Do I have a good change to get into UC Berkeley (UCB)?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Currently, I am a junior in high school.</p>

<p>I have a 93.3 weighted academic GPA which translates into a 3.73 on a 4.0 schedule. BUT, my school is one of the top 100 of the country, so even the regular classes are rigorous.</p>

<p>Freshman year, my honors classes were:
Honors Spanish II
Honors Algebra 2 (double advanced, honors AKA the highest you could have had in my grade)
Honors Earth Science</p>

<p>My other classes were regular.</p>

<p>Sophomore year my honors classes were:
Honors Biology
Honors English
Honors Spanish III
Honors PreCalc (the highest you could have as a sophomore)</p>

<p>This year, I am taking:
AP Calc BC
AP US History
Honors English
Honors Spanish IV
Honors Physics</p>

<p>(This schedule being the most rigorous offered in my school).</p>

<p>I took an SAT II in Math II and got a 740 and a Biology M one, getting a 650, though I probably won't submit it.
This year, I am definitely going to take the Spanish SAT II, as well as the English Writing SAT II, either of which I plan on getting at least low 700s.
My SATs, I haven't taken yet but my score (based on over 10 practice tests so far haha) should be somewhere about 650 Critical Reading, 750 Writing, 790 Mathematics (around those ranges), ending up with about a 2190.</p>

<p>I have been doing debate team since freshman year and have become captain this year, I have done much community service and have volunteered a bit at my library, and I am doing student council (where I have been able to hold a high position) since last year.</p>

<p>I am also starting my own club on going green and beautifying my school.</p>

<p>Lastly, sophomore year I won a gold medal for my creative writing piece in my state in the National Scholastic Writing and Arts Competition.</p>

<p>With these statistics, do you think I'm going to be able to get into UC Berkeley? Is there anything extra I should do to make myself look more impressive? Should I join any extra clubs?</p>

<p>I know it's a lot, but thanks so much for answering if you do!</p>

2

<p>hello I see you are alright on the college front for now
BUT you need a few essintal things as I have found otu from my parents who are allums from Berkley and have a strong realtionship with the dean of admistons</p>

<p>a. DON’T **** UP APUSH colleges hate to see yoru taking ap classes and only doing so so , espcially in Cali you wanna make sure you get 5’s on all your AP exams and kiss up to the teacher as much as possible to make sure he writes you a strong letter of rec if thats some one you wanna go for
b. how many NFL points do u have , because that really makes it or breaks it for colleges
c. if your username is your email… change it , its a total turn off
d. what are u majoring in because for berkley in all schools expect engeriing and biology , they really love to see sports take up your time</p>

<p>describe your schedule to me , and make sure to do all your homework…
Also be nice to everyone you never know who has connectins and help you get in</p>

<p>best of luck and hope to see you in berkley one day :)</p>

3

<p>Hmm I don’t know. I went to Berkeley and my academics were way better than yours (4.0 GPA), but I’m pretty sure they are looking more for sports participation and excellence. You might have some chance if you join a sports team this year and get a 2400 on your SAT. It’s good that you are debate team captain but you should make sure your teammates like you because colleges often ask your teammates how good your leadership skills are.</p>

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<p>Oh also are you out of state? It makes a huge difference if you live in California.</p>

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<p>ok so let me tell you my responses to your issues first haha:</p>

<p>a: it’s the toughest AP in my school so I doubt im going to get an A in it, but everyone is VERY thoroughly prepared for the AP test and the average in our school on the APUSH test is a 4. The teacher is perfect for recommendations and he is a good teacher overall, as well as the course being interesting (which is why i am taking it).
b: i dont know what NFL points are, and i definitely know my school doesnt have those (at least we dont call it that)
c: haha yeah my email is my firstname.lastname, just i didnt feel comfortable posting it here
d: I am majoring in either finance or law (and plan on taking ap law + gov next year), and it’s really too late for a sport for me now, although I do kind of regret it. (I was hoping my ECs would make up for it?)</p>

<p>By schedule, I assume you mean my school schedule. I take AP calc BC, APUSH, honors english, honors spanish iv, honors physics, and orchestra (the most rigorous schedule possible in junior year at my school). Afterschool, I work out at my school gym, meet with different teachers that I have, and have club meetings, as well as doing my homework.</p>

<p>What else can I do that is possible for me junior year? (I’m already only getting 6 hrs of sleep, so you can see im trying hard haha)</p>

<p>What about my ECs? how do they look? please keep giving me advice haha its really helping</p>

<p>and yes, i DO do all my homework </p>

<p>thanks again</p>

6

<p>yeah but the thing is that my school is super tough, and its one of the countrys best public schools. like literally nobody has a 4.0 gpa in our school by college app time. maybe 1 or 2 in the past 2 years.</p>

<p>im aiming for about a 2200 which is what im probably going to end up getting</p>

