The Official Chances Thread!

<p>Instead of having random chance threads pop up, let’s just have one thread where prospective students can get their chances from fellow CC posters. I’ll try to chime in too so people can get more feedback. Feel free to also ask for chances for other UCs/private colleges you are considering. I’m going to include a FAQ at the bottom that tries to answer some common questions prospective students have regarding admissions/chances. Please try to include the following information in your post to ameliorate the process:</p>

<p>UC GPA ([How</a> do I calculate my UC GPA?](<a href=“http://www.californiacolleges.edu/admissions/california-state-university-csu/gpa_calculator.asp]How”>http://www.californiacolleges.edu/admissions/california-state-university-csu/gpa_calculator.asp))
Unweighted GPA
Weighted GPA</p>

<p>California Resident, Out-Of-State, or International</p>

<p>SAT Reasoning Scores (by section) or ACT scores
SAT II Scores</p>

<p>Which college are you applying to? (Letters and Science, Engineering, Chemistry, etc.)</p>

<p>List a few of your most important ECs (a laundry list of 20+ items is not needed)</p>

<p>Any other significant accomplishments in a specific field</p>

<p>FAQ:</p>

<li>How do I know if I’m eligible for admission?</li>
</ol>

<p>You have to complete the “a-g” courses, take the SAT or ACT, and two SAT II tests. More information can be found below:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/eligibility.html[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/eligibility.html</a></p>

<li>What criteria is Berkeley looking for in its applicants? What matters more, GPA or SAT?</li>
</ol>

<p>It is my general feeling that Berkeley looks for these, in order of importance:</p>

<p>GPA/State Residency
SAT/ACT
Essays/ECs
Rigor of courseload</p>

<li>What stats do I need to have to be a competitive applicant?</li>
</ol>

<p>Average stats of admitted students (off the top of my head)</p>

<p>UC GPA: 4.17
UW GPA: 3.93
W GPA: 4.27</p>

<p>SAT: ~2050</p>

<li>How much harder is it to get into Berkeley from Out-Of-State?</li>
</ol>

<p>It is noticibly harder for an OOS applicant to get in. To get an idea, you would probably need ~2150+ on the SATs to be competitive. I would compare the difficulty to that of a lower Ivy (Cornell, U Penn, Brown).</p>

<li>How much harder is it to get into ___ college versus ___ college?</li>
</ol>

<p>Generally, it’s harder to get into the college of engineering, with the majors EECS, Bioengineering, and engineering undeclared considered to be the most competitive. The other colleges are about the same.</p>

<li>Will applying for ___ major increase/decrease my chances?</li>
</ol>

<p>Only the college of engineering admits according to major. If you are applying to the College of Letters and Science, you are considered to be “undeclared” and the major you put down in your application does not affect your chances. I <em>believe</em> the same applies for the other colleges besides engineering.</p>

<li>I am interested in Berkeley’s Hass business school. How do I apply?</li>
</ol>

<p>You can’t get into Haas straight out of high school. Students generally apply at the end of their sophomore year in college, when they declare their major. As such, if you are interested in majoring in business, you would most likely apply to the College of Letters and Science.</p>

<li>Does UC Berkeley require letters of recommendation?</li>
</ol>

<p>The UCs do not look at letters of recommendation.</p>

<li>I’m an URM! How much will it help?</li>
</ol>

<p>The UCs do not take race into consideration for admission.</p>

<li>I’m a Legacy! How much will it help?</li>
</ol>

<p>The UCs do not take legacy into consideration.</p>

<p>Have fun and chance away!</p>

<p>That will be very helpful for some students, so thank you. the only suggestion I have is that I believe rigor/course load might be ranked one above ECs. I know Berkeley and UCLA really stressed that in their brochures and viewbooks. Also, the avg. SAT for Cal is a 2070, and SAT for OOS is therefore probably around a 2170-2250 to be competitive, though the top 25% begins around 2200, and, like you said, depending on the major. Anyway, those were the only "edits" I had, great work!</p>

