UW GPA: 3.7
W GPA: 4.7 (all my classes are/were honors or AP)
SAT: 1550 (750 English, 800 Math)
Subject Tests: Chemistry 800, Math II 800, Physics 780
AP Tests: US History 5, Lang 4, World 4, US Gov. and Politics 5, Spanish 5 (I’m taking AP Lit, Chinese, Physics C (both of them), and Calc BC this year)
Extracurriculars/Academic Distinctions:
President of Medical Club (this year, member since Freshman Year)
President of P.A.W.S. (a club working with local animal shelters. I was a member since Freshman Year, but president since Junior Year)
Vice President of UNICEF Club (since Sophomore Year)
Member of Science club (since Junior Year)
Math Team member (since Sophomore Year)
National Honors Society (since Junior Year)
World Language Honors Society (since Sophomore Year)
Earned the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish (I’m not a native speaker)
Letters of Recommendation: My counselor (8/10) and Mandarin teacher who I’ve known since Freshman year (9/10)
I’m planning on majoring in something Math/Physics/Chemistry related.
I also messed up badly Freshman year and ended the 2nd semester with one A, 4 Bs, and a C in World History, but I only got 1 B sophomore year and straight A’s Junior year. Do you think I can still make it with Freshman year dragging me down?
Will Berkeley be affordable for you since you’re OOS? If yes then calculate your UC GPA. Only AP/IB/IC approved DE classes from 10th-11th grades will earn the weighted GPA points.
If there is an upward trend in your grades, that is a good sign. Unfortunately you’re in the worst demographic (Asian male STEM major), so you will need to have a safety.
Although the UW GPA is slightly low, I might look at schools on the lines of Rice, Vanderbilt, and WashU since they consider high test scores as well. Case Western and Rochester could be targets as well.
I was under the impression that most of the Universities of California do not care about your freshman year (which is also true of universities in Canada). This will help you at UC Berkeley. However, it will be expensive and being out of state will not help you. I agree that you could calculate your UC GPA. @Gumbymom will know how to do this although you should be able to find it on-line.
I consider the other two to be reaches. Do you have solid safeties that you know that you can afford and that you would be happy to attend?
UCB will be your best bet due to UCs ignoring freshman grades. Your major (except chem) is also within the L&S which will be easier to get into. I’ll assume you can pay OOS at UCB. Your demographic shouldn’t matter much at UCB.