I am in my senior year with my average gpa from freshman-junior year being a 3.2.i have taken 4 AP classes through my high school career and numerous honors classes. I know my gpa is mediocre but I would like to know what my chances would be for getting accepted at a UC or CSU. I also got a 1770 on my first SAT without studying so now that I have, I am planning on taking it again. I also got a 29 on my ACT and I am planning on taking that again as well. I also am relying on my personal statement essay because I have had quite an life experience. My mom has been sick and disabled all my life and has raised me by herself, her sickness has been worse during my high school year and I know it has taken a toll on me. She also lost her leg last year. I don’t want to go further in detail but there is a lot. A little insight would be much obliged, thank you.
I am very sorry to hear about your mom. You’ve obviously done a good job balancing your school work and family demands. Capturing her situation in your personal statement could help get you in a UCR and UCM. Your stats suggest you should focus on somewhat selective CSUs like Northridge, Sonoma, SJSU, San Marcos, Chico and SF state. Assuming you’ve completed the required a-g courses, they all use the same simple formula to evaluate applicants for most majors. Read about their Eligibility Index here:
https://secure.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/eligibility_index.asp
The formula is CSU GPA * 200 + ACT*10 Or, CSU GPA * 800 + SAT(Math and Reading only)
There’s some minutia about calculating your CSU GPA whichyou can read about here:
https://secure.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/gpa_calculator.asp
Calculate your EI to see where you stand. Most schools apply a broad threshold for most majors but, may be much more competitive for specific majors. (Nursing and CS at many campuses)
SJSU is the only one that publishes last year’s threshold here:
http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/static/admission/frosh-f2015impact.html
Good luck
Agree ^^^^. Good luck and hang in there. You will get into a good school.