My Prospects

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey Guys,</p>

<p>I'm here for the same reason everyone else at this board is here, to see what my chances are of getting into a particular college.</p>

<p>Specifically, I have UC Berkeley in mind as my main school, although I am, of course, applying to other schools. Note: I'm applying OUT OF STATE. So if you applied to Berkeley out of state as well, your post is greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Here is a basic run down of some of my stats. If more is needed, just ask and I'll reply as soon as I can since this is very important to me.</p>

<p>Demographics:
Caucasian
Russian(not sure if this is even reportable, but writing about my childhood in the USSR will surely allow for some kudos)
But I have U.S. citizenship.
Live in New Mexico.</p>

<p><em>Notes: My high school does not offer 'honors' classes, but does offer 'advanced' classes, which are not weighted.
*</em>Also, I don't have my transcript with me, so the A's below might be A+'s or not. I don't think it makes a difference either way.</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Physics – A A
English 9 – A A
Orchestra – A A
Geometry – A A
French 1 – A A
Introduction to Computer Science(one semester) – A
Programming in Java(second semester) - A
World History – A A</p>

<p>Running GPA: 4.0</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Advanced Chemistry – A A
English 10(semester one) – A
Advanced English 10 (semester two, I transferred mid-year) – A
Physical Education – A A
AP Computer Science – A A
Algebra 2 / Trig(Accelerated, but unweighted class) – A A
French 2 – A A
U.S. History – A A</p>

<p>Running GPA: 4.07</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP Physics B – A A
AP English 11 – A A
AP Statistics – A A
Precalculus 1(semester class) – A
Precalculus 2(semester class) – A
Government(semester class) – A
Economics(semester class) – A
Advanced Biology – A A
French 3 – A A</p>

<p>Running GPA: 4.19</p>

<p>Senior Year:
AP Psychology -
AP Calculus -
AP English 12 -
AP Physics C -
Health(semester) -
C++ (semester) -
AI Programming(semester) -
Technical Co-op(intern program, whole year) -</p>

<p>Total H.S GPA: 4.29 (assuming I get all A's senior year)
UC GPA: 4.307 (take out PE and do GPA for sophomore/junior year)</p>

<p>So everything is looking good far right? Well here is where it starts to fall apart:</p>

<p>SAT I: 2180 (700w,790m,690cr)
SAT II Math: 800
SAT II Physics: 720
AP Comp Sci: 5
AP Physics : 5
AP Stats: 4
AP English 11: 3</p>

<p>SAT/AP/ACT Summary: I've taken the SAT only once, wasn't very pleased with the score and I am retaking it in October. The AP English grade is discouraging but I'm hoping it's practically irrelevant for admissions. Also, I'm taking the ACT in October as well, I'm hoping I will do better this time around.</p>

<p>Alright, onwards:</p>

<p>Clubs:
French Club – 10, 11 (treasurer), 12 (no elections yet)
Snow Club(snowboarding/skiing) – 10
Math Honor Society(actually a national thing, basically a math club) – 11, 12(treasurer)
Speech and Debate Club – 10, 11, 12
National Honor Society - 11, 12
Science Bowl - 11(we got 3rd in the State), 12</p>

<p>Sports:
JV Tennis: 10, 11, 12(maybe Varsity?)</p>

<p>Other Extracurriculars:
Taught a couple of computer classes at the local senior center.
Did purely volunteer work at the local library. (20 hours, I believe)
Numerous hours(more than the 20 at the library by far) working with Teen Court which is a separate sentencing court for teenagers. I've served on the jury numerous times, and as both prosecution and defense attorney multiple times.</p>

<p>Work:
Homework helper at the library.
High School co-op tech at LANL(Los Alamos National Laboratories, yea the place they made the bomb at). I'm currently at this job and am making a website from scratch for a project and am then proceeding to learn the code and science. The project is developing a complex physics and algorithms model. By the time I apply for college I should have 700 hours or so of work.</p>

<p>Fields of Study:
My current interests lie in Physics and Computer Science, as you may have guesses by my work load.</p>

<p>Other Colleges of Application:
I'm also going to apply to UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, practically all the UC's, for safeties and so forth. As for 'reaches': Stanford, Caltech. Plus a select few others like UT Austin.</p>

<p>Any suggestions on what I can still get done before admissions to beef up my resume, any ideas on how Berkeley will look at my admission, or any comments at all are greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks a bunch for your time and help,
Misha</p>

<p>Edited because I forgot about NHS and the UC GPA calculation system.</p>

2

<p>Why would you wNT TO SPEND $40k for Berkeley OOS. if you can get in you can get into great privates that will be a much better undergrad experience. Save UCB for grad school.</p>

3

<p>Nothing wrong with UC Bekeley--note that it only ranks #21 on USNW, but would rank #6 if you throw out all that weird stuff relating to alumni contributions, etc. And it's one of the top engineering schools, and humanities schools in the country (top 10 on every poll).</p>

<p>Other schools you should consider, though are Caltech and MIT--you have the profile, the grades, and the test scores.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

4

<p>Ah, very good points with the tuition. I failed to mention that since LANL(the place I currently work at) is owned by the University of California, I recieve in-state tuition. However, I apply as out of state. So UC is a wonderful option for me considering that New Mexico has a dearth of good colleges for the sciences and in general.</p>

<p>Misha</p>

5

<p>Well, that should drop that $40K per year down to around $16K per year (which includes the room and board).</p>

6

<p>Carnegie Mellon is a strong match for your interests and your stats. You should take a look at the school.</p>

7

<p>IMHO--Carnegie Mellon is a safe match and almost a safety for this candidate--although I do agree that the math/physics emphasis is a good fit.</p>

8

<p>Is UC Berkeley really that good? I always thought it was a bit of a junk school.</p>

<p>And prosecutor in some sort of teen court? Shouldn't they get real adults to do court stuff? Or is it just some sort of pretend court of soemthing like Model UN?</p>

<p>Another question, the USSR disappeared in 1989. How could you have had a childhood there when you were born in 1989 (I'm assuming since most rising seniors are 89)?</p>

<p>Looks good so far. AP scores dun matter much. SAT good enough. That physics looks a bit low. Assuming you are not going for engineering, Berkleey is a match. reach if you are going fo rengineering.</p>

9

<p>I'm thinking Computer Science for Berkeley actually, they are ranked fairly high.</p>

<p>The USSR fell completely in 1991 I believe, and I was born in 1988.</p>

<p>The Teen Court is a sentencing court. Basically teenagers admit guilt in real court and come to Teen court to be sentenced within specific guidelines.</p>

<p>I might retake SAT II Physics, but I'm not sure. You think it's worth it? Also, if I do, the College will only see one right?</p>

<p>Misha</p>

10

<p>Nope, they will still see your old score + the new physics score. Maybe it was the Berlin Wall that fell in 89.</p>

<p>Teen court soudns pretty interseting. Possible essay topic.</p>

11

<p>Yup, Nov 9, 1989.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the info guys.</p>

<p>More info is always appreciated. Plus, a post from someone that got into Berkeley from out of state would be supremely appreciated.</p>

<p>Misha</p>

12

<p>Derfel:</p>

<p>UCB: Match (out of state), Slight Reach (Engineering, out of state)</p>

13

<p>West Germany and East Germany reunified in 1990 so thats probably the timeframe of the fall of the USSR.</p>

14

<p>Bump...</p>

<p>Still looking for more insight, particularly from out of staters that got into UCB.</p>

<p>Thanks,
Misha</p>

15

<p>Bump....</p>

<p>?</p>

16

<p>I don't think CMU SCS can really be called a safety. It's not like he is applying to HSS.</p>