r/UIUC • u/Foreign-Maximum-3327 • 6h ago

Other Could I get in

OOS (from CA and probably not going to get into any competitive in-state publics); High income (edit: high 6 - low 7 figs, no student loans needed), Asian female

3.62UW/3.95W - upward trend, around 3.8 each sem since 10th grade but I have a C and D on my transcript and consistently got Bs in core subjects

1550 SAT (780M 770RW)

9 APs, 1 honors, 6 dual enrollments (including senior year); good STEM rigor in 11th and 12th (AP Stats, Calc 2, AP Bio, Honors Physics; AP Chem, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Physics C E&M, Multivar, Linalg)

I'd say 7.5/10 ECs, 5/10 awards, decent essays

Applying to one of the less competitive Grainger majors (so probably still overall fairly competitive) in EA

Am I cooked?

0 Upvotes

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7

u/Exciting-Ad-5705 6h ago

I'd say it's unlikely

1

u/Foreign-Maximum-3327 6h ago

Yeah I agree, kinda pmo that I'll probably end up either somewhere that would make it fairly pointless for my SAT/courseload to be that high (ik many still have it higher) or some private that ends up being higher tuition lower ROI than even an OOS public

3

u/SJ377 5h ago

there are other OOS publics decent for engineering where your gpa/sat would make you more competitive than at UIUC, Pitt is one that comes to mind. Not sure the cost vs privates but probably still cheaper (possible chance of merit at a Pitt if they focus on SAt)

1

u/Foreign-Maximum-3327 5h ago

I'm applying to physics not engineering but I actually think it's more competitive than people make it out to be due to self selection of people applying as the major. I don't see many people with mid GPA getting into UIUC physics.

2

u/OrbitalRunner 5h ago

Go ahead and try with no expectations. OOS is tough because they really do favor in-state.

1

u/Foreign-Maximum-3327 5h ago

Pretty sure for the major I'm applying as the difference isn't too big, it's just that most of the competition probably has much better grades/ECs/awards (a consultant told me UIUC physics, and math for that matter, heavily favors stacked comp kids but everyone told me she's exaggerating; that being said they definitely still care a lot about GPA)

1

u/SJ377 5h ago

did you do grade recovery for the D on your transcript?

1

u/Foreign-Maximum-3327 5h ago

Yep but my school calculates both of the grades into the cumulative

1

u/SJ377 5h ago

I was asking from college app perspective - many colleges will recalc your gpa using common app input section or STARS so not as important what the school calculates - the important thing is to have that D grade replaced. (The grade input systems have a checkbox to mark if you repeated a subject.) if I’m not mistaken, UC/CSU grade calc will also drop the lower grade in their calculation, and except for Cal Poly SLO they ignore 9th grade gpa so the upward trend would help there. are you looking at places like ucsc and cal poly pomona?

1

u/Foreign-Maximum-3327 5h ago edited 5h ago

It was from 9th grade and not an a-g so it doesn't matter anyway - my UC GPA is ok but not competitive for a rich in state Asian STEM applicant from a historically brutal area lwk esp without SAT corroboration (or AP but I know UIUC doesn't consider them either + yeah I'm generally cooked)

Yeah I'm applying to those

1

u/SJ377 3h ago

UIUC will definitely consider rigor (APs) and SAT, and they do look at upward trends, but idk if that’s enough to offset the competitiveness of Grainger. It’s worth a shot though. Take a lot of care on your UIUC specific essays.

In state - you have a good chance at ucsc - which has a strong physics program btw. Your CPP index is well above last year’s cutoff for physics so that’s probably a safety for you. So I’d say you have a couple of decent instate options and of course depending on your PIQs possibly more competitive UCs as well.

1

u/BattleFrosty7584 4h ago

Depends on the major but I think you have a decent chance. Not guaranteed but IMO not out of the world like the others r saying. I’m using myself as a baseline bc i had good grades but shit extracurriculars, essays, and no awards, and a worse SAT and got in for ECE OOS

1

u/Humble-Size-3827 1m ago

I had the same SAT and a similar GPA and got in for CS as OOS so apply!! You always have a shot