MikeFos123

If I said I know someone that got accepted to UCI with a 1510/2400 SAT, that did not have a hook or play a sport?

Jaganshi

why's that hard to believe? SAT's are a poor indication of how well you'll do in college. I got a 1540 or something.. the only extracurricular i had was being a member of key club.

junshik

What was your GPA?
Maybe your ethnicity played a role? (I don't know if AA is still practiced)

tatertots

AA is illegal in California, Proposition 209: "The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting."

ShoeFactory

@tater, that doesn't mean they won't, even if its the law.

i'm sure they would value your "socioeconomic and cultural background" when you talk about it in your essay.

basically, AA still helps them, even when it's not supposed to.

junshik

Yeah maybe, my friend with a 'strong' Native American background got into Cal, UCSD, UCI, UCSB, USC with 1700 SAT 3.3 GPA no leadership EC's, some volunteer hours, mediocre essay.

Maybe a different factor that I didn't list that helped him get into these competitive schools, or maybe it was his ethnicity that played a role.

hockeydemon05

Definitely, I wouldn't bat an eye if the people I sit around (like 6 or 7 students) in Econ 100 lecture told me they got a 1500 on their SAT.

And none of these people are Native American or low socioeconomic (save for maybe a couple) status.
They were probably in Key Club and stuff like that, but most likely not in any leadership positions.

Then again, people I sit around in my discussions scored 2100+

phamous

I got a 15xx on my SATs, had a decent GPA in HS but now I have like a 2.2 ...so sad. Really don't think college is for me, but my parents would go nuts if I told them I wanted to quit.

I think I'm just a slow learner and the quarter system is killing me. I feel like i don't learn crap in 10 weeks.

junshik

phamous what is your schedule? Maybe your classes/units are too demanding?

It is also normal for students to not fully adapt successfully in such a short matter of time to college academic life.

Jaganshi

yeah... highschool stats dont really matter at all. i know students who have poor stats but do great, and those with great stats do horrible (including AP test scores). what highschool does it that it lets you experiment with your own study habits. anyone with a good study habit can do well in college... it may come easier for others (innately smart), but they might be lazy and do poorly. for the slower folks, they usually try harder but perform better. main point: wherever you are on the intellectual spectrum, study habits is the one factor you do have control of that will ultimately decide how well you do in college.

PoorCookie

Phamous, I know exactly how you feel. I'm on my first quarter of sophomore year and I worry about whether or not I can make it. We'll just have to work harder to make these 10 weeks worth it.