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joy
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| Joined: | Fri Feb 23rd, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 43 |
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Posted: Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 08:44 pm |
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We are CA residents and I am trying to figure out which UC would be a match school for my dd. We feel pretty confident that Davis and Santa Barbara would be floors/safeties based on her stats (225 PSAT, no SAT yet, 4.5 gpa in 10th grade, 4.8 in 11th)
I think her course load would be considered "most rigorous", 4 years of science, including AP Bio, AP Chem, and next year AP Physics , 2 semesters of Calculus this year and 2 more next, and she'll have 6 years of foreign language, AP Span. Lang. this year and AP Spanish Lit next year.
UCSD looks like a match, but it's too close to home, as is UCLA. So, that leaves Berkeley, which admits 23% of applicants. She has good, not great, ecs and no hook besides being your basic excellent student and great girl, according to her mom!
Should we add Berkeley to her long list of reach schools, or can we consider it a wall/match?
Thanks!
Joy
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DesperateDad
Member
| Joined: | Tue Mar 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 871 |
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Posted: Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 09:02 pm |
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Statistically, Cal does look like a match, but it all depends on the essays (which they do read). However, one question to consider is how well your HS does in UC placements for students with your D's stats? Do the top ~10% of seniors recieve admission to either of the state flagships, or only a small number of students?
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lfm
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| Joined: | Sat Jul 28th, 2007 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 116 |
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Posted: Tue Jun 3rd, 2008 02:25 pm |
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| The great thing about UCs is that there is no extra effort to apply to an extra one. It would cost $60 (plus another $10 for the SAT report).
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Tue Jun 3rd, 2008 03:44 pm |
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Do you think it is likely that your daughter will be in the top 4% of her class as of the end of 11th grade? ELC status gives a tremendous admissions boost, especially for an already strong candidate.
Do keep in mind that fit is more important than relative prestige of the schools. Berkeley is an amazing school, but it is also largely focused on graduate level education and it can be an intense and overwhelming experience for an undergrad.
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CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3396 |
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Posted: Tue Jun 3rd, 2008 11:54 pm |
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Very good point, Leftcoast. I had at least two students this year turn down UCB for other colleges for just this reason: they felt overwhelmed by UCB when they visited. On the other hand, some kids do great at UCB. As you pointed out, it really is a question of the fit for the individual student.
By the way, Joy, if the reasons you are looking at the UCs are financial, take a look at the data on the Project on Student Debt site, http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org. They've done a comparison on what families would pay for different schools, including the UC's. In quite a few instances, families at different income levels who have a well-qualified student like yours can now end up paying less at other schools than at the UC's. Since I know your daughter is considering a wide-range of schools, you might find the data interesting.
Last edited on Tue Jun 3rd, 2008 11:56 pm by CarolynLawrence
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Wed Jun 4th, 2008 02:22 am |
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Carolyn, I think you inadvertently included the "." at the end of the link.
Try http://projectonstudentdebt.org/
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joy
Member
| Joined: | Fri Feb 23rd, 2007 |
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Posted: Wed Jun 4th, 2008 06:30 pm |
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Leftcoast-yes I think she'll be in the top 4%. I didn't know about the ELC status-thank you.
The question of fit is a tough one. My daughter's original list included no UCs. She thought Berkeley was okay when we visited, but really prefers a medium size university where she can do research in bio as an undergrad and be in smaller classes, at least in her jr and sr years. But then she also wants to be in or near a big city. (No women's colleges, no core curriculum, not sure about the south and midwest, etc!) The LACs that I thought might be good fits are either too small or in too small a town, or both.
I'll be honest here-I am hoping she'll apply to 3-4 UCs, not for financial reasons, but because she has only 3 schools right now that she loves, and they are super-reaches for any one. We have visited 11 schools and those 3 were the only ones that she felt really called to her. So at this point, she has built the roof, and I'm trying to get her to fill in a foundation and walls!
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DesperateDad
Member
| Joined: | Tue Mar 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 871 |
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Posted: Wed Jun 4th, 2008 06:39 pm |
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Joy:
ELC status is a near auto-admit at every UC campus but Cal & UCLA. For example, UC San Diego accepts nearly 90% of ELC'ers, Irvine 98%. According to a neighbor, a former Cal admissions rep, ELC per se means little to Cal admissions -- it's that strong transcript (which makes a student ELC) which is compelling. Cal & UCLA accept about 50% of ELC applicants.
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Chedva
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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Posted: Wed Jun 4th, 2008 08:04 pm |
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really prefers a medium size university where she can do research in bio as an undergrad and be in smaller classes, at least in her jr and sr years. But then she also wants to be in or near a big city. (No women's colleges, no core curriculum, not sure about the south and midwest, etc!)
Well, if she isn't adverse to the northeast, University of Rochester seems to meet her needs. It's about 4500 undergrads, 2500 grad students. Bio research is easy to come by for undergraduates. (My d did research in psychology as a freshman.) It's also on the edge of Rochester, which, while not LA, Boston or NY, is a decent-sized city. There may be a bit of weather shock, however!
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
| Posts: | 1267 |
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Posted: Fri Jun 6th, 2008 12:42 am |
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I have relatives and friends whose children were UC-eligible, visited Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and loved it. You might want to visit that school, too, for an alternative. They have excellent science programs. I hate to say it, otherwise, if she's heading for science, I'd choose UCSD over some of the others on your list.
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