Strong ECs + SATs but LOW GPA? Chance me please.

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Hey guys could you please chance me for UC Berkeley? I'm a senior btw. Thanks!!!! </p>

<p>SAT I:
680 Math
690 Critical Reading
740 Writing (Essay: 11)
TOTAL SAT: 2110</p>

<p>SAT II:
Math Level 2 – 700
Biology E/M – 730</p>

<p>UC GPA: 3.47 (really bad, I know )</p>

<p>APs/Honors/College Courses Taken:
Chemistry Honors
American Literature Honors
Spanish 4 Honors
Physics Honors
General Psychology (College Course over the summer)
AP US History - 4 (AP Test Score)
AP Biology - 4 (AP Test Score)
AP Microeconomics - gonna take this year
AP English Literature - gonna take this year
AP Calculus A/B - gonna take this year</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load:
AP English Literature
AP Microeconomics
AP Calculus A/B
Spanish 4 Honors
Physics Honors
Art 2</p>

<p>Major Awards: Top Tutor at my school for three years in a row</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Track and Field during Junior Year – 250 hours</p>

<p>Lead Tutor at high school's tutoring center - all 4 years = 950 hours</p>

<p>Active Member of Interact Club – 36 hours</p>

<p>Developed and maintaining a website for a registered software company in my town (internship) - all 4 years = 1664 hours.</p>

<p>Developed and programmed a software program for a registered company in my town. The company sells boxed software at giant retailers like Best Buy, WalMart, Amazon, etc. (intership) - 11th and 12th grade = 96 hours</p>

<p>Personal Statements:
I feel that I did extremely well. I wrote about the dedication I showed towards helping needy people at my school academically, and how i've moved about 25 times and lived in various places in the world/USA and how that type of diversity enriched my character and personality (shows how I can culturally contribute to the campus as an individual).</p>

<p>Also, in the additional comments section, I elaborated on my experiences as a web designer and software programmer (see extracurriculars above) and I told the admissions officers about the unique skillset which I acquired at these internships and how they show my passion/competency for engineering despite my low GPA.</p>

<p>Intended Major:
First Choice: Industrial Engineering</p>

<p>State: CA
School Type: Highly competitive school. Ranked in the top 10 in the state</p>

2

<p>I don’t feel that you’re a particularly strong student. Your test scores are certainly not good enough to balance out your GPA. </p>

<p>680 in Math, 700 in Math Level 2, and lack of impressive technical ECs don’t put you in a good position for admission to engineering.</p>

<p>Soowweee :(</p>

3

<p>I don’t know if I agree with ^^^^. I definitely don’t agree with a lack of technical ECs. </p>

<p>Your GPA is not outstanding, but your test scores are average for Cal, and I think your diversity and strong ECs may help tip the balance. I would say that Cal is still a reach, but for sure within your grasp.</p>

4

<p>I would take a look at people who were accepted to Cal , and honestly compare yourself . I hope you are pursuing other possibilities . Good luck !</p>

5

<p>Although your SAT is a little on the low side (but I do not think, at all, that they would completely disqualify you), your ECs to me seem very impressive! Especially when you counted ALL of the hours your spent with them. It does show a lot of leadership, especially the tutoring and the programming :slight_smile: Throw in some great essays, and I think you’ve got a chance for Cal. I’m curious, though: you’ve moved a lot! Where have you lived? I always think that’s really interesting, lol, and feel it adds a lot to people’s overall applications.</p>

6

<p>Caicas is exactly why I resent this website. Nonetheless, if you gave it your all in your essays, then I’d say you have a decent shot. Your SAT 1 and 2 scores are pretty good.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for all your input guys! I know that my GPA is on the lower side so I obviously applied to other UCs as well. Davis is where I really want to go to. How do you think I stand for their admissions process?</p>

8

<p>Caiacs is being realistic and doesn’t want to sugarcoat anything. His SAT 1 and 2 scores are weak compared to admitted engineering students. Even if he does get in, which is possible, he would most likely struggle and be one of the whiny people always posting threads about how miserable their lives are and how gloomy Berkeley is.</p>

9

<p>Caiacs, you’re probably right that the test scores aren’t good enough to balance the GPA, and that the OP’s chances of admission aren’t that high, but how can you say there is a lack of impressive technical ECs? I think the EC’s are strong.</p>

10

<p>Honestly, ecs don’t really help much in the admissions process for UCs. In order to be “fair”, they have to kinda sorta lean on numbers… which in op’s case are in the low side.</p>

<p>While stats seem close to davis, I also won’t hold on to too much hope, seeing as davis is becoming increasingly popular and competitive each year.</p>

11

<p>Yeah I’ve heard that one before about how ECs don’t count that much for the UCs. However, they’re switching over to the holistic review this year which means that GPAs/SATs/ECs all get equal consideration. I also applied Undeclared to UC Davis. Do you guys think that this’ll help my case at all? And yes lol my GPA sucks, but there’s obviously nothing I can do about it. Thanks again for your inputs! :)</p>