<p>I'm currently a sophomore at high school. I am taking one AP class (Chinese, and I am Chinese..) and one Honors class (Chemistry). I had 2 Bs freshman year (both semesters for JAVA) and I have 2 Bs for this semester sophomore year (Algebra 2/ Trig and Chemistry H). My PSAT score is 177.. and I do water polo and swimming. I am a public relations officer for Chinese Honor Society and in the activities committee for my school's Red Cross Club. I also play the piano..</p>
<p>I don't know why but I keep getting Bs in my classes.. I am wondering if there is a possibility of me getting into Berkeley.
I'm really nervous because the people at my school are all really talented at everything and get straight As and 2200+ for SATs.</p>
<p>please help and give me suggestions!
Thanks! :D</p>
<p>it is too early for you to be worrying lol.
Frosh grades don't matter for admission, though they do look at it when they are looking for a positive trend GPA-wise.</p>
<p>lots of people are already thinking about college admissions at my school (sophomores and even freshmen!)..
so does this mean I have a rather low possibility of getting into Berkeley since my GPA is lower than my freshman year??</p>
<p>stop getting B's and stop worrying about college admissions.
It doesn't really matter what extracurriculars you do... trust me, getting straight A's is way more helpful, when it comes to Berkeley admissions. A lot of people have a misconception that you need to have high grades (which is true) and good extracurriculars because there are in fact a lot of people who have both, but really the bare minimum to get in is simply good grades and a decent SAT. Your PSAT score seems a bit low, but I know friends who bombed the PSAT and did a lot better on the SAT. A good SAT book + hardwork = 2000+ which is a solid score for admissions.</p>
<p>Seconded. Really, ECs only matter much more for UCLA, since they consider GPA + SATs + ECs a lot more than Berkeley, which is primarily GPA + SATs. They also both consider the toughness and difficulty of your courses, and your total weighted GPA on top of your UC GPA, so do the best you can handle.</p>
<p>I wish I knew this all last year, but, 2010 is a brutal year for admissions anyway..</p>
<p>^problem is if you don't have any good ECs and just barely not get in, most of your back-ups will want them.</p>
<p>ECs saved my butt, just so you know.</p>
<p>For my first three years of high school, I got straight B's in English.
My first sem sophomore year, I got two B's, second sem and junior year I got straight As in everything other than English. Problem was I didn't have enough a-g's electives as many of the other IB students at my high school. I got a 2070 on SAT reasoning, which was slightly higher than the previous years average</p>
<p>My few ECs (and my fairly good SAT subject scores) pushed my read score up enough for spring admission.</p>
<p>Hmm… anon5524485, it’s true ECs can help with admissions for schools quite a bit.</p>
<p>But on the other hand, I obviously can’t speak for everyone, but it’s usually a lot easier to put effort in the classes you’re struggling in so you can get A’s in them, then to invest a lot of time into ECs that will get you into college. Obviously, people shouldn’t be deterred from purusing their passions outside of school, but hopefully not at the cost of schoolwork.</p>
<p>By the way, Leftist, your grades seem solid albeit the lackluster english grade, so you definitely merited your admissions at least partially through your solid coursework.</p>
<p>Anyhow, to the OP, I believe as admissions get more competitive in the next couple of years, different schools will be looking for differentiating factors (i.e. Stanford’s early action admission has been incredibly selective and has looked for much more than the ‘typical’ (I say this with sarcasm) valedictorian with 2300+ SAT). Berkeley, if it continues its course, will probably look for stronger coursework/SAT scores, and of course, a decent amount of ECs is always nice.</p>
<p>i think your chances are really good & it is a little to early to be worrying about that...just keep your grades up & you'll be fine. the college application process is I've discovered about you finding that place where you feel you can grow throughout another four years of learning. Anyway, I'm new to this site & I have no idea how to start a thread...I've looked all around and I'm completely confused.</p>
<p>Hey, superwoman, surely starting a thread is not the same as defeating kryptonite. Click on UC Berkeley above, and you will see a number of threads. There is a New Thread button which you click, and voila......you are on your way. Welcome!</p>