<p>I'm going to Cal next year and I'm having a panic attack of fear.</p>
<p>I had a 3.8 UC weighted GPA. Granted, I was a varsity basketball player with a 2200+ SAT Score. And I had all 5s. But My GPA was definitely below those who had 4.3s or 4.6s. (And I went to a tough high school where the mean GPA was much lower than at most high schools) </p>
<p>Nevertheless, I kicked ass at Cal. I got a 3.87 GPA in Political Science, got a 172 on the LSAT, and was accepted into University of Pennsylvania Law School, Duke Law School, Michigan Law, and NYU Law (which I am at currently). So far I’m doing well here, and I’m aiming to work for a big law firm with a starting salary of roughly 160,000. (Which is completely doable with my performance here at NYU my first year). </p>
<p>Just focus on whatever you felt you did wrong in high school, and try to fix yourself when you come to Cal.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that California has one of the worst public education systems in the country. So getting straight A’s and being in the top 10% isn’t that big of an accomplishment. Did you go to a tough high school or an easy one? If you went to a tough high school, then not getting straights A’s will still prepare you much better than going to a crappy high school and getting inflated A’s. </p>
<p>Anyways, don’t fear. Berkeley has great professors, but the quality of your peers isn’t nearly as strong as people expect it to be. You’d be surprised at how many idiots are in the undergraduate program.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>^Really love this post
As a transfer, I’m definitely feeling the pressure too.</p>
<p>i’m not interested in law in the least, but even i can recognize that a 172 on the LSAT is a godsend and worthy of a large applaud. </p>
<p>you did get a 2200 on your SATs depite your high school GPA, are you just a good test taker? any “need to know” tips on completely dominating tests like the LSAT, as you have? (tons of classes? did you prepare individually a lot? or do you just have a knack for this stuff? or is it something you gained from being a PS student?)</p>
<p>very interesting indeed. <em>second round of applause</em></p>
<p>I think you guys will learn that everyone’s just like you. Well a lot of people are. The difference is how much people care once they get here. Some will study hard, use the resources, etc. Others won’t. </p>
<p>jimmi…do you have some other stories about other people since you probably know more people who have graduate from here? like gpa, major, where they are now and where they want to go?</p>
<p>Honestly, after completing my first year at Berkeley, I believe that AP tests (as well as SAT II scores) are the best indicators of success at Cal. Out of my friends, those of us that got all 5’s in high school (despite a low GPA and ok SAT I scores, in many cases) are doing SIGNIFICANTLY better than those that had poor AP scores (even with a very high GPA and/or SAT I). I’m not saying that a 5 guarantees an A in the corresponding Berkeley class, but it’s enough to do well (at least among the people I know). People that I know from high school with lesser AP scores are comparatively struggling, especially in classes like chemistry, math, and physics. What this suggests to me is that if your AP scores are lower, you need to put in more effort once you get to Cal to catch up to those with higher scores.</p>
<p>What I’m saying is in line with jimmihendrix’s success as well, as he had good AP scores.</p>
<p>^ i’d buy it. 10 chars</p>
<p>I completely bombed my AP Tests because I never studied. I did amazingly well on SAT2s though</p>
<p>@crowslayer- </p>
<p>Haha, I had a low GPA in high school, but not at Berkeley. My low GPA in high school resulted from a combination of factors. For one, I went to Troy High School, a magnet school in SoCal ranked very high and notorious for grade deflation. So that automatically lowered my GPA. But another reason was because I was very active in basketball- I played varsity, didn’t have the best time management, and my grades suffered. But by no means did I not learn the material- as exemplified in me getting 5s on AP exams. I was just a bit overwhelmed, didn’t know how to manage time, ect. I still cared for school, and I felt that because I had bad grades, I had to work that much harder in practicing for AP exams the SAT so that I could be more competitive. </p>
<p>I took a 3 month long summer prep course for the SAT (elite). I started off at a 1800, but I pretty much worked my butt off not stop that summer trying to improve my score. And I took the SAT 3 times: first I got something like a 2050, then something like a 2140, and finally a 2210 (I’m not sure about the first two- I’m recalling from memory but I’m not sure if its accurate). </p>
