UC Berkeley or UCLA chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>My dream school, since I was like 8, has been UC Berkeley. I plan on applying there, UCLA, UCSD, and a couple Cal States. Maybe Stanford for the hell of it.
I have a lot of involvement. I've been in marching / concert band since 6th grade, for a total of almost 6 years and will have a leadership position next year. I participated in the LAUSD District Honor Marching Band for 2 and 1/2 years, accumulating 500 hours of community service. I really love playing trombone. I have participated in the California YMCA Youth and Government Program since 9th grade, working as a "lobbyist" for our model government, and attending conferences, 3 of which take place in Sacramento. I am founder / president of my schools Philosophy Club, Vice President of the Physics Club, and have participated in a few other clubs throughout high school, with a minor leadership position in Art Club. In AFJROTC, until I left, I participated in the Color Guard. Not sure if that gives me many points, but whatever.</p>

<p>My grades follow:
9th
H English 9 - B/B
Geometry - A/A
Adv. Band - A/A
H Integrated Sciences - A/A
Life Skills / Health - A/C
AFJROTC - A/A</p>

<p>10th ( I kinda messed up this year)
Spanish 1 - C/B
H English 10 - B/B
Algebra 2A - D/C <--(This grade seriously worries me, but my school won't let me make it up though I've tried many times. Budget cuts won't let us retake courses.)
Adv. Band - A/A
JROTC - B/C
H Biology - B/B
H World History - B/B </p>

<p>11th
Computer Programming - B
AP English Language - B
AP US History - B
Spanish 2 - A
Physics - B
Adv. Band - A
Pre-Calculus - C</p>

<p>So far in this semester I have worked hard and have maintained A's, and plan to keep it that way for the next two months.
Next year, as a senior, I plan on taking:
Law (or Constitutional Law - whichever I get accepted into)
International Relations
AP Gov / Econ
AP Lit
AP Physics
AP Calculus
Adv. Band
I recently took the SAT and should receive my scores in 13 days. I think I did alright there.
I want to major in Political Science.
If I got good SAT scores, can I have a shot at acceptance with a good essay?</p>

2

<p>do you have a calculated GPA? if you could give that, it would be greatly appreciated :)</p>

3

<p>3.9 Weighted, 3.5 Unweighted</p>

4

<p>Bro Greatest day of my life today first Berekely called me telling me i was accepted than san diago and my sat’s were terrible and my gpa was just like yours they look beyond all this just explain it in the essay.</p>

5

<p>Fasho! Props bro, thanks for the advice. I’m worried about my SATs alot, since i’m depending on them alot. That D seems like a big deal to me though. :/</p>

6

<p>^ w-t-f… berkeley doesnt call to notify you of an acceptance you miserable ■■■■■.</p>

7

<p>okay, so the couple c’s on your transcript may harm your chances, because nowadays uc’s are super competitive. they want the best students, because many students who apply to the ivies also apply to the uc’s as safeties. with your heavy involvement in extracurriculars, it may help your chance of admission. however, i don’t really see a theme between your major and your EC’s (with the exception of a few). band might help- you could join it in college if you’re really passionate about music.
stanford- high reach
uc berkeley- reach
ucla- low reach
(possible to be wait-listed for ucb and ucla)
try to get a’s senior year, because uc’s focus mostly on junior and senior year.)</p>

<p>chance me back? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1304596-chance-me-ill-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1304596-chance-me-ill-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>Wow, straight told son. No hate though, I believe you.</p>

9

<p>I think what icantbeliveit means is he got a “potential” phone call from UCB. Schools often give these phone calls to potential acceptances, usually due to scholarships or sports.</p>

10

<p>thanks :slight_smile: for sure</p>

11

<p>The D and C’s will seriously hurt your chances. No matter how high your SAT is it will still be a big black mark on your application: those bad grades. Plenty of people with straight A’s or a few B’s get rejected. Having grades of C’s or D’s is simply not competitive enough.</p>

12

<p>So theres absolutely no getting around that? Is there any advice you have on how to like, outweigh that?</p>