Chance me , i am lowkey fried [international H-4 in CA, 3.9 GPA, 4.34 weighted capped GPA for UC, statistics]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Title: Rising senior from CA, Statistics/Actuarial Science, UCs (class of 2028)

Tags: chance-me

Demographics: [Male], California public high school medium sized bay area , in cali but not citizen, no legacy,

Intended major: Statistics with a finance minor.

GPA / rank / tests:

UW 3.9 / UC-weighted 4.34 (capped weighted GPA; UC recalculates)

Rank: 15/600

SAT/ACT: [none yet; UCs are test-blind]

Planning 12+ APs total, with senior year being cal bc , ap econ ap gov ap business

Awards:

FBLA award winner regional top 10 3 times so far

Extracurriculars (most to least important):

AFJROTC, about 3 years. Roles (each about a year, both concluded):

Physical Training Leader.- led 30 cadets in phyicals drills and was rule enforcer with 2 other people.

Logistics officer responsible for about $10K of equipment supporting 150+ cadets.

Current role: Community Service Lead, in charge of planning events and finding new service opportunities for cadets.

FBLA: member and award winner. He’s considering a regional community service chair position.

Track (not cross country)

STEAM Club and CS Club

Essays / LORs / other:

PIQs not yet drafted

Letters not yet requested-stats teacher probably genric

Cost constraints / budget: none

Schools:

Reach: UC Berkeley, UCLA

Target: UCSD, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCSB ,cal poly slo

Likely: UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced

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So you only applied to the UCs and SLO?

I don’t think your fried at all - at least based on your academics.

I assume you’d be fine/happy attending your likelies.

There’s also a gazillion schools you can get into TO - really all over the country. Your costs may be higher given your international status.

It would help to know more about you and I assume you’ve met the required academic areas - so if the other parts of your app are solid, you’ll be fine. Heck, based on rank, won’t you qualify of this?

So fried, my friend, it doesn’t sound like it.

Good luck

Statewide guarantee | UC Admissions

3

Could you please list all of the high school courses you have taken?

Since you are an international student and are not going to receive any kind of financial aid for the CA publics, are you sure your family can afford the full cost of attendance for you…which could very well be the out of state cost of attendance. @Gumbymom can clarify this.

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Guide SB68 says if attended 3 years in CA and graduated from a CA high school, they’d be in state.

UCs are not necessarily the lowest cost even in state but OP didn’t mention budget. Just am I fried - assuming the 12 APs are spread and they meet the requirements (A-G), they definitely are not fried.

But that’s assuming they don’t come back and say - well I’m not interested in UCR, UCM or UCSC - which kids often do even though they list them.

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The 12 AP classes I am taking are AP Precalculus, AP World History, AP Environmental Science (APES), AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, AP Chemistry, AP English Language and Composition (AP Lang), AP Physics, AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP Calculus BC, AP Business, and AP Economics. I am not interested in applying to UC Merced, UC Riverside, or UC Santa Cruz. My main worry right now is that my extracurricular activities are too weak

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Also financial cost is no worries and inside a californian hs.

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Please list ALL of the courses you have taken in high school…not just your AP courses.

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Can you clarify your status and if you are eligible for the SB540 exemption? You will still not qualify for any Federal or State Financial aid but you can get in-state tuition rates.

Under California law for AB 540, certain nonresident students are exempt from paying nonresident supplemental tuition at public colleges like the University of California (UC), California State University (CSU)and California Community Colleges.

To qualify for this exemption, you must meet all of the following:

  • High School/Time Requirement: Complete 3 or more years of full-time attendance (or equivalent credits) at California high schools, adult schools, or community colleges (or a combination of elementary, middle, and high school).
  • Degree/Unit Requirement: Graduate from a California high school, earn a California GED, get an associate degree from a California community college, or meet UC/CSU minimum transfer requirements.
  • Exemption Request: Submit a signed California Nonresident Exemption Request form and a Statement of Legal Residence after admission.

Who is Eligible vs. Ineligible for AB 540

  • Eligible Non-Citizens: Undocumented students, G-4 visa holders, and certain T or U visa holders can use AB 540 to pay in-state tuition rates.
  • Ineligible Visa Holders: Students holding nonimmigrant/visitor visas (such as F-1 student visas, J-1 exchange visas, H-4, B-1/B-2, etc.) are excluded and do not qualify for the AB 540 tuition exemption.

Full California Residency vs. Tuition Exemption

  • AB 540 waives nonresident tuition fees; it does not grant official legal California state residency.
  • To establish full California residency for tuition purposes (which requires physical presence for 366+ days, intent to remain permanently, and financial independence if under 24), a non-U.S. citizen must hold a visa status that legally allows them to establish a permanent domicile in the U.S. (such as a U.S. Permanent Resident / Green Card). Most temporary visa holders cannot establish this.

