I am a rising senior this year. I am planning to apply to all the UCs, except for Merced and Riverside, in the fall. I feel like my stats are a bit above those two schools (my current GPA is 4.21). Lately however, I have been considering applying anyway to have a couple safety schools. I am worried this would hurt my chances at more selective UCs however. At a school like UCLA, would they be more likely to reject me because they know i’d get into Merced and Riverside and therefore I would get into some UC. Would they be more likely to admit someone who only applied to Berkeley and UCLA and therefore is not certain to get into a UC? I’m worried apply to the easy ones could hurt me at the hard ones. Thoughts?
It does not matter how many UC’s you apply, they will admit or not admit you based on their application review criteria and if you “fit” what they are looking for in a student.
If you are ELC eligible, meaning top 9% of your HS or statewide, you are guaranteed a spot at UC Merced (if space is available) if you do not get into your choice UC and being ELC eligible is an area of criteria used in your application review by all the UC’s.
I would apply to any or all UC’s if you want, although UCM would not be necessary if your ELC eligible.
You should always have at least 1-2 safety schools on your list.
They don’t know where you applied other than their school. Also Cal and Ucla don’t communicate whether or not to admit someone in one or the other. The odds of getting into both are just low because they look for slightly different things in applicants. Best of luck.
You may not get into UC Riverside depending on your major now. Admission rates had second largest drop of all UC’s (UCI was first) and it is the fastest growing UC of any location for a reason.
@Fisherman99 What do you mean by “may not get in?” Do you mean that I should not consider it a safety school, or that I should consider it a reach I will probably not get into. I am planning to apply as undeclared Letters and Science.
@Fisherman99 What do you mean by “may not get in?” Do you mean that I should not consider it a safety school, or that I should consider it a reach I will probably not get into. I am planning to apply as undeclared Letters and Science.
With your undeclared major… consider it a safety school with your solid GPA. However in the most challenging impacted majors like the Thomas Haider (Bio-Med) Program or Engineering…it still may possibly be a reach as there are no guarantees which is why many will apply to all UC’s.
@Jason101200:
What is your capped weighted UC GPA?
What are test scores, intended major and EC’s, HS course rigor?
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
This information will help determine which UC’s to target.
@Gumbymom
Weighted and Capped UC GPA: 4.21
Unweighted GPA: 3.88
ACT: 29 C- 33 E, 31 M, 24 R, 28 S (plan on retaking)
AP Tests: APUSH 4, AP Lang 4, AP Physics 1 5, AP Physics 2 5
SAT Subject Tests: Math II 740, Physics 800
Senior Year Schedule: (my school is on the quarter system)
Fall: AP Calc AB, Spanish 3, AP Gov/Econ, Intermediate Acting
Spring: AP Calc BC, AP Lit, Computer Fame Design, Free 4th
Awards/Honors: NA
Volunteer Hours: 36ish, still doing more
Work Experience: None
ECs: Acting all four years of high school and some middle school
Playing the piano for 9 years
You are competitive for most of the UC’s but UCLA/UCB will be tough admits especially with your ACT score. SAT subject tests look good but if you are aiming for CS/Engineering, you will need the ACT in the 32+ range.
Make sure you apply widely and have at least 2 safety schools.
2017 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 4.20 or above (capped weighted) and major specific. The more competitive the major, the lower the admit rates will become.
UCB: 42.7%
UCLA: 47.2%
UCSD: 84.2%
UCSB: 82.0%
UCD: 90.3%
UCI: 94.1%
UCSC: 92.7%
UCR: 97.5
UCM: 98.1%
Make sure you spend time on your personal insights essays which can help set you apart from the other competitive applicants.
Best of luck.
@Gumbymom Yes I agree 29 is very low. I plan on retaking the ACT.
A 29 is not “very low” !
@justahuman and @Jason101200: Your ACT is not “very low” but since the original title of the thread is chances at the TOP UC’s, then yes it is below the 25th percentile for these schools and will be major dependent.
25th - 75th percentiles for ACT:
UCB: 30-34
UCLA: 30-34