I know that I’m not likely to get in at all, but since the requirement is 3.4 to even be considered for out of state students, will that small technicality (3.39 instead of 3.4) automatically disqualify me?
Is the 3.39 your UC capped Weighted GPA? Also at the bare minimum, UC Merced and UC Riverside might be your only UC options if you qualify and very dependent upon intended major. My understanding is that the UC’s do not round up. You will also be paying OOS fees (full price) to attend since UC’s give little to no financial aid.
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.00-3.39 (capped weighted):
UCB: 1.1%
UCLA: 0.9%
UCSD: 0.9%
UCSB: 1.4%
UCI: 3.1%
UCD: 4.1%
UCSC: 14.3%
UCR: 22.9%
UCM: 56.7%
My school only does weighted if you have at least 1 AP clas, so 3.39 is my weighted, and they won’t give my unweighted. 3.4 is the minimum out of state to be accepted, so I was just wondering if that little amount would disqualify me (I know that the chances are minimal, but I’d still like to apply if I’m not auto-disqualified)
You need to calculate your UC GPA, which is different than your unweighted or weighted GPA. For one, 9th grade grades do not count, only count classes in 10th and 11th grade. Secondly, only include classes that are on the a-g list. For classes that are eligible, refer to this: https://hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist#/list/search/institution
For example, classes that you would exclude would be PE and electives such as robotics, woodshop, etc. Lastly, all honors classes, AP classes and dual enrollment a-g classes count in the “honors” category which will give you a weighted boost. Community college classes that fall in the a-g category will also be considered “honors”. Also, should you fall below 3.4 still, summer classes between 11th grade and 12th grade at a community college counts as well, so this is potentially another source for a GPA boost.
Use this handy dandy tool to calculate the UC GPA: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
And as an OOS applicant can you afford to be full pay? No financial aid for OOS students at the UC’s.
For example, let’s say your schedule looked like this, with your first and second semester grade:
10th Grade:
English 10 A B
Algebra II/Trig B B
Chemistry C B
World History (Honors) A B
Spanish II A A
PE A A
So for the calculator, you would count 4 As, 5 Bs, 1 C and 2 Honors semesters. The PE class would not count.
11th Grade:
English 11 B A
Pre-Calculus A B
Physics B B
US History (Honors) A A
Spanish III A B
Automotive Repair A A
5 As, 5 Bs, with 2 Honors semesters. Auto repair would not count.
So a total of 9 As, 10 Bs and 1 C, with 4 Honors semesters.
Using the calculator,
unweighted GPA is 3.40
Weighted GPA is 3.60
UC Capped GPA is 3.60 ← this is the one that is used for eligibility purposes, and is the main GPA that the UCs care about.
It’s my understanding that oos honors classes do not get the extra point when calculating a UC GPA, making it even more difficult for oos candidates to be accepted to a UC.
^^^^ This is correct about OOS Honors courses. Only AP/IB or DE courses will get the extra weighting in the UC GPA calculation. The most important thing you can do is calculate your UC GPA capped weighted to see if you meet the 3.4 UC GPA requirement.
Sorry, didn’t know the OOS Honors thingy. That isn’t good. Well, since + and - aren’t considered in the calculation and since freshman grades are thrown out, maybe the GPA calculation still comes out over 3.4.
i think you will find all the UCs a tough admit with a 3.4 GPA. They are also absurdly expensive.
If you live in a Western state and want to come to CA for school, several of the CSUs are on the WUE list and are probably worth a look. Chico and Cal Poly Pomona are reasonable targets, depending on major.
Hi, thanks! I did the calculations, and I have a 3.42 weighted if I did it all correctly. I’m good! 
Actually, as an OOS^, with a 3.42, you are on the bottom of the totem pole. Plus, OOS rates are $65K per year, all on you. No funding for non-residents. You can’t get that in loans.
I will post the UC admit % based on the 3.4.-3.79 range for your information. Since the UC’s are so competitive, UC Riverside and Merced might be your only UC options and definitely not a guarantee. I agree with @“aunt bea”, that over $240K for 4 years to attend any UC is not worth that kind of debt.
Freshman 2017 admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79 (capped weighted) and not major specific:
UCB: 1.8%
UCLA: 2.2%
UCSD: 7.2%
UCSB: 10.1%
UCI: 11.1%
UCD: 16.6%
UCSC: 43.8%
UCR: 63.3%
UCM: 88.7%
As an OOS applicant with a sub 3.6 GPA, none of the UCs are likely to admit you.
It doesn’t sound like she has financial boundaries, so if she is over the cutoff I’m pretty sure she’ll get into UCM and most likely UCR. This is assuming a decent SAT or ACT score. Remember OOS students are still gold to the UC system and I doubt if either school is approaching 18% OOS admits.