Next year I’m going to begin my applications to universities. It has been my dream to go to UC Berkeley for a while now. I know my GPA seems low for UC Berkeley, but I’m a special case. I am currently 16 years old and attending a middle college high school where i simultaneously take college and high school classes. So far i have a total of 29 units and plan on having 60 units by Spring of 2018. My high school GPA is only a 3.7 and i have about 40 hours of community service. What are my chances of getting into Berkeley as a transfer and what more can i do by the time i apply?
You might be a special case and you are clearly wildly ambitious and I commend you for that, but you still need the grades to support why they should accept you for transfer to Cal. I hope this doesn’t come off wrong, but you are attending both high school and community college and are doing neither exceptionally well. Obviously, all things considered, you’re doing great.
As a prospective transfer, your high school grades aren’t relevant. It will all be based off of your transferable grades. So what you need to do is focus on getting your transferable college GPA higher. That doesn’t mean you should let your HS grades slip, but they are less important if you want to transfer.
Beyond that, your chances will depend on other factors like what major you intent to transfer for. What major do you want to study at Cal? Making sure you’ve met all the pre-reqs on the list. I don’t think extracurriculars are too important for you because you’re doing community college and high school at the same time while doing some volunteering, but you need to get your GPA up.
Regardless, best of luck! I’m sure you’ve got a bright future ahead of you.
Agree with @briank82; the competition to get into Berkeley is fierce.
The issue also is that you can’t just keep your head above water, at Berkeley you have to constantly perform well to keep up with the classes.
Why do you want to go to Berkeley?
You should check to see if all of your classes are UC-transferable; I took a CC class while in HS, but it was a non- college level math course, and it was therefore not transferable. Non-transferable courses are not factored into your GPA.
It really depends on which major you apply as. Applicants to the Philosophy major, for instance, generally get accepted if they have a 3.6. Some majors are easier to be admitted into than others.
Look into the Berkeley TAP program. If you join and keep getting good grades (by the time you have 60 units your GPA should be higher) I think you have a good chance. Berkeley likes unconventional applicants.
Here is a link for all UC campuses. It shows the UC Transfer GPA by major so it will give you an idea if you are competitive and/or what GPA you need to aim for the best chances.
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
I want to go to Berkeley because i am majoring in psychology and it has one of the top psychology programs in the country. It is also located in my favorite area of California. So far I’ve only had one semester of low grades at my college, but that was because of severe problems at home. Would Berkeley consider that when looking into my application. I intend on being in the 3.6-3.7 range by the time i am done. And yes… I am 100% on track with my college classes as i go and update my education plan with my counselor every semester
Are you in state for California?
Can you afford the UC’s?
yes i live in the state of california and i can afford the UC’s 100%