<p>Hello, </p>
<p>I am very new to this forum (first post) and I have some questions about getting accepted into the University of California Berkeley. I am currently a full time student at Santa Monica College. I have a 3.91 gpa and I am going to be trying to transfer next fall of 2013 with a Psychology major.</p>
<p>My top four schools are=</p>
<ol>
<li>UC Berkeley</li>
<li>UC Los Angeles</li>
<li>UC Santa Barbara</li>
<li>UC Santa Cruz</li>
</ol>
<p>I have a few questions so please stay with me and help me if you can.</p>
<h1>1. I did not do well in high school due to some substance issues and got sober a few years after. I am coming up on two years clean and sober in December and will have nearly three years at the time of transfer to university. Should I include this and my ascension from alcoholism and drug addiction in my personal statement prompt #2? I participate in Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step meetings, work with sponsors and sponsees. It is my sobriety in which I developed a strong interest and desire for working within the field of psychology. I have already written a personal statement for my application which includes this information. I focused mainly on how my sobriety has shaped my life and the man that I am today. Do the admissions advisors look down upon this or will it stand out as a stronger applicant?</h1>
<h1>2. Being that I did not do well in high school ( I failed almost all of my classes because I was using and I walked out of the sat and act. ) I am going to be applying as a junior level transfer (60 or more units). Do I need to retake an sat and/ or act, to be applying to these four UCs? Is it necessary or does my record at SMC for the last two years suffice to show my scholastic ability?</h1>
<h1>3. From what I understand UC Berkeley only accepts applications in the fall semester and it says on their website that you need to have all of these sixty units completed by the end of the spring semester prior to applying. At the end of that spring semester I will most likely only have 54 units completed. However by the end of the summer term I could potentially have sixty units if I really hustle and if I have done the math correctly. Would this grant me the ability to still transfer for the Fall? ( Acquiring the needed 60 units at the end of the summer semester (still before the Fall Application, but after their Spring deadline)). If this had failed and I was not able to get the sixty units before my application, could I still apply in the beginning of Fall and tell them that at the end of the Fall I will have 63 units completed?</h1>
<h1>4. I have not began any volunteer work outside of the volunteer work that I do for the sober livings in the LA area. I work with newcomers in the sober living that I graduated from and try to maintain the availability that I can for helping them out when I am not in school or working. What other volunteer work should I try to get involved in to make my application stand out to them?</h1>
<p>Thank you so much for everybody who takes their time to help me out with these. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>-GL</p>