fees can get expensive so can eliminate a few. Just make sure you have a safety (70%) acceptance based on your stats that you are willing to attend. You do not want to end up without any choices. My older son go into 7/10 and younger 6/10 colleges that they applied.</p>