Integrated Math 1
Biology
PE
Health Occupations
Spanish 1
Honors English 1
Sophomore Year
GPA 1: 4.3
GPA 2: 4.1
Top 4% of Class
Ranked in Top 10 of Class
Intro to Art
Honors English 2
AP World History
Integrated Math 2
Medical Pathology 1
Honors Chemistry
ECs:
Hospice Care Internship
HOSA/ Human Growth and Development
CSF Memeber
Summer:
ECP summer sessions:
History of Rock and Roll
Counseling 160: Strategies for College Success
Junior Year
Citrus College/US History
Citrus College/Human Genetics
Citrus College/Humanities
Citrus College/Economics
AP Biology
Spanish 2
Pre calculus
Medical Pathology 2
ECs:
HOSA/Biomedical Laboratory Science
Hospice Care Internship
Swimming/Diving
Interact Club
NAMI Club
Self-Study AP Spanish Language
CSF Member
HOSA/Barbara James Service Award
Link Crew
HOSA/Human Growth-Development
Science Club
Summer:
ECP Summer sessions - English 101
City of Hope - Research Internship with stipend
Kaiser Permanente Volunteering
Senior Year
Citrus College/Statistics
Citrus College/Speech
AP Calculus AB
AP Physics 1
Anatomy & Physiology
Clinical Assisting 1
ECs:
Self-Study AP Spanish Literature
Kaiser Permanente Volunteering
HOSA/Barbara James Service Award
Science Club
Link Crew
NAMI Club
Interact Club
Swimming/Diving
HOSA/Human Growth-Development
Hospice Care Internship
HOSA/Biomedical Lab. Science
I am also thinking of starting a diversity or even an environmental club
If you're wondering about HOSA, it is an international organization where students compete based on topics relating to medicine, I am trying to get placed in my State's top 10 by senior year
NAMI = National Alliance on Mental Illness
ECP means Early College Program aka Dual Enrollment at my local community college
and it covers 3 out my schools 10 AP classes which are AP English lang/lit/US history
I will be taking the rest of my schools APs such as bio, calc, physics, WH, spanish lang/lit, and physics.
By the time I graduate, I will have at least 1 year of uni done, and they are UC/Cal State transferrable units
I am interested in life science/medicine/health
I am trying to take on much more ECs, obviously more leadership positions, and even take more college courses to expose myself to a challenging environment because of my school's lack of AP classes
I have not taken the SATs or ACTs yet :(
Also, my guidance counselor applied/ got accepted/attended UCLA for undergrad school, so he is helping me choose classes, clubs that I am interested in, etc
I am pretty sure I will have great L of R because I still have some of the same teachers since freshman year up until senior year so I am close to them
PS: I am a rising junior
please give any suggestions that will help me improve
Please calculate your UC GPA based on your 10-11th a-g course grades and post your UW, Capped weighted and Fully weighted UC GPA’s. https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
If you are a CA HS student, then UC approved Honors, AP, IB and DE courses will get the extra honors points in the calculation.
Since your are going into your Junior year, you are on the right track grade wise but you need another year to determine your GPA and if it will be competitive. You also have no test scores listed. Keep up the good work and come back next year to update. Continue to develop your EC’s and participate in EC’s you enjoy not for the sake of a college application.
UCLA does not accept LOR’s but UCB will invite some applicants to submit LOR’s.
Make sure you identify to 2 safety schools (affordable and assured acceptance) before working on the rest of your college list.
I am also planning to get an Associate’s degree in Biology from the local community college since I am passionate about science and my school only has 2 AP science classes and not really big on STEM. I know that the degree may not be transferrable to elite universities, but wouldn’t still look good to admissions and will see that I took the time and initiative to study a subject I am passionate about?
I am assuming from your courses and EC’s, you are considering Medical school??? If so, some words of warning from a Pre-Med CC expert and frequent poster @WayOutWestMom:
-Any grades earned in DE classes are included when calculating GPA/sGPA for med school admissions. You must also send official transcripts from the CC when you go to apply for med school.
–Some medical schools will NOT accept community college classes as fulfilling med school pre-reqs. They want your science & math classes taken at a 4 year college. This means you may need to retake those same classes once you get to college–which Is a waste of time & money, plus you’ll need to mark those classes as “re-taken” on AMCAS. (Adcomms do not look favorably on re-taken classes.)
–Those schools that will accept community college credit strongly recommend (which in med school speaks mean required) that you take additional classes in the same department at a 4 year college if you want to be consider a competitive applicant for medical school.
Showing good rigor is important but the associate degree will not make you stand out. You should exhaust all your HS AP course offerings first before doing DE classes. Remember any Graduate or Professional school will consider your DE course grades so make sure you get A’s.
Absolutely DO NOT go for an associate’s degree. You will not be considered a freshman for application purposes along with the reasons already mentioned above.
Thank you! I am now backing away from the idea. However, would it still look impressive to top 20 schools if I took maybe 1 or 2 science classes? I am interested in life science and my school lacks APs. I also don’t mind if they don’t transfer the credit since I want them to see that I am “well lopsided” toward a subject.
Some may allow substitution of more advanced courses in the same subject areas in place of community college courses or AP credit that they do not accept. But medical schools vary all over the place in their policies.
Actually, many colleges (including the UCs) define frosh or transfer in terms of whether the applicant has taken college courses after high school graduation.
Yes, there could be colleges that consider anyone with an associates degree (even if completed while in high school) as a transfer, but that is not a general rule.
Too early to talk of med school. OP will have a challenge with Top 20’s and needs to get a better idea where he stands.
Your course choices, in the hs or DE, don’t appear to be rigorous. ? Top colleges focus most on cores. No DE core math or science
You’re “not big on stem” but want a bio AA, a med future, and are in a hs health occupations track? You need to be big on stem for Top 20 with pre-med aspirations.
Why the focus on top 20 schools? If your goal is Medical school, then you want to attend a school where you have the best chance for a High GPA 3.7+, access to Medically related EC’s, good Pre-Med advising and help in preparing for the MCAT. You do not need a top 20 school to accomplish this goal. So many great CA schools (Public and Private) where you could excel and actually for the UC’s, in-state CA residents do not always have the advantage based on this year acceptance rates.
UC admission rates for 2019 Overall:
Freshman:
UCLA: 12.4%
UC Berkeley: 16.8%
UC Irvine: 26.6%
UC Santa Barbara: 29.7%
UC San Diego: 32.3%
UC Davis: 39.1%
UC Santa Cruz: 51.8%
UC Riverside: 56.7%
UC Merced: 75.4%
Admission Rates for California Applicants:
UCLA: 11.8%
UC Berkeley: 19.2%
UC Irvine: 21.3%
UC Santa Barbara: 26.9%
UC San Diego: 27.6%
UC Davis: 35.5%
UC Santa Cruz: 42.5%
UC Riverside: 55.8%
UC Merced: 77%