college advice?

Question

well im a senior and college apps are around the corner.. and im scared to death i have a 3.35 GPA (it sucks i know) nothing great about SATS 2000s and 730-720-700 SATIIs.. i have leadership activities as well as journalistic (tv news newspaper yrbook)extra currics 800+ vol hrs and some overseas tv station internships and some business awards for highschool kids.. im an immigrant dont know if that helps anymore

i want to apply to UCberk UCLA and USC
would i get into these colleges or at least some UCs?
if i dont get into these should i look for some on the east coast or go to community college? thanks

Answer 1

You should apply to all of them. GPA and test scores are only one criteria colleges use. Community involvement, employment, and awards are all relevant indicators, and are weighted more heavily than you might think. Also, your SATs and GPA are not that bad.

With your record, you'll definitely get accepted at one of the UCs. I say go for it (and don't forget UC Davis).

Answer 2

I think you should get your class rank percentage before thinking about a school. 3.35 could be an acceptable GPA if the school is known for its hard grading. However, there are some schools that seem to give away A's these days.

The top 10 schools are looking for VAL/SALS. The next schools accept students in the top 5%. The top 50 schools which include Berkeley and UCLA are generally looking for the top 10%. Many of these schools expect a student to have completed some AP classes. If your school does not give you an extra point for AP, then the university may take that into consideration when evaluating your GPA.

My son found out that 33% of his class currently has a 4.0. Only if a student takes a weighted AP course can that student get a higher GPA. My old babysitter had all A's and she was ranked in the top 11%.

So you might want to look up the percentage of students accepted and the acceptable class ranks. Don't bother applying if you are in the bottom 25%. The students who are in that group are athletes, minorities (not Asian) and legacies.

Immigrant status would help unless you are Asian in which case it can work against you since Asians have better profiles than whites. Some schools accept the best students which would not hurt an Asian applicant, others go for a certain mix of ethnicities in which case it would hurt an Asian. Those that like a mix of ethnicities would really be helpful to you otherwise, since you would have a lot of cultural knowledge to share with other students.

Many UC students go to community college for two years before attending a UC school. If you can't get into the UC school of your choice, attending a community school with good ties to that school may be beneficial or you could transfer from a lesser UC school. Just know what the school expects of you. Your SATII scores are good and so the university may be willing to put less emphasis on class rank if yours doesn't turn out to be very high.

Another reasonably priced school is McGill U in Canada. The state school in Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Pennsylvania are all highly ranked as well. I really think it is better to stick with California because they do supposedly have a strong transfer program which would let you spend at least two years at your favorite school.

Answer 3

Your grades and SATs aren't bad for many schools (a lot of students would be happy to have anything like that), but you are talking about some extremely competitive schools - UCLA has often been listed as the hardest school in the country to get into because of the sheer volume of applications they get. Berkeley and USC aren't far behind, so I would recommend some back-up schools.

I find a couple of things interesting about your question: First, you don't mention at all what you want to study. Not every field is good at every school, so you might want to think about that a little. Secondly, you ask if you don't get into the top schools in California, should you look on the East Coast? Not only is there an entire country in between (and frankly, the equivalent schools on the East Coast aren't any easier to get into), but there are plenty of other decent schools in California. It may be because you are an immigrant that you have a limited view of the schools available to you. Talk to your school's guidance counselor, and do some research on-line to get a feel for what some of the other options might be and what might best suit you.

Answer 4

Those are GREAT SAT scores! Is your GPA weighted? Don't forget that your GPA will be higher if you took honors or AP classes. Your GPA may be a bit lower than the average for UCLA or Berkeley, but your extracurriculars may help you out. Make sure you have a good personal statement too!

You definitely have a great shot of getting into UCSD, UCI, UCR...but don't just settle for those! If money isn't too big of a problem, you should definitely shoot for the more prestigious ones. I think you have a great shot.

Answer 5

Don't waste your time going for further studies and ending up with huge debts from banks that you borrowed money from.Train to be a plumber and get some wheels, telephone, tools of trade and make 1000$ a day at the least.In 10 years with some good savings a few houses, you can retired after selling the company and remaining as a consultant!

Answer 6

You'll do fine! You did much better than i did and I got into all UCs except UCLA and I received a full scholarship to a private university that I'm attending now.

Go apply. You never know what will happen. Don't worry too much. Apply to where you want. As you stand, you seemd to be doing well.

And also, make sure you write a kick butt essay. It definitely helps.

Answer 7

I'm pretty sure you'll make it into USC with that. I think you have a weak shot at making it into Berkeley but no shot at UCLA. Believe it or not, entering UCLA is much harder than entering Berkeley. And believe it or not, entering UC Davis is about as competitive as entering Berkeley. I think you would have a decent shot at making it into UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine.

Answer 8

I wish I could help you with your specific questions. Your questions require information that the college itself would be able to answer for you. Also, colleges usually focus on specific things. It could be a specific field of interest or it could be that it offers adults the ability to study online (just a brief example). It could have a great campus life...colleges are chosen for a number of different reasons. If you know your area of interest, look to find the top 10 colleges that focus or specialize in that field...and look to them first. Ask them lots of questions...look at their catalogues. They usually offer a toll free number and catalogues are usually free.

Answer 9

you never know if you will get in or not unless you try! most applications you have to pay a small fee to process, but if you are applying to multiple schools, you can get these fees waived. also make a killer entry essay! but you should definately try to go to a university. community colleges are just like high school...blegh...if you dont get into those KEEP TRYING! you may find a school that you like more!

Answer 10

You must apply to these Uni.s as they can take your activities into consideration... Your GPAs are not that bad as well and SATs are ok, too.... So my advise is to go ahead...