<p>So I wouldn’t say I’m a good test taker, I just worked hard for the SAT, and I didn’t for school. </p>
<p>I was really happy Berkeley accepted me, and I vowed never to screw up in academics ever again. I got mostly As and A-s as a pol sci major. And same for the LSAT, I spent one whole summer self-studying like crazy and was able to pull my score up from a 160 on my first practice test to a 172 on the final exam. (So I guess you could say I have some natural talent, but hard work brought my score up) </p>
<p>And Poli Sci really had no correlation with the LSAT or my test taking skills. It might have improved my reading and writing skills, but English, History, and any other humanities or social science subject (except for the more science based ones like psychology), will help you develop your writing skills. </p>
<p>And bb360, I know of an English major who had a 3.9 ish GPA who is at Harvard Law. I also know several people with great GPAs (3.8, 3.75), but they didn’t make the top 14 law schools because they didn’t do so well on the LSATS (got under 165). So for law schools, remember the LSAT is a HUGE HUGE factor, more so than GPA.</p>
<p>Sorry, but AP scores are a complete joke.</p>
<p>Oh I would also like to add that I was accepted into Berkeley 5 years ago- I don’t think the average GPA was as high as it is today. But I could be wrong.</p>
<p>Batman, how are they a joke? At least for the classes I’ve taken, AP tests pretty accurately model Berkeley exams…like the mechanics part of AP Physics C is almost exactly the same as Physics 7A; Physics 7B constantly reminded me of the E/M part of AP Physics C; my friend told me AP Chemistry is similar to Chem 1A (it’s even pretty close to Chem 4, except that it doesn’t include molecular orbital theory and chemical biology). I’m sure there are more examples, but I haven’t taken single variable calculus, biology, or much humanities here. I definitely didn’t think Math 53 and 54 were too much more rigorous than Calc BC. </p>
<p>I doubt there are that many people with 5’s on those tests that were below average in the Berkeley equivalents. And I doubt there are too many people with 3’s and lower that got A’s in the Berkeley equivalents.</p>
<p>jimmihendrix, thanks so much for your post. It gives me so much motivation.</p>
<p>2 things i think can explain why people with low HS GPA/high AP scores can do well at Berkeley:
- “I was really happy Berkeley accepted me, and I vowed never to screw up in academics ever again.”
- This is hard to explain, but I truly believe in it. AP scores tell you how decent a test taker you are. In addition, when studying for AP tests, you have more freedom over time, because you have all the time you need till the AP test. In contrast, studying for school tests, to a busy high-schooler, can mean studying for 2 days (the 2 days before tests). Some people (like me) do bad in the latter type of situation. College is like the former, because college students have more control over their time (one of the reason being less class time). Therefore, the “high AP scores = better performance at Cal” works a lot of times.</p>
<p>Trust me, I am not in denial nor am I just saying that because I don’t have a good HS GPA (UC GPA: 4.17). Sorry if the second point is confusing because im really tired. i will try to clarify it upon request.</p>
<p>That second point is very good Kennycheng. I had not thought of that, but it definitely makes sense. Because of my tight basketball schedule in high school, it was hard to study for short notice exams (like two days away).</p>
<p>Whereas I had much more control over my time for AP tests, and for exams and papers here at Cal. Trust me, I didn’t procrastinate, and the college environment was actually more relaxing and less stressful for me.</p>
<p>Oh and I want to clarify- I was a full four year student, not a transfer student.</p>
<p>Thanks for the discussion so far, although I’m not feeling any better. I do work hard, and I do use my resources, but I’ve never been a great AP test taker. I just always felt there were things we didn’t cover, or just so much material at once to study. I know I’ll have to work harder, and I’m prepared for that, I’m just getting a bit scared.</p>
<p>Scoring-wise, AP tests are really lenient. You can get 50% or even lower on an exam and still end up with a 4, possibly a 5 if enough people **** up.</p>
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<p>Perhaps he may be referring to the proliferation of low value AP tests that are not generally considered rigorous, like Statistics, Physics B, and Environmental Science. Getting 5 scores in those is less impressive than getting 5 scores in Calculus BC, English Literature, and Physics C.</p>