Chances at getting in to UC Berkeley

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi guys, I’m currently going to be a senior at my public high school in California. I was wondering if you guys could spend some time and consider my chances at UC Berkeley (dream school) and possibly give me some advice. Thank you so very much in advance.

Here are my credentials:

-35 ACT (plan on retaking it)
-3.6 GPA unweighted, 3.89 GPA weighted (calculated using standard UC rules)

The problem is my GPA doesn’t exactly match up to my ACT. I did not do very well my junior year, I was very busy with my extracurriculars. Additionally, I had to help out my family in face of sudden, new difficulties.

Family (plan on elaborating in my application):

-Asian but low income household (still go to the local food bank sometimes; dryer in laundry machine broke down - have no money to replace it so we painstakingly hang it in the hallways and in out backyard; etc.)
-Father goes on business trips frequently around the world, rarely ever get to see him (UC Berkeley alum)
-Mother works 10+ hours daily
-I have to often take care of my 3 younger siblings, this year especially so (hence the subpar GPA)

Extracurriculars:
Freshmen year:
-participated in lots of clubs, namely App Making, Key, Interact, Robotics, Engineering, Youth Alive.
-involved with FTC - we placed 3rd in Norcal and top 10 in States

Sophomore year:
-Same clubs but positions in Class Council (ASB Senator), App-Making (President), Robotics (VP)
-App-Making: Hosted a local “hackathon” for middle school and elementary school students. Taught 100+ students basics of coding, circuits, etc.
-Became FTC Captain this year - we hosted a competition, placed third in Norcal, and again top ten in States
-badminton player

Junior year:
-Started a business with my friend, we earned 700 dollars in cash before it tanked (no capital), all of it went to charity for children with eye problems
-Built a website helping teenagers discover themselves through an online project and preventing suicide, with my high school counselors responding to troubled, anonymous students. I was inspired to make this website after a close friend of mine considered suicide (this is Palo Alto). According to testimonials, 4 people using the website reconsidered their choice, making me very very grateful and happy.
-FTC Captain: not as successful as previous years but membership doubled and we were able to raise 3000 dollars through only community outreach.
-Built a free social networking app that reached top 100 in the Google Play app store in terms of trending popularity. Working on Apple version this summer. Covered by several newspapers.
-Currently trying to build a mechanical exoskeleton designed to lift 400 pounds using a system of pulleys. Trying to solve the problem of clunky and extremely expensive exoskeletons with a sub 200 dollar one. Covered by high school newspaper and funded by a few Silicon Valley companies.
-Same clubs as previous years

As you guys can see, I was extremely busy with my extracurriculars this year. In addition to needing to take care of my family, my grades dropped.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

2

Aside from the very low GPA, I life the fact that you are very focused on creating businesses/websites and that you have leadership positions in school, also I would recommend you writing about how your friend suicide and the inspiration you got from that sad event. One last thing is, DO NOT retake the ACT, 35 is good, it is better to show colleges you did not need to retake it. Also, are you taking AP or Honors classes? If not, then your chances drop down significantly.

3

*like (not life)

4

yes I am took 4 AP classes junior year and 1 AP and 3 honors classes sophomore year

5

EC’s are important but UC’s are very GPA focused and want to see you succeed in both areas: Academics and EC’s/Leadership. You have spread yourself too thin with your involvement in outside activities which will hurt your chances. You are obviously an intelligent student/applicant, but academics are far more important. Definitely worth an application, but it will come down if admissions favors your EC’s over your GPA.

Good Luck, apply broadly and hope for the best.

6

I agree with gumbymom, and I think your AP classes are ok, a little more would have been better. But without a strong gpa, Berkley will still be a reach.

7

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary indicates that fall 2015 applicants to UCB with UC-weighted GPA 3.80-4.19 were admitted at a 12% rate. It was probably lower for those applying to the College of Chemistry or most or all majors in the College of Engineering than for the College of Letters and Science.

So assume that it is a reach either way, but even more of a reach if you apply to the College of Chemistry or College of Engineering.

8

Thank you all for your responses! Sorry, have a couple more questions. Would colleges factor in my family situation in considering my application? Also, would my 35 ACT more than make up for my GPA? Lastly, what should my path going into senior year be? again, really appreciate all of you; i posted on another website couple of days ago but got no comments

9

Addressing your family situation in one of the short essay prompts could help your chances. Low income will also be considered in your application review. UCB tends to more holistic than some of the other UC’s, so present the best application possible and hope you one of the lucky admitted students. Again, I cannot stress enough that you need to apply to a variety of schools which includes some safeties and solid matches. Do not pin your hopes on one school when there are so many that could be willing to accept you and I am sure where you could thrive.

10

High SAT or ACT scores are better than lower ones, but are generally not considered as important as GPA at UCs. In results threads relating to UCs, “test score heavy” applicants appear to be the ones most likely to get surprising (to them) rejections.