Berkeley Students: Any unexpected acceptance stories?

<p>Berkeley has always been a desire, but where I come from and MY track record, it seems as if it's just a small unrealistic dream.</p>

<p>I would like to apply but just wondered what do you think about if I stood a chance. I am not an overachiever or anything, I haven't rescued a puppy from a tornado, but i have my little URM status and a 3.4 (3.5/3.6 by the time i apply) GPA with most ASSIST courses completed.</p>

<p>I have NOT and am not planning on certifying for IGETC.</p>

<p>anyone been in the similar boat to me or know anyone that has and can shed some light on if I have any hope, because i really just want to be in the bay and berkeley is the only likeable option to me, if not - on to irvine or davis, which i still would be overappreciative of.</p>

<p>thanks.</p>

<p>You will be wasting your time if you applied to Berkeley without the intentions of completing IGETC. Simple as that.</p>

<p>That’s not entirely true. There are some majors that do not require completion of IGETC, EECS being one of them. It just depends on what your major is and whether it requires certification.</p>

<p>OK, then apply to Berkeley without IGETC for the 176 other majors and tell me what happens. He did not mention a major so I chose to base my answer on common sense when it comes to transferring to a UC.</p>

<p>Haha, take it easy. All I’m saying is if they follow assist, then it’s fine. If assist says you need IGETC, then you have to get it but not everything requires it. I never said you were wrong, unless “not entirely true” comes off as negative to you and as such, I apologize.</p>

<p>lol Jayo2mean</p>

<p>but I have to agree with Jayo…applying without IGETC from a CCC is risky bidness for those other “176” majors…</p>

<p>poly sci is the major. but thank you, for lettin me know about the IGETC situation, thanks.</p>

<p>There have been a bunch of people posting on here who were accepted to Berkeley despite being in the mid to lower half of the 3.0 range (myself included). Though from what I’ve noticed, basically everyone was kind of a nontraditional student or had circumstances that they’ve had to overcome to get where they are today. </p>

<p>If you already got into UCI or UCD (which I thought you had?), those are great schools and you should definitely go and complete your education at one of them. The IGETC is fairly easy to complete so I’m not sure why you wouldn’t if you’re going to apply next year anyway? </p>

<p>But keep in mind… if you continue to think of yourself as an “average” student with no qualities that seem to set you apart, then you’re going to have a hard time ever believing you’re more than that. In anything you do in the future, whether it be applying to schools/grad school/jobs, focus on what you’ve uniquely accomplished. Try to take note of the redeeming qualities you do possess and prove through perseverance that you’re a person that deserves what you’ve worked for. If you want something bad enough, you’ll do everything in your power to achieve that. Sometimes, things still might not work out how you want, but you’ll now know that you’re capable of a lot more than you ever thought you were. This, overall, will make you a stronger person in the years to come.</p>

<p>^ real poster.</p>

<p>im applying for davis/irvine this year, via TAG, and am likely to get in. sorry for the confusion.</p>

<p>im probably just gonna go through with irvine/davis, just i been to berkeley and telegraph just screams my name, what i mean is its just more my kinda of place, people around who are like people where i came from, versus irvine being somewhat upper class, and davis - well davis is just a college town. regardless ill fit in regardless of where i go.</p>

<p>but thank you for that advice KME, you always have great info.</p>

<p>Y’all are kinda rude. Just an observation. But speaking from my own perspective,</p>

<p>I got in Berkeley without finishing IGETC. Although to be fair, I transferred from UCSC, so I had to finish lower divisions and breadth at UCSC, which is essentially the UC-to-UC transfer version of IGETC.</p>

<p>I didn’t even start my Physics requirement until I had stepped foot on Berkeley campus, which is ludicrous, especially if you’re transferring in.</p>

<p>So. Follow killmyentourage’s advice, and don’t lose hope.</p>

<p>Orion, your situation is completely different from UCkittychen’s…you had to do UC Reciprocity for Berk. OP is stating they won’t be fulfilling Berkeley’s general education at all with IGETC or anything else, which makes it very unlikely that they will get in…unless they are planning on fulfilling Berk’s gen ed another way that I don’t know about. And that Physics class was probably a pre-req, and it’s not at all unheard of for people to get in without completing all of their pre-reqs.</p>

<p>I actually applauded the OP’s realistic and down-to-earth attitude…lol I just don’t think there is anything wrong with being average since I totally am :D</p>

<p>thank you both redo & orion.</p>

<p>@orion yes your route is a bit different as you went to UC and im coming straight from CC. but im looking to apply to UOP dental school after undergrad, so i guess undergrad prestige isnt really important, its just like i said, id like to be in the bay. oh well, maybe next lifetime.</p>

<p>but thanks anyways, just will let me know in september/november when its UC application to not waste one of my 4 app waivers on berkeley.</p>

