Improve GPA Spring Before Transfer - Help Chances?

<p>I'm looking to transfer to UC Berkeley from a CC here in CA in Fall 2013. This is my second time attempting community college. I took 12 units 6 years ago and got all C's..wasn't really commited/mature about my education. Fast forward to the present and I'm enrolled full time and very serious now. </p>

<p>I spoke to a counselor and she told me that if I do really well in all my classes Spring and Fall of 2012, I can maybe get to a 3.5 when I apply in November, leaving me Spring of 2013 to "finish up" I suppose. </p>

<p>My question is whether my grades earned in Spring of 2013, which could possibly bump me from a 3.5 to a 3.6-ish, would be taken into account by the admissions committee, or whether the 3.5 I earned in the Fall of 2012 is the cut off and it's too late for progress made in the Spring prior to prospective enrollment to effect the decision. It's only a few points, but I need all the units I can get my hands on to bump my GPA. </p>

<p>Also had a general question about the importance of the personal statement and whether it would do any good to try and explain the stark difference in performance between my 2006 CC career (4 C's) and my current self (A's A's A's). Something along the lines of "I want to emphasize that I'm not the person I used to be, so the four bad grades from 6 years ago are not an accurate representation of my current academic ability, which is clearly much better, and if I could get those C's removed my GPA would be much higher but I can't because of the rules of academic renewal, so here I am." Obviously wouldn't word it like that, but you get the point. I'm quite the non-tradional student I'm almost 25 and just looking for a fresh start. I hate myself for even taking those classes 6 years ago..if I hadn't I would have a clean GPA. Sorry for the long rant.</p>

<p>Obviously your spring grades won’t be in when the app is due, so the only way they could count was if they gave you a conditional acceptance. I don’t know, but I would expect that they would notice that the C’s were when you were much younger and they would realize that you’ve “grown up.” I don’t even know if you need to say you aren’t the person you used to be so much as state that you are more mature now and have realized the importance of a good education and the opportunities it can provide for you. You can mention that you are taking it much more seriously than you did as a teenager fresh out of high school. I would expect it would help, but I have no experience in this, just common sense.</p>