<p>So… here they are. My final stats as of the end of my junior year. </p>
<p>SAT: 700 CR, 660 W (essay 11), 470 M
ACT: 24
SAT II: 710 Biology-M, 620 Spanish, 590 Lit
Overall GPA: 3.82
GPA in upward trend since freshman year.
Current Period GPA: 4.40 </p>
<p>I think i’ll probably have time to retake the SAT and/or ACT in the fall before most college applications are due, so hopefully if i choose to do so, my scores will improve.</p>
<p>For me there is no such thing as a “match” school. it’s either a safety or a reach. Accordingly, i organized my list into what i see as safeties and reaches. I’m still narrowing down my list, and I’ve got it down to these so far:</p>
<p>Safeties:</p>
<p>San Francisco State
University of San Francisco
U of San Diego
UC Davis
UC Santa Cruz
UC Santa Barbara
U of the Pacific
Looking into other CSU schools for safeties as well</p>
<p>Reaches:</p>
<p>U of Chicago (probably applying early)
Reed
American
George Washington U
Pepperdine
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Johns Hopkins
Boston U
U of Miami</p>
<p>Now that there are no more estimations and guesses when it comes to my SAT scores and GPA, can the helpful parents and student lurkers on this board give me some general advice and help as to what colleges I should apply to? </p>
<p>PLEASE let me know! Please help me and tell me whether u think so far the colleges on my safety/reach list are ok for me… also, feel free to tell me about other colleges I should consider with my stats and stuff. Thank you!!!</p>
<p>What sort of coursework/subject are you most interested in? What are you passionate about outside of schoolwork? Can you demonstrate this to colleges through the activites you’ve been involved in?</p>
<p>Your SAT Math score is very low for the schools on your Reach list, and I’ve heard that improvement in the math score is quite possible with concerted study (see the Xiggi method on this forum and elsewhere). You might effectively use time this summer to beef up your math before taking the SAT again.</p>
<p>As a California resident, with your GPA you need a combined score on the SAT I and 2 highest SAT II’s of 1858. So with your numbers entered on the calculator (using the overall GPA you provided, as I don’t know what your UC A-G GPA would be):</p>
<p>“A-G” GPA: 3.82
Test Score Total: 3160</p>
<pre><code>* SAT Reasoning Score: 1830
Subject Score: 1330
</code></pre>
<p>** Eligible **</p>
<p>Last year the UC’s were able to accept all eligible students, so I think that you are pretty safe with Santa Barbara & Santa Cruz, with a good chance at Davis. Of course it’s always a good idea to add in an application to a CSU, just to be absolutely sure.</p>
<p>It seems to me that you have a problem with math, but I don’t know what it is. You probably should retake the SAT - but it is imperative that you get tutoring in math first. (Someone who will work with you with the test in mind, but will also help you with whatever basic math skills you are missing). Otherwise, you are just going to be disappointed again. </p>
<p>How much math have you taken in high school? that is, through what level? What is your intended major in college? If you are headed toward a science major, your math score is a huge problem. If you are headed toward humanities, you might want to expand your list toward more of the <em>artsy</em> or humanities oriented LAC’s – the types of places that are going to value your CR score well above the math. </p>
<p>Reed is one of the colleges represented, so you will want to be there to fill out a card (“demontrate interest”) for sure, but you might find that some of the other schools are a great fit for your profile and interests.</p>
<p>Well i’m interested in majoring in either (or both!?) Biology and Political Science. Although I’m not sure about nursing, I’ve always been interested in the field, love helping people and feel that I have a strong healthcare connection (and pressure from parents), I’m not sure that is what i want to pursue either. nursing is the main reason i’m looking at the CSU’s , USF and USD… although i’m sure they are awesome schools in other ways. </p>
<p>I do definitely have EC’s and will work on making awesome essay’s. I’ve always been an excellent writer (not that my writing on this board really demonstrates that)</p>
<p>I don’t want to be negative Sally but I would put UC Santa Barbara, the University of San Diego, and UC Davis in the “match” category NOT the safety category. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in nursing, check out San Diego STate. They have a good nursing program. However, it has been an impacted major over the past few years (as it is at some of the other cal states as well) so ask lots of questions about how that would affect you. I’d call SDSU a match for nursing, not a safety, as it is a competitive program. Some other good nursing programs worth looking at: Azuza Pacific, Dominican U of California, Northeastern, U of Portland (Oregon), Seattle U. Several of these schools also have good programs in the other areas you are interested in. Other CSU’s to consider would include: Chico, Fullerton and San Jose.</p>
<p>I have to agree, there is no way those UCs are safety schools, probably not even matches. We saw a lot of 3.9/1400s rejected from USD and UCSB this year. Who knows what will happen next, but UCR and Merced should be on the list.</p>
<p>If you don’t need aid, UOP is probably safe.</p>
<p>I agree that UC Davis & Santa Barbara might be hard for Masha to get into, but Santa Cruz is pretty clearly a safety - this year it admitted 76% of applicants. The math SAT scores are an issue, but the UC selection process is done by adding up the 3 SAT I’s to the 2 highest SAT II’s - and Masha’s numbers are very strong. The formula has changed from last year – last year the UC’s were giving single weight to the 2 segments of the SAT I, and doubling the value of 3 SAT IIs – so a “1400” SAT from last year tells nothing. The question would be, what were those kids’ SAT II scores? With the formula in place last year, SAT IIs had far more importance than SAT I’s. This year, scores are equally weighted and Masha’s scores average out to 632 - well above the mean scores for Santa Cruz. </p>
<p>UC has raised the app fees for each campus - so loading up on too many choices is going to be a financial burden – and UC policy is that they if a student who is eligible is not admitted to a campus of choice, they will be referred to another campus. In 2004 they were unable to place everyone, but this year every UC eligible student who wanted to attend UC had a slot, somewhere. </p>
