UC Berkeley / UC L.A (Give me my chances)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Would mean a lot if you guys could give my whole resume a look over.

Intented Major: Computer and Information Sciences
Race: Asian Indian (Rest in Peace)

SAT Math: 800
SAT Reading: 800
SAT Writing: 800
SAT Total: 1600

ACT Composite: 36
(Studied like crazy and really tried on these tests, which is why I got a perfect score on both of them)

U.C Capped & Weighted GPA: 3.5

I really messed up sophomore year. I got 5 C’s, two D’s and 5 B’s my sophomore year with my second Semester being worse than the first. I was dealing with a lot of stuff that year (death in family as well as mental stuff) but not sure if I will be able to explain that very well (took two weighted classes sophomore year, Honors Pre-Calc and AP World). I took 5 AP’s my Junior year (AP US, AP Comp Sci, AP Calc BC, AP Physics C and AP Lang) as well as Spanish 3 and got straight A’s, which balanced out my capped GPA to a 3.5. I also got 5’s on every single one of my AP’s that I took Junior year and a 4 on my AP World history test.

AP Test Scores

AP World: 4
AP U.S: 5
AP Comp Sci: 5
AP Calc BC: 5
AP Physics C: 5
AP Lang: 5

Extracurricular: This is probably my weakest point on my application even weaker than my GPA

Founder and Co-President Guitar and President of Drone club Junior year

  • Entered Drone footage members of my club and myself took into competitions - Not really much happened there
  • Put on various performances around my county aswell as on Campus via my guitar club
  • Singing and Guitar myself for 6+ years and performed in my county as well
  • Published four songs on sound-cloud, Spotify and I-Tunes with about 150 downloads for each of them and thousands of views on them.
  • Volunteered 250+ hours at homeless shelters as well as underfunded educational centers teaching basics of Java and Geometry
  • Published my own game through Unreal Engine after about 3 years of video game dev experience, got about 100 downloads so far ,still hoping it gains some traction.
  • Reached Diamond Tier in League of Legends (I know this wont affect my chances, just wanted to brag lol)

Planned Senior Year Classes:

AP Gov
Comp. Civics
P.E
Art
AP Chem
Multi-Variable Calc

Teacher Rec’s: Amazing from my Comp. Sci and AP Calculus teachers (they loved me and I excelled in their classes)

Assume I have above average Essays and supplements.

What are my chances, if any at all, of getting into a college like U.C Berkeley and L.A, and if not are there any other good options in terms of Computer Science for me?

Thanks

2

UC’s are very GPA focused. Luckily, there’s a section in the UC application where you can explain your GPA. So I wouldn’t be too worried about with an SAT score like that.

I wouldn’t use the issues you faced as a sympathy hook when writing your essays, however, you can write how these experiences shaped you to become the man you are today. Basically, don’t let the admissions officer feel bad for you, make them feel proud of you.

Your EC’s are not that bad. I would take the first few weeks of your senior year to join more clubs so you can add more to your resume.

The bad part is your ethnic group. Almost every one of your kind is leaning on something computer related. You can assume heavy competition. Kid’s with 4.0+ with near perfect SAT scores have better shot at getting in. But don’t worry too much. You took a toll, but you grew from there. I’m going to assume that you had an upward trend in GPA so that’s a plus.

3

Yes, I did have a heavy upward trend. But what are my other options if I don’t get into a U.C for computer science?

4

Computer science*

5

Have you considered UK schools? (Though that would only be feasible if you are willing/able to be full pay)

6

UCs do not consider race/ethnicity in admissions.

The bad part is the 3.5 recalculated weighted-capped GPA.

The 2017 frosh admit rates by GPA:


Campus  4.20-   3.80-   3.40-   3.00-
        higher  4.19    3.79    3.39
UCB     43%     13%      2%      1%
UCLA    47%     12%      2%      1%
UCSD    84%     39%      7%      1%
UCSB    82%     45%     10%      1%
UCI     94%     52%     11%      3%
UCD     90%     56%     17%      4% 
UCSC    93%     76%     44%     14%
UCR     98%     90%     63%     23%
UCM     98%     96%     89%     57%

Note that UCLA CS and UCB EECS will be more difficult to get admission to than the campus overall.

7

There’s always other options. You can go to a community college and thrive there and have no problem getting into any UC after two years.
You can go to Mid-tier UC’s such as UCI, UCSB, and UCSD.