Chance me, please; would I get in?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

I have written up all the essays and supps to all the schools I want to apply to but can only pick one school for early action and one for early decision so I just want to be sure I’m not wasting it on a college I won’t get into. Any help would be great! :slight_smile:

Academics:

  • I’m 2nd in my class of about 600
  • 4.85 weighted gpa, 4.0 unweighted

Clubs:

  • I’ve been officer in cultural clubs and a writing club in the past four years
  • I established my charity as a school club and have been president/founder for the past 5 years

Comm Service:

  • My organization is county-wide; it involves 20 schools and has helped more than 8,000 students since it’s creation (but the number goes up exponentially every year as we add new methods of collecting and earn grants)
  • We got a grant for our projects last year
  • We’ve showed up in the newspaper many times
  • This is something I want to continue and expand in college, and I’ve talked about that in my essays
  • There’s now an international branch in another country where we’ve done a lot of projects

Sports:
**I talked to one of the ivy coaches- he didn’t say whether I would be recruited (probably not tbh) but to tell him when I turn my app in and he’ll recommend me to the admission committee and tell them I would be an asset to the team

  • I’m admittedly not the best, I know this, but I’ve gone to numerous national level regattas and an international one (I was literally 80th or something at worlds but I have gotten a first place in a category and top 10 overall at a national one)
  • My main point for my sport is that I started when I was 13 -six years after most people- and have gotten this far so far
  • I’ve also been in the newspaper for some of this
  • I’m an instructor and a counselor for younger kids and adult classes and camps. I even attended a 3 day seminar 5 hours away to get officially certified

Other:

  • My commonapp essay is about teaching abroad in the country I’m originally from in SE Asia and how that has inspired what I want to do in the future
  • I speak another language fluently at home
  • I’m first generation; both my parents didn’t go to college. However, my siblings have gone to and graduated from top ivy universities
  • My ACT score was a 34 but I was pretty low in the math. I got a 720 on SAT math subject test 1 but I’m not sure if I’m submitting that score
  • Over COVID I had to work for my dad (for free) because my mom was physically unable to. Otherwise, I’ve been working since I was 15.

My worry is that I’m not ‘academic’ enough- I just honestly was more interested in comm service than participating in scientific research, etcetera, like some other ppl at my school. Or that my profile is just too generic

2

UC Berkeley does not offer ED or EA and they are also test blind this admission cycle. UCB should be considered a Reach school for all applicants so there is no way to determine if you will be accepted. Overall your application looks competitive. If recruited than you will know your decision.

Best of luck.

3

In your other post, you make reference to having a hard time paying for multiple applications. You also said you live in the southeast. UCs are very expensive for our of state students and while you may get some merit aid, you won’t get any need-based aid.

4

UC Regents Scholarships::
Amount: Awards vary by campus and are not transferable if you transfer to another UC campus.

  • UC Berkley $2,500

**Historically, both UCB and UCLA have provided higher amounts for Regent scholars that have financial need however, it is not clearly stated if OOS and International students are included in the extra need based FA.

UCB also states: Scholars with financial need are awarded a scholarship up to their full need as assessed by the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.**

Number of Scholarships Awarded: Varies annually—students in the top 1-2% of the applicant pool are considered for the scholarship.

Eligible Students: Entering freshman or transfer student who demonstrate academic excellence (based upon GPA, standardized test scores, and other academic criteria) along with personal accomplishments. Must be a US Citizen, Permanent Resident or CA Dream Act Student. Students must be enrolled full time and maintain a 3.25 GPA in order to continue receiving the scholarship.

In general, as an OOS student you should expect to pay full fees at $65K/year to attend, so anything less would be icing on the cake.