<p>^
They actually wrote a whole article about it (in our local paper when he got in years ago), it was the way he wrote it in his essays…breathtaking!</p>
<p>^hell yes having cancer makes a difference!!!</p>
<p>UCB admitted a few people at 2.8s last year. It was in the stats for last years admissions. </p>
<p>Granted, they were probably either A) the son/daughter of a U.S. Senator or B) had a letter of rec from Obama himself, but still.</p>
<p>huh…so does being a cancer survivor count??? Cause that would totally make my day!</p>
<p>I definitely agree with Grimes99, stuff like that happens, haha!</p>
<p>yeah, life experiences are taken into account because it can cause you to have a lower GPA then you would if you did not have medical issues. So they aren’t getting in for having cancer but having cancer explains why their GPA is like a 3.1 instead of a 3.7.</p>
<p>That ■■■■■■■… I have cancer (almost in remission so its not that bad) and a 2.87 and so far got rejected from SLO. But I do know a buddy of mine who got into Berkley with a 2.9 (History major)… Stud soccer player though…</p>
<p>Did you mention it on your essays or on your app some where? Because even “not that bad” cancer is still a very valid medical reason for a somewhat lower GPA.</p>
<p>Getting into UCB with a 2.8 or UCLA is one thing as a transfer student.</p>
<p>How about these apples?</p>
<p>My friend from class is a high school senior taking college courses because she finished a lot of her high school requirements early. She has a friend from school who got accepted to UC Berkeley as a freshmen with a 2.4 GPA. </p>
<p>She’s African American. </p>
<p>She’s an athlete but not being recruited for Berkeley athletics. She literally just got accepted as an undergraduate with a 2.4 GPA. Low SAT too. </p>
<p>Maybe it was the essay? I’m rolling my eyes as I present that question.</p>
<p>I know a 3.4 history major that got into UCLA</p>
<p>My friend that got into UCB with 2.8 also got into UCLA. He is very intelligent and might graduate from UCB with honors. I think his GPA was low because when he started school he was getting fails, but later showed progress and improved his grades. He isn’t considered a minority either. I think UCB recognized he had a lot of potential from his essay and progress.</p>
<p>3.4 is not a bad GPA at all, though it does depend on your major.</p>
<p>There was a kid with a 3.01 (?) last year on this forum who got into UCLA with TAP as his alternate major.</p>
<p>[Profile</a> of Admitted Transfer Students by Major, Fall 2009 - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof09_mjr.htm]Profile”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof09_mjr.htm)
from here</p>
<p>in the undeclared - life sci. i see 2.2 admit
even thoguh its undeclared thats pretty low right?</p>
<p>wonder what was so unique about this one. curiosity k</p>
<p>my bet is a heavily recruited athlete that is transferring from a J.C</p>
<p>I’m fighting cancer at the moment, and emphasized in my berkeley essay that a school near my home is vital to continuing treatment…does anyone think that will make a significant difference? I had a 2.8 at UCI but that was because I was stage 4 and had no idea…very low gpa but tons of ec/leadership roles…do i have ANY chance at getting in??</p>
<p>Threads like these are always double-edged. As in of course it’s hopeful to hear stories of low gpa’s getting into top schools, but it’s also a false hope given that you’re trying to be the “rare” exception to the norm.</p>
<p>Take the case for UCB 2012 admissions. 16000 applicants, 3800 accepted, out of those 3800 maybe 20-50 people got in with these crazy low GPAs. I’m not sure of the exact numbers but judging from this thread it seems like a reasonable guess. So taking the best case scenario, 50 rare acceptances to UCB, that is still only 1.3%.</p>
<p>So trying to get your hopes up of being part of the 1.3% is just not worth it in my opinion.</p>
<p>Exactly. I would imagine the rare acceptances being:</p>
<ul>
<li>Recruited athletes w/ average GPAs</li>
<li>Students overcoming a major illness/problem (key word overcoming ex. starting off with a 1.5 because of an incident but turning around and getting stellar grades the rest of the way)</li>
<li>Insane ECs/essay(ex. performed successful open heart surgery in a remote tribe in Africa with no prior medical knowledge)</li>
</ul>
<p>But even with one of these, it’s difficult.</p>
<p>"Exactly. I would imagine the rare acceptances being:</p>
<ul>
<li>Recruited athletes w/ average GPAs</li>
<li>Students overcoming a major illness/problem (key word overcoming ex. starting off with a 1.5 because of an incident but turning around and getting stellar grades the rest of the way)</li>
<li>Insane ECs/essay(ex. performed successful open heart surgery in a remote tribe in Africa with no prior medical knowledge)</li>
</ul>
<p>But even with one of these, it’s difficult."</p>
<p>Well I hope I’ll fall into this category sometime next year. I have average gpa, by the time I apply I see my gpa overall being only 3.5~3.55.</p>
<p>Using your statement as some what of a rough guideline…</p>
<p>-No chance
-I did overcome financial and family hardships, but I’m assuming that is the average subject for all personal statements. However, I am showing a very high upward trend. ~1.5 gpa at old school -> 2 year break due to hardships -> ~3.7 gpa at new school.
-No insane ECs yet; planning on tutoring kids from church in a week, and applying for internships during the summer. What is a unique EC I should go for to improve my chances?</p>
<p>This thread is giving myself and I’m sure other people a bit of hope. However, all the stories seems anecdotal. Anyone has first hand experience on getting into a UC with low gpa?</p>
<p>I hope people also realize, that some of the stories aren’t always genuine. A lot of the time people lie saying that they got accepted somewhere just to save face. I know someone at my CC that tried to claim that they got into Berkeley with a 3.1 into Engineering and they never ended up enrolling. A few years later on facebook it said that they’d graduate from a CSU lol.</p>
<p>[Profile</a> of Admitted Transfer Students by Major, Fall 2012 - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof12_mjr.htm]Profile”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof12_mjr.htm) indicates that the average GPA for admitted transfer students in fall 2012 varied by major:</p>
<p>High:</p>
<p>Aerospace Engineering: 3.94
Economics, Pre: 3.93
Business Economics, Pre: 3.92
Latin: 3.92
Mechanical Engineering: 3.89
Civil Engineering: 3.89
Computer Science and Engineering: 3.88
Chemical Engineering: 3.87
International Development Studies, Pre: 3.87
Global Studies, Pre: 3.86
Computer Science: 3.86
Geophysics / Applied Geophysics: 3.85</p>
<p>Low:</p>
<p>Italian: 3.20
American Indian Studies: 3.31
Chicana/o Studies: 3.33
Afro American Studies: 3.34
French and Linguistics: 3.40
Mathematics / Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences: 3.40
Music: 3.40
Asian American Studies: 3.41
Iranian Studies: 3.41
Undeclared Social Sciences: 3.43
Geophysics and Space Physics: 3.44</p>