A capped UC GPA should max out around 4.4 (considering 10 academic semesters/yr). It would be higher if you took fewer courses. When calculating a capped UC GPA, you can only use 8 semesters of weighted classes from summer before 10th grade until summer after 11th grade
To find which courses at your high school are considered weighted by the UC system, type your school’s name in here https://hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist Sophomore English and math prior to pre-calc are usually not weighted by the UC system.
UCLA, UCB look at both capped and uncapped UC GPA. I heard a speaker at UCLA who implied that other UCs were beginning to look at uncapped as well. I’m not sure if that is true or not.
Edit to add that I think you were referring to Cal Poly SLO with the 4.2 cap.
I believe all UCs look at freshman classes if they are a-g but even Berkeley doesn’t use the grades from 9th grade when calculating the GPA that they use. Again, I believe you are thinking about Cal Poly SLO. SLO uses grades 9-11 when calculating their GPA. SLO also superscores standardized tests which the UCs do not.
@lkg4answers D17 and D20 both have friends who went to various CS and UC schools and chose to room with friends from high school. When D17 visits friends at UCSD and UCLA it is just the same type of kids she hung out with in h.s. and they go out for boba and korean bbq and to the beach juat like in h.s. and ahe says she is so happy she chose to do something more out of her comfort zone. D20 seems to feel the same.
Thank you @lkg4answers for the information on research! DD20 is hoping for a great score. Lots of schools do not quite know where to put this sequence but she has learned so much from the experience. The biggest being that the easiest way to overcome her fear of public speaking is to really know her material. I did not reach that comfort level until I was out in the real world so I am very pleased. I think that will serve her far better than the other APs she could have taken instead.
@Redslp I assume you have looked at the MCA calculator for Cal Poly SLO. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cal-poly-san-luis-obispo/2128874-understanding-the-mca-plus-calculator-p1.html There is no absolute verification that they are still using that formula so they may no longer cap the GPA at 4.2. Regardless, one can look at the acceptance threads and compare MCA in each major/college and get a general idea of likelihood of admissions. There are no essays on the CSU application but SLO does have a couple of questions asking an applicant to quantify hours spent in extra curricular activities, work and leadership in the past year.
We’ve visited a few schools together and my son has taken his solo tours, though I did do one with him, at Vanderbilt. He liked it. I liked the Dean and Head of Student Residence of a particular house with whom I spoke .
Last night I thought I’d try to get him to pin down (dare I say pen down; or Penn down?) some of his thoughts on the different schools by utilizing a mental tool handed off to me here at CC by a longtime poster now gone, pizzagirl.
Pizza urged parents to try to get kids to hashtag, twitter-style, their summary of a text, or its respective chapters. This was, if I am recalling correctly, for kids with issues reaching their point and framing conclusions in writing school assignments to the point where they are stressed.
So, in case you need to take a break and help your kid see where kid is, maybe something like this would be a fun way to do so. My rules were three five words or less. The thoughts can lean toward the pro or the con.
The example I share with you breaks the length rule, using a second set of three for the same school, so the line stretches to six words.
@cshell2 I hope he gets a good sense of what it’s like so he can make an informed decision. He should at least be able to tell whether he likes the campus and setting. If you can make it to the “sneak preview” visit in late July, they look like they will be interesting (we’re going to try to go to the CBS one).
@lkg4answers - Yes I’m familiar with the MCA score for Cal Poly. Thank you. I was just recalculating his score today now that final grades are posted. I think he’ll be competitive.
Back after a couple of weeks away, directly following the end of S2’s school year. You all have been very busy!
We haven’t really settled into any kind of summer routine yet. Maybe next week we’ll figure things out. (I’m trying to prolong the vacation mode as much as possible.)
If any of you who are new to the process and how financial works and don’t have a strong understanding of it, you might want to read some of the current threads on the other forums. Understanding FA should be your top priority right now before your student starts their first application.
@lkg4answers - He’d like to major in Computer Engineering. I see you have a daughter at UC Davis, that’s another school he’d be happy to attend. Where is your class of 2020 student interested in attending?
@Redslp Davis has been a great experience. At Davis, CS is offered in both Engineering and L&S.
For my second, we are looking at the UCs and SLO. I always get worried during application season and end up paying to send the application to a couple of additional UC/CSU safeties at the last minute.
@myrna97 - Sneak preview week happens to fall on the one week of the summer when both my kids are free for us to go on a vacation and I’ve been promising my 9 year old we’d go to Yellowstone/Mount Rushmore for 3 years now. I’d better do it while I have a second driver, S20 might not want to go next summer.
It does look like they have a lot of things going on during those days. I’m trying to figure out how we can squeeze it in, but it would require a very quick drive out west and back. Like, get there, spend a day and turn around and head back kind of thing.
cshell2; my older kids refuse to road trip any more; if you can swing it, it’s worth it. ALTHOUGH it’s a long trip out there. There’s no easy road to get to Yellowstone.
