Hello,
I am on the East Coast, and the reason why I am interested in applying to Berkeley is because I heard it is one of the most holistic universities (my GPA goal is 3.5-3.6, SAT 2200, and strong EC’s, if you want to look at a more detailed chance, check out one of my chance threads), and I fear that I may not get into the other ones I am applying to. Dont get me wrong, that is definitely not the only reason, UCB also has a great business school, a friendly atmosphere, and is well rounded in terms of campus feel, social scene, local area, etc.
Here are the other schools I am most likely applying to:
Upenn (ED)
Chicago (EA)
USC
Vandy
WUSTL
ND (EA)
UMich (EA)
Williams College
BC
Emory
Middlebury College
Wake Forest
Penn State
I will be applying to at least 10 schools, and would only go to Berkeley if I do not get into any of the schools above Middbury. I love UCB, but the oos tuition is way too expensive, and I do not wanna put a burden on my parents since were already struggling a lot to pay for my sisters grad school at juilliard (even though my parents and I plan to buy a house together after I graduate from b-school, so I would basically almost be paying for my own tuition). Is there a good chance that ill get into at least one of the first 9 schools with my future college app, so that I wouldn’t have to apply to UCB and spend all the money?
I am not saying that if I apply to berkeley then I will get in. I just think that UCB is more holistic, and holistic colleges seem to me more unpredictable and forgiving of low GPAs if other areas are strong, compared to colleges that only care about numbers.
Thanks everyone!
You might want to rethink your ED application. I think 90% of accepted students where in the top 10%. Do check Penn’s common data set for last year to be sure and that means for Penn GPA is very important.
I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news but… UCB is extremely difficult to get in for an OOS student, even for OOS students that were their school’s valedictorian. Your SAT is great, but your GPA is really going to hurt you no matter how great your ECs are.
UPenn and Chicago are probably in the same boat as UCB, probably not a real chance. For sure apply, because you never know, but I wouldn’t have your heart set on any of these 3. USC is probably within reach since you have a great SAT score and your GPA is in the ballpark of their average acceptance rate. But I’m gonna be honest- coming from someone who lives in California and knows the area that USC is in- I’d really run with caution about going there especially if you don’t plan to tour the campus in person beforehand. It’s in a really sketchy area, and although the campus officials try to make the campus as safe as possible, there’s something to be said for being able to walk off campus and feel safe.
The other schools tbh I don’t know a whole lot about, but Penn State is for sure in reach. But good luck!! You’re going to end up going somewhere amazing no matter what, you have a great SAT and a respectable GPA. 
I hope I didn’t come off as too negative… I’m actually in the same boat as you. Lower GPA but very high test scores. But good luck!!!
There is zero point in applying to a school that you cannot afford, and a GPA of 3.5 makes UCB quite a reach. Your GPA is going to be a sticking point, period. Where are your safety schools?
@DrGoogle yes, I am aware that Penn can be very competitive in terms of admission. However, this may or may not sound far fetched but I think I will do well on my sats and will take it at least 3 times to get a 2250, and could possibly make it to nationals in figure skating, at least sectionals. If nationals doesn’t happen and I get bad SAT scores though, then i will for sure reconsider my ED for penn (if i make it to nationals with a good SAT score then I will definitely apply to stanford since they like figure skaters a lot).
@heckarad thank you for the input! I love USC as well, haha I wish I could go to 5 different universities at once 
@Alfonsia My “safety” is UCB and my reach is Penn State. I do believe that other fields in an application depending on how good it is can cover up a bad gpa!
I think u already answered your question. If u honestly can’t afford it, then why bother?
UCB admissions tends to emphasize GPA over test scores, so your profile of relatively lower GPA with relatively higher test scores makes it more difficult to get admitted there than the other way around.
In addition, there is no financial aid coverage for the $23,000 additional out-of-state tuition. If your parents are struggling financially, it is likely unaffordable as an out-of-state student (and an applicant with your GPA is not going to get one of the very few really big merit scholarships like Stamps or Drake (the latter for MechE majors only)).
