qwert1

I had a really bad sophomore year, a 3.0 gpa. If i had my junior years gpa at or above 4.0 do I still have a chance at a middle-tier UC, or am i still screwed? I heard a lot of people talking about how they had 3.5+gpa with good SATs but they were rejected and UCD, UCI and such.

Also, does the major you choose and GPA you have affect admission? Someone on another thread said there was no real correlation other than engineering and nursing majors.

Thanks!

jadegreen

i was in pretty much the same situation as you are. extremely low gpa in soph year, but huge improvement for junior . but i'm afraid that the 3.0 will detract from your cumulative gpa and drag it down. try to explain the reason for the low grades in your personal statement, and do your extra curriculars! show that you are strong in other subjects.

your major does affect your admission somewhat. if you apply for, let's say, biology and that certain school is prestigious/competitive in bio, you have to be pretty great in bio to get in.

and btw, i got accepted to Davis. so you have hope

Adultparentmom!

qwert1, the fact that your GPA went up so much is a great thing. Schools will definitely notice this, but the overall GPA is still very important. Depending on the school, yes the major is certainly a factor in admissions. Certain majors are impacted and therefore more difficult to get admissions in them.

Do your homework (on potential schools and majors) and see where you have the best shot. Also check to see how difficult changing majors at certain schools will be. We toured one school with my D and they basically said do not come here unless you know what you want to major in, because it is extremely difficult to change, once accepted into a particular major. My D chose not to apply to that school because she changes her mind frequently!