<p>Hi
Right now, I'm a sophomore.
My weighted GPA so far is 4.28
unweighted GPA is 3.72
I got 800 on SATII Math 2C and 790 on SATII Korean (I'm korean btw)
If I get around 2100 on the SAT, are the grades and test scores good enough for USC or UC Berkeley?</p>
<p>A 3.72 is slightly weak for Berkeley (I’ve seen many qualified applicants–2260, etc.–with a 3.7 get rejected); the average UW GPA is a 3.9 or so. So make sure to take the most rigorous course load and do as well as you can. Your W GPA is right about the average UC GPA for Berkeley.</p>
<p>If you’re in-state, a 2100 is a good estimate (right around the average). If you’re OOS, I would recommend 2200+.</p>
<p>thanx.
any chances in MIT? My uncle went to the graduate business school there.
I know MIT’s hard to get into, but no harm in trying</p>
<p>USC I think you’ll get in but Berkeley might be hard because they are such top rated school (USC’s great too though. Go Trojans!) 
MIT is going to be an uphill battle. Don’t worry because that is the way it is for everybody because there are so many smart, qualified people applying. Have something that makes you shine and that says “Pick me instead of that other person with a perfect 2400”. Your SAT IIs are great and just keep working hard. You’re going to get intoa terrific school! :)</p>
<p>usc is more selective, with a smarter, more diverse student body and more intimate classrooms.</p>
<p>cal is an enormous public school with tons of in-state residents, a disproportionate demographic, and plenty of mediocre students (ie: 1/4 kids there has below a 1200 on the SAT)</p>
<p>USC also has a nicer campus and a better social life + big time sports</p>
<p>the people here telling you cal is better are misled and misinformed</p>
<p>elsijfdl wrote: “USC has a nicer campus”
???</p>
<p>I almost choked on my drink :)</p>
<p>The Berkeley campus is incredibly attractive. The neigborhood is safe… quirky, but safe. Off campus housing is in an attractive neighborhood as well. It’s backed right up to some picturesque hills, and facing the Bay only a couple of miles away.</p>
<p>Is Felix Chevrolet still right next to the USC campus with its barbed wire fencing? No offense, but USC would have to buy all houses, apartment buildings and businesses for a mile in every direction around the school for it to be considered NICE.</p>
<p>^^^^
elsijfdl on another post, about USC:
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<p>Do you always make it a habit to comment authoritatively about places you have apparently never visited? Have you been to Berkeley? You said yourself you’ve never been to USC. I’ve almost never heard people say good things about the USC campus; you do with abandon and you haven’t even been. Berkeley’s campus is tremendous (especially when you get beyond the southern entrance).</p>
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<p>No doubt USC has great sports. They placed 2nd place overall in the Director’s Cup standing for the Fall (top university sports programs overall). Oh, gee, look who was 1st: Cal.</p>
<p>[National</a> Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics](<a href=“http://nacda.cstv.com/]National”>http://nacda.cstv.com/)</p>
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<p>To be sure, it is a large public school (Cal) offering a different experience from USC, which by the way, is a great school.</p>
<p>But spare us your rants like this:</p>
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<p>especially when you’re not really being informative, but just apparently talking out your b***.</p>
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<p>Dunnin,</p>
<p>Have you ever been on USC’s campus? It doesn’t sound like you have. It is a very nice campus, and certainly many would find it nicer than Cal’s. I don’t think els.. was referring to the surrounding neighborhood, which is not its “campus.” (“Campus” generally refers to the property owned by the college, which I’m sure you know.)</p>
<p>Cal and USC offer different college experiences. Cal is a “numbers-driven” public university with an outstanding reputation and a proportionately high Asian population (45%+), while USC is a more diverse, private, school-spirit-traditional, conservative, excellent academic institution, with a heavy emphasis on its outstanding football program (although Cal’s football program also has an awesome student fan base).</p>
<p>In my opinion, though Cal is larger, the two schools share a lot in common: both are top schools nationally, both have beautiful campuses, both have good sports teams/school spirit, both are in urban areas, and both offer a good experience for prospective students. Berkeley may be better than USC in certain specific areas and USC may beat Berkeley in others. It is getting harder and harder to get into either one. Any student choosing between these two schools needs to visit and see which feels better to them. It may come down to the Southern CA vs. Northern CA vibe.</p>
