I got a C in the dual-enrollment equivalent of AP Physics C: Mechanics. I have almost entirely straight A’s otherwise (B in Calc 1 over the summer but A in Calc 2 this fall, and will take college Multivar, Differential Eq’s, Linear Algebra, and stats before graduation) and I got 1440 on the PSAT/NMSQT this fall, the highest in my grade level. I have a 3.85 college GPA (including the C), a higher high school UW GPA (unsure of weighted, but probably above 4.6), and my extracurriculars are pretty good, though not spectacular. I want to apply to the UC’s (specifically, Berkeley and Davis) as an Environmental Econ & Policy major; how will this affect my chances? Will an A in the next course in the sequence, E&M, counteract the C to a sufficient extent?
I was not sufficiently prepared for the class (terrible trig background due to compelling personal circumstances; did not take Intro to Physics advisory class: everyone who got A’s and B’s had taken physics in the past; took Calc I in the summer: too fast-paced and skipped material) and had a pretty poor instructor, although I understand that the latter is not an acceptable excuse to any respectable institution. Also, my school’s mandatory practice SAT and the PSAT/NMSQT were both scheduled right before the midterms, so I wasn’t able to study for them and also had to undergo 4 hours of standardized testing before 2 more hours of exams. The grade has somewhat put me off from this, but I had entertained the thought of a double-major or minor in nuclear or environmental engineering, and I do not know whether it is that I am simply not suited for studying physics or that it was these difficulties alone that prevented me from scoring higher. I will also take Light & Heat, the third course, in the first semester of my senior year in further hopes of making up for the C if I am successful in E&M. I know I don’t have a chance at Berkeley Engineering as a freshman applicant with a C, but if I both get in and do well in physics from now on, I might add it as a simultaneous major: NE and EnvE are not too competitive for transferring between colleges, only a 3.0 GPA needed. Thoughts on this plan?
I am probably stronger in the humanities and have a compelling narrative in that area; I will likely double-major or minor (I will have plenty of transfer credit, definitely enough for a double major and a minor) in Rhetoric. Should I apply to that major instead, since it is probably less competitive? If I do, will all the high-level math and physics (and probably chem, too) classes look suspicious?