<p>much thanks once again!</p>

<p>Just out of curiosity, how have you NOT completed IGETC with a major like polisci? Honestly there aren’t too many prereqs for that major and a lot of the prereq classes coincide with IGETC classes…You’re just hurting yourself in the long run especially when you are competing against those overachievers. I got in with a mid tier gpa and I’m sure you can too if you put in the effort…</p>

<p>well as i stated, i ultimately am trying to get accepted into UOP’s dental school. I am pretty much flying solo basically, lets just say collegeconfidential and ************** is more of a counselor to me than my own school. SO I had to learn HERE that it is a better route to go non-trad for professional programs to basically have a different story than all the other applicants applying, because I initially was a BIO major, not even knowing about TAG, IGETC, etc. All I knew was transfer & 60 units & “the golden 4” or something (math,eng,bio,chem)</p>

<p>then i have recently learned about all the opportunities they offer for poly sci students @ UC’s, and that I only get one life so i want to be sure i want to go the route i am, so I will basically get two options in the longrun.</p>

<p>so what pre reqs are you talking about? because im just following the classes on ASSIST, and all there is its poly sci 1 - which is a GE course that i’ve taken, history 17, which i already have taken too, poly sci 3& 5 which im taking this fall, & a few math courses, which i will either complete there or at my CC.</p>

<p>am i missing anything? as i indicated im basically my own counselor here, and i have to rely on collegeconfidential & google for help. so i am by default acknowledgeably ignorant of anything related to transferring to UC.</p>

<p>the reason why i am not IGETC i because i never got around to taking the foriegn language, EVERY other class has been done. stupid huh.</p>

<p>lol god I hate counselors. Just for reference, the “Golden Four” are your 2 english classes, public speaking (comm), and a math class that the CSU system uses to determine admission eligibility. </p>

<p>You didn’t have FL in hs? Really easy Spanish Online sequence = Coastline.</p>

<p>how do you quote someone? i always click the check box and then click reply on the persons message, and it never quotes.</p>

<p>anyways, @kme, thanks! i did take speech (com 1a) & am taking 2nd year english this summer, took first year in the spring, & am taking precal either this fall or next spring (my last semester before i transfer)</p>

<p>coastline huh, does it charge? i have no problem taking the class, if it wont cause me great difficulty. will UC’s accept it? Obviously right? you probably wouldnt even have told me if its not, especially being how you were accepted to berk.</p>

<p>gonna go check that right now!</p>

<p><em>Edit</em></p>

<p>kme : <a href=“http://www.coastline.edu/[/url]”>http://www.coastline.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>is that the link?</p>

<p>foreign language classes online? I SO wouldn’t recommend that…My friend at De Anza thought he would do that, but then he had to drop with a W like 5 weeks in because the amount of self-study required was just ridic.</p>

<p>but if killmy has done it herself and passed all the courses maybe it’s worth a shot.</p>

<p>Did you take foreign language in high school? If you took 2 years and got a C or better then you have fulfilled the foreign language req. for IGETC.</p>

<p>Oh, and I was rejected from Berkeley with a 3.9 GPA and a IGETC completion. But I did not have that much extracurricular activities, my essay was OK, and I did not really have any big hardships to overcome.</p>

<p>Yes I took Spanish 180 & 185 there the last two semesters and they are UC transferable. I actually didn’t need a language because I had completed French in hs but I thought Spanish would be useful. </p>

<p>I have a BOG fee waiver so I didn’t have to pay for the classes. If you have a fee waiver at your CC now, you will have one there but you still have to pay like $30 whatever fee for taking a class there. </p>

<p>I thought the classes were ridiculously easy… 180 was only a 12 week class with weekly assignments that you could just use an online Spanish to English translator for and the midterm and final were multiple choice with just identifying which conjugation to use or telling time or vocab or simple things like that but it was in class so you had to actually be able to recognize the answers. I forget the grading specifics but I had like a 98% without trying. The classes are based on this like 80s soap opera that helps you learn Spanish so you actually have to watch one episode per week online and every week you have to turn in hw. </p>

<p>185 was a 16 week course with more simple busy work (writing a sentence in a forum, answering some spanish history ques, in addition to hw) but it was basically the same format (also one episode per week). There were 4 quizzes (200/800 points of your grade) in which she gives you the questions ahead of time. (340/800 points midterm + final) which was also multiple choice but you didn’t get the questions ahead of time (though she suggested what sections to read) but it was online so you could basically c&p and then translate everything on the page lol. Each semester there was only a ten point assignment to call a phone number and read something in spanish, otherwise you never have to speak it.</p>

<p>Idk, if you have time in your schedule, they really weren’t hard classes at all but you just have to make sure you’re submitting all the busy work.</p>

<p>Oh and I did not speak Spanish outloud one time over the entire 2 semesters lol.</p>

<p>will i have to submit my transcripts and all that crap & take assessment tests?</p>