Are the UCs beyond my grasp?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<ol>
<li>I have less than a 3.5 UW, but not by much. And I do have two less than affable grades in my soph/junior years, which I know are the only years UCs look at. But I raised them each semester. </li>
<li>I’m in full IB.</li>
<li>I have a 2300 SAT, not NMSF or anything though. </li>
<li>I’m out of state, which is pretty much my big concern. And I definetly can’t afford all of it myself. </li>
<li>I’m Mexican. Neither of my parents went to college.</li>
<li>I’m a pretty strong writer, and my counselor said my ECs are good/not generic. As in, I’m not the type who has to pad their resume with honor society.</li>
<li>I’m going to try applying for AFROTC, which I know doesn’t mean anything to the college. But my intended majors are Computer Science (if I get into the program) or Film (If I don’t). </li>
</ol>

<p>So yeah, just tell it to me straight please. UCB, UCLA, UCI, and UCSD are the ones that interest me as far as aesthetics go.</p>

2

<p>I would start with calculating your UC GPA. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/resources/askuc/answers/calculating.html[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/resources/askuc/answers/calculating.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Only count 10th and 11th grade “A-G” courses, and only count AP’s as weighted if OOS</p>

<p>A calculator of sorts</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.californiacolleges.edu/admissions/california-state-university-csu/gpa_calculator.asp#calculator[/url]”>http://www.californiacolleges.edu/admissions/california-state-university-csu/gpa_calculator.asp#calculator&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You need a 3.4 minimum to apply out of state. All I can add to that is, it seems that IN state, bare minimum oly gets you riverside and Mercd. Still, most with the bare minimum don’t have an SAT of 2300. And don’t forget you need an arts class, in addition to the rest of the “A-G”.</p>

<p>UCSD has a fairly straightforward point system. UCB and UCLA are more “holistic”.
UCSD
<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/freshmen/process.html[/url]”>http://www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/freshmen/process.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Oh yeah; you MIGHT also need about $50K/year.</p>

3

<p>“5. I’m Mexican. Neither of my parents went to college.”</p>

<p>You’re in.</p>

4

<p>Then, ask yourself if you can afford them. $50K plus/yr for probably 5 years with no aid beyond Federal. Harvard is much cheaper.</p>

5

<p>“5. I’m Mexican. Neither of my parents went to college.”</p>

<p>You’re in. "</p>

<p>Race is not considered but first generation is ( 300 points at UCSD).</p>

6

<p>I would only go to a UC if 1) I was lucky enough to get into any of them, and 2) I got enough $ from scholarships or AFROTC (the latter involving alot of luck).</p>

<p>So do UCs not factor in -/+? On the calculator listed it only had pure grades. And yeah, as far as the UC calculations go, I got a D first semester sophomore IB science, but got it up to a B 2nd semester. And then I got a D in pre calc first semester junior year, but now I’m getting an A in a pre calc outside of school (teacher is a big factor to the former…).</p>

7

<p>No pluses or minuses, and very few scholarships from the university</p>

8

<p>Wait… why would you need financial aid? Doesn’t AFROTC cover full cost of tuition and (I believe) board?</p>

<h2>EDIT: you’re going to try applying. Missed that part.</h2>

<p>I’d say you may have a chance at UC Irvine. In all honesty, the UCs are competitive OOS and they look at scores more than ECs. </p>

<p>What can you raise that GPA up to by the time you apply? Try for a 3.55, that’ll give you a decent shot at UC Irvine and UCSD.</p>

9

<p>you should be alright, just don’t stress too much because you do qualify into the UC system. they look not just on grades/scores but what you put in your personal statement/qualities/outside school and what the school needs to fill in for diversity and amounts of students for accepting and what not. though on a side note, since the budget cut, they do now look at all your grades from 9-12…so just be aware they might do that if it’s a short fall.</p>

<p>UCI and UCSD…at this point…if not, filter in from all the other UC’s that need the students like UCR or UCM and other UC’s…but you might actually have a chance at UCB and UCLA (so don’t give up hope)</p>

<p>wish you best of luck for those top UC’s</p>

10

<p>“what the school needs to fill in for diversity and amounts of students for accepting and what not. though on a side note, since the budget cut, they do now look at all your grades from 9-12.”</p>

<p>afallstarxfall, do you have any links describing that?</p>

11

<p>wikipedia or look online about the schools and what it’s known for.
i also did talk with a few parents and they were told by the counselors from the HS and the schools they were applying as well.</p>

<p>it also depends on how impacted the majors and how competitive the school is. sometimes where you’re from even makes a difference. my lab buddy was able to get into UCSB and UCM but got rejected from UCR and he had under a 3.0 GPA out of top notch HS down in LA and I was able to get into UCR, UCSC, UCM but got rejected from UCSB and i had a 2.8 GPA as a JC transfer. there’s what i can tell you.
Another buddy got in to UCI, UCSB, and UCM, but not UCSD and he’s a local from SD, right out of HS and he had almost perfects on his AP scores for physics, and a perfect on the bio AP with a above 4.0 gpa due to the AP courses.</p>

<p>the one mistake i made back right out of HS was applying to Calpoly (San Luis Obispo) and no other schools…alone with a 3.9 GPA and still didn’t get in, plus being local is somewhat of a advantage and disadvantage…really depends on how impacted the school is and the major you apply for.</p>