UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Hi everyone!
I would like to apply to UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Santa Barbara
Any hope?
High School: Granada Hills Charter High School
Academic GPA: 3.0
SAT: 1650 (I am retaking the SAT in October.)
I reside in California so I am applying in state.
I am able to pay for the tuition completely out of my pocket.
I have volunteered at a hospital for 2 years.
I have done summer internships for 4 years.
I am the treasurer of a school club.
Extracurricular: Contemporary Dance, Gymnastics, Volleyball, Horseback riding…
I can get outstanding letters of recommendation from John Hopkins, Yale, Harvard, and UCLA alums.
I can also write a unique and compelling essay. (My life story/experiences are definitely not ordinary and will stand out to someone who is reading thousands of essays.)</p>

<p>I know my grades/scores are really low but high school hasn’t exactly been a great time for me but outside of school I have accomplished so much and I have contributed to my community in so many ways. I know that if I do get accepted, they will never regret it! I’ll definitely show them but until then, is there any miracle of me getting in? If not, are there any good schools that aren’t in the middle of nowhere that will accept me? Also any tips/tricks are appreciated. Thanks everyone for reading this thread, I appreciate it!</p>

2

<p>UCR: High match
UCSC: High match
UCSB: Reach</p>

<p>Your GPA is too low the UC’s but you might be able to pull it together with your October SAT. And in my opinion, letters of recommendation from alumni are not as credible as those from teachers and employers.</p>

3

<p>Okay thank you so much for replying! By the way, the letters of recommendation are from teachers/employers who are alums. :)</p>

4

<p>Is your GPA weighted or unweighted? It’s on the lower side for all 3 of those UC’s. If you can write a compelling essay like you say you can, then you’ll have a better chance, but I doubt that’ll be enough. Study for the SAT while you can and if you can score at least 100 pts higher that’ll help! With your current stats, I would say UCR and UCSC are high matches and UCSB a low reach. Have you considered some CA state schools? What is your expected major?</p>

5

<p>UC’s do not accept letters of recommendation</p>

6

<ol>
<li>My GPA is unweighted.</li>
<li>I have considered Cal State schools but I would rather get into a UC or a great out of state university. Cal State’s have a pretty bad rep around here because of budget cuts and other reasons.</li>
</ol>