I’m more than 50% native american, and enrolled in the Laguna Pueblo tribe. I’ve always been told that being native will help me get into certain colleges, but I’ve never really believed it. My dream colleges are UC Berkeley and Stanford. I go to a private college prep school, and I’m a decent student as of now. My grades started off as horrible freshman year, as I was injured and out of school throughout the year. My highest GPA was a 2.34 that year. Sophomore year was rough too, since I was going through multiple surgeries to fix my injury. My highest GPA was a 3.00 that year. Junior year was my year to fix things, as my last two years were very rough on paper. I ended up getting a 3.75 the first semester, and a 3.85 the next. My GPA has curved upwards since freshman year. I did alright on the new SAT (1210), and I did better on the ACT (27). I’ve never taken any AP or Honors classes, as my school is already very challenging, compared to public schools. So I ask, do I have a good chance at getting into colleges such as UC Berkeley or Stanford?
Thank you for reading,
H
Even with your NA heritage increasing your chances, UC Berkeley and Stanford are going to be super reaches considering your GPA and test scores. Although colleges like to see an upward trend with grades, your cumulative GPA will still be sub-par for top tier schools.
Don’t the UCs not even consider race?
Not sure, My father recently went back to school and easily got into Cal. Race might’ve been a factor in that.
How would you know if someone “easily” got into a college versus “barely” got in? I’m fairly certain Cal doesn’t tell students where they stand in the application pool…
Yes, being NA is often considered a hook in admissions. Your scores and GPA are on the rather low end for schools like Cal and Stanford. They’re definitely still major reaches.
I don’t think being NA will get you into a college that you are not academically qualified to attend. If you want to throw in a couple of huge reach applications that is your choice but I’d focus on colleges that match your profile.
UCs do not consider race or ethnicity in admissions.
UC’s do not consider race but there are many schools which will consider your Native American heritage but still you have to be in the ball park with your stats for any schools of interest.
UCB and Stanford are Reaches based on your academic performance. I agree with @happy1, focus on schools which match your stats.
Thank you for the help everyone, honestly if I don’t get accepted to either I’ll probably go to community college, then try again after a two year! I may not be the best of the best, but I’ve always tried despite my setbacks. Thanks again for the help, I’m new to this site, will probably use it more in the future.
When people look for their first home, do you think they tour the multi million dollar mansions if they have a modest budget? When they finally get to affordable homes, they’ll all look shabby in comparison.
You’ve basically said Stanford (the MOST selective school in the nation) and UCB (super selective too) or community college and hope to transfer into Stanford and UCB later. That’s a terrible strategy. If you’re serious about a great education, may I suggest you try the SuperMatch tool on the left panel?
I like my strategy just fine. It worked for my dad, who got accepted just last year, and hopefully it will work for me. I’m serious about my education, and I’m shooting high. There isn’t anything wrong with that.
Of course you are free to do as you wish, but it would pay to do some research and expand your horizons. There are tons of amazing colleges and universities out there that can give you a great 4 year college experience and get you where you want to go.
Even being Native American will not help you get in unless you also have some academic hook. You really are a long shot applicant for Standard and especially UCB where race is not a factor. Did you elect not to take AP classes or were they not offered at your school?
I decided not to take AP classes. The workload at my school is already tremendous, and the extra stress is killing some of my friends who are taking even just one. My parents also thought it was not such a good idea. If I was at a public school, I most definitely would have taken them though.
The upward trend in your grades is a good thing, but UCB and especially Stanford are so competitive that you should not count on admission there with your current academic record. (Your father’s admission to UCB as a non-traditional student may not be directly comparable, and you did not mention his academic record.)
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary can show you admission rates by campus and HS GPA (UC-weighted 10th-11th grade a-g courses).
While it may have been difficult, to ad coms it looks like you weren’t challenging yourself and you couldn’t handle even regular classes. How do you expect to be able to handle the rigors of Stanford if you can’t even handle a honors course let alone an AP course?
Thank you. And by the way, my father did not have a stand-out academic record. He graduated high school, dropped out of college twice, went to a culinary school, and then almost 30 years later, he decided to go community college. Now he’s going to UCB, and I think its a pretty amazing feat.
If his recent record at community college was outstanding, then that could have impressed the admissions readers at UCB when he applied as a non-traditional transfer student, despite old presumably-not-very-good college records (high school record is not used by UCs for transfer students, except for possibly meeting some base level requirements).
I can handle regular classes. Like I said, my first two years were rough due to having to stay home, and in a hospital. My GPA has been on a very steep upward curve since then. I’m sure colleges will recognize that.
Your father’s situation is so incredibly different from yours that I think using his community college to UCB journey is a very poor template for your own college search.
If your school offers AP classes that means there are people taking those classes and some of them probably have GPA’s similar to your junior year GPA. I’ll bet if you talk to the guidance counselor at your school, you’ll find out that those are the kids from your school getting into Stanford, etc.
I understand that health issues affected your first two years. But schools like Stanford consider the rigor of your classes very important and they’re not going to cut you a break because you think your school is harder than public school. First of all, that’s too broad a generalization. Public schools, like private schools, vary tremendously in how hard their classes are and what it means to be at the top of the class. Second, colleges want to know whether you took the most rigorous program available to you (you didn’t) and how you did in comparison to the rest of your class (I’m guessing fine, but not outstanding.)
If I were a Stanford or Berkeley AO, I’d look at your GPA, class rigor and test scores, see that your scores are below the range of the middle 50% (well below in the case of Stanford), I’d see your improving GPA and take into account your health problems in 9th and 10th grade and, if I decide to focus on your junior and senior grades, think they were good, BUT note that you did not come close to taking the most rigorous courses available and think that unless you have EC’s and essays (and recommendations for Stanford) that are just breathtakingly phenomenal, you’re going to be rejected. Being NA does not make up for academic deficiency.
What I’m not clear on is why you think the only other choice is community college. Why not go to some other very good if not quite as competitive as Stanford/UCB school that you can actually get into and then, if you do very well and aren’t enjoying it, give transferring a shot? Think carefully. What if you don’t get accepted as a transfer by Stanford or UCB? Stanford’s transfer admittance rate last year was 1%. One percent. Berkeley’s was a whopping 18%, better than Stanford, but hardly something to count on. You need a Plan B.