boondocks345

Hi guys, I think my worst area is my grades, my school is competitive...
(I live in California)

GPA: 3.5 Unweighted, 4.0 Weighted
UC GPA: 3.9
Class Rank: School doesn't rank, but probably top 10%, definitely top 15%

SAT's: 2360

Math: 800
Reading: 780
Writing: 780

SAT II's:

Math II: 800
Physics: 790
Biology E: 720

AP's:

Biology: 5
U.S. History: 3
Calculus AB: 4
English Language: 4
Physics B: 4

EC's:

Varsity Tennis
President of Young Voters Club
President of Knowledge Bowl
President of Rubik's Cube Club

Work/Volunteering:

400+ Hours of Community Service
Two summers working for Los Angeles Redevelopment Agency
Internship at computer repair shop
Volunteered for Obama's campaign

Essays: "of publishable quality"

Recommendations: Very good

Also, I'm writing a book right now. Would it be helpful to publish the book before applying? (not that college is the reason for writing the book)

Can you chance me for these schools?

UChicago (Legacy)
Cornell
Emory
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
UCSB

Thanks!

GPAx213

You already finished your essays? If your book gets published by a well known publisher, yeah, it will help a lot if you publish the book before applying. But you can always mention in your application that you are in the process of writing a book, by no means should you rush in publishing the book just to get better chances.

Your scores are excellent, grades are so-so, and ECs look great. However, grades matter more than anything for UCs, so here's my guesses.

UChicago (early) - match
Cornell - slight reach
Emory - match
UC Berkeley - slight reach
UCLA - slight reach
UCSD - match
UCSB - safe match