I am a Junior with a 94.7 GPA. Will doing really well (ie 98-99) first semester of my senior help my chances? I have a good amount of EC’s, Volunteering, Research, and Jobs. I have a 2270 on my SAT. I want to apply to places like Berkley, UMich, GA Tech, CMU, UIUC, etc.
Yes, it can help but at this point your sophomore grades and junior grades matter the most. Senior grades of your fall semester honestly can’t really do too much to help you (and your GPA is fine anyways for your choices) but it can VERY much hurt you if you do poorly. Just do the best you can.
It will hurt you more than it could help you. What I mean is: Do your very best. If you do poorly, it will hurt you. Doing well will help you a little bit, but admissions will likely focus on your junior year grades the most.
UCB does not consider Senior year grades in the their admission decisions or in their GPA calculation. UC’s only use 10-11th grades in their GPA calculation. UC’s use Senior year grades to make sure you meet the a-g course requirements and to maintain your provisional admission if admitted.
Are you in-state for California? What is your budget? Is $55K/year affordable?
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Other schools will consider your 1st semester Senior year grades in their admission decisions and will ask for a Mid-year transcript. Do not have the specifics of which of the schools you listed do ask for a Mid year transcript, sorry.
Thank you for your help. @Gumbymom No I am not in-state, but so many schools cost nearly the same for the engineering discipline.