Remember, you can probably self-fund at most about $10,000 per year with a $5,500 federal direct loan and $4,500 or so of work earnings. If your parents are genuinely poor, you may be able to add Pell grant money to that, but that will be included in the financial aid grants listed in college net price calculators. Anything beyond that would require parental loans or parent-cosigned student loans, neither of which is a good idea.
If none of the schools on your list have (based on their net price calculators) a net price under $10,000 + parent contribution (if any), then you need to add at least one safety which will give you a net price under that amount. See http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ for a list of schools with automatic big merit scholarships.
@GMTplus7 because If I apply and get into their b-school, then I could possibly find a great business job, plus the fact that I will buy a home with my parents after b-school and combine our money, so at that point they would no longer have to suffer financially, like I stated in my OP…I hope my future didn’t sound too far fetched!
IF ANYONE ELSE FINDS SCHOOLS ON MY LIST NOT WORTH APPLYING TO BASED ON $$ AND ACCEPTANCE RATE OR OTHER, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ;))
Have you run the net price calculator on every school on your list and shown the results to your parents?
Combining your money with that of your parents won’t really do much good if both you and your parents have negative money (i.e. lots of debt).
A “safety” is not only a school you’re likely to be admitted into, it’s a school u can AFFORD.
The critical word here is “possibly”…
@Alfonsia @GMTplus7 oops im sorry! i meant Wake forest was my reach, since half of the people in my school gott accepted
@ucbalumnus your probably right. I just thought that going to berkeley business would get me a salary of 110k (stated that the average salary was 110k on startclass.business).
@Alfonsia @GMTplus7 and penn is my safety
You mean Penn State? Are you certain that you will be admitted (and to your major)? Are you certain that you can afford it (have you tried its net price calculator?)?
Berkeley business major graduates who responded to the survey with first job pay rates averaged $65,103, according to https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/BusAd.pdf . Also note that it is a competitive admission major that you would have to apply to in your second year (with holistic admissions, so it is not simply a GPA > threshold to aim for, although getting a high GPA in the prerequisites is probably the most important factor).
Even Penn State only has an admissions rate of 54%. That’s not a really good safety - and certainly not UCB. What can you afford for college?
@albert69 if you read above post, I made a mistake. I meant to say that Penn was my safety, and WF was my reach. Many students with 3.3 and above gpa get into penn state, and I have a 3.6, solid ecs, and soon to be good sats, (will take until I get a 2300), so I think for now if would be a pretty good safety if I’m not mistaken? if anything changes, like an even worse gpa, penn decreasing their acceptance rate by a ton, lower sat score, etc. then penn state certainly will no longer be my safety–thanks
I think whatever is of the best value should be suitable enough (the more debt, the higher the salary I think would be better than the less debt, the lower the salary)
@ucbalumnus yes, penn state. here is the website I was talking about: http://business-schools.startclass.com/saved_search/Top-Business-Schools-in-California
Well, maybe. Are you in state for Penn State?
But what can your parents afford for college? Do you really not care if you come out with over $100K in loans? And what happens if you can’t find a job? Don’t get me wrong, I hope everything works out fine, but it’s tough out there no matter what the field. And who says that higher debt=higher salary and lower debt=lower salary?
The avg salary on startclass page for Berkeley Haas is for MBAs. It states that the avg work experience prior to entering Haas is 5 years.
For Berkeley undergraduate Finance majors, median starting salary is only 77k.
But you don’t actually have a 3.6, do you? Your freshman year was a 3.4 and your sophomore year was a 3.09. The other two you have listed on your chance thread are ‘predictions/goals.’
http://budget.psu.edu/CDSRedesign/cds.aspx?reportindicator=FreshAdmn&Location=UP&AY=20142015
35% of UP enrolled students had a 3.75+.
30% had between a 3.5 and 3.75.
Are you REALLY within that range?