<p>UC GPA: 4.33
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.5
**I calculated this from my high school courses. However, I have taken college courses and gotten a B, so my college GPA is around a 3.7 or 3.8</p>

<p>California Resident</p>

<p>SAT Reasoning Scores
770 M//750 CR//740 W
SAT II Scores
790 Chem
800 Math II
730 Biology E :(</p>

<p>Which college are you applying to? (Letters and Science, Engineering, Chemistry, etc.)
I'm not sure, but I'm looking at biology, chemistry, or math majors. (Or maybe even graphic design!) I'm indecisive...</p>

<p>List a few of your most important ECs (a laundry list of 20+ items is not needed)
Section editor for school paper
CSF Pres
Officer in some other clubs
Various clubs
Volunteering (~200+ hrs) @ hospital, middle school, local nonprofit organization</p>

<p>Any other significant accomplishments in a specific field
Writing award, Business awards, Tech award ... nothing that major.</p>

<p>I know I'm "competitive", so I am more interested in finding out how competitive my stats are...</p>

<p>Other UCs I'm looking at are UCLA, UCSD, and UC Davis. Is it reasonable to consider Davis a safety?</p>

<p>You have a very good GPA and great scores. ECs are decent. I think you have a great chance at Berkeley and UCLA. I'd call UCSD a safety, frankly.</p>

<p>Classrank:
16/700 (Top 5%)</p>

<p>Sophomore:
AP World H: A/A
AP Cal AB: A/A
Honors Chem: A/A
PE: A/A
Eng IIA: B/A
Spanish II: A/A</p>

<p>Summer:
Physics: A</p>

<p>Junior:
AP Cal BC: A/A
AP US Hist: A/A
AP Chem: A/A
Anat/Phy: A/B
Honors Eng: B/B
Spanish III: A/A</p>

<p>Summer:
C++ Programming: A</p>

<p>Senior:
AP English:
AP Stats:
AP Bio:
AP Phy:
Photography:
US Gov:</p>

<p>SAT Scores: 2020 (760M/650CR/610W)</p>

<p>SAT II Scores:
Math IIC: 800
Chemistry: 720
USH: 540</p>

<p>I am planning on self-studying physics and taking it in October.</p>

<p>AP Scores:
Calculus BC - 5 (Subscore for AB is 5)
Chemistry - 5
Calculus AB - 4
World History - 3
US History - 2</p>

<p>GPA:
UW - 3.833 - 3.875
Weighted - 4.18-4.21</p>

<p>EC:
NHS, CSF, Math Club, FBLA, Varsity Swimming, Piano, 200+ Community Service (Slave Labor) Hours.</p>

<p>Which college are you applying to? (Letters and Science, Engineering, Chemistry, etc.)
Engineering, EECS.</p>

<p>Good idea for this thread. Could we get it stickied?</p>

<p>cherrycola: Berkeley/UCLA are matches. UCSD and UCD are safeties.</p>

<p>Castel: Berkeley's a match - slight reach. If you weren't applying for EECS, it'd be a match. The SAT score could be a bit higher; the ECs are average.</p>

<p>UC GPA: 4.23
Unweighted GPA: 3.86-3.9 (somewhere in this range)
Weighted GPA: ~4.52</p>

<p>California Resident (should be ELC; I'm top 1-2% i think)</p>

<p>ACT scores
Comp - 33
English - 34
Math - 32
Reading - 35
Science - 30</p>

<p>SAT II Scores
-Math IIC: 760
-Physics: will take in october; should be in 700's
-U.S. History - 730 (though this doesn't matter for Engineering)</p>

<p>AP's:
-World History
-Stats
-Calc BC
-Physics C: Mech
-English Lang & Comp.
-U.S. History
(All 4's and 5's)
-Psychology (Senior year)
-English Lit & Comp (Senior year)</p>

