I just got my SAT scores back and am wondering what my options might be in the UC system. I’m not interested in Merced or Riverside, but all others seem attractive. Do I have a realistic shot at any of the other UCs with my stats? If not, what other public options in CA should I be considering?
Courseload: 10 APs and 3 Honors courses counting senior schedule
SAT: 2140 (M700, CR740, W700)
UW GPA: 3.29
W GPA: 3.71
UC GPA: 3.33
ECs: 2 years varsity sports, part-time job, moderate amount of volunteer work
Thanks!
SAT is competitive, but GPA is on the low side for most of the UC’s. All the UC’s except for UCSC/UCR and UCM have an average UC GPA of 4.0+. Since UCR & UCM are out according to you, UCSC would be a good Match.
UCI/UCSB and possibly UCD would High Matches/Low Reaches. Other in-state options are the Cal States such as SDSU/CSUF/CSULB/CPP/SJSU. Much will depend upon your major.
I will post my 2 son’s Stats and how they faired with the UC’s within the last 2 years to give you some perspective.
Older Son: UC GPA 4.2 ACT 26 7AP/2 honors 2 years JV and 2 years Varsity sports, many hours of volunteering.
Environmental Science major. He was accepted to UCM/UCR/UCSC/UCI and UCD. Denied UCSB/UCSD. Attending UCD. Not as competitive of a major, compettive GPA and amazing essays.
Younger son: UC GPA 3.73 ACT 31 10 AP/4 honors 4 years JV sports (switched from soocer to xcountry). Mod volunteer hours. CS major. He was accepted to UCR w/ scholarship. Denied UCI/UCD/UCSB. Also got into 5 Cal States and attending SDSU. Compeitive major, GPA below average and essays ok but nothing outstanding.
You never know about admissions these days, so there is no harm in applying. Just make sure you have some good Matches and safeties you want to attend.
You should also consider privates such as Occidental, Loyola Marymount, USD, Chapman, University of Pacific. California has some great schools and so many applicants want to attend UC’s, so the competition is getting tougher each year. Be realisitic in you choices. Good Luck.
Excellent information. Thanks!
I’m interested in majoring in economics. Is econ considered a competitive major in general?
Econ is a competitive major for the UC’s but not nearly as competitive as Engineering/CS/Biology/Psychology. Like I stated above, make a realistic list based on your Stats. You can google common datasets for all the UC’s. It will breakout the GPA (unweighted) range of the %enrolled students, the 25th/75th percentile for SAT/ACT scores. The UC’s review applications based on 14 areas of criteria, so GPA and test scores alone will not get you accepted. EC’s and your essays will also contribute to your chances.
Link for common dataset UCSD:
http://studentresearch.ucsd.edu/_files/stats-data/common-data-set/c.pdf
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/how-applications-reviewed/index.html