UC School System- possible from out of state?

Question

I'm from the Chicago suburbs, and I wanted to know how difficult it is to get into UC schools from out of state, especially Berkeley and UCLA, which are 2 very reputable schools alone. I am a pretty good student and am involved in lots of activities, but so are a lot of other asians in the cal state area :-). Otherwise, I think i'll apply to USC since it's private, but i'm not as fond of it as i am of the other 2 schools. I plan to major in international relations, or another intense law program- i plan to be a public relations lawyer.

rank 59/ 767, 3.75 unweighted gpa, 4.18 weighted, 32 ACT. 4 years of cross country, 4 years of choir/ 3 intense singing groups, 3 years of theater, creator of a student run newspaper my junior year.

Answer 1

Admission rates for out-of-state applicants at Berkeley and UCLA hover around 10%; that is about as competitive as most highly selective private schools. Your profile is excellent and I encourage to apply to both campuses. Keep in mind that for out-of-state applicants, only AP courses are weighted; courses designated as honors are not weighted.

Answer 2

if you are an average student and not from Cali, you have little chance of getting into the better UC's and even less of getting scholarships. There is another way though, here in CA. The UC system is very good at accepting Cali transfers from the Community Colleges. If you came to CA and went to a community college for a couple of years and did well, you would get in to a UC. The community colleges are very affordable and you would be saving tons of money by going to CC for the first 2 yrs

Answer 3

You actually sound ok for UCLA/Berkeley. Definitely worth applying. Yes, it's pretty hard to get in from out-of-state, but you're a decently strong candidate. Not totally out of the question.

The lower down the UC system you go, the better your chances obviously. There's a HUGE difference btw UCLA/Berkeley and what you need to get into UC Riverside.

Answer 4

The admission standards (at least for the two schools you mentioned) are basically the same for out-of-state applications. The only difference is that tuition is much less in-state, and in-state people are guaranteed admission to the UC system if they meet certain minimums. But at elite institutions like Cal and UCLA, the criteria are much higher. Looking at your credentials, you would be a tossup for both schools. But it is definitely worth applying to them, though you wouldn't really save much money (and a private school like USC would probably be able to devote more resources to you).