TS1125

I'm a white male with a family income below poverty level.

Unweighted GPA: 3.97 Weighted GPA:4.18

SAT:2060 ACT:31 These scores are lower than I would like, but I will not retake either.

SAT II: U.S. History (790) Biology E (710)

Class Rank: 5 out of 420

APs

10th
Chemistry (2)- A self study I did not properly study for.

11th
Biology, Calculus AB, English Language (4)
U.S. History (5)
AP Spanish Language was not offered.

12th (planned)
Government
Economics
Calculus BC
Environmental Science
Statistics
English Literature

ECs:
I know that I do not have the 10+ ECs that 99% of ccers have. I live in a small town which limits the amount of options I have.

Since last fall I have done at about 10-15 hours for the Bureau of Land Management measuring populations of rare plant species and removing invasive plants. I would have gotten in much more hours by now but schedule conflicts (mainly school) have prohibited me from doing so.

I have been a member of California Scholarship Federation since second semester of Freshman year.

I plan on majoring in ecology. My top options are UC Davis and UC Berkeley. What do you think my chances are for those schools? Are UC Santa Cruz and the CSU's for sure safety schools?

kiddo64

Ok so let me get this straight. You don't like your scores, but you don't want to retake em. Why?

Shrivats88

UC Berkeley: reach
UC Davis: Likely that they would admit you
The requirements at UC Santa Cruz are lower than Davis so I think you can consider it a safety. Same with CSU.

TS1125

@kiddo64-My practice scores before I had really studied at all were near identical to the scores I got after several months of studying. I also find the critical reading and rhetorical strategies sections quite subjective.

@Shrivats88-That sounds reasonable.

Thank you both for your responses.