<p>Hello, I am a California resident from a Program Improvement school that recently got rejected from UC Berkeley. I had a 3.92 UC GPA unweighted, and a 3.8 unweighted overall. My SAT was 1990, and I was part of a program known as the IAP grants a full ride to Berkeley. They select 5 nominees from our school and I made it to the final 3 even though they only choose 1 person for the scholarship. I was the only person out of the five nominees who was rejected even though we all had to submit additional information along with letters of recommendation for the scholarship. I'm a little disheartened because I already had an advantage during admission and I was rejected anyway. I have several extracurricular activities, and to top it all off I skipped 1st grade and will be entering the fall semester at 16 years of age.
UCB was my first choice even though I was accepted to UCLA, UCSD, and UCDavis. My teachers have advised me to argue that going to a huge campus like UCLA or UCSD will be a daunting task for someone of such a young age, and that financial factors will prevent me from moving too far away so it is better if I stay close to home. They also said that I would be a better candidate because of the support systems and safety nets that exist at UC Berkeley compared to the "sink or swim" attitudes of the other top tier colleges.
I don't have much new information to provide except that I won 2 awards for writing 1st place for an essay in a local contest that recognizes the legacies of MLK and Cesar Chavez since my application in November.</p>
<p>Oh, and I also applied under the College of Chemistry. But I don't know if that's why I didn't get in. I wish I knew. :</p>
<p>Is it possible to be reconsidered under a different major, or would it be more beneficial to show my dedication to Chem by mentioning specific programs/teachers I would like to work with. I feel stuck, and I would really appreciate any help possible. Thank you. :)</p>