Hello. I was wondering what my chances are for getting accepted to USC or any of the UC universities are. I would really appreciate your thoughts. I will list my qualifications below:
-Am taking the most challenging courses offered at my high school:have completed AP Biology (passed with a 3 on the exam), AP Language and compostition (have not received my scores yet), APUSH (not received scores), three years of honors integrated math, honors Spanish, and plan to take AP government and economics, AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP literature, and Spanish honors 4.
-live in a rural agricultural town
-I am a varsity swimmer
-three year president of a business club (FBLA)
-two year VP of a sholorship and club (CSF)
-founded an ongoing literacy community service project for our community
-am fluent in Russian, and will be studying abroad for half a year at the end of this year
-am taking college classes over the summer
-an a cashier at a local grocery store
BUT… I had B’s in both semesters for AP Bio, and currently have a C in my honors math class. This is due to dedicating a lot of time to my organizations and activities.
Hey! Based on what you have so far, your EC’s are good, but they don’t stand out among the thousands of other applicants applying for these schools. Also, from what it seems like, your grades are low compared to the other applicants. I’d say you’d have a low to fair chance of getting into these schools, so it’d be best to apply to a state school.
There’s a book called “David and Goliath” which features a story about a girl who was part of the big fish small pond/small fish big pond phenomena. Essentially, she was the valedictorian at her high school and she enrolled in Brown. However, she struggled a lot during her first two years at Brown such that she had to drop out and change her career direction. Maybe by going to a state school, you can do incredibly well there and if you’re still interested in going to a UC or USC, you can transfer.
I have an unweighted GPA of 3.89, and a weighted GPA of 4.31. My intended major will is international relations, with a focus on conflict resolution. I plan to receive a law degree and an MBA as well along with a degree in Russian
Are you from California? If so, with U.W. 3.89 and your reported course load I would think that the question is which U.C. you would get into, not whether you will get into any of them.
Based on GPA alone, I agree with you have a good chance at the UC’s and USC. Having competitive test scores, outstanding essays and EC’s will all contribute to your chances but again there are not guarantees. Apply widely and have 1-2 good safety schools on your list. Best of luck.