Does DS need a safeties

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Add Cal Poly Pomona and UCSC as safeties.

Pomona is not a safety for anyone

[Anonymous]

He should just click off the boxes for the mid to lower tier UCs. No extra work. Even if he's never going to go to Riverside or Irvine, you gotta at least apply in case everything else goes down the shitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Add Cal Poly Pomona and UCSC as safeties.

Pomona is not a safety for anyone

Pomona, a selective private school, is not the same as Cal Poly Pomona, a less selective state school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: He thinks his list is too long already.

Bay Area public school:

Intended Major: Biochem/Chem

GPA: 3.73 UW, 4.2W -

No class rank

Freshman: 3.41 UW 3.75W (5 B's 1 C) -> Sophomore: 4.0 UW 4.33W (all A's) -> Junior: 3.92 UW 4.59W (1 B+ in meaningless class)


SAT: 1580 // 780/800

APs: Micro 5, Macro 4, Stats 5, Bio 4, Chem 5, BC 5 and planning on taking APES, Physics 1, Lit;



ECs:

Tennis Varsity Captain (our team is current league champion)

ChemE internship (1 year)

Tutoring organization head officer(3 years)

DECA Chapter Officer and placed as a world finalist twice, 2nd at states once (3 years)

Founder of Biology/Chem Club at my school with large presence on campus (2 years)

Private tennis coach (4 years)

Shadowed physician (2 months)

Commercial laboratory assistant (1 year)



Tufts

Emory (ED1)

WashU

Rice

Northwestern

Vanderbilt

UNC Chapel Hill (EA)

University of Michigan (EA)

Cornell University

Stanford University

UCLA

UC Berkeley

​

You absolutely need safeties. Bay Area high school alum here who graduated in 2010s. UCs are not safeties but also it is not difficult to apply to all of them at once (no separate essays, just check the box). Before your applications are due (around October), you will know if you are in the special top 10% program in the UCs that will guarantee admission to one of the lower-ranked UCs (excluding Berkeley and LA). If you receive that, then I would proceed with your list without safeties. If you don't receive that (because it signals your son is not that competitive compared to his peers), then you absolutely need to change that list unless you are okay with not getting into any schools.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but those stats are unfortunately normal by Bay Area standards. Based on the stats, your son might get into some of those schools. When I went to college, a single B on your transcript, let alone a C, knocked you out of the running for Berekely and LA.

[Anonymous]

You’ve got a huge reality check coming your way if you stick with that list. The problem is your kid is average excellent. There are a zillion kids that look just like him. His ECs are good, but again nothing special. The SAT is good, but I’d assume he prepped a lot and you put a lot of money into that.
Drop Stanford—he ain’t getting in— and add a real match school.

[Anonymous]

How do you get a 3.41 GPA for freshman year with 5 B's and a C?

Unless he applies to a school that doesn't count freshman year, there is no way he is getting in those schools. They are looking for mostly As, with an occasional B+. A C is a kiss of death.

My dc had a better GPA, 10 APs, 1550 on the SATs, comparable extracurriculars. Of the schools on your list, dc applied to five of them and got rejected by all five. Dc's classmate had a 3.9+ unweighted GPA, 12 APs, a 1590 on the SAT, good extracurriculars, is a minority and has a disability, and was rejected by Stanford. It's brutal out there. He needs a safety and one or two target schools. None of the schools you listed are a given. I agree with the others about UC schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He should just click off the boxes for the mid to lower tier UCs. No extra work. Even if he's never going to go to Riverside or Irvine, you gotta at least apply in case everything else goes down the shitter.

+1 and, if he'd actually never consider going there, decide if he wants to find a safety he can actually get excited about or prefers the CC->higher ranked UC option. My nephew in California (impressive kid, class valedictorian) had some of those schools too and only got into Riverside and Irvine for UCs and some Cal States. Davis is his preferred UC so he opted for CC.

[Anonymous]

definitely needs safeties and matches

[Anonymous]

My DD had a similar profile to your son. Her UW GPA was a bit higher. Her safeties were: Univ of San Diego, LMU, St. Mary's of CA, and Pepperdine. She got huge merit at USD and St. Mary's - enough that I wanted her to seriously consider one of them. However, she got into her first choice with enough merit to make it work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: He thinks his list is too long already.

