Do I have a shot?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Yes, this is ANOTHER chance thread. But if you would be so kind as to share your wisdom with a paranoid chinese kid...</p>

<p>SAT: 800m, 700v, 760w (73, 11)
SAT II: 800mII, 770chem, 700span.
AP tests: Calc. BC 5, Spanish Lang. 5, Macro 4, Chem. 5
Class Rank: 2/499 weighted (Does this matter for oos, or will UCB still use its own ranking?)
Other: from Illinois, low-income</p>

<p>AP/college classes taken:
Calc BC, Span, Gov, macro, chem, Multivariable calc (A), diff. equations (A)</p>

<p>Schedule:
Early PE
AP comp sci
AP stat
AP eng.
AP physics
AP bio
AP u.s.
band
real analysis
abstract algebra
^This is not going to be a fun year</p>

<p>Important EC:
Math team - (regional champion, placed 8th in state, blah blah blah), AMC bronze (AMC 12-113.5, AIME-7, my hopes of USAMO are dying...), rensselaer aw., ARML Chicago team, captain
Piano - 12 yrs, state virtusos 1st, misc. awards
Wind Ensemble/Marching band - section leader, 1st div. solo
Cross Country/Track Varsity
Schol. bowl - captain, Conference champ
Tutor at school and at chinese academy - my favorite volunteer activity
Key club, Spanish NHS, etc.
Fermi Sat. morning physics program
Organized NSO for my school, so that makes me captain (?)</p>

<p>Summer:
frosh. - took classes
soph. - research intern at Fermi Nat. Labs
jun. - Young Scholars program at UChicago in math, work w/professors and hoping to enter Intel STS</p>

<p>Rec.s - doesn't matter
Essay - dunno topics yet</p>

2

<p>Match/ Apply to Stanford</p>

3

<p>Why even ask? Just apply, and apply to backup schools too. You're smart enough to know where to apply.</p>

<p>What people say here about your chances doesn't matter.</p>

4

<p>Yeah you've got a shot. Good stats overall, but for out of state you never know. It's really tough.</p>

5

<p>Yes good stats. don't worry.</p>

6

<p>if it makes you happy for us to say you got a shot....then yes you might have one. But, remember, since you are an out of state applicant, anything can happen. Also, you mentioned that you are a low income student. Consideirng this, you will have to pay an extra $16 thousand /year as compared to instate applicants.</p>

7

<p>That's what worries me.</p>

8

<p>first, give asiaknight a break, i know what he's going thru (asian background)</p>

<p>second, yes, you have a chance if you write stellar essays. honestly, the essays are what make or break your admission into Cal. sure the numbers are important, but if you just worry about numbers, apply to UCLA.</p>

<p>third, as mosharma mentioned, the out-of-state tuition is significantly higher than in-state (as usual) but i dont think that being out-of-state will hinder your candidacy in the selection process. but make sure you complete your FAFSA and submit it on time. cuz when all is said and done, it's an additional $20k to attend Cal for someone from Illinois.</p>

<p>third (subpoint), when you say "low-income" is that Illinois standard or California standard (CA has a relatively high standard of living. i think for a family of 5, $34k/yr is considered low-income). if you plan on coming to Cal, be prepared to pay 8.75% for sales tax.</p>

9

<p>Honestly....in my opinion, I don't think an extra $16 - 20K is worth a public education. You can apply where ever you like, but you might also want to consider private schools (since you will most likely be paying the same tuition fees). A public school (especially Cal) is overcrowded with students and most impacted courses has well over 120 students enrolled. If you are an engineering major, you will find this you very first semester. </p>

<p>Secondly, I do believe that your out-of-state status will affect your chances of admissions. The reason being is because Cal is a public school that serves the California people obviously. When mentioning the transfer process, first and formost, community college students are given the highest priority. After them, comes other UC/CSU students who would like to transfer to a particular UC. These two categories will be approximately make up 90% of the incoming class. The rest 10% will be for international students and out of state transfers.</p>

10

<p>Although it's true that lower division courses have a lot of students at Cal, I wouldn't say it's a problem. You'll get that almost anywhere you go. I think Cal would be worth it even for an out of state student, it just isn't quite the value that an in state student would get.</p>

<p>And what's with the "asian background" thing? I'm Asian, too, but how does this make life harder?</p>

11

<p>being asian making life harder?</p>

<p>if there's a quota, then it will be harder to get in.</p>

<p>i remember that Cal brought back the quota while i was there.</p>