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Not so. Now that UC Merced is rolling along, UCR has become more competitive and 3.0 won’t get you in… 3.3-3.4 is about as low as they go, barring other factors. UCSC is at about 3.5 as the lowest under normal circumstances. There are 4-5 Cal States that won’t take below 3.4 either – San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Long Beach, Pomona.</p>
<p>This recession has caused many more students who would and do get into privates like Tulane, Baylor, LMU, Boston University, etc. to consider these in-states for financial reasons (many even commute), which drives up the compeitiveness from Berkeley on down to the Cal States. I would even say the average GPA for these instates had gone up .1 to .15 in the past four years, and ave. SAT at least 40-50 points.</p>