Cal Poly SLO uses 9-11th a-g course grades for their GPA calculation and caps the number of Honors points to 8 semesters of approved courses taken 10-11th grades. You can use the CSU GPA calculator and calculate your SLO GPA using 9-11th grades: https://www.calstate.edu/apply/gpa-calculator

The UC’s calculate our 3 UC GPA’s (unweighted, capped weighted and weighted uncapped) and UCLA/Berkeley tend to focus on the unweighted and weighted uncapped: GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub

Overall you appear to be a competitive applicant but SLO and the UC’s tend to be unpredictable. If you are happy to attend Merced, Riverside or Santa Cruz, then your list is fine.

Even with an AB540 exemption, you will be evaluated as a Nonresident for admission purposes which does impact your chances at the UC’s and SLO.

Good luck.

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In addition to listing your courses…all of them…

What is your current visa?

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@Gumbymom , the OP posted the above.

@Gjghhhh since you don’t want to apply to these three…why do you have them listed above as your likely admits in the first post in this thread?

And if these three are not your likelies, what colleges ARE?

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So not English.

So you’ve done Junior ROTC and Track - and you think they’re weak? You show lots of leadership in your description above.

Why did you list them as safe then if you’re not applying? And if you are applying but aren’t interested, then why? There are other schools out there - some will be cheaper than UC.

You know who the WSJ, which looks at outcomes, rates UC Merced third of the UCs, at #14 overall, behind #13 UC Davis and #7 UCB. Don’t take US News (look at what they rate) as the gospel.

You don’t think kids end up unemployed from any UC and millionaires from all UCs (and any other school)?

Anyway, you asked if I’m fried and then listed those schools - so to answer you, you are not fried.

If you’re not interested nor applying to those schools, then do a full chance me and put the entirety of the school list which you are applying. Of course, you’ll have the top 9% entry (I’m assuming even as an international).

Your ECs aren’t weak but your chance me is also disingenuous.

Thanks

  1. Stanford University
  2. Babson College
  3. Yale University
  4. Princeton University
  5. Harvard University
  6. Claremont McKenna College
  7. UC Berkeley
  8. Columbia
  9. University of Pennsylvania
  10. Davidson College
  11. MIT
  12. Bentley University
  13. UC Davis
  14. UC Merced
  15. Harvey Mudd College
  16. Georgia Tech
  17. San Jose State University
  18. Cornell University
  19. Loyola University Maryland
  20. University of Notre Dame
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If you are not interested in Merced, Riverside or Santa Cruz, you have no likely/safety schools on the list. I would find at least 2 Safety/Likely schools to add just in case.

6 Likes
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Would the student qualify for the top 9% guarantee even as an international. I’d think so but…worth them investigating, as a just in case - which of course, will lead them likely to Merced or Riverside.

14

I have H-4 visa status, and most of my remaining classes are just electives or meant to fulfill A-G requirements. For my safety school options, would San Jose State University (SJSU) work well, or should I consider attending a community college and transferring as a backup plan?

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You are majoring in stats. What do you want to be - an actuary?

Do you want to go to a four year or two year school?

SJSU is fine - did you not see them on the WSJ rankings. And you could go to many schools out of state, for as cheap or cheaper than a UC. And you’ll have Merced as an option. You may even get into another UC.

But fried, you are not.

And don’t assume - oh, if I go to UCB, i’m assured - 1/5 of those with the stats major couldn’t find a job in 2025 - not sure when the last time stamp was although it’s typically 6 months after graduation (per NACE). You can do well from anywhere - it’s up to you (your persistence) and of course your visa status, etc.

UCB isn’t the be all and end all - and UCM is far from death - as the WSJ ranking - shows.

Good luck.

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It sounds like you do not qualify for the tuition exemption. So…just make sure your parents can actually afford the costs for you to attend the UCs and CSUs.

@Gumbymom what would those cost be?

Only you can choose colleges. You need to find an affordable sure thing for admission, that you would be happy to attend, and that is affordable for your family.

I would guess you might have other affordable options…any chance you can take the SAT?

Would you like some other options suggested that are also test optional?

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If the student attended a CA HS for three years, they qualify for in-state. It seems like the student already knows they qualify. That’s not an issue to them.

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@Gjghhhh

Current estimated costs are $85K/year for direct costs as a Non-resident.

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I am sorry if i seem disingenuous but the uc are in the top 100 or 200 schools in the nation and lots of people i know with similar stats got rejected last year from top uc so i am a bit worried about my chances

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OP states they are on an H-4 Visa so they are ineligible for the AB540 exemption.

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