What are my chances of getting into a UC or Stanford?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hey, I’m currently a Sophomore and I want to major in Biology, and go to medical school after.

I’m doing pretty well so far, but idk if it is enough. I want to either attend a UC (UCR is a top one for me) or Stanford university. Any feedback/ advise would be really appreciated! I will list my stats, classes, clubs/ extracurricular, and background below;

Stats:
GPA: 4.0 unweighted
SAT: Preparing to take it Junior year in the fall

  • To fulfill the Art requirement I will take it over the summer

Freshman classes:
English: Freshman English
Math: Algebra I
Social science: Health class/ Global studies
PE course: PE course 1
Elective: Biology
Elective: French II

Sophomore classes:
English: Sophomore English
Math: Geometry
Social science: World History
PE course: AP human geography
(will take PE course 2 over summer)
Elective: Chemistry
Elective: French III

Junior classes:
English: AP lang
Math: Algebra II
Social Science: US History
Elective: AP biology
Elective: AP French
Elective: Leadership class (Won Vice Prez)

Senior classes:
English: African American literature
Math: AP stats
Social Science: Civics/Economics
Elective: AP chemistry
Elective. French 5 or Honors human body systems (still deciding)
Elective: Leadership classes (ASB vice prez-hopefully)

Clubs:
French Honor Society (Will run for office next yr)
Redcross (200hrs and next year’s publicist)
Biology club
HOSA (Joining next year and will run for office)
AV mentors (mentoring freshmen)
LINK (Helping Freshman navigate HS)
Starting my own club (Middle Eastern Club)

Extracurricular:
Diversity and Inclusion internship with Redcross
Leadership development camp with Redcross
Honor Course with Stanford “intro to healthcare” on Coursera
Summer Job

Background:
Middle Eastern Immigrant
low-income
persecuted due to religious beliefs
Lived through the Arab Spring Revolution
Came to the US in semester 2 of 8th grade

2

How hard you are. Good luck!

3

UCR is a very realistic goal, and this early-assurance program is unique in the UC system - about 24 UCR upperclassment are admitted each year. Thomas Haider Early Assurance Program | School of Medicine Student Affairs

Stanford is an extremely long shot for any unhooked applicant, especially those from California. You’re an excellent student, but virtually everyone who applies to Stanford is an excellent student, and fewer then 5% of them are accepted. (And when you look just as those who aren’t recruited athletes or legacies, the odds are even lower.) Certainly, give it a shot, but don’t invest all of your hopes in Stanford - it is a super-reach, and you need to find reach, match, and safety schools that you would be happy to attend. Riverside will likely fall in the match category, but it’s too early to say for sure.

Are you sufficiently low income to qualify for Questbridge? If so, apply next year for their College Prep Scholars program - the application opens in the winter and is due in March of your junior year. QuestBridge | College Prep Scholars Program If you subsequently become a finalist in their College Match program, you can rank up to 12 schools among their list of partner schools (including Stanford, fwiw) and potentially qualify for a full ride at one of them. This is the best aid package available, at some of the best schools in the nation. Even if you don’t match, finalist status is an advantage in the regular application cycle.

Run the Net Price Calculator for Stanford - this will show you what your best case scenario looks like for need-based financial aid. Estimate Cost : Stanford University Also run the NPC for UCR. You need to determine which categories of private colleges and universities may be more affordable for you than the California public U’s. (I assume you’re a California resident, yes?) If your costs at Stanford would indeed be lower than at Riverside, then run the NPC’s for some slightly less generous (but still excellent) full-need-met privates, like Pitzer and Occidental. The goal is to filter first for what will be financially viable for you, and to figure out what your financial safeties will be - schools that you know you can get into and know you can afford.

Also make sure you take the PSAT in the fall. Put the Khan Academy test prep app on your phone now, and get in the habit of using it for 10-15 minutes a day - nothing strenuous, just consistent. A high score on this test can boost your prospects. Standardized tests have become somewhat less important in pandemic times, but it’s still worth honing your test-taking skills. The MCAT is a significant factor in med school admissions, and many of the same skills and strategies apply, so it’s worth starting early at becoming a good test-taker. (Again, not something to stress about or devote crazy amounts of time to, just small amounts of time on a consistent basis.)

You’re going great so far - good luck!

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4

Consider taking physics jr or sr year, as it will make you a more competitive applicant.

Also AP Calc > AP stats in terms of rigor, so consider that change for sr year.

