<p>Like when people get accepted despite a low gpa, low SAT scores, etc. </p>
<p>Haha, in my time I haven't heard of any miracles happening when it comes to UCs. Which really stinks. Cause I love Berks but I doubt I could get in.</p>
<p>ABSOLUTELY! I considered myself a miracle story. I got an 1830 on my SAT, and a 28 on my ACT. Those scores are pretty low in my opinion and I still made it! My GPA, however, was 4.69 and I was 6th in my class. I have heard that Berkeley does do Hollistic scoring - they weigh a high GPA over a high Test score. Just goes to show that a test score does not control everything. I also thought my essays were good. Just be yourself in the application and you should do just fine! Good luck :D</p>
<p>
You’re not friends with many athletes I take it</p>
<p>@hockynutty Actually, in this case I feel that my gpa is the problem haha! I have a 2100 SAT but my gpa UW is 3.7, W 4.3 which is unbelievably low for UCB. And I have all the extracurrics too but I just know that my gpa will hold me back. But thank you for the advice! Especially on the essays 
</p>
<p>@crowslayer91 LOL no not really. Although, this one guy at our school got recruited for football, then got busted for pot, but still retained his scholarship. He still thinks Cal and Berkeley are different schools…</p>
<p>@hockey</p>
<p>a 4.96GPA ? Out of what? 5?</p>
<p>My friend got accepted with a 1600 SAT and a 3.7 UW GPA…
She had a decent Personal Statement though.</p>
<p>Does the personal statement really make that big of a difference? I feel like they would just stop taking my app seriously after they see my transcript.</p>
<p>@debategeek UW 3.7/W 4.3 is definitely not unbelievably low for Berkeley! Especially the weighted gpa. (Higher than mine and I got into Berkeley haha, plus I didn’t have too many extracurriculars.) In my opinion I think personal statement does make a fair amount of difference, it’s the only place in your application that shows your personality, passions, experiences, etc and helps you stand out from other applicants with your same grades and qualifications. If you have any questions about Berkeley or anything feel free to message me!</p>
<p>[University</a> of California: StatFinder](<a href=“http://statfinder.ucop.edu%5DUniversity”>http://statfinder.ucop.edu) can resolve some of the mysteries, although latest data is from 2008-2009. (GPAs here are “weighted and capped”, presumably the UC admissions GPA, and the scores are total SAT reasoning scores.)</p>
<p>Natural Resources / Conservation (presumably CNR):
4.00-4.19, 1800-2099 => 45.3%
4.00-4.19, 2100-2400 => 65.2%</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Engineering:
4.00-4.19, 1800-2099 => 17.2%
4.00-4.19, 2100-2400 => 42.4%</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Undeclared / Unknown (presumably L&S):
4.00-4.19, 1800-2099 => 35.6%
4.00-4.19, 2100-2400 => 58.1%</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>In most other categories where the applicant listed an intended major in L&S, the pattern was similar to Undeclared / Unknown. However, Math / Statistics and Physical Sciences intended majors showed a slightly different pattern, with 4.00-4.19, 2100-2400 having a higher admission rate than >=4.20, 1800-2099.</p>
<p>Well, I’m not a miracle story myself but my older cousin is. She got into Berkeley undergrad as undecided. Her GPA was about a 3.2 and her SAT’s were rather low (I think in the 1500’s). It’s not like she went to a hard, competitive high school; in fact, her high school was really easy without many high achievers. She said she got in because of her personal statement. I admit her living situations have been quite weird and chaotic- she’s been struggling with depression since family issues… In fact, she flunked out of berkley but was accepted back in because of a note from her therapist. So yeah, here’s a “miracle” story for you. She’s gonna be a Junior this year as well…if that helps :).</p>
<p>This is a very useful thread to us right now; thank you OP.</p>
<p>My daughter, a rising senior, has a 2350 SAT with perfect scores in the two main areas. Her UW GPA will probably be around 3.8, W about 4.1, from a quite competitive school (top 10 in the state). She is VP of her robotics club and earned a spot in the GA Governor’s Honors Summer program in her soph year (normally earned by juniors, but very few at that). She will end up with perhaps 10 APs, but has already got a 3 in English. The other 4 are three 5s and one 4, with 5s in the sciences. She wants to major in engineering.</p>
