<p>I am currently a high school SOPHOMORE. I was wondering where I could improve so I have a standing chance of getting into UC Berkeley or UC Davis. The end of the first semester of sophomore year is near and my GPA is a 3.86. That gpa has lowered my self esteem. =/
Here is what I am taking this year. I live in California (The Bay Area), if that helps. I am also Asian Indian (Punjabi) if that adds to the factor of admission.</p>
<p>-----Courses-----------------------------
Algebra II/Trig
English II- Pre-Honors
Spanish II
Orchestra (I’ve been doing it since 5th grade)
Chemistry I
World History AP</p>
<p>Class Rank: As of freshman year: 54/594. (OUCH!)</p>
<p>------Extracurricular Activities-------------
Orchestra (planning on doing it for all of high school which is 4 years)</p>
<li><p>Volunteer at hospital ( 200+ hours)</p></li>
<li><p>President of the Asian Club</p></li>
<li><p>CSF/HOSA</p></li>
</ol>
<p>----------Expected course load for junior year----------------------
Honors Pre-Calculus
Honors English III
AP Biology
AP US History
AP Phychology
Orchestra</p>
<h2>Possible GPA for Junior year: 4.86 (Considering I study)</h2>
<p>I am also doing the Princeton Review over the summer to get a great SAT score to compensate for my HORRIBLE GPA. Where did I mess up? What can I do to improve?</p>
<p>About the Asian thing, yes, being any form of Asian will affect your chances because they are over-represented, and therefore at a disadvantage in admissions. But let me get this straight, you're a mid-year sophomore, calling your high GPA horrible, and saying "Ouch" to your top 10% ranking?! You have some really high expectations for yourself, but that's not necessarily a bad thing unless it gets out of hand. Anyways, your problems are really quite minor and you still have tons of time to fix them if you really try. As far as testing goes, take the SAT, and do really well on it if you want to keep Stanford as an option (2250+ to be safe) and take SAT IIs in subjects that you are naturally skilled in or subjects that you recently completed in school, so that studying them is more like a review than a relearning. Get involved in ECs that show who you are and what your passions are and get some meaningful leadership positions. Without any tests to judge your performance on, a formal chance is pretty much out of the question, but if do those basic things that I said, you should be in good shape by the time that you start applying.</p>
<p>disasterpiece02, I thought it wasn't necessary to mark your "race" in the application. Well for me, there was a box to check- "Do not wish to answer". </p>
<p>And there is such thing as a race being over-represented?</p>
<p>well, being asian will help your chances at most places ,but not at berkeley, theyre 42% asian and 35% white, so youd be a majority there, as far as the other schools, you cant really tell where you can get in because you have no test scores, and your gpa is only of your freshman yr which they dont look at that much</p>
<p>I know a guy named Vikram, from the Bay Area, who graduated from Stanford about a year ago. Random, I know, but when I saw your post, I though of that.</p>
<p>Anyway, it's a bit early too chance you, but you seem to be on the right track. Just get involved in more ECs (or atleast find a couple you are really passionate about), keep up those grades, and do well on the SATs (like 2200+).</p>
<p>First of all, figure out what your UC GPA is, not the regular GPA on your report card. The UC GPA is what determines your chances for the UC colleges you mentioned.</p>
<p>Read especially carefully the part on the link above about "Honors Courses", where it says they will add up to 8 extra grade points (but only 8 maximum) if you take/took the extra honors courses.</p>
<p>In order to get into schools like Harvard and Stanford, you've got to be basically the perfect student. As far as i can see, you dont have any ECs, a decent GPA (Im assuming its unweighted), and no concrete test scores. It's very difficult to chance you because there is not a whole lot to go off. Dont worry. You've got plenty of time to make these necessary changes before you send off the apps, but dont slack if you're truly passionate about attending some of these schools. Best of Luck.</p>