Can I get into Berkeley?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I just finished sophomore year a couple of weeks ago. I've been hoping to attend UC Berkeley for some time now, but I'm not sure I can make it. I go to a private all-boys high school called Bellarmine in San Jose, CA. Here's my stats. What should I do to improve my chances for Berkeley? THANKS!</p>

<p>Freshman:
Spanish1 A, A-
World Cultures A
Intro to Computers A
English1 A, A-
Catholic Christianity A, A
Symphonic Band A, A
Biology Honors B, B-
Algebra 2 A, A-</p>

<p>Sophomore:
Spanish2 A-, A
World History B+, A-
English2 A, A
Christian Scriptures B
PE A
CompSciA AP B, A
PreCalc Honors B, A-
Chemistry A-, A-</p>

<p>GPA: 3.78u, 3.91w</p>

<p>Junior Year I will take:
Spanish 3 Honors
US History
Englsih Language AP
Christian Morality (semester)
Social Justice (semester)
Calculus AB AP
Physics Honors/AP (it's just physics B)
(Computer Science AB AP?)
Should I take this? It would be nice to have a free period, but would this help a lot by showing committment if I took the next level of an AP course?</p>

<p>This summer I will also be taking SAT English and Math at my school, and the grade will appear on my transcript.</p>

<p>I took the free practice SAT at Kaplan once (without any prep) and here are the results:
Math: 580
Critical Reading: 510
Writing: 600
I know these are pretty pitiful but I'm sure I could raise these to the 600/700 range by Junior year.</p>

<p>Just some other background info about my test-taking, our school took a PLAN test and I scored a composite percentile of 98 (other scores were 98, 97, 95, 96, 90, 96, 94, 96).</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars / Activities:</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
*ASB (student council)
*Freshman Wrestling
(I was also active in 3 other clubs but not officers yet)</p>

<p>Asterisk (*) indicates that it appears on transcript</p>

<p>Soph Year:
*ASB
*Cardinal Newspaper
*JV Wrestling
President of Christian Service Program (comm service club)
Founder/President of the American Cancer Society Club
Received award from President for doing >100 hours of comm service</p>

<p>Junior Year I plan on doing all of the above (I'm considering dropping wrestling because of the time committment), and I will do >250 hours of service next year. I will also be the president of one more club (StudentsAgainstDestructiveDecisions).</p>

<p>Thanks so much for reading this!</p>

<p>So what are my chances for entrance into Berkeley (I know it's still early)? What should I focus on the most to improve my chances?</p>

<p>THANKS!</p>

2

<p>well..just counting your soph..im assuming ur UC GPA is in the 3.8 or 3.9 range. Too low for berkely...come back when u finish junior year</p>

3

<p>thanks for the reply. Where can I find scattergrams or just averages of those accepted into Berkeley? I can't find them online..
Thanks!</p>

4

<p>Bellermine.. Stupid story: A lot of guys in my school hates your school. A lot of girls love it. You can guess why.</p>

5

<p>haha which school is that? i love bellarmine its friggin awesome.</p>

6

<p>I'm from Lynbrook.</p>

7

<p>Come back in your Junior year after you've taken more AP's. It may differ with each school, but generally you won't get into UCB with a weighted GPA under 4.0. Also, I'd refrain from taken so many of these random electives that do nothing to your GPA (Intro the Computers, Social Justice, Christian Scriptures, etc.). Don't shy away from AP's...it won't do you any good</p>

8

<p>Oh, our school requires us to take the religion classes (Xtian Scriptures, social justice, christianity..etc) so I can't evade those. Doesn't Intro to Computers affect your GPA as it's academic? It's not exactly random taking the computer classes though is it as I took intro to comp frehsman year, comp sci A AP this year, and plan on taking Comp Sci AB next year (doesn't it show committment). My weighted GPA is 3.9 right now but I'll get it to at least a 4.0 after taking either 4 or 5 AP/H classes next year. Question: My counselor said that UC only weighs a maximum of 8 AP/H classes, and after the 8 AP/H are given equal point value towards your GPA. Is this true? Thanks!</p>

9

<p>My bad, I had no idea there were schools that forced you to take religious classes. Isn't against the law or something? And yes, your SAT scores are substandard even for UCSB. I'd say most of the people getting into UCB have a minimum SAT of about 2000. If you want a shot at Berkeley, I would also take a few more AP's. I never heard about the 8 AP thing, but you're nowhere near that. Anyways, work hard in your junior year and good luck!</p>

10

<p>It's a private school. I think it's legal to have mandatory religion classes in private schools.</p>

11

<p>Your stats look pretty good, but not nearly enough for a top school like Berkely. Have you looked into NYU?</p>

12

<p>(To help with the spelling -it's BERKELEY) Anyway this is Ebonytear's cousin who is second year at UC-B. The UC'S look at your 10th/11th and the first semester of 12th to calculate your GPA. The then multiply your "UC" GPA by a certain number and add your SAT score to it. Since you don't have a SAT score yet, wait another year. Just keep up with your ECs you should be fine.</p>

13

<p>Just as a side note: royrules, it is not mandatory for private schools to have religion classes. I attend a secular private school and we do not have any religion classes.</p>