I haven't done enough to get into college

Gumbymom
Sun, 24 Sep 2023 13:55:53 +0000

As a California HS student, you are most likely following the UC/CSU a-g course requirements through your HS curriculum. The a-g courses are core courses that are required to apply to the Cal States and UC’s. Here is a list and comparison of the UC and CSU a-g courses required to be completed by end of Senior to make you eligible to apply. Also note that the Cal states and UC’s are test blind, so SAT/ACT scores will be not considered for admission or scholarships, only for course placement or fulfilling a-g course requirements such as the ELWR Entry level writing requirment.

admission.universityofcalifornia.edu

csu-uc-a-g-comparison-matrix.pdf

235.88 KB

You need to complete 11 of the 15 minimum requirements prior to applying next Oct 1- Nov 30th. You will list your Senior courses in progress also on the application.

You can look up your HS courses, how they are categorized and which courses are designated as “Honors” for the extra honors point bump in the UC and CSU GPA calculation. At the end of Junior year, you can calculate your UC GPA’s and your CSU Capped weighted GPA. If you have not taken any college courses such as Dual enrollment, then your UC Capped weighted GPA = CSU Capped weighted GPA.

https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

hs-articulation.ucop.edu

University of California A-G Course List

Find a specific institution's A-G course list. View associated schools within a school district or network. List of online schools with A-G course lists. To search for A-G courses by title or type, use the A-G Course Search.

As a California HS student and resident, you have many wonderful schools from which to choose. If you are thinking Education, possibly Teaching then majority of the the UC’s and the Cal states would be of interest. For example, San Diego State started as a Teaching college and has a respected program if you are into Rankings (#49 overall and #6 in California).

The advantage for the Cal states are multiple:

1. Local applicants within the defined admission area get priority for admission which could make a good Safety school.
https://www.calstate.edu/apply/freshman/documents/csulocaladmission-serviceareas.pdf

2. Attending a local CSU can be cost effective so budget is something you want to bring up with your parents and run some Net Price Calculators on several schools.

3. CSU’s admit based on GPA, HS course rigor, local applicant, first generation etc… so mainly on the stats. With the exception of a 1 or 2 campuses, EC’s are not considered and if they are, you only indicate hours involved and if you held a leadership role or if it is a job was it major related. No essays, no LOR’s.

For the UC’s, they will review your application using 13 areas of criteria. Personal insight essays and EC’s help differentiate the many qualified 4.0+ students applying. EC activities section goes into more detail so the CSU’s might be a better option.

https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-freshman/how-applications-are-reviewed.html

At this point consider the recommendations listed by the posters and make sure you are on track to complete the a-g courses for CSU/UC eligibility.

If you want to consider some CA private schools, then look at Loyola Marymount, University of the Pacific, Azusa Pacific, Whittier College, University of San Francisco, Chapman University, University of San Diego (not UCSD).

There is also community college transfer to a UC/CSU which is a well proven path due to the articulation agreements available.

Good luck and if you have any more questions, do not hesitate to post or even PM your questions.