Should I give up on Berkeley?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>I intended on transferring to Berkeley as an Economics Major, but don't feel that's possible anymore.</p>

<p>I got in A in Macro, but got a B in Micro (Missed an A by One Point). I'm feeling that the B is really going to kill me. I'm taking Calc this fall, taking two back to back math classes this summer to prepare for it. </p>

<p>My GPA is a measly 3.7, been working a minimum wage job customer service job for about a year now, and have a small amount of volunteering experience under my belt.</p>

<p>White, middle class, parents both went to college, grandfather did graduate from Berkeley.</p>

<p>Ever since visiting Berkeley earlier this year I knew it's where I wanted to go to school. But lately I feel I might need to strongly consider a back up.</p>

<p>Thoughts?</p>

2

<p>You should always have a back up, no matter your stats or major. So definitely pick one. With that said, a 3.7 GPA is really good. You’re definitely a very competitive applicant (assuming your pre-reqs and IGETC will be done), and have a really good chance of getting in. Check through the Berkley admissions threads this year’s and last year’s to see what kind of GPA were getting into Economics.</p>

3

<p>I don’t think you should give up but you should definitely either apply to more than just Berkeley (preferably, apply to 3-5 UCs), or being okay with the idea of sticking it out another year at the community college taking some GPA booster classes along with a couple of extra classes related to your major. Are you applying this fall? Do you live near a UC? I am taking classes at UC Berkeley this summer to demonstrate my interest in my major (I think by the time I am done I will have 10 courses completed for my major, which only requires 3 prereqs) and my determination to attend Cal. I am also interested in double majoring in Econ once I transfer although that is not my main major and I know that you must complete a calculus based statistics course as well as an upper div Econ class before (or be in the progress of taking those) you apply for the major. Could you take one of those at UC Berkeley this summer? And if you didn’t get into UC Berkeley for Fall 2013, would you consider taking those courses during the summer before your application (and spending another year at the JC)? I think these are all things to consider.</p>

<p>If you are not willing to do these things, then yes, I think you should research the other UCs and CSUs and rank 3-5 of them in order of your preference, if you don’t get into Cal. For example, I have decided that although Davis and San Diego have great programs for me, I don’t want to live in those cities, so I am only going to apply to UCB, UCLA, and UCI. If I don’t get into any of those 3, then I would rather take another year at the JC to raise my GPA. But if I got into UCI but not UCB or UCLA, I would rather go there then postpone my graduation another year.</p>

<p>However, I still think you have a good chance, especially if you do well in the Calculus class. So the last thing you should do is throw in the towel and not even submit an application.</p>

4

<p>I was admitted to LA/Berk for econ for Fall 2012. Try to raise the GPA, 3.7 may be sufficient for other majors, but is on the low-end for econ. Even w/ a 4.0, if you don’t have relevant ECs, chances will be low. the average admitted econ is 3.93-3.95 for Berkeley and UCLA. This year, I saw some 4.0 econ majors w/ really good econ relevant ECs get rejected, one was admitted after appeal. </p>

<p>Raise your GPA, get some econ relevant ECs.</p>

5

<p>Strive, do you know if the admissions for Political Economy (or another Econ related non impacted major) are lower? Since the prereqs would be the same or similar, the OP would show the same dedication to the major and once admitted to the College of Letters and Science, he could still apply to be a regular econ major.</p>

6

<p>yeah, applying under poli econ/envir econ would not be as hard. but can people actually do that? apply under an unimpacted econ major then apply for econ in the 1st semester?</p>

7

<p>^^apparently, yes. You can’t do that for haas though. The reason is that even if you apply as an Econ major, you aren’t actually accepted into that major. You still have to go through the process of declaring Econ during your first semester there and if you weren’t able to register for the rest of your prereqs there is a probably chance you will get denied. So it makes sense that even if one is not admitted under the assumed major of Econ, they can still attempt to declare it within their first semester and as long as they have completed all of their prereqs with at least a 3.0 they should be able to declare. I did a little research in the UCB section and it looks like although Econ is impacted and they turn away a lot of people, it seems as though all of those people either got less than a 3.0 in their prereqs or attempted to declare too early.</p>

8

<p>Raise your GPA pronto, and get involved with something, anything, that’s on campus.</p>

<p>I was a straight 4.0 applicant for Berkeley Economics. By the time I applied, I had completed both Economics classes, one Calculus class (through AP score), and had one more Calculus to take (equivalent statistics courses are not offered throughout the state). I was interning part-time at a property management firm, and had about 10+ hours of volunteering per week, some of these positions being that of leadership. I felt my essays were strong, as I had them proofread by various professors and friends. However, I was rejected, only to be accepted on appeal because of a personal family issue (I also hear the successful appeal rate is less than 3% for UCB).</p>

<p>In hindsight, I would have been more involved with student government/something-on-campus. It was difficult for me to do so, as I basically went through CC in about one year, giving me little time to actually be on campus. I viewed my school as a “commuter school”, just going to school, work, volunteer, and home. Berkeley emphasizes the “holistic review”, which basically means your essay and EC’s are extremely important. I am referring to:</p>

<p>-student volunteer work on campus.
-on-campus jobs.
-on-campus honor programs (Phi Theta Kappa, Alpha Gamma Sigma, etc.)
-student government (this one is a biggie.) </p>

<p>Just look at the statistics. If you read through the Berkeley Acceptance thread, I remember seeing an Economics applicant being accepted with a 3.5, but with about 15+ years in the workforce. 3.6/3.7 Philosophy majors are in. </p>

<p>What I’m trying to say with my long-winded post is this: Grades are really important. But Berkeley really likes community involvement too. To be frank with you, it’s going to be tough for you being a while, middle-class student whose parents went to college. But if there is something in your life that will make you stand out, especially if it is something that relates to community involvement, write about it in your essay. It will help.</p>