Chances of getting into UC Berkeley?

Applying to College
1

<p>Okay people, prepare for the worst here people. I seriously struggled with personal/family issues during my early years of high school. Broad overview: I suffered from my mothers severe alcoholism (she is a single mother and I am an only child, so there was nobody to turn to), feared homelessness, dealt with my mothers pervert boyfriends, family member's mental illness and suicide, and lashed out at the school system for attention I wasn't receiving at home and also because I had previously been teased for my intellect. I had multiple suicide attempts, gotten in trouble with the law, and been expelled from school over the course of two years.
Because of this, my freshman/sophomore GPA's are about 0.8 (didn't think it was possible to be that low, did you?).
I was purposely failing classes for attention, albeit negative. </p>

<p>However, I have completely turned my life around since then.
Since my second sophomore year, I have maintained a 4.0 GPA and done a great deal of community service (Habitat for Humanity, Red Cross, and the Special Olympics).
I am taking 4-5 AP classes my senior year (current school year) and have taken 4 college classes, making A's in them. (with two additional ones in progress).
Although I haven't taken it recently, I made a 30 on my ACT and 2000 on my ACT, but can definitely do much better considering those are very old scores.
I do not boast or brag, but I have come a long, LONG way and am a very intelligent person. I have a bad family history and live in a horribly small (southern) town with no opportunity nor motivation to be successful, and have worked very hard to get where I am. Berkeley is my dream school, and I was hoping one of you could give promising advice on my chances of acceptance.
I know I will need to improve my test scores, but that will be easy. My GPA, on the other hand, is irreparable... according to my calculations, no matter what, it will never be over a 2.7 (minimum out of state is 3.4).
I heard that for special situations, they will overlook bad scores.
In all honesty, do you think this is a "special" situation? Please tell me there is a chance. </p>

2

<p>Your applying out of state im assuming? I would mention that whole thing in your essay.</p>

3

<p>Usually this type of situation is mentioned by the guidance counselor, but you need to take the gamble and address it head on in one of your essays.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

4

<p>Even if you had a 3.9GPA plus an ACT 30 and SAT 2000, it would be extremely difficult to get to UCB. Realistically, the special situations they’d apply would be for students who bring something enormous to college (i.e. celebrity kid, athlete recruit). I’m sure if you have a clear mtg w/your guid counslr, he/she can recommend a broad list of schools that will challenge you greatly and that are a better match, decision-wise. </p>