<p>Cal’s selection process seems quite unpredictable. I was looking at the numbers for ENGINEERING on “statfinder” (link below) and was surprised at the distribution of admitted students! An investigative analysis (not scientific by any means, but rather using shrewd extrapolation), reveals that they treat people with 3.60 to 4.00 rather evenly. Below 3.60 the chances drop precipitiously.</p>
<p>For applicants in the 3.80 to 4.00 range, there was a 60.1% admit rate. That means a WHOPPING 40% or so in that range WERE NOT ADMITTED!!!</p>
<p>In the 3.60 to 3.79 range, they had an ~44% admit rate. Just a little lower than the highest range!</p>
<p>For the next range from 3.00 to 3.59 it was ~13% (However, this may be misleading because the range is too big - it could’ve been that most of those admitees were in the 3.5 to 3.59 range and then extremely few from below 3.5 or so)</p>
<p>This tells me that even in the higer ranges, EVEN FOR ENGINEERING!!! (which typically places the most emphasis on academics), gpa is not the end-all and be-all!!! I cannot imagine that all of those 40% had incomplete pre-reqs (the only other PRIMARY requirement). So, my conclusion is that, in all likelihood, they were not admitted because they might have had lackluster personal statements. Whoa!!!</p>
<p>For all that everyone on here says (especially in those “chance me” threads - where, when one says they have a 4.0, the response is usually “you’re in”) these numbers should be a real eye-opener about Cal’s selection process! I would’ve expected the distribution to be more along the lines of 80% (3.8-4.0) and ~24%(3.6-3.79)</p>
<p>You know arcadefire, you may have a point there!! I never thought of it that way. The more incomplete someone’s pre-reqs, the easier it is for them to have a 4.0. As a matter of fact I’ve known a number of fellow engineering/science students at my CC, who were extremely proud of their 4.0 when they had just joined. Then when they are almost ready to transfer (after having completed some of the tough Math/Physics courses) they roam around with “sad” faces claiming that their 4.0 is long gone and now their gpa is 3.5ish!</p>
<p>The reason people talk about those two is because they are top 25 in the country. No other UC is close. These schools are world brands, everyone knows them. Every corner of the industrialized world knows these schools. That’s why. </p>
<p>GPA is not and will never be the only factor for admission to these schools. A perfect GPA does not equal a well rounded student. These schools want character and depth. GPA does not show the whole picture because many schools inflate GPA to get grants and all that crap. That’s why GPA is not the only factor. It may be the deciding factor but it’s not the ONLY deciding factor.</p>
<p>^ And I’ve seen Maseratis with Cal alumni plates. Just because you attend a prestigious institution doesn’t mean you will become wealthy or even like to drive expensive cars for that matter. So yes, your post was incredibly irrelevant.</p>
<p>I laugh when someone with a 2.8 in community college judges someone who graduated from a real university. </p>
<p>On a side note, i think it’s moronic to laugh at people for the car they drive. I recently saw an anesthesiologist who makes around $300k/year driving a beat up dodge minivan, he is obviously more successful than most people but looking just at his car, you wouldn’t know it.</p>
<p>wow i never said i was laughing at the guys car.
so i have a 2.8 gpa? and? i am a 1 year transfer and i have over 45 units sue me if i messed up my first semester. what i want know is who in the hell gave you the right to judge me on my academic record you don’t know ANYTHING about my life and have NO right at all to judge. a persons gpa does not measure their intelligence of their ability to succeed in school. please do everyone else a favor and ■■■■.</p>
<p>One of the best ways to accumulate wealth is to live below your means. Nothing wrong with driving something like a Toyota Corolla instead of a Lexus LS. I think an expensive house is much more of a status symbol than the freakin car you drive.</p>
<p>You see a lot of people driving BMWs who can’t afford them and you see a lot of people driving Hondas who could afford BMWs. Same goes for houses. </p>
<p>Although I don’t think priya meant any harm, there are a lot of people who do judge wealth/status/intelligence by one’s car/house. And yes, it is funny when someone of lesser wealth/status/intelligence makes fun of someone who has more wealth/status/intelligence but doesn’t wear it on his or her sleeve.</p>
<p>id say its wrong in grammar, but reasoning somewhat right, i mean a number printed on a piece of paper can’t really define someone’s intellect, but w/e.</p>
<p>and honeslty the cal plate on a car means nothing, i mean i know ppl who went to cal who are waiters, and i also know ppl who went to cal who are banking in roughly 1.2mil a year (my uncle lolll). you want to know what he drives? A beat up old mazda.</p>
<p>No, it is wrong in reasoning as well. Your GPA is not an arbitrary number formed by coincidence. It is an average of how you have performed in all of your classes and the number takes into account how well (or poorly) you have done based on the number of unit hours and grade you received. It is clearly an indication of success in school, and alongside the standardized exams, it is the best way to determine an individuals intelligence in comparison to their cohorts/peers.</p>
<p>If gpa was an indicator of intelligence, why was Albert einsteins gpa so low in college? Its because it’s NOT. Gpa has nothing to do with intelligence. It has to do with work ethic. Intelligence to me is not measurable without Some form of bias.</p>
<p>I don’t think GPA is a great way to measure intelligence, but it’s clearly a great way to measure success in school. Like, by definition, your GPA is your success level in school.</p>
<p>thanks for the support guys. homeboy anonymousername just likes to put people down. talk all you want i don’t need some dbag on a online forum to tell me if I am smart or not.</p>
<p>It’s a little more than work ethic. A smart person with a poor work ethic could have the same GPA as a stupid person with a great work ethic, assuming they’re taking the same classes. I think “success in school” is a fine way to label GPA.</p>