<p>The above looks pretty good for a ‘normal’ school I admit, but we still worry about Berkeley. For academic as well as family/personal reasons, getting in is a VERY big deal (won’t get into details). </p>
<p>She actually writes very well so the 3 in English was a bit of a shocker. Her less-than-perfect scores have been in AP Calc but she managed to pull off a 5 there. She is NOT a Type A (ie not highly aggressive, but still motivated in her own way).</p>
<p>Any suggestions as we go forward with the app? We could also use a little bit of financial help from whichever school accepts her, as she will be out of state for the first year.</p>
<p>^I think applying for Engineering makes it 10x harder with the given stats :(. As far I believe, I don’t think AP scores have a big effect on being admitted. It probably carries some weight, but I wouldn’t conclude that a 3 in AP English is an automatic rejection. You should try to get her to work on her personal statement. </p>
<p>@thread</p>
<p>Anyways, I think Berkeley weighs GPA > SAT/ACT. It seems like a student with low SAT can compensate it with a high GPA vs a high SAT doesn’t seem to cover for a low GPA. Again, it’s all holistic, so don’t lose hope. </p>
<p>If you can nail your essay & your EC shows that you been as active as you can, you’ll most likely get in (given either your SAT or/and GPA is high). Cal is looking for someone who used their high school experience to their fullest and that really shows in your EC & essay. Although scores are big factors, your EC & essay can make a huge difference…</p>
<p>With that SAT score she has a good shot. It is hard to tell just from GPA, class rank might matter. Make sure she highlights leadership and community service. Apply to more than one UC school.</p>
<p>The GPA>SAT comes from how the UC selects students. The UC promises the top 9% of high school students in the state consideration based on class rank or GPA. If you are the best student at an academically poor school you may have a higher GPA, class rank, and a lower SAT than a student in the top 30% of a very good school but not in the top 9%. Since the UC pool of students uses GPA>SAT it is not hard to believe this would be seen at Cal.</p>
<p>Kacki, I think your daughter should be good for admission. Of course, the bottom line is her GPA in context of her school. If she has a high ranking and writes a good personal statement, she should be good. Of course, if she’s truly worried about gaining admission into EECS, she might consider applying for L&S for computer science or chemistry. </p>
<p>My friend is what you might consider “a miracle story.” We went to a very competitive high school. Although very intelligent, her grades suffered greatly in high school. In ninth and tenth grades, she did well, but due to personal issues, her GPA dropped in eleventh and twelfth grades and she got several C’s and even a few D’s. Those two years, her GPA was probably below a 3.0, though her overall GPA was still slightly above, maybe a 3.2 UW due to freshman and sophomore years. Berkeley sent her supplemental questionnaire and she was able to send in a glowing rec from a mentor. Eventually she was accepted. So yes, sometimes students get in with less than average scores and grades, but it’s very, very rare. If Cal really is your dream, apply no matter what, but realize that at the end of the day, the most important part of your application is your GPA</p>
<p>Re: #11</p>
<p>What kind of engineering? Different engineering majors have different levels of admissions selectivity. As noted above, a student wanting to study computer science also has the option of the L&S CS major; the College of Letters and Science is generally less selective than most engineering majors.</p>
<p>If you are residents of Georgia, you do have an excellent engineering school at in-state cost in Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>Thanks for responses. Will try to address them:
- Class ranking - in the top 2% but probably not the top 5 ordinals, maybe not even top 10. As noted, a very competitive school with a very high rep in the state.
