Just an average kid; UC SCHOOLS

Chance Me / Match Me
1

I’m pretty much just a smart kid, but not THAT smart, and I plan to apply to UCs (and of course, CSUs and CCs). I do not think I have a chance for UCB or UCLA with my grades, so I don’t plan on applying there.

I am a female senior who is panicking about college applications (I am posting this at 4 in the morning).

…Weighted …Unweighted
Academic GPA (9-11): …3.85… …3.52
Academic GPA (10-11): 3.98… 3.48
Total GPA (9-11): …3.90…3.57

AP Tests:
World - 4
U.S. History - 4
Language - 3
Physics C - 2
Planning to take Govt/Macro, Literature, Calc BC, Chem this year

SAT Score (newest one):
1280 (R 29, W 31, M 34); Essay - (6 5 5) CollegeBoard estimates this to be a 1790 of the old SAT
Severely disappointed in myself (probably because I took it during AP testing month) since I scored 60 lower than my PSAT (1340). I plan to retake in November.

Did not take ACT

EC:
-Volunteering (~80 hours)
-Member of Upward Bound since beginning junior year
-CSF member since beginning of sophomore year, but then not in it 1st semester of junior year, rejoined 2nd semester, and planning to continue until end of high school
-Track (9-11), not doing it senior year

Class rank: 56/508 (top 10%)

Planning to mention to UC that my new school that I moved to in 11th grade had weighted honors classes while my old school did not (I may look less competitive compared to my peers)

Interested in microbiology, so it will be harder for me to get into UCs

I have 4 free apps for UCs

Planning to have either Riverside or Merced as my safety net

1st question: Do colleges look at your 9-12 or 10-12 GPA? My 10-11 GPA is higher than 9-11 GPA.
2nd question: Should I take the ACT or SAT subject tests?
3rd question: Which schools are good for biology?
4th question: What are my chances at Davis, Santa, San Diego, Irvine, and Santa Cruz?
5th question: If my chances are low for the schools above, should I apply to both UCR & UCM?

Your comments are much appreciated!

2
  1. UC's will look at all your grades to make sure you meet the a-g course requirements along with what you will be taking in your Senior year. They will look at your HS course rigor in comparison to your fellow students. The UC's only use 10-11th grades for their GPA calculation.
  2. If there are recommended SAT subject tests for your major, then I would take them to give an edge over the many applicants to the UC's. It is a bit late in the application process to take the ACT, but if you think you can get a higher score than the SAT, then definitely consider it.
  3. All UC's are good for Biology but it depends upon what you want to do with major after undergrad.
  4. UCSC: Match UCI: High Match UCD: High Match-Low Reach UCSD: Low Reach-Reach
  5. If you are ELC eligible (top 9% at your HS) then you will be guaranteed a spot at UC Merced if you do not get an acceptance at any of the other UC's, so I would not apply unless you do not meet this criteria. Yes you should apply to at least UCR.
3

@Gumbymom Does ELC also guarantee a spot at UCR and UCI? I know the statewide path only guarantees UCM.

Reaches - UCLA, UCB, UCD, UCSD, UCSB (your GPA and SAT are below the school’s averages)

Matches - UCI (your SAT and GPA are above the school’s averages)

Safeties: UCR, UCSC, UCM (your SAT and GPA are far above the school’s averages)

4

ELC eligible only guarantees a spot at UCM if available.

5

I’m confused by the SAT score and subscores you listed. It looks like the subscores are ACT scores.

Calculate your UC GPA to get the most realistic picture of your chances. Assuming your UC GPA comes out fairly close to your overall 10-11 gpa, here’s how I would use your four free application spots:
UCR - safety
UCSC - match
UCI - high match

  • your choice of UCD or UCSD for your reaches

For your major, make sure that SDSU is on your Cal State list.

As for the staying up nights worrying part: this is an incredibly stressful time. There’s no way around it. Use that stress to craft the best application that you can. And recognize that you are going to end up at an amazing university. You’ll likely have a choice of great schools given the strength of the bio programs at all of the UCs and many of the CSUs.

6

I’m not very familiar with “reach” and “match.” Could you briefly explain what the terms mean? Thanks!

7

@Otterma Sorry! 600 for Eng/Writing & 680 for math. I previously gave the breakdown of the general scores.

8

Reach means low admission chances. You are below average in your stats
Match means good admissions chance. You are around the average or higher in stats
Safety means an excellent admissions chance. You are above average in stats

Safety-Low Match-Match-High Match-Low Reach-Reach- High Reach

9

Also, if I think I can get into Merced with ELC, do I still need to apply to it?

10

If you are ELC eligible, you can save the application fee for UCM.

11

@Jewlies

Are you disadvantaged in any way? Minority, low income, serious illness?

12

Did you move to California in 11th grade? Did your parents also move to CA?

13

@emory323 I’m Vietnamese, and from a low income household. However, in my area, most people are also Vietnamese. Probably not a minority. @PrimeMeridian I moved to California in 7th grade. However, I moved to different high school in 11th grade.

14

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary lets you look up past admission rates to UCs by HS GPA (10-11 weighted-capped). Of course, competitiveness can change this year.

At UCSD (not sure about the others), biological sciences majors are impacted majors, so it will be more difficult to get into them than the campus overall.