Bay Area public school:

Intended Major: Biochem/Chem

GPA: 3.73 UW, 4.2W -

No class rank

Freshman: 3.41 UW 3.75W (5 B's 1 C) -> Sophomore: 4.0 UW 4.33W (all A's) -> Junior: 3.92 UW 4.59W (1 B+ in meaningless class)


SAT: 1580 // 780/800

APs: Micro 5, Macro 4, Stats 5, Bio 4, Chem 5, BC 5 and planning on taking APES, Physics 1, Lit;



ECs:

Tennis Varsity Captain (our team is current league champion)

ChemE internship (1 year)

Tutoring organization head officer(3 years)

DECA Chapter Officer and placed as a world finalist twice, 2nd at states once (3 years)

Founder of Biology/Chem Club at my school with large presence on campus (2 years)

Private tennis coach (4 years)

Shadowed physician (2 months)

Commercial laboratory assistant (1 year)



Tufts

Emory (ED1)

WashU

Rice

Northwestern

Vanderbilt

UNC Chapel Hill (EA)

University of Michigan (EA)

Cornell University

Stanford University

UCLA

UC Berkeley

​

You absolutely need safeties. Bay Area high school alum here who graduated in 2010s. UCs are not safeties but also it is not difficult to apply to all of them at once (no separate essays, just check the box). Before your applications are due (around October), you will know if you are in the special top 10% program in the UCs that will guarantee admission to one of the lower-ranked UCs (excluding Berkeley and LA). If you receive that, then I would proceed with your list without safeties. If you don't receive that (because it signals your son is not that competitive compared to his peers), then you absolutely need to change that list unless you are okay with not getting into any schools.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but those stats are unfortunately normal by Bay Area standards. Based on the stats, your son might get into some of those schools. When I went to college, a single B on your transcript, let alone a C, knocked you out of the running for Berekely and LA.

I am remain intrigued by how different posters’ experiences area. My niece and nephew both from Bay Area public got into (no hooks) Cal and UCLA with strong gpa’s but definitely some Bs, and this was within the past 5-7 years. They did both qualify for the program you mentioned guaranteeing admission to certain UCs.

💯 agree that within UC it is so easy to add colleges, why not add UCSB and UCSD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: He thinks his list is too long already.

Bay Area public school:

Intended Major: Biochem/Chem

GPA: 3.73 UW, 4.2W -

No class rank

Freshman: 3.41 UW 3.75W (5 B's 1 C) -> Sophomore: 4.0 UW 4.33W (all A's) -> Junior: 3.92 UW 4.59W (1 B+ in meaningless class)


SAT: 1580 // 780/800

APs: Micro 5, Macro 4, Stats 5, Bio 4, Chem 5, BC 5 and planning on taking APES, Physics 1, Lit;



ECs:

Tennis Varsity Captain (our team is current league champion)

ChemE internship (1 year)

Tutoring organization head officer(3 years)

DECA Chapter Officer and placed as a world finalist twice, 2nd at states once (3 years)

Founder of Biology/Chem Club at my school with large presence on campus (2 years)

Private tennis coach (4 years)

Shadowed physician (2 months)

Commercial laboratory assistant (1 year)



Tufts

Emory (ED1)

WashU

Rice

Northwestern

Vanderbilt

UNC Chapel Hill (EA)

University of Michigan (EA)

Cornell University

Stanford University

UCLA

UC Berkeley

​

You absolutely need safeties. Bay Area high school alum here who graduated in 2010s. UCs are not safeties but also it is not difficult to apply to all of them at once (no separate essays, just check the box). Before your applications are due (around October), you will know if you are in the special top 10% program in the UCs that will guarantee admission to one of the lower-ranked UCs (excluding Berkeley and LA). If you receive that, then I would proceed with your list without safeties. If you don't receive that (because it signals your son is not that competitive compared to his peers), then you absolutely need to change that list unless you are okay with not getting into any schools.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but those stats are unfortunately normal by Bay Area standards. Based on the stats, your son might get into some of those schools. When I went to college, a single B on your transcript, let alone a C, knocked you out of the running for Berekely and LA.

I am remain intrigued by how different posters’ experiences area. My niece and nephew both from Bay Area public got into (no hooks) Cal and UCLA with strong gpa’s but definitely some Bs, and this was within the past 5-7 years. They did both qualify for the program you mentioned guaranteeing admission to certain UCs.

💯 agree that within UC it is so easy to add colleges, why not add UCSB and UCSD.

Applying 5 to 7 years ago is irrelevant to admissions now. Totally different today.

[Anonymous]

Santa Clara also might be a good option for your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, he does. He's got a great list of accomplishments and he might get accepted to all of those schools-- but he might get rejected from all of them, too. What about adding a few more UC (or Cal State) campuses?

+1 all students should be applying to more than one in-state option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Santa Clara also might be a good option for your child.

If you show interest. Per cds, they consider interest.

[Anonymous]

Of course. Don't underestimate the applicant pool.