Chance Me for UCSD or UCLA 2027 Intl

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US domestic or international: International student

  • State/Location of residency: California

  • Type of high school: Public high school

  • Other special factors: First generation to attend college in the U.S.

Cost Constraints / Budget

  • Will need to pay international tuition unless permanent residency is obtained

Intended Major(s)

  • Cognitive Science

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: ~4.0

  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.4 (weighted for AP/honors courses)

  • Class Rank: Not-Declared

  • SAT: Aiming for 1500+

High School Coursework

English: Standard curriculum
Math: AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC
Science: AP Physics C, AP Environmental Science, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles
History/Social Studies: Standard curriculum
Language Other Than English: Spanish up till 3-4
Visual or Performing Arts: Piano (10 years, performing and teaching)
Other Academic Courses: Standard electives

Awards

  • AP Scholar

  • CSF Member

Extracurriculars

  • Piano: 10 years, teaching students, hosting small recitals

  • Financial Literacy Initiative: Summer internship at a financial firm, started student workshops + app for online learning

  • Model UN: Junior year participant, senior year leadership position

  • Robotics: Active participant since junior year

  • Volunteering:

    • 150 hours at Computers to Kids Center (tech-focused)

    • ~150 hours at family-friend-run cultural/community organization (serving food, organizing events)

  • Research: Will try to get Junior year summer

Essays/LORs/Other

  • LORs: Expected to be strong from STEM teachers

Schools

Colleges of Interest:

  • UCSD, UCLA, UCSB, UCB

Junior currently. This is what I hope my application will look like at the time of applying.

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The problem with “chancing” at the most competitive UC’s is that there’s such a strong ceiling effect. A large percentage of applicants have the highest UC GPA’s possible, or are close enough to that maximum to land in the same “fully qualified” category. Test scores aren’t considered, so a strong SAT doesn’t give you any sort of edge over all of the other 4.0UW applicants. They have to decide who they want based on the PIQ’s, EC’s, and subtleties of course rigor, etc. It makes the process a bit unpredictable.

If you’re really committed to CogSci, UCSD is kind of the place to be. Big department, multiple tracks, tons of research opportunities - it’s a powerhouse for this field. And though many of us have wondered whether CogSci will become an impacted major, it hasn’t thus far. I think your chances of an admit there look pretty good, although as noted, one can’t reliably predict.

Can your family afford non-resident tuition at a UC?

You might check out UT-Dallas. Especially if you are a National Merit Semifinalist, as their NMF scholarships are very generous, but I’m assuming you would have mentioned if that were the case. Nonetheless, the sticker price for an international student is quite a bit lower than the UC’s, and UTD’s CogSci department is somewhat similar to UCSD’s - multiple tracks, lots of opportunities. There’s a great Honors College, and the student body is very diverse (especially vis-a-vis Asian representation). It might be worth a look in case in-state status doesn’t come through for you in CA.

Another thought - you’re a junior now, so it isn’t too late to gun for the Rensselaer Medal, which would give you a significant scholarship to RPI. If your school doesn’t already participate, you could ask them to consider it. It’s awarded at the end of junior year, to “one outstanding math and science student” per high school. The scholarship brings the total cost of RPI down to under 50K/year… and they have a very STEMmy CogSci major that might appeal to you. Cognitive Science | The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

There are some good options in Canada too, including the Cognitive Systems major at UBC.

I realizing I’m not really answering your question, but that’s because nobody can really assure you that you’ll get into these UC’s. I think your odds of getting rejected by all four of the UCs you listed are relatively low; you will probably have a UC option among these four, and if you did somehow get denied by all four, you’d get an automatic offer from Merced, which has a decent CogSci program too. (You might also consider throwing in Davis, Irvine, and Santa Cruz, which all have CogSci majors.) I just think you need a few non-UC options, because of the uncertainty about residency - you may not want to pay 80K/year to attend a UC that isn’t one of your top choices (and depending on your family finances, that amount may be unreasonable even for a top choice). I hope your green card comes through in time to put that uncertainty to rest before you apply, but unfortunately these are complicated times immigration-wise, so you need to have a range of options in mind. You seem like you’re going to be a strong applicant, though, if things keep going as they have been. Good luck!