- Going to Tech: yes, a perfectly good option but both her older sister and her parents (us) want to move to California. An attempt a few years ago didn’t work out but the sister is now graduating from GT with straight Dean’s List and a bunch of solid internships, recommendations, service, etc. Berkeley is high on the list of options she is considering though there are others. We are trying to keep the family together; of course this does not make sense in and of itself, but the fact that we want to live in CA is a strong factor. This also <em>should</em> mean that oos tuition should only be for the first year… correct? (As long as we, the parents and she, the student establish residency for one full year before the academic year begins. This is how I understand it; am open to corrections/enlightenment).
- The type of engineering is not yet decided but could be Mech. Being a bit on the young side she hasn’t got this sorted out yet, but as her sister is ME and she (younger) is in robotics she thinks that’s what she wants. I have warned her that what was good for her sister may not necessarily be good for her. Does she have to declare this beforehand? What if she applied to S&L and decided later to switch? I think CS is a perfectly good choice so that is a viable option anyway.
- Back to the first point above – so it seems (if one were to draw a seemingly hasty conclusion) that going to a good school has actually hurt her chances? I understand the UC policy of ‘spreading the wealth’ but isn’t that more focused on California high schoolers?</p>
<p>I was a little bit off my numbers, and after checking with d, have better ones to report:</p>
<p>UW GPA 3.96
W GPA 4.29
(To repeat) SAT 2350
Above is a result of using only soph+junior scores + max 8 Honors and the calculator at [CaliforniaColleges.edu</a> - Calculating Your GPA](<a href=“http://www.californiacolleges.edu/admissions/california-state-university-csu/gpa_calculator.asp]CaliforniaColleges.edu”>http://www.californiacolleges.edu/admissions/california-state-university-csu/gpa_calculator.asp). There was only one ‘B’ in the bunch. She also fulfils a-g requirements for UC.</p>
<p>Now I understand the personal statement is a big deal and hers will be good(ish) but no Nobel prizes etc. Also, she will likely not be in the top 10 of the class but should still be top 5%.</p>
<p>BTW I see the calc is for the CSU system and not UC-specific, and could not find an equivalent for UC or even a clearly-written method. On purpose?</p>
<p>Any feedback on the above is appreciated, such as does this application stand a good chance, etc? I understand this is not the place to get a final answer, but of course we use these fora for trying to get ahead of the curve.</p>
<p>Your daughter’s stats are at or above this year’s admitted class averages. In particular, her SAT score is very strong. But also note that Cal doesn’t super-score SATs. Below is a link on how to calculate UC GPA. Please note that there’s a limit on the number of AP courses that get a bump.</p>
<p>[University</a> of California - Calculating GPA](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/counselors/q-and-a/calculating-gpa/index.html#1]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/counselors/q-and-a/calculating-gpa/index.html#1)</p>
<p>Admission to Cal is extremely unpredictable, even for kids with exceptional stats. I agree with Calicious that EC and especially her essay will make a big difference on whether she gets in. It appears she has the stats, so she should focus on her EC and making sure her essay shines. If Cal is her dream school, this would be the place to let them know, although my impression is that Cal isn’t as hung up about wanting kids’ love as they are about wanting to know more about the kid. Also note that Cal doesn’t accept teacher’s recommendations, so her essay is the only way they’ll know about her. Other UCs are also excellent, so have her apply to other campuses as well. </p>
<p>As for financial aid, if your gross income falls within 80k-140k, you will be eligible for Middle Class Access Plan. This program, which started this year, caps family contribution to 15% of income, after student contribution of about 8k, provided your net worth doesn’t exceed 200k (minus home equity and retirement accounts). The 15% does not apply to the out-of-state portion of the tuition, unfortunately. Good luck!</p>
<p>" We are trying to keep the family together; of course this does not make sense in and of itself, but the fact that we want to live in CA is a strong factor. This also <em>should</em> mean that oos tuition should only be for the first year… correct?"</p>
<p>That might only be true if you move BEFORE she turns 18. I believe that only applies to minors.</p>
<p>Good luck! Sounds like a good deal for California.</p>