<p>Race: Asian
SAT I: 800M / 700V / 660W
SAT II: 780 IIC / 740 Physics
APs: Calc BC - 5, Phsyics B - 4, US - 4
PSAT: 220 (Should be Semifinalist in my state)</p>
<p>Freshman and Sophmore Years (Local HS) - Precalc, chem, physics, biology, comp programming, etc. All A's.</p>
<p>Junior Year (Competitive Boarding School)
AP Calculus - A
Japanese - A-
Physics w/ Advanced Topics - A
Molecular Genetics - B
Astrophysics - A
American Studies - A-
Research in Physics - A
Intermediate Java Programming - A</p>
<p>Summer Research at my school (3 weeks)
80 Hours Library Volunteer
Math Club</p>
<p>I did not do any at my old school, which offered none really, unless I wanted to be in Future Farmers of America. This is my weakest area. I was in a few more clubs but I didn't do much for them (Robotics, Asian Cultures, etc) No leadership positions.</p>
<p>So how does it look for me? I'll be taking quite a few unusual classes next year (Math modeling, Multi Var, Advanced Physics, Mentorship at local Uni) and hopefully I will be able to bring up my SAT scores a tad higher.</p>
<p>Are you serious?
Obviously barring any serious slacking off, I cant see you not getting into Berkeley. Possibly lift the verbal score and you should be in the running for Stanford.</p>
<p>Sadly due to some of the more recent changes in Berkeley admissions, you would be better off writing about some hardships in your life, etc... rather than what interests you.</p>
<p>eiffelguy: I would assume that a lot more in state students "drop their name in the hat" per se for berkeley than out of state students do who feel like they are borderline or unlikely to get in. </p>
<p>The average stats for out of state I'm sure are higher for out of staters.</p>
<p>From the UCB website:UC Berkeley is among the most selective universities in the country, becoming more competitive for freshman applicants each year. This past year Berkeley received more than 37,000 applications, with more than 90% coming from UC-eligible students. Generally the campus is able to admit about one in four freshman applicants for the fall term.</p>
<p>Because of student demand, selectivity varies among Colleges, and --in the College of Engineering-- among majors; for example, it is more difficult to gain admission to the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences major than to the Mechanical Engineering major.
Race, ethnicity, gender, religion and national origin are excluded from the criteria. Preference is given to California residents in the selection process.</p>
<p>Yes, it is more competitive for OOS. Yes, the OP has nice scores and if we were basing only on his numbers, then he'd stand to have a moderate shot. But boarding school, few if any extracurricular activities= study study study; or apathetic, apathetic and lazy individual which would easily translate to the Admissions Officials when they see a blank application with a set of shiny numbers. Berkeley has a surplus of highly intelligent and high-scoring individuals~ you've got to be able to show that you'll be able to contribute to the campus and getting A's in classes isn't a quality or trait that'll put you into the "admit" column.</p>
<p>Cal's acceptance rate was 26-27% this year; that is relatively high for one of the "most selective universities in the country." UCLA's acceptance rate was actually slightly below Cal's. In addition, compared to the private sector, Cal's acceptance rate falls from the concept of competition.</p>
<p>And what about the competition? The competiton, compared to private schools, continues to be less rigorous than other universities. For example, Washington and Lee University's average SAT score was over 1400 compared to Cal's mid-1300s. So yes, you're competing with 37,000 other students for admission, but that pool, in general, is not as strong as Stanford's 20,000 or Washington and Lee's 5000-6000 students.</p>
<p>Of course, getting accepted to Cal is not an easy thing to do.</p>
<p>And for out-of-staters: Why apply to Cal? You pay almost the same for a private school. The private school will offer a better financial aid package too.</p>
<p>I agree with eiffelguy that the competition is not as strong for Cal as it is for schools like stanford, yale, etc. But when comparing SAT averages, you always have to remember that Cal is best sitting, whereas many of the privates use best combined. Even if Cal let kids use best combined I still don't think the numbers would be on stanfords level, but I'm willing to bet they'd jump pretty significantly.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses guys. The reason I want to go to Berkeley is for it's engineering program, and it's also the best school which I think I have a reasonable shot at. Of course, my number one choice would be MIT, but it feels almost hopeless applying (As is Stanford for my serious lack of ECs). And I really love California; lived there for four years before moving. Have never visited Berkeley though.</p>