chance me for berkeley/UCLA?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>moved to california from singapore in december 2007, and im a senior in high school this year, so its kinda wierd to judge my GPA and extracurriculars but id be very grateful for any input(:</p>

<p>GPA(unweighted, because weightage is not a concept in Spore) : 3.7
Freshman year: very bad results, because my grandma died while visiting us for the first time the week before my mid year exams, so i was basically screwed for the year.</p>

<p>so obviously grades arent working for me. >< </p>

<p>SAT scores: 2200 total, 730 WR, 720 CR, 750 M
SAT2s: 800math2,750bio, taking chem in dec</p>

<p>extracurriculars: </p>

<p>9th and 10th grade
school newsletter(editor)
indian orchestra(violin)
teaching kids with lang barriers to read (4h/week)
teacher at local tuition centre (something like kumon i guess)
tutor(yes, all of us are tutors!)
student congress head of outreach</p>

<p>11th grade
(keep in mind i started school in feb, so its like 5 months of school total)</p>

<p>Smile Club (raising funds for 3rd world kids who need cleft lip surgeries)
Youth Action team(community service. shall explain later)</p>

<p>tutor</p>

<p>thats it. clubs were kind of closed really, so i couldnt really join anything! </p>

<p>12th grade
Founder and prez Gyan Club (going to be expanded to whole district next year)
(its a non-profit tutoring business that i started. we basically tutor local kids at 11bucks an hour and we use all our profits to sponsor street children in india. its like a direct relationship between each tutor and kid, and we currently sponsor around 21.tons of groundwork and promotions, but twas all SO worth it(: one of my essays is about this, only its kind of more about helping poor children and education but this is one of the main aspects of what i did to help.)</p>

<p>Youth Action Team Prez
(so the youth action team is a board of highschool students interviewed and selected to organize events that help the community remain drug free etc. its technically a job and everyone else gets paid 10.40 per hour for doing stuff like putting up POSTERS, but sadly enough i dont have a work visa so im doing it for the experience and the community service. i'll basically have like 400h at the end of the year, because we have so many all day events and stuff. really great people and fun experience. my <em>boss</em> will be writing me a letter of rec, explaining how i decided to stay on even though i wasnt going to be paid.)</p>

<p>Smile club vice prez</p>

<p>Model UN vice prez (its a club at our school, we dont have a class)</p>

<p>CSF(no idea if this has an impact)</p>

<p>research at University of Calif Irvine UCI
(biophysics, around 8h/week, one of my essays is about this(common app). its basically drug research about the phospholipid membrane in the lungs, and its charecterizing the molecule to figure out how to make premature babies develop the membrane faster)</p>

<p>other classes:
french 3 at local community college
physics 3A over summer at UCI (my prof invited me to be his research assistant)A
Multivariable calc B+ (long story, got a 92 and the prof applied the curve when there were like 15 students in the class. and then he moved to china before we could argue.)</p>

<p>So, thats about it! my essays i think are pretty good. thus far, the main one is about this experience i had when i first went to india after a long time when i was around 11, and how it inspired me to do things like start gyan etc. </p>

<p>the second one is about taking risks and not being afraid of mistakes. its better than it sounds, trust me.</p>

<p>major: business& bio, but business 1st
so, please chance me!(: thanks so much</p>

2

<p>What is your aim? I see a bunch of activities but no consistency. I see a couple research gig, but everyone has that. Signing up is so easy, and many colleges recognize most only show up the first day and leave.</p>

<p>Essay theme seems pretty generic, I'd go with something a lot more personal. You have a high chance of UCLA, but UCB is quite competitive. I knew a kid who had a 2.5 but was accepted solely based on his single dedication to a specific activity. Colleges could careless about tutoring or volunteering academically disadvantaged. Everyone does that, and everyone embellishes their hours.</p>

3

<p>you have a decent shot. :) just try to plot a more focused app. </p>

<p>I'm from Singapore! what school were you from previously? how could you have moved to cali in dec 2007?</p>

4

<p>today is dec 1, 2007. so you came today?</p>

5

<p>Well, I'm guessing your applications are in, so no changing them now. (And I think the essays topics were fine.) And if your applications aren't in, well, your chances are pretty much zero, as the deadline was last night.</p>

<p>Your weighted GPA is probably much higher than you think, as UCs don't count freshman year. Test scores are great. I'd say you have a pretty good chance.</p>

6

<p>thankyou!!</p>

<p>as for focus id say i did have that actually. dont you think community service runs through my activities as a common point? (maybe im wrong><) ive seriously always tried to actively help people, not just for college apps but as a part of my life.</p>

<p>anddd dec2007 was a typo, i meant dec2006! (shorry!-.-)</p>

7

<p>as for research, the main motive was to figure out if im cut out for it (which i guess i am, because i actually like it now) because i either want to go into medicine or business.
with medicine, final aim is to join medicins sans frontier, and with business, i want to either start an NGO to address needs i feel havent been given enough attention, or join an NGO and help them make a difference.</p>

8

<p>if you're applying international, your chances for admissions are slightly less than those applying domestic</p>

9

<p>Your GPA is very slightly weak, though your SAT is strong. Your ECs are somewhat weak also, though the research is good.</p>

<p>Berkeley: slight reach
UCLA: high match</p>

<p>This is assuming you have in-state residency. If you don't, then they're both reaches.</p>

10

<p>I think that your ECs sound really good! I think that because of the way you presented them here, they seem kind of disjointed and random -- but isn't that the same thing as being well-rounded? It looks like your activities are things that you enjoy doing, and the fact that you enjoy helping out others is great. AND they look impressive -- the tutoring thing is amazing 'cause (a) it's for a great cause and (b) you STARTED it! Grades and scores are great, essays sound great... I don't know enough about this stuff to "chance" you, but I just wanted to let you know that your ECs don't sound weak at all to me. [:</p>

11

<p>Since your freshman grades were bad, but your overall GPA was 3.7, I'm guessing that your 10th and 11th grades were 3.9 +.</p>

<p>The UCs will not discount your Singapore classes (honors-wise), since they understand the situation. You will be considered a resident, since you will be here well over a year by the time you attend the UCs.</p>

<p>With that and with your excellent test scores and good ECs, you should get into both schools fairly easily in my view.</p>

<p>UCB--Match
UCLA--Match</p>

<p>Good luck--and sorry about your grandmother.</p>

12

<p>thank you guys so much((: seriously, it really helps put things into perspective.</p>