<p>UCB is a reach?? Not even a match? I just looked up the acceptance rate and it’s 22%. I now realize it’s not a safety, but why not a match?
You are right, their out of state tuition is crazy high. My research indicates that they don’t offer full-rides. Is that correct?</p>
<p>You aren’t going to get a full ride at UCB with your current stats even if they offered them to OOS students. Can’t count on a higher SAT score until you have it in hand… You have not said much about your financial situation. Do you need significant financial aid? If so, you should be looking hard at schools a level down from your list (or even a little further down) that offer significant merit aid.</p>
<p>Try Carnegie Mellon. With your monstrous EC’s I think it’ll be a definite safety if you can up your scores.</p>
<p>But yeah, those standardized test scores really hurt you. You’d be in the top top top tier pool if you could get some nice scores.</p>
<p>Don’t freak about your upcoming ACT and SAT. Your class rank, ECs and volunteer work are great. Work really hard on your essays, study for tests, get enough sleep the night before. Do the best you can, but don’t stress. You’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. I’ve received some interesting mail from carnegie mellon (a kilt, etc.), so I’ll look into their programs. </p>
<p>I realize my ACT score is horrible, but I wasn’t aware that it has been holding me back that much. So if I do get a substantially better score, then the schools are no longer high reaches? Are my scores really the only drawback?</p>
<p>Ohiomom, thank you for the reassurance. I was under the impression that other aspects of my application would make up for the ACT score, too. I won’t stress out too much over studying for the test, but I will, to the best of my ability, make sure I’m well-prepared this time.</p>
<p>Well, your score is not horrible at all. It’s just that if it were a bit higher, some of the schools on your list would be less of a reach. A 31 ACT score is not a bad score. If you can raise it and/or see how SAT goes, all the better.</p>
<p>It’s the so-called “science” section (I disagree with its label…if only it tested actual science knowledge). I got a 34,33, and 31 on the other sections, but science killed it 
Oh well, at least I get one more chance this month!</p>
<p>How badly will you need financial aid? Have you run the cost estimators for each place on your list?</p>
<p>I would not consider Carnegie Mellon a safety… you certainly have a good chance there, but perhaps not with enough merit money. More of a safety might be Case Western Reserve, Tulane or schools like Pitt.</p>
<p>If you are seriously considering Berkeley be aware that the UC application deadline is November 30.</p>
<p>Berkeley is a very good school and I also think they have score cutoffs. Some safety UC’s would be:
UC Irvine
UC Santa Clara
UC Riverside
UC San Diego
Et cetera. Each campus has its own specialty.</p>
<p>^^ Do you mean UC Santa Cruz(Public) or Santa Clara University(private)? Both could be considered safeties for OP’s stats.</p>
<p>“It’s the so-called “science” section (I disagree with its label…if only it tested actual science knowledge).” </p>
<p>Agreed. My son used to love science, was tested as gifted in science in middle school, went to the high school in 8th grade to take Biology I, then took Honor’s Chemistry in 9th and AP Physics in 10th. And the Science section was his lowest score.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the comments! Very helpful.</p>
<p>Here is my updated score:
Composite-33
*English-35
*Math-34
*Reading-34
*Science-30
SAT II: 770Chem,770Math II, 780Bio
GPA: 3.93(in the top 10 classrank-wise), 4.50
**
Can you guys give me some more feedback now?**</p>
<p>Also, do admissions officers look at the context of grades? My GPA dropped from 4.0 to 3.93 this semester because I got a B in Organic Chemistry(at a college) and one in AP Physics(because I skipped honors physics–bad mistake).</p>
<p>Great scores! I don’t think that’s a big enough drop in GPA to matter. ACT increase will definitely help.</p>