<p>I do think that it would be a bad idea for Masha to list biology as an intended major, given the math scores; it would be better to apply as an undecided. </p>
<p>But I think that it is a waste of money to designate campuses she doesn’t want to attend – given the fact that in the event that she is turned down by Santa Cruz as well as Santa Barbara & Davis, she will get referred to another campus. I do think that Berkeley is too great of a reach and a probable waste of the application fee - but if Masha can afford it, what the heck. My only question is with her GPA - if her A-G GPA is less than her “overall” GPA things could change. </p>
<p>I do think Masha should retake the SAT to try to boost the math score… but I think her present application strategy for the UC’s is safe. That’s not to say that every school she listed is a safety, but she’s got an appropriate range and will probably get accepted to Santa Cruz if not the others. </p>
<p>Masha - you should also recalculate your UC index using your ACT score. If you did well on the ACT writing, then you may come out ahead that way – it’s somewhat complicated because of the way UC weights the various ACT subscores, but basically they are recalculating in a way that will reduce the impact of a poor math subscore and increase the impact of a strong English/writing score.</p>
<p>so because I don’t believe in “match” schools I’ll just put Davis and Santa Barbara as reaches. And I’ll definitely look into the schools you guys have mentioned!</p>
<p>Any comments on my designated “reach” schools? I personally feel U Chicago, JHU and U Miami might be very difficult for me to get into, but i feel that I should apply anyway… I don’t know, some thoughts/comments/suggestions would be nice. thanks for everything so far. </p>
<p>I’ve actually already begun applying to American… woohoo!</p>
<p>Also, i’m not familiar with the “unpopular” UC’s. So are there other UC’s that you guys think I could get into aside from Santa Cruz? …or just other schools in CA you guys could suggest to me? </p>
<p>with your math score, the UC’s are low matches at best, unless you have a hook. The Cal State’s are automatic accepts, unless you are thinking about SD or SLO.</p>
<p>UoP would likely be a safety, but UoC, Berkeley, LA, and Hopkins, would be a BIG reach. Hopkins and Chicago are probably not even a good fit; too many kids have 700+ in math, and even higher Math 2 scores. </p>
<p>My rec is to practice and retake math; it’s the easiest for which to prep.</p>
<p>Masha - if you are UC Eligible “in the statewide context” you are guaranteed admission into a UC, though not necessarily your campus of choice. Your numbers and your exisiting scores make you clearly eligible - it is not even close to being borderline. Obviously, you may find yourself at one of the less popular campuses.</p>
<p>You do NOT need a “hook” to get into the UCs. You are in on the numbers, assuming you also have taken all required classes. (I can’t seem to get an answer on my “how much math” have you taken question, so it does occur to me that you might be coming up short in a subject requirement - you need 3 years of math through advanced algebra to qualify). </p>
<p>Please – use the information on the Pathways site. I think you are getting a lot of misleading information here. If you are UC eligible, the you can NOT be turned down. There was one year, in 2004, when some students were turned away and redirected to a program via the community colleges, but that program has been discontinued, and instead the UC’s are revising their eligiblity requirements slightly upward. All of this information is on the Pathways site. You will easily be able to verify everything I have said.</p>
<p>In other words, if you apply to Davis, Santa Cruz, & Santa Barbara and get rejected from all 3, but you are UC Eligible, you will get a letter telling you what campus you can attend (most likely Riverside), whether or not you have checked the box on the application. The fees are now $55 per campus.</p>
<p>It would be to your advantage to target at least 600 on the math SAT, especially if you want to apply to Chicago, Miami, and JHU (where, as bluebayou notes, most admits are closer to the 700 range).</p>
<p>Oh sorry, i’ve taken all the UC required math, i’ll be in AP stat and Trig/Pre-calc next year. My A-G requirements are almost completed with exception to the 4 years of english and the ones u can’t complete until your senior year like gov. So i’m set when it comes to that.</p>
<p>UC Riverside has historically been the least popular, and therefore least selective, UC campus. UC Merced is new and has limited space - so it is hard to predict how selective it will be next year. </p>
<p>A guarantee is what it says it is - which is why I say your strategy of selecting the particular schools you have is safe. It’s find to read up on Riverside & Merced, but the only reason to add them is if you have a preference for one over the other. </p>
<p>Any improvement you can get on the math SAT is a help – and obviously absolutely necessary for any of your reach schools - but the point I’m trying to make is just that you are right to see UC as a safety, as long as you don’t have your heart set on a particular campus. I know Santa Cruz will give you a little extra credit on their admissions index calculation based on your senior schedule – they like to see a strong senior year course load, and will award up to 200 extra points for that. </p>
<p>That information should help you get a better sense of where you are likely to be admitted, as well as to know what things to highlight in your personal statement.</p>
<p>U of Chicago (probably applying early) extremely unlikely
Reed extremely unlikely
American
George Washington U
Pepperdine
UC Berkeley extremely unlikely
UCLA extremely unlikely
Johns Hopkins extremely unlikely
Boston U extremely unlikely
U of Miami</p>
<p>The SAT/ACT scores are completely out of line for these schools. Some of them you might have a chance with a 29-31 ACT but realistically these schools are in the 33+ range, 24 isn’t going to cut it. Better to look at some schools that there is a chance for. Also if you want to consider nursing make sure your schools have nursing programs. One you might want to consider is St Louis University, very strong in medical subjects including nursing. I haven’t checked it’s stats but it’s definitely a step down from these.</p>