<p>Which college are you applying to?
-Engineering (EECS)</p>

<p>List a few of your most important ECs (a laundry list of 20+ items is not needed)
-Independent Research (since 8th grade). (This is comp sci./engineering research that, for the most part, I have done by myself: no mentors, etc).
-Competitive Fencing
-I am part of a group which is a youth subdivision of our county board of supervisors.
<em>these are the main ones and though there are onlly 3, they are very time consuming</em></p>

<p>Any other significant accomplishments in a specific field
-ISEF x2
-Siemens Regional Finalist
-1st place Winner of local sci fair x2
-Many more research awards
-Developing a product based on my research and hope to market it soon.</p>

<p>College Classes:
Java - A
Linear Algebra - A
Physics: E/M - Will take in fall
Calc 3 or Diff eq - Will <em>hopefully</em> take in spring</p>

<p>Castel: SATs could be higher but you have good math scores. I think you're a match for EECS.</p>

<p>omgtayzonday08: You have a great GPA and test scores. Your awards are impressive. I think you have a very good chance.</p>

<p>does Berkeley look at highest score in each section or highest combined score in one sitting?</p>

<p>Last year it was one sitting.</p>

<p>omgtayzonday08: Berkeley is a match.</p>

<p>dong_xie: it's always 1 sitting.</p>

<p>genius idea of a thread...vicissitudes you are brilliant</p>

<p>It's genius, but useless if no one posts :P.</p>

<p>In state
UC GPA 4.08
UW GPA 3.75
W GPA 4.43</p>

<p>ACT 32 math 33 reading 33
SAT 2250</p>

<p>Sat II
Bio 780
US 780
Math 790</p>

<p>I have taken every AP offered at my school and got straight 4's</p>

<p>15-25 hours of community service a week
8-12 hours of work
Bunch of clubs and other crap. 3 Biomed internships. Sorry im kinda lazy right now tons of homework. Thanks for your time though.</p>

<p>ali_asghar209: I'd say slight reach - match. Great scores, slightly weak GPA, average ECs (I'm assuming).</p>

<p>Thanks man... n e one else?</p>

<p>Assuming you're applying to L&S I think you have a pretty good chance. I'd say 60-70%.</p>

<p>I want to enter for a Sociology major. </p>

<p>Female/Filipino/ 1st Gen. college student</p>

<p>UC GPA: 4.0 on the dot.
Class Rank: 6/300+
SAT: 1840; CR-630 M-570 W-650
SAT2: World His-570, Lit-650-mid 700's (projected) <---will retake (had flu)</p>

<p>AP's: World (3), Art Drawing (3), Art 3D (3), Eng Lang (3), Ush (2).
CC Course: Psyc 101, Art History 104</p>

<p>Senior Course-Load:</p>

<p>Newspaper
Gov/Econ Hnrs
Ap Art 2D
Ap Lit
Chinese 5-6
Chemistry Hnrs</p>

<p>Special Stuff:</p>

<p>-Have received Governor's Medallion; highest award of art in California. For attendance to CSSSA at CalArts. Only 500 students gained entrance.
-CSF, NJHS, NHS
-Japanese Club Pres 2 yrs
-Chinese Club Pres 2 yrs
-Co-Editor of school newspaper (prospective)
-Art Club
-Fashion Club
-Ap Scholars Club
-Principal's Round Table
-Animal Shelter Volunteer</p>

<p>Berkeley is my dream. Please give me a percentage of an "in" for me. (:</p>

<p>kaii: you're an odd case -- it's a little difficult to say. Your UC GPA is a little weak (below average for Berkeley), and your scores are subpar. You have good/average ECs, and that award will definitely help you. So it could go either way. I'd say slight reach, high match.</p>

<p>50% is about a match; 'in' would mean about a safety, or safe match, and that's at about 70%+. For you, I'd say it's about 40%. (Note: I'm not a fan of percents -- it's very difficult to be that precise with this sort of thing.)</p>

<p>@kaii:
Low scores yet the Governor's Medallion is interesting. I predict a slight match if you can write a good essay about your art or something.</p>