<p>Hi Everyone! I'm new to California and US and all this new information is to confusing for me. I have been here for about 3 years. I finished my sophomore year, with a 3.6 average GPA, and can't wait for my Junior year. In 10th grade I took Pre-calculus, AP comp sci, Honors Chemistry, English 10 regular, PE, Regular history. I have completed around 50 service hours, and I'm part of my school's Key Club. Next year I'm taking AP Physics, Calculus, Psychology,US History. I'm also going to be part of varsity cross country, and gonna join 3 more clubs. I'm currently studying for the SATs individually and with a tutor once a week. I took the practice, which was graded by my tutor, and received a 2010. I'm trying to cover my horrible 10th grade GPA with a high SAT score. I'm a really fast learner and willing to sacrifice anything to get to Berkeley. If I get the maximum GPA score, with a SAT 2200+, SAT2 750+, with 150+ service hours, 4+ AP scores, ACT 30+, and a perfect essay do you guys think that I will still have a small chance to get into Berkeley. If Berkeley does not work out for me, then UCLA would be OK for me, since they are both at the same level. I currently speak 3 languages, and planning to take Spanish in a Community College and High School at the same time. I have worked during the summers full time for 2 years. I'm trying to be a doctor, so my major would be a premed if that helps. Please give me a brief explanation about my chances. Any additional information would be helpful. If those 2 don't work out for me, which College would be my next best choice. Also which college should be my back up college , something that is not too low.
Sorry for my English.
Thank You In Advance!</p>
<p>The UCs, perhaps more than many other schools, offer a great emphasis on the application itself.</p>
<p>Because there are no recommendations or reports done by counselors and teachers, what is vital in the app is the ESSAY.</p>
<p>I can’t stress that the essay is very important. My scores were well below the average for a Cal student, however, I did have an extensive history of leadership, extracurriculars, and most of all, I thought that my essays were sincere, well written and impactful. </p>
<p>Don’t forget that at top schools, after a certain point, scores and GPA become increasingly meaningless. The difference between a 2150 and a 2250 is not as big of a gap as you might think. Remember, if you perhaps don’t stand out in one aspect of your app, find another to compensate. </p>
<p>I wish you all the best.</p>
<p>P.S. Please don’t buy into the CC mentality of a 3.6 as a “horrible” GPA. It’s totally not.</p>
<p>3.6 GPA as weighted or unweighted or UC GPA? This year the average UC GPA for all admitted students to Cal is around 4.15, so if your UC GPA is around there, you should be fine (GPA wise).
Your courseload looks kinda light, especially for next year. If you’re only taking the 4 classes you mentioned next year (AP Physics, Calculus, Psychology,US History), you really should take some CC classes.
But what’s really important is to stand out from the rest of the applicants. Even if you have a GPA that’s below average, you need to make yourself stand out from some 40,000 to 50,000 applicants. A lot of people applying to Cal or UCLA have already good grades, top of their class, tons of community service hours. So if you want to get in, make sure your essays or ECs (like awards or achievements) are amazing (you mentioned you only been in the U.S. for 3 years? So you can write that in your essay or something sincere and thoughtful).
For your backup college, I say UCSD looks good.</p>
<p>Those 4 classes I mentioned are APs in case you misunderstood me. And I’m planning to take 5 more APs my senior year. I’m also gonna take anatomy and physics BC(not exactly sure on the name) in a CC. Hope this makes it better to understand</p>
<p>Oh, in that case, your courseload is good. Its your GPA that you have to worry about then, but hopefully your essays and ECs can balance that out.
If you don’t get into Cal, I’m sure you have a pretty good chance getting into UCLA then. Cal consider academics (SAT scores and your GPA) more than UCLA.</p>
<p>If I take CC classes such as physics, does that count as an AP class. Are there other ways to boost up my GPA?</p>
<p>Hey bud,</p>
<p>I had a 3.5 freshman and sophomore year and took nothing but regular classes. Junior year, I took 5 AP’s, got an A in every single one, got a 2240 SAT, 790/770 SAT II and got in. But I am convinced these improvements aren’t what got me in.</p>
<p>Berkeley looks for people who do amazing things, whatever their endeavor may be. My friend got into Berkeley because he was an excellent basketball player. My brother got into Berkeley because he’s a well known surfer. I got in because I placed very high at debate tournaments. </p>
<p>Yeah your coursework is important but only to a certain extent. Instead of trying to take an extra physics class at your community college, you should spend that time doing something AMAZING. I don’t care what… Start a blog detailing the difficulties of being an international student or start a charity through which you help poor kids get dial up internet so they can reach the internet (where all knowledge can be found). Whatever you do, do something amazing and you will get in!</p>
<p>Thanks that helps a lot. Does being an excellent runner for cross country boost up my chances. Like breaking some records on national level.</p>
<p>yes, winning regional or national awards and competitions are a good way to have your application flagged as desirable. Cal likes to announce the range of accomplishments of the accepted applicants, showcasing the breadth and diversity of the student body. Having an accomplishment to put on the list is a good thing.</p>
<p>Are my ECs and achievments/awards going to be on my high school transcript.</p>
<p>Are my ECs and achievments/awards going to be on my high school transcript?</p>
<p>No, there will be a section on the UC application where you can put your top 5 ECs/achievements/awards.</p>
<p>How do they check if I’m lying or no. :S
By the way, is there an honors course in Berkeley. And also what classes should I take for premed.</p>
<p>They’re not going to comb over everything to make sure you’re telling the truth, but come on, don’t lie to get into college, or for anything else for that matter.</p>
<p>Just start thinking about your essays as early as possible (right now), and raise that SAT, and you’ll be totally fine. Don’t bother worrying about classes until you’ve been accepted.</p>
<p>THe UC system audits a random fraction of applications, asking for evidence to back up claims. If you are audited and and are found to be lying, or if they ever discover that you lied even years into your time at Cal, you may find yourself expelled or your application nullified.</p>
<p>What would be some great ECs to put on the application?</p>
<p>Yea, don’t lie on your application. They won’t check all of the applicants, but they will check a random fraction and ask for all the evidence. If they ever find out you’re lying, your entire application will be nullified and they will put a flag by your name (so if you apply the UC system again in the future, they will know that you lied before). </p>
<p>You should put your top ECs on your app (like any national/state/regional awards or achievements, leadership positions, etc … things that not all other applicants would have.</p>
<p>Should I add service hours on the EC list, or its just on the transcript?</p>
<p>There is a section for community service (apart from the ECs section) that you can list your activities and hours.
When you do your app, you’ll figure it out. There is like a section for extracurricular activities, a section for community service, a section for work experience, a section for awards and activities, and etc. You can list up to 5 items per section.
For the transcript, there will be nothing on it except your courseload and your grades (and sometimes your class rank). But remember the UCs don’t ask for your transcript until AFTER you’ve been admitted. So they won’t even see your transcript at all during the admission process.</p>
<p>If they don’t look at the transcript during the admission, how do they decide on accepting me or not. Is there a section where I put my grades and coursework on the application too?</p>