Chance Me - UC Berkeley, UCLA

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Major / Degree interests

Ideally a dual or joint major in Computer Science and Economics. Have future interests in Business & Political Analytics and Law

Out of State, Asian. Not expecting financial aid

Academic Stats (UC GPA Calculator)
Unweighted GPA – 4.00
Weighted GPA – 4.58
UC GPA – 4.33 (Weighted & Capped)

Class Rank – 1 / 1500

Coursework / Rigor
PLTW Engineering Program in school (1 elective for all 4 years)
National AP Scholar – 9 AP courses (Calc B/C, Stat, AP US History, AP World History, Micro Econ, Macro Econ, Chem, Phys 1, AP Comp Sci / Java)
Dual Enrollment – 2 Courses completed at local University (Physics sequence – Gen Phys w/ Calc and Phys for Sci & Eng)
Sr. Year Classes – 4 AP (Bio, Comp Sci Principles, US Gov and Politics, English Lang & Comp), 1 Dual Enrollment each Semester (Calc III/Linear Algebra), PLTW Engg. 4th year capstone program

Standardized Tests
• ACT – 35 (9th grade). SAT – 1500 (7th grade) - both parts of talent search
• PSAT – 1480 / 1520 () – National Merit Semi-Finalist (based on past trend)
• SAT II - Math 2 - 800, Chem - 800, Phys - 760
• ACT / SAT cancellation affected Spring / Summer 2020 registrations. Registered to take SAT – late Aug 2020 (if held) and ACT – mid-September. If both cancelled, will send 9th grade ACT score

Extra-curriculars –
• Model UN (student leader / board member) – multiple participation at MUNUC and many other state level conferences. Organized high school conferences and led middle school / junior student outreach (Participating since middle school)
• Physics Club (AAPT Phys Bowl) - President / Student leader (3 years)
• ACS Chemistry Olympiad - President / student leader (3 years)
• NAQT Quiz Bowl - School Captain / top performer (multiple participation @ local University Quiz bowls) (3 years)
• National Honor Society (2 hours)
• Many hours of community service (tutoring @ elementary school, Food bank at local ministry, Red Cross Blood Drive) – 50 hours / year (active during school break)
• Organizer of a webinar panel discussion in partnership with healthcare professionals and community leaders to create community awareness and marshall resources in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in a low socio-economic status immigrant population
• Multiple summer programs at state flagship Universities involving selective admission process (Physics, Cryptography, Decision science, Electrical Engineering and Design Thinking) (4 years, 5 Programs)

Recommendations
4 teachers agreed to provide recommendations (Physics, Economics and Statistics) in and 4th teacher is also involved as faculty advisor (Model UN) – can be supplementary recommendation. Also expecting supplementary recommendation from COVID-19 related voluntary work from chief investigator / physician

2

You are a competitive applicant for both schools. No advantage on being full pay since OOS students receive little to no FA anyways. LOR’s currently are only accepted by UCB (invitation only).

I assume you are applying to the College of Letters and Sciences at UCB for CS or Econ which does not admit by major but both majors require a specific GPA in pre-req courses to declare the major.

https://lsadvising.berkeley.edu/majors-minors/double-majors-simultaneous-degrees

Are you applying for Econ or CS at UCLA? More difficult to declare a double major since each major is in a different college. UCLA has unit ceiling limits where you get one extra quarter to complete your degree. Because of these limits, it is very difficult to complete a double major, even more so if you are majoring across colleges, for example, a double major in bioengineering and biology.

My advice to anyone considering a double major at any UC is to declare a major and a minor, and when you complete the minor, you can use free electives to complete the major. At some point, it will be easier to petition for a second major when you are every close to completing it. But you must do so under the ceiling limits. Based on this information, I would major in CS and minor in Econ.

3

“Based on this information, I would major in CS and minor in Econ.”

I would also advise applying to major in CS. But there is no minor in Econ (or CS) at UCLA. Fortunately Econ is a very short major, especially if you can use your AP credits for a Calc BC and Macro/Micro to get out of four lower division courses, leaving only 12 for the major (https://economics.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/7-8-Econ-Major-Requirements-2020-2021-6-25-20.pdf). But still advisable to check how many units are needed in total, including gen eds and whether this fits within the unit cap.

4

Many thanks @Gumbymom and @Twoin18 .

Yes - I will apply to the College of Letters and Science @ Berkeley.

I did not realize the challenges associated w/ double major or not having the option for a minor in Econ @ UCLA. I need to think through that one, and if I still apply @ UCLA, I will likely apply to major in CS.

5

@2021CSEC: My mistake about UCLA. I was aware that UCLA did not offer a CS minor but did not lookup that they do not offer a Econ minor either.

Even at UCB, double majoring maybe an issue with time and credit wise but at least CS and Econ are in the same College (L&S).

6

Hi, I am soon to be a first generation UC freshman applicant this fall and haven’t heard this advice before! I have a few questions about this if that’s okay:

-What do you mean by ‘free electives’? Do you mean they offer literal free classes or the elective options are broad and not major/curriculum specific?
-Essentially this allows you to ‘switch’ a minor to a major, correct? What are the benefits of this (saving time/money/energy I would assume?)
-What are the benefits to double majoring in general? I’ve heard that it is not practical in terms of finding work unless the degrees are in two distinct fields of study.

Thank you in advance!

7

@hitherb: I would start a new discussion with your questions since it is considered rude to hijack another poster’s discussion on CC.

8

Hi, how can I do that? I am new to CC and didn’t mean to be rude! My apologies.

9

Simply click the orange rectangle box on the upper right Ask Your Question Now ==> fill out the boxes. :smile:

10

@2021CSEC : I’m impressed with your amazing stats. Make sure to do well in essays then you should be OK!

Good luck! :smile:

11

And any other schools besides UCB/UCLA consider applying?

12

Many thanks @CalCUStanford .

I also plan to apply to MIT, CalTech, Stanford, CMU and UPenn M&T program. Also State Flagship University.

13

I thought that too - a similar list of schools. :smile: And I guess your state flagship would be used as a safety? And UCB/UCLA as your match assuming you’re not CA resident?

BTW, do you know UCB has a unique program - M.E.T. (very competitive with ~3% acceptance rate) that is quite similar to M&T?

You may want to consider adding a couple more safeties and matches. I think you’re wise enough to come up with your own school portfolio with respective risk and return assessment.

Good luck!

14

Many thanks @CalCUStanford .