@swill22 I was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico, then lived in murder city Chicago, IL. I grew up where people rolled up in carpets on the side of the road is a normal thing…one time in Chicago they hung a girl from a railing post over a ledge 30 feet from my house, my grandma thought it was a Halloween decoration hah. Trust me, those protests are considered peaceful lol. People throwing trash cans around is the least of my concern. There are REAL violent things you should worry about. Get off the media BS and you will be fine.
@bugajkj Holy shiznit. That is crazy. I grew up in a rough area (random gun shots, occasional drive by shootings, drug deals), but bodies rolled up in carpets on the street is not a norm. And that hanging thing…Omg. I hope you mentioned this stuff in your essays!!
@lexluther96 Hey man the hood is the hood, glad you survived it. I remember in a Chicago my biggest fear was getting shot in my house by a random bullet, it would happen at least once a year…kids getting shot in their homes. But yeah Mexico was rough, I remember telling kids in the hood that they had it good here. You guys have running water and toilets! LoL I really didint mention it my essay though, I try not to let it define me. But when people are worried about some protest turning a little ugly I have to give something to contrast it with. It’s not something anyone should fear.
Has anyone checked out the UC Info Center lately?
They just recently added the admission statistics for 2016, previously as of 2 weeks ago it only went up to 2015!
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
@bugajskj I know what you mean! I feel like I was constantly being encouraged by my counselors to talk about rougher experiences like that, but I didn’t want to because, you know, you spend your whole life trying to distance yourself from it, and then they’re asking you to go back to it. I get the point — look what we’ve accomplished despite the odds — but it still bothers me. I want to be judged on what I’ve done, not on what I could have been. Also, sharing that kind of story is really intimate, which is hard because people I don’t know are reading it. I mean it’s not like I regularly talk about it, and I don’t act like it either. I didn’t mention all of it in my essays, but I did end up writing a little bit about it.
I used to live near Tijuana… Lol. Chicago is def a step up from that… Scary stuff lol. Good luck this Friday!!
@LandUseLaw I don’t think that’s right… I looked at the transfer by CC thing, and it said that 0 philosophy majors transferred from my school last year, but I know like six who definitely did. (They’re 100% currently attending. My friends have visited them.) Weird
Everyone is freaking out on the UCLA thread about admission decisions being tomorrow but Cal decisions come out in JUST 3 MORE DAYS!! It feels surreal!
@lexluther96 I was going to write down word for word what you said about trying to distance yourself from it. Growing up in those places gives you a victims mentality. If you want to do it big you have to move past that and into a world of abundance. Anyways, good luck to you too! Let’s do this.
Can anyone access financial aid here? You can use your MAP info to try to login. No luck for me. Hoping it doesn’t mean anything. I could access UCD’s financial aid a few days before decisions rolled out… 
https://calcentral.berkeley.edu
It says I have an “unrecognized log-in” @lexluther96 Does it say that for you too?
@doihaveashot2016 Yes, me too. I have decent stats I think (3.93, honors program, quality ECs), IGETC will be certified, and I’ll have completed all of the prereqs by the end of this semester, and I applied as a philosophy major (not impacted). I do have two Ws in classes that I don’t need for IGETC or prereqs, but the UCB counselor I talked to said that they wouldn’t be an issue… (She also read my essays, and told me not to change anything about them because she really liked them.) The Ws happened in the same semester because I had a financial emergency — I had to drop 2/3 classes to work 50-60 hours per week. Other than that, my record is basically spotless and I’ve take 15-18 units every semester. IDK though, berks is competitive 
Can anyone access financial aid here? You can use your MAP info to try to login. No luck for me. Hoping it doesn’t mean anything. I could access UCD’s financial aid a few days before decisions rolled out… https://calcentral.berkeley.edu
No luck either
No luck
I’d say you’re in for sure! @lexluther96
Thanks guys! Are your GPAs within the 25-75 range?
@lexluther96 Nah it’s cool. I know my chances are low. Doesn’t wound my ego whatsoever. Just wanted to hear it from someone else. Thanks for your input, too. I got B’s in all of my calc and physics courses, but I’ve spent hundreds of hours doing calculus over the last few years as a tutor. I could ace those classes in my sleep if I had to retake them. These last two semesters I’ve gotten A’s in my Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, and Circuits classes. The upward GPA trend is definitely there. Fingers crossed.
@doihaveashot2016 Thank you!!! 
@xsadcorex Yes, that’s awesome! The tutoring thing helps a lot, too. Their requirements for engineers are insane, especially considering that (I think) those classes are harder than, for example, history and philosophy classes. Nevertheless, that comment was unnecessary.
@lexluther96 I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want an honest response from someone, though I do appreciate your concern! I didn’t expect to get into UCSD either. Hoping for a miracle. Won’t be too disappointed if it doesn’t happen.