my chances...for the UCs....please be generous...thank you so very much........?

Question

my sats were not good at all..
1390/2400..
my gpa overall for uc was i believe a 2.8..
1s on all aps (3 of them)

before people go off on me, i live in a vey disadvantaged household, lacking financial support...this was due to my mother's illness after my father's tragic death.

i have decided (although my acdemics were very difficult to obtain with the struggles i was battling with) i have exceeded in school by doing an excellent EC and leadership position for 4 years of my high school of that same EC..

my personal essay had shone them about everything of what ive been through but mostly how ive overcome this issue for the better.

i have applied 2 ucla, uci, ucsb, ucd, ucr, and ucsd.

i dont know how much impact my personal essay will pursue them to take my obstacles into consideration not to mention my way of moving on for an overbearing, but exceptional life.

id really like to get into ucla..or uci for that matter. please B very generous and help me out.ive already been thru much

Answer 1

Do you want me to be generous or honest? I can't do both.

You will certainly get into some university. Certainly, the CSU system is within your reach. I seriously doubt that you will get into a UC school, though. Your best chance is to do really well in your first two years at a CSU school and then transfer.

Answer 2

UCR at best, out of the schools you listed.

I have someone close to me with your exact same situation. They were on welfare. Berkeley took this person, but UCLA didn't. They had a 3.9 GPA or something like that (not sure what the weighted score was) and a SAT score in the 1200s (out of 1600). Obviously, they couldn't afford any SAT prep.

This was several years ago and competition has only gone up.

Like a lot of disadvantaged kids, this person showed they were hard workers despite all their struggles (as evidenced by the high GPA), but could only score a so-so SAT because they couldn't afford to prepare for it. So, they had to take it cold. Still scored semi-reasonably, even if it's horribly low by a school's normal standards.

I know you've been through a lot, and my prayers are for you, but realistically, you're facing a real stretch to get into a UC.

I'm sorry, but UCLA is clearly not going to happen. UCI, while a lot lower than UCLA, is still not that easy to get into. You gotta give something for these schools to work with so they can go "hey, they're smart, just bad circumstances screwed them in one of the main stats".

Unfortunately, you didn't offer up anything for them to say that. You got a horrible SAT score, and you couldn't offset it with a good GPA. You failed all 3 of your AP tests, so they can't even imagine that you really knew your stuff and just got screwed somehow by your teachers.

Having said all that, it's not the end of the world. I certainly wouldn't rule out grad school. This may all be a blessing in disguise anyways.

You've got a couple of choices now if you don't get into a UC (or even if you do get into Riverside). You can always try for a Cal State. Or, you can go to a community college for a couple of years, and then apply to transfer into UCLA or UC Irvine. By going to a CC, you essentially get a second chance. Save some money while you're at it. When you graduate, all people are going to care about is which school gave you that diploma. They don't care where you did some of your GE classes.

If you decide to try the transfer route, go to a CC for the first 2 years, not a Cal State. Much harder to transfer from a Cal State than from a CC.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I don't honestly think that you will get in with those academics. The average UCLA SAT score was nearly 1800, for UCI it was about 1720. The average GPA was 3.75 for UCLA and 3.66 for UCI.

There's only so much a good admissions essay can do.

Sorry, wish I could be more positive.

If I could make a suggestion, I would say go to a junior college for a couple of years, get good grades there, and then transfer into the UC system

Answer 4

Considering you did take on the challeng of AP classes, that could help. But the low scores and GPA will be hard to overcome. IF your essay was Really good you have a chance at SOME of the UC's but not the really prestigous ones like UCLA. I hope you also tried the CSU's...Oh you could also try the University of Reno, Nevada. It's close to CA and anyone can get in. They also give in state prices to some CAans

Answer 5

sorry kid, typically you have to score a GPA of 3.0 or higher to be considered for a UC. i work for the regents, and UC san diego.

however, you can get into the igetc program which is a gauranteed admissions program with a community college in your area.

Answer 6

you might have a chance at UCSB+UCSD
but i cant judge because i don't actually know you
and if you want, you might also make it to UCM