Are you a US citizen, or do you have permanent residency? Or would you be applying as an international student?

5

This should be your top priority. Medical school is expensive, so try to find an affordable college that you won’t need to take out huge loans for.

Also, for the art requirement isn’t it 2 semesters minimum?

6

UC’s are test blind through the 2025 admission cycle. You are doing well but remember the UC’s only consider 10-11th grades in their GPA calculation.

I agree that Physics Senior year will make you more competitive and replace Stats with Pre-Calculus since both courses will be part of the Biology curriculum at the UC’s and Stanford. You want a gentler introduction to these subjects in HS vs. College.

Also you might want to reconsider Biology as a major since “pre-med” students need a viable back up if Medical school does not happen. Biology majors are a dime a dozen so Bio stats or Computational Biology can make you more marketable and would require higher levels of Math.

I am assuming your Arts course over the summer covers 2 semesters at your HS or is this a CC level course?

Best of luck.

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7

Physics and precalculus courses look missing from your schedule.

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8

@Gumbymom would know for sure, but that’s always been my understanding. For the CSUs I think a college class can count for two terms, but I don’t believe the UCs allow that. Failing to meet the a-g requirements will result in an automatic rejection from all CA publics.

I would pick a CSU that you like that isn’t Cal Poly (it’s generally not a safety, it can be a match if you find it attractive) for a safety. Remember, medical schools do not care about the “prestige” of your undergraduate degree. They care about GPA, MCAT, volunteering and letters. A CSU would have the added bonus of being cheaper than a UC.

Lastly, I agree, don’t be a biology major. Pick something more employable if medical school doesn’t work. Forty percent of those who apply get in, but many never even get that far in the process.

Good luck and keep up the hard work.

9

@MarkyAttia @eyemgh: For the Art requirement, it is 2 semesters within the same discipline or 1 semester CC course for both the CSU’s and UC’s to meet the a-g requirements. The CSU’s count the CC course grade twice for their GPA calculation but the UC’s only once.

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10

What does that mean? What is CC? What are the a-g requirements and how do I make sure I’m meeting them?

11

Thank you for the detailed feedback! Do you know how can I find UC approved courses? I’m trying to get my art credit without taking up space from my schedule

12

Here’s a resource: University of California A-G Course List

If you’re not finding what you’re looking for locally, BYU Online has a long list of UC-approved VPA classes: https://is.byu.edu/uc-approved but community college classes (this is what “CC” refers to) will be more affordable.

13

So if I take a class at a community college it will be accepted by all UCs right?

And if I take it with Byu I should select a course that is “full year” not “half year” correct?

14

I have my greencard

15

For the early assurance at UCR, do I have to work in Southern California my whole life or am I required to work a number of yrs then I can go wherever?

16

For CC classes that are UC transferable, use assist.org.

17

The program wants students who express the intention to serve the inland SoCal community. If you receive one of their scholarships, then there is an explicit commitment to remain in the area for 2.5 years for the 2-year scholarships, or 5 years for the 4-year scholarships, otherwise the scholarships convert to loans that must be repaid. If you don’t receive funding, then there’s no enforceable obligation.

And re: BYU, yes, you need a full year of high school VPA credit, which is the equivalent of a single semester of a college course. BYU high school classes are measured in high school semesters, so you’d need two.

18

CC stands for Community College. The a-g requirements are

A: 2 years of History, 1 year European/World, 1 year US History
B: 4 years of English
C: 3 years of Math
D: 2 years of Science
E: 2 years of a Foreign Language (7th/8th grade classes accepted)
F: 1 year of Visual/Performing Arts
G: 1 year of an Elective course not included in A-F.

Just make sure you have taken classes that fit in these requirements, or are planning to take these classes before you graduate high school. These requirements mainly apply for UC’s and CSU’s.

19

@MarkyAttia: The G requirement is any class from the A-F course list beyond the minimums. Also AP/IB exam scores or CC classes can be used to fulfill the A-G Course requirements.

20

The G (academic elective) requirement can be fulfilled by courses in the A-F lists beyond the minimums, or by courses designated as academic electives but not in the A-F lists.

The math and foreign language requirements allow for validation of lower level courses by completing higher level courses. For example, completion of Spanish year 3 validates Spanish years 1 and 2, even if they are absent from the high school record (e.g. because they were taken in elementary or middle school, or because the student is a heritage speaker who started in Spanish year 3). In math, algebra 2 validates algebra 1, and precalculus or higher math validates algebra 1 and algebra 2.

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