<p>It also may come down to $45,000 per year (USC) vs. $25,000 per year in-state (Cal). (If you are OOS, tuition is about equal).</p>
<p>Bay - yes, I have been to USC’s campus many times. Both my sisters graduatued USC undergraduate (thought that was when it was far less selective than now… as in C or better got in), and my cousin from the school of Dentistry. </p>
<p>The school itself is fine. Nice even. Even that statue in the middle named Thomas.</p>
<p>Just don’t wander more than a block off campus!</p>
<p>Dunnin,
Well I’m sure we have some friends in common then, as my sister, husband and most in-laws went to SC and my BIL and FIL graduated from the school of Dentistry. Cheers and have a nice evening! :)</p>
<p>campus is a matter of taste, what is not a matter of taste is that usc still remains more selective, smaller, better financed, and more diverse.</p>
<p>this isn’t 1975, berkeley isn’t the better school anymore</p>
<p>USC is… “more diverse” than Berkeley.</p>
<p>wait, what???</p>
<p>To the OP, you are on target to be competitive for admission at both schools…Keep the grades up, take the most advanced coursework possible, and prepare for SATs.</p>
<p>Statistically, the schools are nearly identical:</p>
<p>2006 Grad Rate:
Berkeley - 89%
USC - 84%</p>
<p>% Classes Fewer than 20:
Berkeley - 61%
USC - 62%</p>
<p>% Classes More than 50:
Berkeley - 14%
USC - 12%</p>
<p>Student/Faculty Ratio:
Berkeley - 15/1
USC - 10/1</p>
<p>Student Population:
Berkeley - 33,558
USC - 33,389</p>
<p>Average SAT Scores:
Berkeley - 1200-1450
USC - 1280-1460 (USC does superscore, while Berkeley does not.)</p>
<p>Acceptance Rate:
Berkeley - 24%
USC - 25%</p>
<p>Peer Assessment:
Berkeley - 4.8
USC - 4.0</p>
<p>IMO, you can’t go wrong with either school.</p>
<p>I don’t know, I was at the Cal/USC game this year, the USC fans sure seemed a lot different to me than the Cal fans. If ever “fit” came into the equation, this might be the place.</p>
<p>Guys, you can’t possibly make a decision without more information. Test scores are only a fraction of the pie.</p>
<p>how about UCLA then? if we’re discussing cal and usc then it seems neglectful not to include UCLA as well ;)</p>
<p>Cal > Northwestern > USC</p>
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<p>Ha. USC’s average SAT is the same as Berkeley’s, and USC is the one that superscores. Berkeley’s average UW GPA is a 3.9 and the average W GPA is a 4.3. Berkeley also manages a higher % of students to attend. (Plus, in raw numbers, USC and Berkeley admit about the same #.)</p>
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<p>Hahaha, right. That’s pretty bold to say that one student body is “smarter” than another, especially when the numbers are virtually the same. And especially when the school that’s “dumber” is Berkeley, when everyone knows that Berkeley has mostly extremely brainy students.</p>
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<p>They’re pretty much the same in diversity. (Berkeley’s Asian population is higher, but it’s also an extremely diverse group in itself.)</p>
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<p>USC is an enormous private school. It’s as large as Berkeley.</p>
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<p>The SAT score ranges don’t allow such a conclusion. No, 1/4 students did not have below a 1200. The 25th percentiles are 590, 620, 590 (630, 680, 630 superscored), but that doesn’t mean that a quarter of the students in the class got a 590+620+590. It means that a quarter got below a 590 on CR, but probably much, much higher on the other sections (which is why Berkeley would overlook the lower CR score), etc.</p>
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<p>Haha, other than the fact that that’s completely subjective, I think it’s generally acknowledged that Berkeley’s campus is beautiful, being in northern California with tons of trees, right on the Bay. There’s a huge botanical garden on the campus, a creek running through it, etc. and the architecture is very pretty. (Hell, some students who visit Berkeley and Stanford in the same trip have said Berkeley’s campus is prettier.)</p>
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<p>How do you even know that? You’ve never gone to either school.</p>
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<p>I’d say Berkeley has some big-time sports, but USC is more of a sporty school (take that as you will).</p>
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<p>Sounds like you’re a little bitter from the Cal vs. NU thread. As powergrid1990 said:</p>
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<p>Guess you’ll have to deal with it. =)</p>