dixiesilverjojo

Hey guys!

I am currently a senior and have recently applied for the Questbridge scholarship (results for finalists are in about a week...eek!)
So now I am focusing on my regular decision schools and recently fell in love with UC Berkeley. The diversity of students, gorgeous weather, exciting location, and top-notch professors all appeal to me. I am a little concerned about the massive undergraduate population and cutthroat environment, but it seems as though I should expect intense competition in all the amazing schools.

I am extremely worried however because of my stats. From the day I stepped into high school, many obstacles have appeared in my life - talk about bad timing! There was my parent's divorce, eviction, depression in the family, child protection services involvement, financial hardships, etc. Unfortunately, I was not able to give all that I could in my studies so my straight A+'s went down to Bs and even one or two Cs. I'm extremely anxious because my transcript does not accurately reflect my desire to do well in school... but anyways I tried as hard as I could given the situation and here were my results:

-unweighted GPA: 3.5
-APs: Euro (3), US History (2), English 11 (2), Physics B (2) --Junior year was the most stressful year of my life in terms of personal problems and so I was not able to study for the AP exams...which obviously shows ):
-Senior year course: Emergency MEdical Technician, Orchestra, Business Law, AP Statistics, AP English 12, AP Economics, AP Calculus AB, and AP Psychology.
-SAT score: 2080 / I took it again this month and expect a higher score
-Taking ACTs next week
-SAT IIs : Math IIc(710), Chemistry (680), US History (taking next month)
-A few of my activities: Art Director of 100+ member cultural club, cofounder of music chamber group, attended Juilliard Precollege for one year (could not attend again due to financial circum.), school newspaper contributor and cartoonist, Emergency medicine research intern, volunteered at hospital 200+ hours, 3rd place winner of science fair, etc.

Any ideas, suggestions, comments, or advices? I would love to hear them!
I would also love to hear from current Berkeley students!

One more question: Does applying undecided in general to top colleges make a great difference in their selection? To be honest, ever since I participated in an internship, I have fallen in love with emergency medicine and that is definitely a future career option I plan to look into. But my science records are not strong whatsoever and perhaps it will be better if I remain "undecided"

Thanks everyone!

yeejietang

IMO, your stats aren't as bad you might think they are, despite what others may say. i got in with similar scores, no AP and i'm an international. what should differentiate you from the rest is how you present yourself in the essay. if you are an in-state, you have a chance, not too high, to be honest. but a small chance is still some chance, so go for it.

though if i were you, i'd worry less about my grades and scores (i had quite a number of Cs!) and worry more about the essays. and you shouldn't be complaining about difficult situations in your life. everyone has their own issues; they learn to deal with them.

and lastly, i don't think applying undeclared would affect your chances.

jeb1291

your stats are alright (emphasize the EMT program with the hospital stuff, that's very cool and unique), but with a sob-story like yours you could have a good chance. work on that essay berkeley is a sucker for the kids with ****ty lives. good luck.

stentorian

I'd advise you to really bring out your personality in your essay. Berkeley knows that everyone has their own set of problems, so it's much better to talk about your passions. Don't worry much about your numbers, because that doesn't set you apart from applicants as much as your personality and drive.

And no, applying undecided doesn't affect your chances. What matters more is which college you're applying to (e.g. Letters & Sciences, Engineering, etc). I think that Berkeley looks at applicants based more on which college they're applying to rather than the major they choose.