Hi, I’m an out of state student looking to go to one of the UC schools, specifically UC Davis, UCSB, and as an impossible reach, UCLA.
I’ve been looking around the forum and other websites to see this one question but I haven’t seen it answered yet: will these UC schools even consider me if I have a UC calculated GPA of less than 3.4? It looks like in terms of the UC GPA I would end up with around a 3.3, but I have a 2060 SAT and I have all 750+ scores for my SAT2’s. (although I’ve heard they don’t look too closely at the SAT2 scores)
On top of that, I have pretty amazing EC’s and a great essay. I also go to a top ranking high school in MA, so will they consider that? I’ve taken pretty rigorous courses throughout the duration of high school.
Will they even consider me? I mean, I would be happy to be waitlisted to any of those schools, but I’m scared of being straight out rejected. Will that happen?
Thanks!
UCs use your u/w GPA to determine work ethic, while your weighted is to see how many advanced classes you’ve taken (so find that). A lot of UCs (except for davis), for some reason, could not give a single frickle about ECs. After the budget problem was resolved, they kinda TRIED to stick with instate, but are still very welcoming of OOS. What’s your class ranking? What courses have you taken? What are your “amazing EC’s”? What are your AP scores? UCs are trying to move towards a more “holisitic” approach to an applicant, so you might still have a chance at Davis, and have a goodish chance at SB.
Make sure your parents can pay OOS fees.
My understanding is you must have meet the a-g course requirements with a C or better and your UC GPA needs to be above the 3.4 threshold (OOS) or they won’t even read your application.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/out-of-state/index.html
Apply if you want, everyone can dream. Just know your admission is highly unlikely and plan accordingly (by applying to several schools you are likely to get into).
Good luck
If you look at the link provided by @NCalRent, the UC website states specifically you need a minimum UC GPA of 3.4. Even if you meet this minimum, your chances at any of the Mid-tier and Upper tier UC’s are low even with a solid SAT score. UC’s are very GPA focused and you need to consider that other than UCM/UCR and UCSC, the rest of the UC’s average GPA for admitted Freshman is 4.0+, so there is alot of competition to get into these schools. Your classes prior to Senior year are still considered for your UC GPA calculation, so getting A’s in some summer classes may boost your GPA to the minimum.
Here is a link for the UC GPA/SAT/ACT scores and acceptance rates:
http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/2014/fall-2014-admissions-table2.pdf
I think the UC system has been quite explicit about this. Your SAT score will not compensate if your GPA doesn’t meet their minimum for eligibility.