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UC is test blind for admissions. The SAT can prove your English proficiency though.

Given the major, any school will be fine - because it’s going to require grad school most likely. It needn’t be a top or pricey school.

Best of luck.

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A lot of CogSci majors coming out of computation-heavy programs like UCSD, UTD, and RPI are quite employable with an undergrad degree, or at least they have been historically. Grads work in UI/UX, NLP, areas like that… and CogSci students from school like UCSD often have meaningful research and internship experience in those areas. My CogSci kid, who didn’t do a computation-heavy program, still landed a good research-assistant job at a major medical center; she did ultimately go to grad school, but she logged several years of gainful employment first.

That said, it’s rough out there for new grads generally. But I wouldn’t paint all of CogSci with the “you won’t get a job without grad school” brush. Additionally, it’s not a curriculum focus that’s available at just “any school.” A student can approximate with a blend of majors and minors, but they can’t fully replicate what a dedicated CogSci department like UCSD’s or UTD’s can offer, if that’s what they really want to pursue.

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Just read the whole comment and really appreciate you responding! I totally understand that chancing me is really hard, especially without knowing more. I’m glad I could get so much insight from just making a quick post! Cognitive Science really sounds interesting to me because I’ve been a fanatic of the brain for a really long time. The reason I made this post was because I was just stressed from hearing all the talk about college in high school and even outside of school. So far, I haven’t really explored a lot of colleges and have just started with the UCs. Thanks to you, now I know the names of a few more that I will start looking into! Do you have any advice on how to explore other colleges to broaden my range? I’m thinking of staying in California as it just feels close to home and everything is so accessible. I don’t think I can lose that so quickly lol.

I just checked if my school participates in the Rensselaer Medal, and I did find them listed! I think I’ll talk to my counselor about that and gather more information prior to doing so.

Also, tuition is super expensive as an international student. I actually didn’t find out until recently that not being a green card holder means you are considered as one. That just took a big toll on me because until then, I thought I was considered in-state. You learn something new every day, I guess. I completely agree that I have to look at other colleges and consider them now more than before.

I just have another question: If I get a green card during college, will they consider me as an in-state student after that? Does this mean my tuition will match the in-state tuition after the change is effective?

Anyway, I loved your reply, thank you so much for giving me such a thorough response!

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I did hear that even though UCs are test blind, they do use them in some ways like when comparing similar applicants. Don’t know how true that is though. But, using it to check for English does sound like a solid use.

Adding on, grad school is something I looked into, too. I wasn’t sure if it was necessary or not, so I’m still trying to get more information. I think I will most likely pursue grad school, but there are a lot of factors that play in.

Thank you so much for your reply! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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Glad to hear about another successful CogSci student! I was looking into UCSD and their CogSci department too before creating this thread as they sound solid. I have to look into UTD’s too soon to get an idea.

Again, thank you for the wonderful reply!

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Are you sure you don’t qualify for the AB 540 exemption?

If you do not, and if you don’t have residency by the time you graduate but expect to get your green card within a year or two, another option would be to start out in community college and transfer to a UC. This would be a lot more cost-effective than paying 80K/year to take the same Gen Ed classes that you could take at a CCC, and you’d still get a UC degree in the end. I’m not entirely sure whether CCC free tuition for first-time college students who graduated from a CA high school applies to students who don’t have residency, but even the OOS rates aren’t that bad. I understand if starting in community college isn’t your first choice, but it’s a completely reasonable backup option that could get you to the same end-point for a lot less money. Most CCC’s have honors programs that are geared toward students aiming for the UC’s.

If you do start at a UC as an international student and then get your green card, you can change your status, but you’ll need to look at how much paperwork is involved. I have known a couple of students who did status changes because their families legitimately established residency in CA, and the red tape was brutal. (They really do not make it easy for OOS students to reclassify!) But it’s possible that the process may be simpler if you’ve graduated from high school in CA and the green card is the only missing piece.

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How much can your parents comfortably afford to pay? Do you qualify for any need based aid? (the UCs won’t meet that need, but the elite private schools might).

With only a few exceptions, this is not a hook or special factor if your parents have a college degree from anywhere.

You might, at the UCs. It won’t matter at private schools.

Not true. The UCs are truly test blind - they don’t see your SAT/ACT scores at all.