<p>finally, im applying OOS (out of state).</p>

<p>is that any good?</p>

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<p>I noticed that you never took chemistry. As an alum, I know that chemistry is an important course admissions will look for students to have taken sophomore year. Was that not offered at your school? Furthermore, I think you should consider doubling up in languages if possible. Mandarin and German are unique languages that will put you above the rest of your student body, especially if you aren’t getting that 4.0. In regards to your green club I urge you to push forward and “weed” out the competition. After all the only thing worse than not participating in a club, is leading a useless one. If you are sure that your schedule is the most rigorous class, you might want to consider applying to a magnet school senior year. Clearly your current school isn’t challenging you enough. Best wishes!</p>

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<p>hey im doubling up senior year in science and i am taking ap chem so i can have the option of taking ap physics senior year as well (in my school people take it junior year but you can take it on the ap level, but you have to do honors physics before taking ap physics, so i skipped chemistry altogether so i could take physics)</p>

<p>so you think that 2 years of chinese will really make me look unique?</p>

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<p>definitely. you might want to consider independent study for most of your classes. Berkley prides itself on having students that can hold themselves together without the guidance of a teacher. While we do have an excellent faculty, taking classes without the influence of other students and the help of poor high school teachers will only enforce to admissions that you are dedicated and hardworking.</p>

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<p>Yeah I think the Chinese will help. Also if you’re part of any minority group (Asian, black, homosexual, Muslim) you’re going to want to make your affiliation with that group obvious. A liberal school like UC Berkeley more readily admits people of minority groups as a form of affirmative action to promote diversity.</p>

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<p>Ok, so is being OOS helpful?</p>

<p>Also, like my family background is Muslim and i’m first generation american and i’m the only person in my whole family background who has had an education outside of this country (azerbaijan). I personally am not muslim and neither are my parents, but we go there every summer. will that help in any way?</p>

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<p>by the way, im most likely doing early application for berkeley</p>

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<p>No that probably won’t help. Your family’s diversity will only affect you so much, what they really want is true individual diversity in things like political activity and sexual orientation. Also being out of state won’t help your chances any, sorry :(. Not getting into college is not the end of the world (and would likely be only a minor setback to a first-generation American who was able to get an education for the first time in his family).</p>

14

<p>wait would it look nice if i did an independent study on the japanese language or some kind of exotic language?</p>

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<p>My best advice: become besties with the teachers you want recs from. Email them constantly, eat lunch in their room, call them for advice, babysit their kids! Anything you can do to have an impact on their lives will enhance your recs. Finally, don’t stress. I got into Berkley with a 3.9 and it sounds like your on your way to a 4.0 (unless your rigorous schedule trips you up, after all it is the hardest course offered to a student your age, correct?) In regards to a language I would recommend sanskrit. If this is too much of a reach for you at least an ancient language, ideally centered in Asia.</p>

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<p>There is so much misinformation in this thread… it’s truly disgusting. PLEASE don’t give suggestions unless you are sure about what you’re talking about.</p>

<p>UC Berkeley does NOT take into consideration AP Exam scores OR teacher recommendations. </p>

<p>Your user name being your email will have NO effect on admissions… Where did you get that idea?</p>

<p>Engineering is an impacted major, Biology is NOT. All College of Letters and Science majors are treated equally with regard to their major in admissions.</p>

<p>You don’t need a “2400” SAT…</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Completely and utterly 100% false. The University of California does NOT use Affirmative Action. Being a URM, a legacy, or having family connections in any way will NOT help you gain admission to Berkeley.</p>

<p>There is no ED/EA for Berkeley, only RD.</p>

<p>OOS is harder to gain admission than in-state, as it is a public university. </p>

<p>Independent study always looks good, but it won’t affect your admissions chances if you don’t have the stats to get in in the first place.</p>

<p>3.7 Weighted is a low GPA for Berkeley, but you need to figure out your UC GPA which is located on the UC pathways site. Compare your SAT and GPA to the UCs to figure out matches. The higher SAT score you get can help off-set your lower GPA.</p>

<p>Overall, have a great junior year and score highly on the SATs, and you will have a great chance. ECs are important, but not without the stats. Try to be involved with something you’re passionate about.</p>

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<p>alright. i mean in regards to your advice about sanskrit, im all for learning a new language and im already trilangual (will that come into handy? please answer that in your next resposne haha), so it wont be hard for me to learn. but, the only way i can learn sanskrit is if i do it as an independent study, which, in my school is simply a pass-fail sort of thing, and it is unofficial as is.</p>

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<p>Berkeley is not nearly as hard to get into as some posters here suggest. The average accepted student only has a 2050 SATI, and those matriculating have lower scores. </p>

<p>Problem with state schools is they don’t usually give much attention to rigor of high school, they tend to be formulaic. But your SAT score, if 2200 will go a long way towards making up for a slightly lower GPA–the vast majority of their students come from CA public schools with rampant grade inflation.</p>

<p>They are also seeking more OOS students this year as they really need the money, so if you’re OOS and full pay, no worries.</p>

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<p>Being trilingual is interesting and could count as an important EC, but the most important thing for you is to get good grades this year and score highly on the SAT.</p>

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<p>i might rather start a nationality club, instead of a going green club.</p>