<p>Hey guys I was wondering if you could chance me (I am a junior this year). I had a horrible 10th grade, and I was wondering if I still had a chance =/. I go to a very competitive school (no class ranks).</p>
<p>Grades:</p>
<p>10th 1st semester: 2.8/3.33 =/
10th 2nd semester: 3.57/4.00
11th 1st semester: 4.0/4.5
11th 2nd semester: 4.0/4.5</p>
<p>Overall: 3.59/4.01 (UC weighted would be even lower since the 10th grade weighted would be lower since they only count 2 Honors classes =/)</p>
<p>I took probably the hardest course load out of my whole class in 10th grade and I just wasn't prepared. I also took a hard course load 11th grade (took the hardest courses in the school) but worked much harder and knew what to expect.</p>
<p>SAT score: 2240</p>
<p>Extra curricular:</p>
<ul>
<li>officer of a small club for 2 years</li>
<li>on a magazine staff for 3 years (counting 12th grade)</li>
<li>varsity cross country/track (so at this point, I'm wondering if I have a chance at recruitment.. but I would like to know opinions before this though)</li>
</ul>
<p>I was wondering if I still had a chance at these schools:</p>
<p>Berkeley
UCLA
Cal Poly SLO
UCSD
UC Irvine
University of Washington
University of Colorado </p>
<p>Those are some schools I am interested in, and I live in California (obviously schools like Berkeley/UCLA.. I probably hardly have a chance there =/), I was wondering if anyone could chance me etc.. it would also be interesting to hear stories of people with lower grades etc who managed to get in if that ever happened haha. Thanks!</p>
<p>You have a great chance of getting into the University of Washington with those stats, although your stats do seem kind of average. I mean, a lot of people who apply to the UW will have similar GPA, test scores, extracurriculars. I would work extra hard at being really active in the summertime and doing lots of fun activities or try to consolidate leadership positions or show that you will contribute somehow to the UW. But honestly, the UW is not that hard to get into. I don't think UCSD, UC Irvine, and Univ. of Colorado are that much harder to get into. Colleges look at how much you challenged yourself too, so if you took a lot of AP classes, that matters.</p>
<p>The UCs combine a lot of things when determining who will get in.</p>
<p>If you consider how they treat the SATs, they will essentially add +.24 to your current UC GPA (which is around 3.95 to 4.0) as a result of your phenomenal SAT scores. This will boost your total to around 4.19 to 4.24--which makes you extremely competitive with the averages at the top UCs:</p>
<p>UC Berkeley: 4.21
UCLA: 4.16</p>
<p>Thus, the things that will determine whether you get in or not are based upon the ECs, your major, the way you describe your passion for your future major and career, your volunteer work, and the essays you write.</p>
<p>So, right now you are about 50-50 at UC Berkeley and better than 50-50 everyplace else, including UCLA. At the last five schools on your list, I consider your chances at least 65% at all of them.</p>
<p>P.S. I was a UCLA alumnus myself (MBA from the Anderson School), and currently live in northern California, so I guess I can understand the allure of attending UCB and UCLA, and wish you the best of luck in getting into both of them.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the advice. Do you think schools like Berkeley would "look" at me more/I would have a better chance if I was capable of running on the cross country/track teams?</p>
<p>At this point, would it come down to how well my essays were written, etc? And one last question, how much weight would the upward trend play in this situation? Thanks.</p>
<p>I don't know much about how the sports recruitment stuff works, but I do know that if you are capable of running for the UC Bekeley team (have the necessary competitive times, that is), and the sports coach puts in a good word for you, then this makes a BIG difference in your chances. But it really depends upon the coach making a comment to the admissions committee, or you getting a letter from the coach that you make sure gets put into your admissions file.</p>
<p>Upward trend matters, but I think in your case what will matter more is any essay you can write pertaining to what you plan to major in and how dedicated you have been to this in your studies thus far, or research outside of the classroom. I also think that if you are not an engineering major or an economics major, then you will probably have a better chance of acceptance, since there seems to be a glut of these types of majors applying to UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>Lastly, I'd say any kind of work outside of school related to your major (either paid or volunteer) will help you convince them of your dedication to this field. For example, I know of a student who was a foreign language major who went overseas to work at the FIFA soccer finals (in Germany in 2006) as a volunteer translator to further her language studies--and this got her accepted to her chosen school (which, I believe was UCLA).</p>
<p>Hmmm, the Euro 2008 soccer championships start in less than two weeks. I wondering if anyone is doing something similar this year?</p>