The OP is a US high school student, so their English proficiency is unlikely to be in question.

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Congratulations on a wonderful profile so far, but how much have accomplished from your list at this point?

UC’s are test blind, so SAT scores are not considered for admissions or scholarships, only for course placement.

Schools that accept LOR’s with UC Berkeley being the only UC, usually want 1 STEM and Humanities teacher LOR. UC Berkeley will email a small percentage of prospective applicants to submit LOR’s so this not a given.

The UC’s have you self-report your academic history on the application 9-11th and in-progress 12 grade courses but they calculate the UC GPA’s based on 10-11th grades only. Here is the calculator so when you complete Junior year, you can calculate your UC GPA’s: GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub

For UCLA, UCB and UCSB, Cognitive Science is found in the College of Letters and Sciences which does not consider major choice for admission purposes but UCSD does admit by major.

Best of luck and come back with an updated profile after Junior year.

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It is very hard to get a green card today. I know someone at my work whose appointment was just abruptly cancelled. Said person is now going back to Spain. I’m not sure the particulars but he was here many years and hired on as a US employee, not an expat.

I don’t see the answer to your question on the UC website related to green cards. But this is a poor plan. You can study Cog Sci many places.

What is your budget - start with that - and find a school to fit that budget.

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Is this true for international students as well? I thought it only applied to California residents (on domestic status), but may have misunderstood

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There’s going to be more to this story than you are aware of. The procedures for getting a green card are the same as always, and though there may be higher scrutiny in background checks this wouldn’t affect the average person. Interviews don’t get cancelled for no reason - unless you know what category this person was applying under and their particular circumstances you can’t know what that reason was. (The fact that they are leaving the country instead of rescheduling the appointment leads me to think there was some issue with the underlying petition but like you I cannot actually know)

Tl;dr if OP’s family is on a normal family or employment based route to green cards there is no reason to worry other than the usual backlog/time delay issues.

Generally when you get a green card it is simply a case of submitting proof to the university and your status changes to domestic. It shouldn’t be any kind of red tape the way that proving a change in state residency etc is.

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I don’t know the story. You could be right.

I know he started with us, being transferred from our HQ country, in 2018. Was promoted in 2022 which at that time, became a local hire from ex Pat.

The other week, several people said did you hear about so and so. He has to go back to him home country - and he was only weeks from his green card appointment. His family is devastated.

He’s no longer with the organization because of it.

I don’t know more than that - but I did wonder if it has to do with some of the governmental things?

As for would the cost change (OPs question), he’d need to ask them - and even if it would, could they afford until then?

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I am on a very active immigration forum and am up to date on both visa and adjustment of status processes. There is no “governmental thing” that is affecting routine green card applications, appointments or approvals - no change in either laws or routine processes.

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From the UC website:

The ELC program ensures that academically talented and deserving California resident students from all over the state have the opportunity to join us at UC.

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That link notes:

Non-immigrants (students on a foreign/non-immigrant visa) are not eligible for California resident status for admission purposes

(And that this is not necessarily the same as determining residency for tuition purposes)

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Oh, I thought it was just based on being top 9% in a CA high school. So I guess OP needs to apply to Merced if that’s desired as a safety. But the need to apply also means OOS status vis-a-vis tuition, so a more affordable backup plan would probably be needed.

The other unfortunate thing about UC’s is that they don’t routinely grant deferred admission. So OP can’t nail down admission and then take a gap year if the residency ducks aren’t in a row yet; they’d have to reapply if a delay is needed.

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Not necessarily. The link draws a distinction between tuition status and admission status. There are “eligible non immigrant visas” for in-state tuition for students residing in CA. If OP’s family are in line for green cards they may well fall into this category - they’d need to go into the details on that.

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UCSB does not offer an undergraduate cognitive science major.

Why Cognitive Science? What track/specialty within cognitive science are you interested in? UCSB has a Psychological & Brain Sciences which is more of the neuro emphasis of cog sci.

While USCD was the first UC to offer Cognitive Science, it has been at UC Davis for close to a decade. If you are sure about cog sci, I would add UC Irvine, UC Davis, and UC Santa Cruz to your list. If possible, plan a visit to the campuses this year.

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