<p>CA parent here. My son with UC GPA of 3.8 something and SAT 720/650/650 but lousy SAT II scores was rejected at UCLA two years ago and accepted at UCI. I just helped a student last year apply to and get into most of the Cal States. She is at Chico, doing well and loving it. The downside: one of her classes has something like 1500 students.<br>
I would seriously consider some of the privates mentioned. My daughter who is a HS junior will have similar stats to the OP's daughter and I think will end up at a private. The UCs are too big for her and she won't get into the top tier UCs. She is going to look at Occidental, Redlands, LMU, etc. </p>
<p>I really think the GC is trying to be helpful to say that schools like UCLA are not a match but a reach. But obviously CCs are not her only alternative.</p>
<p>The list looks very reasonable to me. To be on the safe side, I certainly wouldn't advise totally disregarding the GC's advice, but there's no reason for your daughter to feel discouraged (and certainly no reason for her to feel like CC is one of her only options).</p>
<p>If the religious affiliation is not something that your daughter minds, I'd really advise looking at Pepperdine. It's in SoCal and they tend to show strong preference for (1) those very involved with church, especially Church of Christ; and/or (2) those with professional modeling/acting/performing experience or aspirations. I know that sounds a bit odd, and I'm basing the claim mainly on anecdotal evidence/hearsay, but it's a good school that might pay special attention to your daughter's circumstances.</p>
<p>Has she looked into auditioning into the performing arts at some of these schools. My daughter has friends who auditioned into UCLA's dance program. I believe their GPAs/scores might have been similar.</p>
<p>Your list is good. I would say Cal State Long Beach is a financial and academic safety for your daughter. She'll likely get into one of the UCs...you might as well check off as many UCs as you care to apply...it's the same application and you never know, UC admissions are becoming more of a crap shoot.</p>
<p>The acting career is a wild card that I can't assess, so the following ignores that (and thus the appropriate quantity of salt should be assumed):</p>
<p>Impossible reach: UCLA
Super reach: USC
Reach: UCSB, UC Irvine, Pitzer
Matches: Loyola Marymount, University of San Diego, UCSC
Safeties: Long Beach, San Diego State</p>
<p>As for discouragement to SDSU, you can tell her it stands for "Still Drunk, Still Uneducated"...I heard this from my cousin that's majoring in nursing at SDSU. It's a good school, though. It shares a party school reputation with UCSB.</p>
<p>Hey! I've got kids at SDSU and UCSB!!!! Seriously, SDSU had a well regarded (nationally ranked) business school, as well as a first rate nursing program, and is strong in other areas as well. UCSB has about a half-dozen recent Nobel Laureates on the faculty. There definitely is partying at both schools, but UCSB's reputation rests in large part on the student ghetto of Isla Vista adjacent to the campus, which has a large contingent from the nearby Santa Barbara City College, who do their part to uphold the community's reputation for partying.</p>
<p>...and some of my neighbors who went to Chico State are not just professionally successful but live balanced and admirable lives. Maybe "partying" is an underrated life skill....</p>
<p>i looked at those GPA and frankly find them not believable...what, the AVERAGE kid has perfect grades all through HS= or at least for two years- all straight As </p>
<p>while the SAT scores are just not astounding in the average</p>
<p>reeks of grade inflation, if indeed those are all straight A students</p>
<p>those are WEIGHTED gpa's, according to UC's bonus point formula. Cal has a weighted gpa of ~4.2, for example. One can earn several B's in bonus point classes, and still have 4.0 UC gpa.</p>
<p>to echo and add to bluebayou...there is also a cap on the number of classes the UCs will weight. The UCs have their own unique formula and anyone interested in the UC system really needs to go to the websites and read carefully. There seem to always be posts on this board about the UCs and students with ECs, or an out of state student who didn't take the required performing/visual arts class, etc.<br>
There is a specific way the UCs do it. For students who are somewhat unique in their ECs or some other area, the privates are going to look more carefully at each individual student IMHO.</p>
<p>Yes - At UCSD, UCLA, and UCB the 'average' kid had mostly A's in HS but it includes weighting for some AP classes (with a cap). The average was above a 4.0 at all three of these schools. Admits come from all over California as well as other states and countries so if there's grade inflation it's the norm everywhere.</p>
<p>Sorry - cross-posted with bluebayou and ebeeeee.</p>
<p>2) California public schools are very diverse with large immigrant/first generation (ESL) populations -- which probably accounts for a lower test scores overall, simply due to weaker language skills. </p>
<p>3) Because of the Calif. admissions system & tables, there is no real incentive for students to retake standardized tests multiple times if they are scoring around ~600 on each -- so among the large majority of UC applicants who are applying only to the UC's & CSU's, you aren't going to see the test score inflation that has become de rigueur at the Ivies & elites. </p>
<p>4) All of the UC's strongly favor ELC students -- the top 4% of all high schools -- this has the dual impact of raising GPA's overall at most of the campuses, and bringing in many students who come from weaker high schools where they don't have the background or prep to support high test scores.</p>
<p>Actually there is nothing inconsistent at all about test scores averaging ~600 and a high GPA -- The CR & math score reflected above is not far off from my daughter's -- my d. was ELC with a weighted GPA of around 4.1. Any kid with test scores in that range has the basic mental equipment to perform well at any college, and certainly to get top grades in high school if they want. </p>
<p>I think parents whose high schoolers attend competitive private prep schools or public academic magnets really get a distorted view of the academic environment at more typical public high schools. It simply isn't all that hard for a reasonably bright kid to get straight A's at most public high schools.</p>
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I think parents whose high schoolers attend competitive private prep schools or public academic magnets really get a distorted view of the academic environment at more typical public high schools. It simply isn't all that hard for a reasonably bright kid to get straight A's at most public high schools.
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<p>Calmom, I think you are right. I know in my D's case, I'm feeling a bit pessimistic. A senior, she attends a public magnet school that just cracked into the top 10 high schools in California with its 2007 API scores (Academic Performance Index, which is based on standardized tests). She is only in the top 50%, with a weighted GPA of about 3.6. The school has no athletics or music program, so the focus is completely on academics, and some neat ECs, and thus it draws the kids who really serious about learning, grades, college. Had she attended either of the other 3 high schools in our city, she would probably have been able to manage a top 10-20% GPA. We are happy with the rigor of her classes and believe she will be prepared for college level work, but the competition took a toll and she will be hurt at the more competitive state colleges because they rely so heavily on formulas and don't take into account the school context.</p>
<p>High School GPA: 3.92
ACT Composite Score: 26
SAT Critical Reading: 595
SAT Mathematics: 636
SAT Writing: 603</p>
<p>These scores seem suspect to me and in favor of public schools over private. A's may be handed out more readily to public school students who just do the work. My son's GPA is 3.2 UW, very dedicated and hardworking student. He scored a 31 on the ACT. His private school is very demanding and only the top 5% get anything above a 3.7.</p>
<p>This is why private school students have a disadvantage in UC admissions.</p>
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This is why private school students have a disadvantage in UC admissions.
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<p>A common belief, but the facts don't support the statement. The two state flagships go deep (more than top 10%) into a competitive HS applicant pool, whereas they only accept the Val *and maybe Sal) of a podunk HS. But, the fact is that UC admissions assume that private prep school kids have lotsa of advantages, that inner city kids don't have.</p>
<p>There are ~3,000 high schools in California. Cal and UCLA don't have room to accept the top 10 of each HS.....</p>