Extracurricular leadership

NCalRent
Tue, 04 Aug 2020 14:33:06 +0000

I would add that UCs are focused first on GPA, test scores, course rigor far more than EC and leadership. Strong ECs and leadership won’t compensate for a below avg GPA.

Here’s the admission criteria directly from the UC system.

https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/freshman/comprehensive-review/

To be competitive at LA and SD, you will need a UCGPA above 4.2 plus decent test scores no matter the quality/quantity of your ECs. So, if those are your target schools, carefully select ‘hard’ courses in which you are confident you’ll excel. Spend more time on your GPA than your ECs…

That’s a recipe that makes lots of young people pretty miserable. If you were my kid, I’d counsel you to not focus on such a narrow list of selective schools at this point. Engage as much as you can in your school community and spend time doing what you like while maintaining a decent GPA and you’ll be happier AND there will be lots of educational opportunities available post HS.