<p>Hey everybody, I have always wanted to go to UC Berkeley and was hoping you guys could let me know what you think of my chances and maybe what else i could do to better my chances..</p>
<p>-California CC Student
-Middle Eastern Studies Major
-GPA is 3.75, will have about 65 units done
-Alpha Gamma Sigma Member
-Associated Student Body Board Member
-IGETC cert.
-I've done about 20 hrs of volunteer work at the local elementary school reading lab
-Work 18 hrs a week in a restaurant in berkeley</p>
<p>so.. thats me. if you guys could give me your honest opinions on my chances i would really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Middle Eastern Studies doesn't sound like a tough major to get in...you have a very good chance...with colleges like berkeley you also need a bit of luck. good luck.</p>
<p>Based on those alone, I'd say you have a pretty good chance. I can't think of any particularly gaping holes in your record (or even small ones, really); just 'keep your grades up' and keep yourself challenged. Good luck!</p>
<p>*Disclaimer: Berkeely does not /require/ a 3.7 for admittance. It just presents you with the best chance GPA-wise, as their upper range seems to fall between 3.75 and 4.0.</p>
<p>thanks a lot for the comment "undecided"... im feeling more confident about my chances which allows me to spend more time studying and less time worrying!</p>
<p>hey thanks indie_boy and comi smurf, to answer your question i have not completed any major requirements because there are none articulated by the university on assist.org. i spoke with a counselor and i believe if there are no courses areticulated they dont hold it against you when u apply.. i could be wrong, but this is what i have been told.</p>
<p>I'm also an ME major and I was told the same thing you were told: it isn't held against you if none are available.</p>
<p>I concurrently enrolled at UCB and took Near Eastern Studies 10, the only non-language requirement for lower division, and I have two years of Arabic. I won a scholarship at for $20,000 to study abroad at the American University in Cairo. My problem is that my GPA is a little low, 3.56. But if you discount the Arabic language classes, my GPA is a 3.85. Plus I have some extras, like an internship with the State Department and I also worked at the US Embassy in Moscow.</p>
<p>Anyway, I'm being told by my counselors that I have a really good chance. If you get in, send me a PM and maybe we could help eachother out. I still have my class notes from NES 10 (you <em>will</em> be required to take this class once you get to Berkeley).</p>
<p>communist smurf.. i was actually considering taking the NES 10 class at berkeley too, how was it? time wise, difficulty? is it true that u can only take it for pass/fail?
btw, im looking for internships for the summer too.. your state dept. internship looks good, mind if i ask how you went about getting it?.. sounds competative.</p>
<p>You do not take the class pass/fail. The grading was actually a bit harsh and it seemed most everyone was disappointed on how they were graded for in-class essays. Usually what he did was he would give you 4 essay topics and you'll pick 2 of them. One of them will be based upon one of the many and obscure readings from his class reader (hint: you don't have to do all the reading). Time wise? If you do ALL the reading it'll take up too much time. Once he assign us to read the whole book of Revelation from the Bible, but the only question ever mentioned on a test was the significance of the number 666. Also, once he assigned a whole book to be read between class periods (two days) as an intro to Islam. I think it had something like 200 pages.</p>
<p>I will say though, it was so amazing how much I learned. Before I took the class, I would read articles about the middle east and I wouldn't know what it was really talking about. Now I could explain the whole article and what all the references mean (that's the biggest part of the final exam, he gives you an article and tells you to explain all the references in an essay). </p>
<p>When I went to AUC, Professor Hayes (he teaches NES 10) was there also taking classes. It surprised me that he actually remembered me from his class (there were about 160 students). I hope if I get in this fall that I get to know him better.</p>
<p>If you're considering an internship with State this summer you're already too late. The deadline is something like October the year prior. I don't really know how competitive it is though but I suspect it's very competitive. I applied to two bureaus and was rejected by both. But for whatever reason, some other bureau I didn't even apply to accepted me. My only suggestion is that you check the major matrix and make sure the bureau you're applying for works with your major. It's also not as hard to get a paid internship as it might seem. I'm getting paid almost $500 per week.</p>