Bio: I am currently a junior and was ultimately curious about my chances of getting into UC-Berkeley. I have taken a number of rigorous courses and one SAT. I am considering the SAT subject tests and plan to take the SAT at least once more (I am currently signed up for the December test). I also have a number of extra-curriculars, though they are all things I am fairly dedicated to and passionate about. I should also note that I live in Washington so I would be an out of state applicant. Unfortunately, my school has few AP’s (none freshman year) and no IB program.
Unweighted GPA: 4.0 (My school does not do weighted)
AP Classes: AP Bio, AP Euro, AP Language Arts, AP Chemistry, AP US History (more to come senior year)
SAT: 1970 (Could be better which is why I am taking it again)
SAT Subject Tests: None
Extra-Curriculars: Reverse Engineering + x86 Assembly (malware analysis and stuff), founded the programming club, honor society, lifeguard, Varsity Swim (since freshman year), hospital volunteer (since sophomore year), club swim (when highschool season is not going), tutoring, and I run a semi-professional online business.
Awards: Kiwanis Student of the Month, Student of the Month, Math Student of the Year, some other general awards that id have to go find.
Anyway what do you guys think my chances as an out of state student are? Thank you!
My weighted GPA is around a 4.3. I have taken litteraly every AP available to me. As well, I understand the SAT is too low and am already signed up to take it again. I will be shooting to raise it to around 2100-2200.
Your SAT is somewhat low for Berkeley OOS, but your GPA is great. Berkeley is very vocal about weighting GPA much higher than test scores. I think slight reach. What are your AP scores?
3 on Euro, 4 on Bio, havent taken the others just yet.
I agree that the SAT is fairly low from looking at the acceptance charts, though I plan on bringing that up soon.
I agree that it is somewhat of a reach as well. I just don’t feel my chances are too solid.
I do have over a year though to apply and I am determined to do everything I can to improve my chances. Do you have any recommendations for improvement? Also, what should I aim for bringing my SAT up to?
@cheeryParent Berkeley’s average GPA for OOS admits: 3.92
Berkeley’s average SAT score for OOS admits: 2171
About 3,000 of ~20,000 applicants are admitted. OP’s GPA is slightly above-average, but it’s impossible to have a “great” GPA at schools where the average is 3.9+. There just isn’t all that much room to surpass the median.
Berkeley has their pick of students with strong GPAs and SAT scores, so an OOS student with a 1970 will very rarely be admitted to what is probably the top public university in the country.
OP: Good luck with the SATs, but have you considered whether you can afford to pay $55,000 a year for a UC school? The UCs offer virtually no financial aid to OOS students, so you’ll likely end up paying full freight if admitted.
I really haven’t fully considered the expenses in all honesty. $55,000 a year would be a tremendous burden. If I can’t get an outstanding amount from scholarships/etc, I probably would not be able to afford it.
Thank you for such a detailed response by the way, it helps a lot!
If $55,000 a year would be a tremendous burden, I would advise you to steer clear of the UCs (and most OOS public schools). There’s little sense in spending close to a quarter of a million dollars on your undergraduate studies, as your work experience will trump your alma mater in corporate recruiters’ eyes a few years after graduation.
Even if your education does matter, it’ll be your graduate school, and not the school you attended as an undergrad, that employers really care about. And you can get into top graduate schools from almost any rigorous college - as long as you maintain a high GPA and avoid classes like underwater basket-weaving or the infamous “principles of coaching” course that featured questions like “How many points is a 3-point shot worth in basketball?”
If you don’t have to borrow money, don’t. And if you do need to borrow money, do so for grad school. Either way, you’ll get into a rigorous school with your GPA and even with your current SAT, and if an increase is likely that’ll only help. From that point onwards, it’s not where you go, it’s what you make of it.
I should probably add that there are some exceptions to what I said - notably Wall Street, where the school you attended matters (largely as a mark of prestige) and the list of acceptable institutions in many firms’ eyes has about 5 names on it. But when a profession has truly arbitrary entry standards, sometimes the question to ask is whether you really want to work with people who believe such things matter above all.
For respectable careers, the above is irrelevant.
Also, I don’t want to hijack this thread, but I couldn’t resist looking up that class (“Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball”). It’s a course taught at the University of Georgia by the basketball team’s assistant coach, and a popular choice for students who needed to meet the NCAA’s academic eligibility requirements. Here are just a couple of questions.
If you’re having trouble answering #19, here’s a clue: the assistant coach who taught the class was named Jim Harrick Jr.
@NotVerySmart Berkeley doesn’t have to admit people with low test scores, but they choose to.
Berkeley OOS SAT average is only 50 points higher than in-state. And Berkeley admits lots of kids with lower test scores. According to the 2014-2015 common data set, 37% of freshmen have ACT scores of 29 or lower (29 ACT= 1940 SAT).
While my first post was a little simplistic, Berkeley is a reach even for relatively strong OOS applicants. With low SAT scores, things get tougher, not easier. Berkeley indicates in the CDS that both GPA and standardized testing are “very important,” and so I suspect most of the 37% are CA kids in the 28-29 range (the average ACT of OOS students is higher by 2 points).
In any case, it’s a moot point, as OP likely can’t afford Berkeley. He/she has been a lot more mature about this than some, acknowledging that $55,000 would probably be beyond what his or her family can pay. That willingness to work not with what one would like, but with what one is given, is a good indicator of future success, even if it likely won’t be at Berkeley.