Chance Me! CA resident, 3.65 UW for UCLA, UCD, UW

Hi! I am a current senior and CA resident applying to all the UC schools, some Cal States, and a few out of states. I am particularly interested in my chances at UCLA, UC Davis, Cal Poly Slo, and University of Washington, but I posted my full college list at the bottom!

Demographics

  • US Citizen

  • California resident

  • Charter arts high school

Intended Major(s): Animal Science, Psychology, Environmental Science, Food Science

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.65

  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.1 (scale of 0-5)

  • Class Rank: My school doesn’t rank.

  • ACT/SAT Scores: I am retaking in October, but just pretend I’m not submitting my scores. UCs are test blind anyways.

HS coursework

(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)

  • English: Honors English I, Honors English II, AP English Language & Composition (scored a 4), AP English Literature and Composition (currently taking as a senior)

  • Math: AP Calculus AB (currently taking as a senior)

  • Science: Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Anatomy, Earth Science (College/Dual Enrollment), Contemporary Health Problems (College/Dual Enrollment), AP Environmental Science (currently taking as a Senior), Zoology (currently taking as a senior)

  • History and social studies: Global Studies, AP World History (scored a 3), AP United States History (scored a 3), AP United States Government & Politics (currently taking as a senior), AP Macroeconomics (currently taking as a senior)

  • Language other than English: Spanish I, II, and III

  • Visual or performing arts: I go to an arts school, so I took multiple musical theater classes over my 4 years of high school.

  • Other academic courses: AP Psychology (scored a 4)

Awards:

  • AP Scholar with Honor

Extracurriculars

Musical Theater

  • 7-month paid theater contract during my Freshman year, had to move out of state & homeschool for my first semester of high school
  • Multiple contracts at various professional regional theaters in my community
  • about 400+ service hours as a volunteer performer
  • leader at city-run theater camps during the summer
  • Creative team for school musicals: Assistant Directing, Marketing Team
  • Dance, focus on Tap.

Music

  • Focus on drums and vocals, but strong background in piano, guitar, and electric bass
  • Singing group gigs throughout Southern California as well as Nashville, Las Vegas, and New York City
  • Performance on America’s Got Talent
  • Performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City
  • Performance in local fundraisers and events

School + Clubs

  • Co-president of my school’s Make-A-Wish club, organizing fundraising events and volunteering directly with the organization
  • National Honors Society, California Scholarship Federation (volunteering through those)
  • Professional Mentorship Program at my school shadowing and working with a dermatologist

Essays:

For the UC schools, they look at 4 PIQs, but the one I am focusing on (and most likely the topic of my Common App essay) is about how I express creativity through friendship bracelets. They are easy to make and cute accessories on our wrists, but to me they are not just a final product, but a woven or beaded representation of love and connection. Friendship bracelets are essential for fostering relationships with one another or even just brightening someone’s day. Throughout high school, giving friendship bracelets to friends and charities have strongly influenced my perspective on how small, kind gestures can strongly impact our community.

Schools

  1. All 9 UCS: Los Angeles, Davis, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Merced, Riverside, Irvine
  2. Cal States: Cal Poly SLO, Cal State Fullerton
  3. University of Washington
  4. University of Oregon
  5. University of Utah
  6. Michigan State University
  7. Cornell
  8. Stanford

*you dont have to chance me for Cornell and Stanford. I am aware my chances are very low, I just thought I’d give it a shot!

Temporarily closing for review

Re-opening

Welcome to College confidential.

Can you calculate your 3 UC GPA’s using this calculator and post your results?

https://www.calstate.edu/a://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

Note DE courses taken 10-11th grades are given an extra Honors point for each UC transferable semester course taken in the calculation.

For the CSU calculation, DE course grades are counted twice but only 1 Honors point is given for CSU transferable course taken 10-11th grades.

SLO uses 9-11th a-g course grades with same 8 semester Honors point cap while Fullerton uses the standard calculation of 10-11th grades.

Post both SLO and CSU GPA’s.

Your Music and Theater EC’s make you stand out and definitely worth highlighting along with your friendship bracelets.

Quite a variety! :grinning:

For the UC’s, I think it will depend on which major/which schools and your PIQ’s. You’ve for sure got some strong EC’s, so you need to talk about those, particularly the performance aspects.

Not knowing your UC GPAs, I would say you are on the low end for the most competitive schools, but again, you have a unique story, so be sure to tell it well. Good luck!