<p>I’m a junior currently, and UCSD is my #1 choice right now. What could I do to improve my chances of acceptance like over the summer/senior year? Im out of state, but also I’m doing their Academic Connections program this summer 
I don’t have any SAT/ACT scores yet; I take the SAT this weekend, and took the ACT last week, but I’m expecting around a 2000 and 30 (with a little bit of studying). My GPA is pretty low (3.5 weighted), but I’m in full IB classes.
Thanks :))</p>
<p>I don’t think Academic Connections gives you an edge in admissions. It’s not really academics-based either; my brother’s group spent most of their time goofing around and hooking up. He had decent stats and even had ELC, but didn’t get into UCSD.</p>
<p>well you still have time before your spring semester grades [if you are in a public school]</p>
<p>to be honest, 3.5 weighted is low, if not “very low” for ucsd. the average gpa is over a 4.0 weighted. and you might be surprised to know that the majority of accepted students take a full ib/ap load [and have a 4.0+ weighted gpa on top of it]</p>
<p>a 2000 sat score will be sufficient, as will a 30 for your act</p>
<p>your choice of major will also affect you: aero, mechanical, and bio engineering are all impacted [have greater requirements] and all the biological sciences [microbio, human bio, etc]</p>
<p>just read that you’re out of state. that will give you greater odds, although how much, i don’t know. your gpa will still be a weak link, especially because ucsd is not as holistic as ucla or berkeley. </p>
<p>your senior grades will not be considered [wish they saw my 4.72 for my fall semester hahaha], just the classes you are taking. rigor is also a factor.</p>
<p>best of luck to you!</p>
<p>@heartarrow
Your choice of major does not affect whether you get into UCSD or not. (It does matter at UCLA, Berkeley)</p>
<p>You get accepted into UCSD first, then the department will decides whether you’re accepted into their program. If you don’t get accepted by the department, UCSD will just change your major to your 2nd major or undeclared.</p>
<p>Your chances don’t look good. Your only hope is to kill it in your personal statement.</p>
<p>A full IB workload is pretty common. It doesn’t differ much from the full AP courseload every applicant takes.</p>
<p>I would recommend doing more outside activities like volunteering and having leadership positions. I had a 3.32 UW when I applied and surprisingly got in. And admissions is just unpredictable. People I think should have gotten in didn’t, and I didn’t expect myself to get in but it just happened.</p>