Read this if you're a junior.

[berkeleyadmit]

<p>Hey guys, I just wanted to share some of my thoughts and advice for you juniors who are stressing out over college. Most of you guys are probably researching which college you want to go to, trying to estimate if you can get in, posting on cc "chance me please!", finding out that your SAT score might not be competitive, so you buy books and take classes to try to raise it, all this while still trying to maintain a high GPA. My first of advice to you is this, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT, let the people on this forum bring you down. I'm not bashing on the people here, I think all of you guys are wonderful, but do not take their word on it. What I mean by this is, when you start a new thread trying to get people to chance you, do not take their answer to your "chances" seriously. I posted numerous threads about my stats, and my dream schools. Everyone that posted kept saying, reject, reject, reject, look of safety. In my thread, I listed my dream schools as Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, and UCSB. Everyone on the thread said, berkeley=reject, ucla=reject, ucsd=10-20% chance you'll make it, ucsb=slight reach. Reading that broke my heart. I felt worthless, I started scrambling on trying to figure out what to do. I started thinking to myself, dang i'm not getting into any UC, I must be a failure. You guys need to realize that the people replying to your threads ARE NOT ADCOMS. They do not know what a certain college looks for, they have an idea, but they do not know for certain. A brief look at my stats, 3.9 GPA, no ap classes until senior year, no math junior year, 1700 sat score, varsity sports. That was pretty much my entire resume. Those stats combined with a strong personal statement, got me admitted to berkeley, ucsd, and ucsb. I advise you guys to start working on your personal statement as soon as possible. Also, get a wide variety of teachers you trust, who know you very well, to revise your personal statement. They will all give you advice and pointers, but it is up to you on how you want your personal statement. Only you can determine if it is your best work, and if it truly defines you. I revised my personal statement over 20 times. I went from a 2 page essay, down to 500 words over the course of 4 months. Work hard on your personal statement, it might be the key factor that gets you admitted. Also, Babe Ruth said "Do not let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." This could not be more true. I have about 5 friends who are great in school, 4.0+ GPA, but they decided, i need a safety, i'll apply to ucr over berkeley. They all doubted themselves and their ability to get into berkeley. I am certain that if they had tried, they would have been admitted. When I was deciding which uc to apply to, I thought to myself, "Do I really wanna go there?". The answer for Irvine was no. I was considering UCI over berkeley when applying, because I did not want to purchase another app. Wow, what a mistake that would have been. Apply where you want to go! Don't let fear stop you, life will work itself out. And if you don't get into UCLA, do not worry, berkeley's decision is just around the corner, and it might come with an acceptance, you never know. Also, UCSD goes by a point system, so if you go to a low income school, 1700 sat, and 3.7+ gpa, i'm pretty confident you'll be admitted.</p>