Hi, I’m a junior in high school from Seattle, and dying to get into UC Berkeley. I’m technically not in high school: a state-wide program called Running Start enables high school juniors and seniors to attend community college classes instead of high school classes, thus provididing the opportunity to recieve a 2-year degree by the end of senior year in high school. All you have to do is make sure you take classes that complete high school graduation requirements, and you’re done. You don’t need to be accepted into this program, and anyone can do it. So, my resumee is split into two schools: 2 years of high school, and 2 years of community college.
Now that i’m done explaining, my stats:
-GPA: High school-3.68 (keep in mind that there isn’t a 5.0 AP thing in Washington)
CC- 3.92 (hoping for 4.0’s next year)
-SAT I/II: haven’t taken it yet, going to take it on May 7. This is what i need help in. i don’t know what kinda score i need to get in order to just have a chance.
-No AP classes. went to junior high 9th grade, and AP wasn’t even offered in my 10th grade year (i went to a new high school; nothing established).
-Extracurricular Activities: This is where i REALLY start to suck. I have nothing, basically. Well, let’s see. I’m really active in politics, i’m an intern/volunteer for ADC(arab american anti discrimination committee), I’m palestinian, and i’m really poor (i’m serious: super low income, couldn’t even join a sport, had to save money for like 3 ****ing years just to get a violin so i could play, now i can’t afford lessons). I was on the debate team, but i left the school for comm. college, I missed the deadline for National Honors Society twice (stupid, i know). I was in a Palestinian Dance Group that didn’t do so bad; performed in some pretty prestigious art festival in seattle.
-Skills: Well, i’m fluent in Arabic, working on french. i played the violin and piano (violin much better), but i couldn’t do it anymore cuz i couldn’t afford the lessons, so the farthest i went was the school concert orchestra. couldn’t make it into the youth symphony.
-Awards: I’m pretty damn good in math and science, especially math. I won the scholar recognition award for the American Associatino of University Women in mathmatics, so that was cool. I’m in love with calculus
What the advisor tells me:
I basically have no chance unless i get a kick ass SAT score (like 2200 or something), excellent personal statement, keep getting 4.0’s, and start getting my act together with the activities. This is what i’m working on:
-getting an AA degree with emphasis in Calculus, Biology, and Chemistry.
-getting an 3 year equivalent for Arabic by testing for it.
-volunteering at a hospital for more community service hours.
-getting a job somewhere in a hospital (i’m getting my driver’s license after the SATs automatically, otherwise, no transportation)
-i’ve already started reading up on grant-writing for non profit organizations, and i’m planning to be active in it (who knows, maybe i’ll be able to pay my way through college with my grant-writing skills).
I just need approximations as to what kind of SAT I and SAT II scores i need to make up for my horrible gpa, an idea of what UC is looking for in my personal statement (please no general, vague, generic crap advice), and what i need to get competative.
I realize that UC berkeley only has like 10% out of state undergrads, so i’m pretty sure i don’t have the slightest chance of getting in, but i want to know what i should focus on, cuz i want to do the MAX and all i can do to at least TRY to gain acceptance.
Otherwise, it’s University of Washington for me (<em>rolls eyes</em>).
Any suggestions?