I suffered from depression my junior year of high school due to my parents divorce and dropped the ball my junior year resulting in a stark downfall of my grades and receiving a D in precalculus. My second semester grades are looking relatively the same as the first semester. Will colleges understand my personal life circumstances if I attempt to explain it in my college applications? I was wondering which schools would have a good likelihood of accepting me considering my application. I am looking to apply to schools such as UCSB, UCI, and UCR alongside CalStates. Will they understand?
GPA: UC GPA anticipated with second semester (3.4)
SAT: 1700 solid (first SAT w/ out prep), will re-take and aiming for 2100+
GRADES:
Sophomore Yr.
Language Arts MYP/Honors: A/A-
Chemistry Honors: A/B+
Chamber Choir: A+/A+
AP World History: A/A
Spanish 3: B+/B+
Algebra 2: B/B-
Junior Yr (first semester)
IB Language: B+
AP Physics 1: B-
Chamber Choir: A+
APUSH: C+
Precalculus: D+
AP Spanish: B+
EXTRACURRICULARS:
-Key Club Executive Assistant
(June 2014- Present) 2-year term (will continue senior year)
Description:
Raised $4,000+ for Pediatric Trauma Prevention
Raised $2,000+ for Project Eliminate: Key Club project to eliminate neonatal tetanus
-Key Club President
(2015-2016)
Description: 200 hours of service
Leading Key Club of around ~120 members
Raised $1,500 as Vice President for Leukaemia Patients
-Vice President of Christian Club:
(June 2013-Present)
-Tenor Section Leader for Advanced Choir w/ Invitation to Perform at Carnegie Hall :
(2014-2015)
Description: Worked with choir team as vocal coach/instructor, hosted
sectionals/singing classes throughout the year, taught fellow
choristers good music/singing technique
-Treasurer for Medical Honors Society:
(2014-2015)
Description: Management of Club funds, directories, and budget
-Copy Editor for School Newspaper
(2013-Present) (2 year position)
Description: Editor of high school newspaper, worked to proofread
articles and edit online newspaper
There is a special section for the UC’s regarding special circumstances. You may want to find someone to help polish this a bit because how you portray your circumstances plays a huge role in how colleges see your circumstances.
Since you are applying to UC’s, they don’t look at senior year grades so you really won’t have a chance to show how you overcame your circumstance (by getting A’s senior year) which is obviously very unfortunate. Maybe apply to some privates that do look at senior grades? This way, it shows evidence on how you overcame your circumstances if you get all A’s first semester of senior year and it makes your essay much more meaningful.
If you can get 2100+, maybe look at the Claremont colleges? They’re a bit selective but with good SAT’s and the great EC’s that you have, you should have a shot at their more holistic admissions process.
Colleges will look at your circumstances, but I think when you’re writing your essay, focus more on how you overcame the problem rather than what the problem actually was.
Continued from #5 - PLEASE, formulate your list according to your existing stats, not some imaginary ones. The odds are extremely poor that you will increase your scores by anything close to 400 points. A 100-point increase is terrific. Your score actually is likelier not to improve at all, or go down, than it is to increase by more than 50 points. Your UC GPA is low for most campuses other than Merced or Riverside. I’d say that UCSC is a modest reach for you; the other UCs are probably out of reach, especially with your test score. Some CSUs are more promising.
Although it is very tough to raise your scores. And I say this with no offense towards woogzama, but don’t listen to people who say it’s not likely to improve your score. Sophomore year PSAT, I got an 110(1100) and I took an ACT and I got a 23.
Tutors, statistics, friends told me I couldn’t get any better than a 24-25 if I studied hard. Well what do you know, I studied 25 minutes a day, and just focused on these short sessions. And hey, I ended up with a 30 after some studying. You never know, put you’re head down, and just keep pluggin away my friend
Don’t listen to them. It’s possible to raise your score! Obviously, you have to study hard!
In my first SAT try I got an 1800, now after hard work in practice tests I get always a 2200+!!
Lol…the posters above me are just being deluded by “work hard and you get stuff” ethic. That unfortunately dosn’t really work in ST. SAT practice tests ALWAYS come out higher than the actual tests.
It is quite hard to increase that much in actual SAT. OP, as much as I sympathize with your situation, I have to say that the GPA isn’t competitive enough for UCs except UCR and UCM campuses.
Your other choices could be that you go to CC and transfer with very good CC GPA. CCs in California are very good.
The weak spot in my SAT is math. It is 480. My critical reading (660) and writing (600) can easily be raised, considering this was the first SAT I’ve ever taken without prep or a PSAT. I will be taking prep this summer.
People do increase their scores by hundreds of points. They also win multi-million-dollar lotteries. The College Board has a vested interest in encouraging students to re-take the SAT, and these are their figures. The majority of students who re-take the SAT (55%) will increase their scores, but of those, less than half (ie. 27.5% of all re-testing students) will have increases of more than 50 points (across 3 tests). That number is smaller than the number of students whose scores decrease (35%). Ten percent of scores remain the same. It is statistically highly improbable that you will improve your score by 400 points. It is not impossible. It is improbable. If it happens, you can always add an extra reach school to your list and drop some match or safe schools, but you will be making a serious mistake if your college list consists of schools where the chances of admission with a 1700 are very low. As I said, you should be thrilled if your test scores go up by 100 points, but you shouldn’t count on it. Nobody has ever gotten into any college on the basis of hoped-for scores and grades; colleges only care about your actual accomplishments.
@paul2752 I’ve scored in a PRACTICE TEST 1800. After months of hard work, I now score ALWAYS (in practice tests) 2200+. Coincidence? I do’t think so. It’s not lucky, it’s called diligence.
Stop saying it’s impossible. For sure it needs a LOT of time, but it’s possible.
On 6th June I will take the real SAT, let’s see.