My chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Cal is one of the universities on my "Maybe" list of colleges. Right now it's a probably, but I've heard it can be hard to get into classes in some of the competitive majors. My major will be economics.</p>

<p>Top 10% of class in high school in NJ (400ish people in my class)
GPA: 3.9886 UW (4.3 for A+), 4.53 W (5.3 for A+) (pretty sure it's still considered a 4.0 and 5.0 scale, but not too sure)</p>

<p>SAT:
Superscore - 1500/2300 (700 cr/800 m/800 w)
Best sitting - 2260 (700/760/800)
PSAT: 204 (commended, notified BC and Northwestern)
ACT: 35 composite (34 writing, 36 math, 35, 35)</p>

<p>Senior year schedule:
Physics H
English 4A
AP Spanish
Gym
AP Econ
AP Environmental (hopefully AP Statistics instead)
AP Calc BC
Independent study: portfolio of newspaper stories I'm going to write</p>

<p>ECs:
- Newspaper: Feature editor (10, 11, 12), copy editor (9)
- Key club: editor (12), member (9, 10, 11)
---- 25+ volunteer hours each year from Key Club
- Spanish Honor Society: Co-president (12), member (11)
- NHS member (11, 12)
- Spring track (10, 11, 12)
- Winter track (11, 12)
- Jobs:
- Gym supervising (10, 11)
- Umpiring softball (9, 10, 11)
(each about 7 hours a week during their seasons)
- Tutoring math (started this year, hopefully continuing and more consistent next year)
- Will have jobs this year - if I get the library job, then it's 11 hours per week. If not, same seasonal jobs as before</p>

<p>Do I have a chance to get in? Obviously a reach, but even worth applying? I ask that question not only about my chances, but if it will be a good student experience the next 5 years due to the budget cuts. Essentially, would you recommend an OOS go to Cal? And of course, what are my chances of even getting in?</p>

2

<p>Honestly, I’m a OOS accepted freshman who had almost identical numbers: 34, 2290, 3.98, etc. - you won’t have any problems with those. Your ECs are solid too, although you really want to show leadership -I had Eagle Scout, double varsity captain, etc. You have a great shot at getting in - all the UCs are much more numbers-oriented then other public universities, let alone private schools (you wouldn’t believe how many of my friends with just as good/better numbers as I got rejected at Stanford, probably for some kid that spent a year with Buddhist monks in Tibet or something). Be sure to write a killer essay, and you’ll do fine.</p>

3

<p>I’m an OOS, too, and my numbers were either similar to yours or just a bit lower (32 on ACT, 2020 on SAT, 3.92 UW and 4.9 W), but what I think really got me in were my ECs and my essays. I’m from the Midwest and I wrote about finding diversity in my small, conservative town on Essay #1 and about being an LGBT activist in said small town on Essay #2. I dunno if the topics seems trite, but I wrote on things about which I was passionate.</p>

<p>Basically, your numbers look good and your ECs, too :slight_smile: But like Royal28 said, get a head-start on essays because they’re the only part of your app. that you can really, truly control. I think writing about a passion of yours and something in which you show significant leadership, as well as tying it in with how you’ll demonstrate that leadership at Cal, would be good (but just a suggestion) :)</p>

4

<p>well make sure you have all the a-g requirements fulfilled so they can even consider your application. Also, just an fyi, they recalculate your GPA so that an AP A is a 5.0 with no considerations for A+. Being OOS, they don’t give any additional points for honors classes. You have a good shot though.</p>

5

<p>I generally don’t like the whole chances thing because it’s random.</p>

<p>But your stats are as good as any, and as long as you can afford the extra price, you have a great chance. Look, my SAT was a 1960 and I got in fine. (Though I had some cool EC’s :)) So don’t fret about that.</p>

<p>Work on your essays! That’s what will give you your best shot. Write them both together and be mindful of the collective word limit.</p>

6

<p>I meant more do I even have a shot, and now thay you guys have said I have a shot, is it worth attending? For an econ major, will it be too hard to get into classes due to budget cuts? Or will the budget cuts be hard tto notice, outside of tuition, which won’t be a major concern for me?</p>

<p>Sent from my DROID2 using CC App</p>

7

<p>budget cuts will have almost no effect on your life at berkeley besides the increased tuition. econ is a popular major so they will not affect you. also, there are always an enormous amount of econ classes so, while you may not get the discussion time you wanted, you will get into your classes.</p>

8

<p>Great - your info has helped me decide that I think I’ll apply.</p>

<p>How is it for grad school admission, and is it good for a job across the country or simply Cali?</p>