chance me for UC Berkeley/Match me?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics: Middle Class (SE) Asian male
Intended Major: Applied Math/Quantitative Analysis, minor or double major in CS or econ
State: Respected HS in Ohio
Academics: 3.84 UW, no weighted, no rank lol

APs/Relevant Classes: 5 AP’s (9th, 10th) : World History, Human Geo, CS A, Cal BC, Physics 1, all 5 (probably wont submit these scores though)

(11th): Honors Bio (C ,C im bad also hard school), Honors Chem (A,A), Multivariable Calculus (A), Linear Algebra (A), Diff Equ. 1 (A), Diff Equ. 2 (A), Computational Numerical Analysis (A), Microecon (A), Macroecon (A);

(12th:) Vector Calculus and Statistical Analysis next year (and honors physics i guess), Thermodynamics
yea i took a lot of maths

SAT: never took general SAT and never will, Math II - 800, Phys - 750, planning to take bio (E), probably 699+ at least

ACT: 34 (36E, 36M, 34R, 29S lmao), 11 Essay

Awards/ECs:
President of Meme Club (11th)
Founded Music Club (9th)
Science Olympiad (state, regional, districts placings but not really that good)
Computational Science Certification from local uni (but i wont have this in time for college apps so idk if i can put it here)
Volunteering (~70 hours), tutoring kids in algebra, geometry, trig, etc.
Research in computational physics (a lot of time in lab but no publication or science fair, etc.)
Helped to host a cancer fundraiser: ~$2000 raised
Spanish National Honor Society (literally just a member)
Competitive Gaming (~$1000 in prize money total)
Robotics Club (literally just a member)
2 Years Marching Band (French Horn, nothing special)
Paid tutor for Math/Physics (Calc 1,2, Lin Alg, MCAT Physics)
Math/Calculator Team for Mu Alpha Theta (some low placings, nbd)
Secretary for Mu Alpha Theta (10th)

Recs: probably really good from english teacher, decent from math teacher, really good from a community member
Essays: probably good i guess i’ll see

Weaknesses: not stellar ACT score, nothing special in ECs, being Asian male, getting multiple C’s in bio (im hoping a high SAT Bio score will redeem me?)

Please be honest! Thank you! (:

2

Your UC weighted capped GPA will probably be in the 4.15 range, which puts you into the iffy category. Some would call it a reach, but you’re in the ballgame. Probably around 25-40% chance of getting in, if 4.15 is the right GPA. Your ACT should be fine I think and the essay is a really good score. You will have a better chance of getting in because you will presumably be applying thru L&S as opposed to most people who inquire about Engineering. UCB also looks at uncapped weighted as well, but you possibly will be “penalized” since UCs treat honors classes as regular classes for OOS applicants.

Google “rogerhub UC gpa” to use the calculator to find your exact GPA results and report back.

Do note that as a OOS applicant, the number of acceptances is capped somewhat and OOS tuition is very high with little chance for financial aid. That goes for all the UCs.

3

Thanks for the swift reply! as for the uc gpa, i’ve tried calculating my it but i am not sure which of my college courses would be considered “honors” in the UC system. in order to be considered an “honors” course, the credits for that course have to transfer and i am not sure if they do. my specific classes are:

10th [All A’s, 2 semesters of each]:

PAP English II, PAP Spanish III, Marching band, PAP Chemistry

AP CS A, AP Calc BC, AP World History, AP Physics I

11th (early college program):

  • [All As] Multivar, Lin Al, Honors Chem I, Honors Chem II, Diff Equ I, Diff Equ II, English Comp. I, Writing for Research (English second sem), Honors Chem I, Honors Chem II, Computational Numerical Analysis, Macoecon, Microecon, Chem Lab I, Chem Lab II, Bio Lab I (didnt take bio lab II because i am lazy)
  • [All Cs] Honors Bio I, Honors Bio II

Again, i have no idea which classes can transfer so idk what my UC weighted/capped GPA is.

4

For OOS the only GPA boosters aka honors are AP classes, or dual enrollment classes with a CC or University.

In your case I counted 4 AP classes so that should be 8 semesters, which is the max cap allowed for weight anyways. I came up with 3.87 uw, 4.13 UC capped, but also 4.13 UC uncapped. That’s a pretty big penalty for the uncapped GPA, not sure how that will play out. If you were in-state in California your uncapped weighted would have been probably around 4.5. Anyhow since the evaluation is holistic I’m sure all things will be considered.

So basically I think you have a 1 in 3 chance.

5

Oh, that is super unfortunate. In any case, thank you so much for your help! I will be sure to take your advice to heart!

6

Also, Berkeley doesn’t take recommendations and L&S doesn’t require subject tests. But I would submit your good subject tests anyways, especially if you have a really good Biology one. (They might take recommendations if you are waitlisted IIRC).

One bit of advice is that course rigor is highly valued, so taking the hardest courses possible will be a big plus. So for 12th grade I would load up with APs as much as you can handle. They won’t care about your 12th grade grades until after you’ve been accepted.

7

Unfortunately, in the early college program i attend i am unable to take AP classes. However, I do plan loading up on high level maths and physics courses (Thermodynamics, E&M, Vector Calculus, Statistical Analysis, Intro to grad. Computational Math). Furthermore, I completed all AP math tests, which is why I opted to go to this early college program in the first place (where i did well in multivar, lin al, diff equ, etc.). Would berkeley really treat these undergrad math courses as of less rigor than, say, AP Statistics?