<p>Yea Halie your counselor has no clue, my friend got in with a 3.3 GPA with a 1660 SAT, yea I know it's low but then again it's Irvine, it's not that selective. He was a Cali resident just so you know.</p>
<p>And Prince, to be honest with you, you don't really have much chance for any Ivies, as stated here by most people, same with Duke, Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>Berk is an extreme reach
UCLA is a reach
NYU/USC is a reach (maybe low reach)</p>
<p>Irvine is perhaps a match, considering my friend got in with his stats, but then again according to him, the essays got him in.</p>
<p>The other schools I don't know too much about. You need to be realistic with your goals, most of these unis will eat up your application money and use them to print out rejection letters. Seems harsh, I know, but that is reality of applying to these top unis. I suggest you save your money for the ivies. But if you REALLY do want it, go for it, nobody will stop you. It doesn't hurt to apply, unless you care about your money and time, and see what happens.</p>
<p>Another suggestion I can give is that you could apply to CC or the lower tier UCs and transfer to the top UCs or maybe even Ivies. Redeem yourself and score that 4.0 at CC. There a lot of success stories for those who crapped out high school but did well enough in CC that it got him/her into those top unis you mentioned. But remember your GPA is decent, you will get a GREAT education to other unis that may be a match for you. There other greater things in life than the Ivies, Techs and Stanford, remember these schools aren't the only institutions that guarantee you success. You define that yourself, and a decent to great uni should only be jumpstart, but by no means the only way. There have been college dropouts who have become CEOs of mega companies. </p>
<p>You should keep your sight on what you want to do for your career and see which colleges will help you achieve that goal, college is a stepping stone to that goal, and quite frankly any top 100 colleges can help you reach that, but only if you use it to your advantage. I was in your exact situation, shooting for the ivies, but I had to come to grips with reality and accept that it wasn't for me. I know it's quite harsh, but this was something you needed to hear. Asking people for chances won't change a thing in your chances of getting in, and many of them have given you an honest assessment.</p>
<p>The best advice I can give you, that HAS worked is the community college route, if you want to shoot for those top schools. But a 3.8 - 4.0 is almost a requirement. If you can do it, you may just have reached your dreams of getting into one of those schools. But, remember to stay active in your school community, leadership positions are important, so are rewards for your academic/non academic accomplishments. Get to know one or two of your professors well enough for great recommendations, and in some cases your dean. </p>
<p>Hope everything goes well for you.</p>