<p>This semester has been one of my toughest because I am very ill and have been in and out of the hospital continously. My GPA before winter grades is a 3.87 and now because of my C in English Comp, B in Nutrition, and A in Psychologhy my GPA will be a 3.77. All of my teachers this semester were not understanding and unwilling to accomdate me. So now I am very worried and depressed because I feel like I worked so hard and now it seems like it was all in vain. Do you guys think I still have a chance to get into Cal, UCLA, or UCD?? I am an American Studies major, any of your feedback would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>…nothing that is ever done, is in vain. Good things come when you least expect them. A gpa of 3.77 is still very competitive (especially since you are not applying to one of the hyper competitive majors). You only have to start worrying if you happen to be a Bio/Biochemistry, Biz/Econ or Engineering major (and oh, a couple others like communication studies etc. that I have noticed). And even then, I’ve seen 4.00 gpa candidates rejected in those majors at Cal!! (even some who had all their pre-reqs completed!!!). For most non ultra competitive majors, at places like UCLA, a 3.5ish will most likely get you in. If you have a stellar personal statement, even a person with a 3.3ish has a pretty good chance!</p>
<p>Wait–people get rejected from Cal with a 4.00gpa for engineering with complete pre-reqs? How is that possible!?</p>
<p>…Cal how that’s possible. I ask myself the same question. I know, it is EXTREMELY UNFAIR, but they do it. Simply because, by the same token, there were people with a little above 3.5 who got in!! I PERSONALLY know of one student who had a 4.00, to whom it happened. Maybe he had a lousy personal statement. I, myself, am an Electrical Engineering major with a 3.94gpa (actually have a 4.00 in my major pre-reqs) with 65+ units completed, and used to think it was a slam dunk, but apparently it is not!!!</p>
<p>Watch this video “mythbusting the application process” to enlighten yourself. Berkeley themselves say that it is not all about grades!</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjGI2e4GG9E&feature=related[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjGI2e4GG9E&feature=related</a></p>
<p>GPA is not always the end-all, deciding factor. CAL likes students who are well rounded, demonstrate leadership, strong ECs, and also have strong essays. They’ve been known to try find that “diamond in the rough.” I’ve had friends with 4.0’s and that’s basically all was on their slate, so a few of them were denied. Two of my closest friends had 3.5’s and got in, but they were also heavily involved with campus and major.
So I would never say it’s “extremely unfair.” You really need to weigh EVERYTHING. As long as you have all your pre-reqs done, have well-written essays, and your major isn’t heavily impacted, then you have a great chance.</p>
<p>How on earth does one manage to do ECs during their time at community college? Volunteer at hospitals? I mean, that has nothing to do with engineering.
Essays are easy to do, but leadership skills?
:-/</p>
<p>That’s why CAL and other top colleges really like students who have EC’s because these students are demonstrating that they are putting effort in their application. You just got to learn how to juggle your course work/EC’s. Volunteering at a hospital is pretty easy to find, but if you’re an english major then it doesn’t make too much sense. It should be taken seriously though as even prompt #1 states: “Discuss how your interest in the subject developed…such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student orgs.”
Leadership skills is even something that UCB specifically lists as a deciding factor (not as high as GPA but still listed). Becoming a president of a club, a treasurer of your school, just anything that demonstrates your ability to work with others or signifies your initiative. Just get involved!</p>
<p>Is participating in sports generally liked by UCLA/CAL? Or would they prefer someone who is involved with clubs?</p>
<p>@xMathx
If you write a solid PS and get as close as possible to a 4.0 and complete all your pre-reqs, you’ll be pretty much in for engineering. A friend of mine had a 3.8, finished all his pre-reqs, and had no ECs. He got in for EE.</p>
<p>Honestly the most important thing is GPA+pre-reqs. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Although ECs wouldn’t hurt your application, don’t let them interfere with the two main factors. Focus on the strong GPA+pre-reqs.</p>
<p>It really depends on your major. I’m talking with my experience of business econ/econ, where nearly everyone has a 3.5 - 4.0, so the strength of your ECs are a huge factor. People applying under engineering majors generally have a lower gpa as the math/engineering classes get really intensive and time consuming. So if you have a 3.8 without ECs, that’s completely fine. One of my friends transferred out of UCR to UCLA with a 3.3 with no ECs at all.</p>
<p>Thank you for all your help! I really appreciate you guys clearing things up for a newbie like me!</p>
<p>3.77 isnt so bad, but i guess you finished pretty weak which wouldnt look so good</p>
<p>Just my opinion, but for American Studies at Cal, a 3.77 plus a good personal statement and a couple of ECs should be enough. </p>
<p>How to do ECs at a community college? Well, why not start with the career center? Perhaps there are some summer internships (especially for biz/biz econ majors) or even some research opportunities that they know about. English/Geography/Liberal Arts majors - maybe volunteer as a tutor at a local grade/middle/high school. I would also imagine that the student union has a list of clubs to participate in. I found that a lot of things were not advertised, so CC students have to be a lot more proactive in finding opportunities, which would only make you stand out more. You could perhaps find some ideas on a UC website. There may be research or volunteer opportunities listed that do not require someone to be upper division or at a 4-year university. For instance, Cal has a list of “outside research opportunities,” including at the NSF, Lawrence Livermore, etc. They also have a list of research opportunities for non-Berkeley students at Berkeley. These are things that I never thought about while at CC, but wish I had. But my ECs only included working full time while attending CC, which seemed to be good enough for Cal.
[Research</a> Home](<a href=“http://research.berkeley.edu/]Research”>http://research.berkeley.edu/)</p>
<p>@Thatgirltoo
Wow, I never consider those options. Thank you!</p>