<p>I'm a sophmore in a Texas district which happens to be one of the
top districts in the nation. My gpa is pretty bad (about a 4.1), but I
take lots of honors classes and very few regulars. In fact, my
regulars are only my extra-curriculars. I'm on varsity swimming
and I hopefully will be captain my senior year. Everyone considers
me as smart, but I stress out over tests and that causes my grades
to drop. In all my AP classes, I get a 5 on the exam and about a 4.8
out of 5 gpa. I participate in science fair and debate. I've always
wanted to work in medicine, but have a engineering degree first so
I would be more innovative and creative. Overall, I have A's and
B's, but I excel in harder level classes without trying. The classes I
do not do well in are ironically the classes I try the hardest in. I do
work on science projects out of school because it truly is my
passion. On my PSAT I received about a 220. However, in Texas
that's barely the NMSQT level. Any tips for me would be greatly
appreciated, especially from people who worked in admissions. I'm
extremely dedicated and original and I believe I have the
leadership capabilities and the intellectual independence to rise in
the business world. However, I am greatly relying on a college to
realize my knowledge lies not in grades and tests, but in concepts. I
really need a scholarship.</p>
<p>If you can secure an external scholarship, your odds of admission to Berkeley Haas will increase markedly. Alas, Berkeley is a school where payment ability matters, especially for out-of-staters.</p>