<p>I am a senior this next year at Berkeley High in Berkeley, CA and I am compiling all my stuff to apply in november, etc.</p>
<p>I want to go to UCB, but I am putting together a list of backup schools. Would UCSB accept me as an undergrad with my stats…that is really the underlying question here.</p>
<p>Academics:
GPA: 3.7,
Weighted (which they don’t look at…): 4.0
SAT: 1890, CR:570, Math:690, Writing:630
SAT II: Chemistry:620, Math II: 700</p>
<p>Sports:
Varsity Golf Team all years, (Captain for Junior and Senior)</p>
<p>School Affiliated:
-Won the Gold Crown Award from Columbia University for building the website of my high school’s newspaper. 1,558 magazines and newspapers from across the US applied, 11 were chosen, one of those being my high school.
-I am a senior editor for my high school newspaper.
-Honored by my school district for the award.
-I am the officer of technology for my school.
-I am the executive director a new satire publication for my school’s 3,300 student body.</p>
<p>EC’s:
-I volunteer every Friday at my local elementary school in the after-school science program. (25 hours soph. year, 25 Junior year, 25 more to come this next year)
-I volunteered at the Lawrence Hall of Science, a museum in Berkeley, CA (20 hours)
-Volunteered at a Junior golf academy as an instructor for 30 hours throughout the soph and junior year</p>
<p>Employment:
-One of the 25 high school interns that were chosen to work at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs in Berkeley, CA. I work in the Information Technology division with Financial Systems.
-I run my own software and web developing company. (It is not really a company yet, but I am building my portfolio with a extensive line of client</p>
<p>I think you have a good chance at UCSB and you are smart to have back ups. UCB is difficult to get into and your stats are a little low for Berkeley but your extracurricular things are solid. Any of the UC’s should be a nice match for you.</p>
<p>I know I have a pretty good shot at cal, but I live in Berkeley. So that college experience would be living with my parents for the first year or so to save money. Hence why I am looking at other UC’s I could definitely get into.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t rely on UCSB being your backup school. Looking at your stats, I would say you are a match for SB. But your EC’s and stuff are good so maybe that will help. But yeah I don’t think you should use it as a safety, I would consider it as a match. Maybe use Irvine or Santa Cruz as a safety?</p>
<p>A match means that you are very likely to get into the school. I would say that UCSB is a match for you. </p>
<p>There’s also a “reach”, which means that while its possible that you could get in, don’t bank on it. I would say that Berkeley is probably a reach for you. Even though you do have good ECs, your GPA/SATs are both significantly below the average. </p>
<p>And of course, there are safeties. For you, I’d say that UCSC, UC Riverside, and UC Merced are all safeties.</p>
<p>Yeah by match I meant that your stats are about equal to the averages, so you have a good chance. There are safety schools (which should be a guarantee), matches, and reaches (schools you think you won’t get in to). You should usually apply to a few in each category. For you I would say it goes like this:
Reaches: UCLA, UCB
Reach/match: UCSD
Match: UCSB, UCD
Match/safety: UCI
Safety: UCSC, UCM, UCR</p>
<p>An interesting trend that I see is many UC students can’t graduate in four years, the tuition is going up, and there are so many students in UC classes that some students can’t work closely with professors. (Ask senior students if they will graduate on time, not
admissions.)</p>
<p>I am biased…both my sons went to (or are now going to) a private college. We mapped out the finances along with the chance that they would<br>
be able to get a degree in 4 years, factored in the amount for housing for living off campus in the future, and waited until the financial aid came in.</p>
<p>In my oldest son’s case, the scholarships and grants he received along with costs of living off campus and graduating on time made the private university slightly less expensive than the UC or state schools. From hindsight we can see how the lower class size really helped him; he got his degree in four years and is now working in his field.</p>
<p>It sounds like you have a lot of volunteer experience–University of Portland, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Seattle University and St. Mary’s are just
a few private schools that weigh the
service you have given. You may wish to look into those.</p>
<p>I have looked at some private schools but have not really been attracted to them. By all means, if they offer better financial support (despite their high tuition), I will consider them a lot more now.</p>
<p>I totally forgot to mention several things on the original post that - mainly AP classes and ACT score…</p>
<p>ACT: 33
AP Classes:
-Computer Science
-Chemistry
-Language and Composition
-Calculus BC
to be taken:
-Govt
-Econ</p>
<p>PLUS, they ran out of math for me at my high school, so I am taking the hardest calculus class at the city college for this next year…</p>
<p>yeah, i wouldnt just expect to get into UCB, you should still try your best regardless of how you feel or what you think. definitely apply to more than just UCB and UCSB, fallbacks like UCR and UCSC would be good.</p>
<p>My $0.02: I might even consider UCSB a match/reach for you. Not to crush your dreams or anything but I know people with considerably higher stats that got rejected from UCB/UCLA/UCSD, even UCSB.</p>