Chances? I feel like it's a reach but maybe there's hope..

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

<p>Hey everyone. I'm a rising senior and I'm from the Sacramento area. With a massive array of Berkeley grads and students in my immediate family and the seemingly perfect competitive and rigorous college environment, there's nowhere else I wanna find myself next fall than at Cal. High school was kind of not my thing but I'm to the point where I want to move on to bigger and better things and prove to myself that I can handle the rigor of college and what comes after. But setting all that unimportant information aside, where would you gauge my chances for Cal?</p>

<p>Demographic:</p>

<p>White Male
From Sacramento, CA
Attend very large, competitive high school.
Mom and Dad are both UC-Berkeley alumns, and both of my sisters are Freshmen there now. My brother graduated from Stanford undergrad and is currently at Yale Law. ,so I'm hardly "first generation."
Prospective Major: Chemistry or related (pre med?)</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: 3.616 ; mostly A's and some B's with w/ a C in freshman honors english and a B- in sophomore AP Bio.
Weighted GPA: 4.259
Class Rank: 14 / 482 (This is for weighted. My school does not do rankings for unweighted but I'd guess I'm about top 20%.)
ACT Composite: 27 (The science section on the ACT was the death of me, I scored a 15 on it. I did send it which I regret, but I hope my SAT score will make up for it.)
SAT: 2200. CR 800 M 650 W 750
SAT II: Chem 700 Math II 600 (blah)</p>

<p>Honors/ AP:</p>

<p>Honors English 9, Honors Science 9, Honors Geometry, Honors World Geography 9, Honors English 10, Honors U.S. History, AP Env. Science (3), AP Biology (3), AP Psychology (4), AP English Lit (5), AP Chemistry (5), AP Euro (3), Honors Spanish 3, AP Physics, AP Statistics, AP Spanish, Honors Calculus</p>

<p>Employement:</p>

<p>Target; Oct 2009 - Nov. 2010. Cashier and Food Service. 20-30 hrs/wk. </p>

<p>Marriott Sacramento; Nov 2009 - Present. Valet Attendant. 35 hrs/wk</p>

<p>Extra Curricular </p>

<p>Varsity Cross Country; 4 years. Captain Junior and Senior Year. Been to state twice. 10 hrs/ wk.</p>

<p>Varsity Soccer; 4 years. Captain Junior year and possible captain senior year. 10 hrs./wk.</p>

<p>Varsity Swimming/Diving; 4 years. Captain Senior Year. Went to state junior year for 200m freestyle. 12 hrs/wk.</p>

<p>Varsity Track & Field; 4 years. 800m and mile. 8 hrs/wk.</p>

<p>Junior Varsity Baseball; 3 years. 3-5 hrs/wk.</p>

<p>Member of JROTC and participated in RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Association) activities (2 week camp event and several fundraisers) the past two summers.</p>

<p>Concert Choir; 3 years. Tenor and frequent soloist. 3-4 hours per week.</p>

<p>... Other than this, I have no other EC's. I work a lot so I don't have time to volunteer or do much else.</p>

<p>Misc. </p>

<ul>
<li><p>I should have two solid recommendations, one from a teacher and one from my Boss.</p></li>
<li><p>Essays, hummm well I haven't written them yet but they should be mderately above average? I think of myself as a pretty good writer and I'll get an English teacher to proofread.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Thanks again in advance for your time and I hope to see you guys in 2012.</p>

2

<p>Your application looks really solid in the EC part. The SAT I is pretty good too, but those SAT IIs aren’t so hot. The UW GPA is a real killer, although I thought in high school that B- is the same as a B/B+ anyways (same with A’s). Anyways, I think you have a pretty good chance if you write a good essay. It is about the quality of the essay of course, but also the content of it. You can write a great essay, but if its not really about the topic, then it doesn’t matter. So focus on what you’re going to write about, not how you’re going to write it. </p>

<p>You don’t need recs for Cal either. </p>

<p>Also, how in the world did you do swimming, JV baseball, and track? Aren’t those all spring sports? At least they are at my old high school. And are you fast enough in track/xc to get a scholarship to Cal?</p>

3

<p>Theoretically, you should be fine. You do not need any letters of recommendation for any UC. Seeing as you are an active athlete, you might want to consider some of the Ivy League schools or Stanford. Athletes tend to fare well, in terms of acceptance, at those places.</p>

4

<p>[University</a> of California: StatFinder](<a href=“http://statfinder.ucop.edu%5DUniversity”>http://statfinder.ucop.edu) can help you compare your stats to admitted freshmen at various UCs, including Berkeley.</p>

<p>Also, if you like chemistry enough to major in it, consider chemical engineering, which has much better job and career prospects, according to the [career</a> survey](<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm]career”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm). Note: you can do pre-med in any major.</p>

5

<p>wow…for a full year you worked 50-60 hours a week, as well as multiple sports…? how is that possible i’m so awed haha. and yeah i thought track swimming and baseball are all during spring season…</p>

6

<p>

a C, especially in english, looks extremely bad on your application. you must have a good reason for this.</p>

7

<p>High school freshman grades are not included in [UC</a> GPA](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/california-residents/admissions-index/index.html]UC”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/california-residents/admissions-index/index.html).</p>

8

<p>I thought I read somewhere that SAT II’s will no longer be required for UC apps.</p>