Berkeley visit... Am I wasting my time?

kasjalkjs12 · 08-10-2008, 04:02 PM

Two weeks from now I'll be headed up to Berkeley for one of their Sunday afternoon tours of the campus. My mom and I will have to be spending significant money on gas, food, etc...

My boyfriend says it could be a waste of my time. The average GPA at Cal is 4.02, and mine is 3.876, or something like that. My SAT scores suck (700 verbal, 670 writing, 520 math, 660 literature, 470 chemistry)... But I am working on them! Plus, I'm white. Berkeley is notorious in my area for being the worst about racial profiling.

What do you think? Should I even bother applying/visiting Berkeley? Or am I really just wasting my time?

tocollege · 08-10-2008, 04:11 PM

All campuses in the UC system are prohibited from using race in admissions decisions. If you are worried about it, simply do not fill out the optional ethnic background section.

Here are the details of the comprehensive review used by UC in admissions: University of California - Admissions. Race is not a factor.

The average GPA was 4.18 this year. So half had lower GPAs and half had higher GPAs. Here are the details so you can see how you stack up.
University of California - Admissions
http://www.universityofcalifornia.ed.../ucb_chart.pdf

Good luck!

kyledavid80 · 08-10-2008, 04:14 PM

I don't know where you got that the average GPA at Cal is a 4.02--that's lower than UCSD's. Average UW GPA is a 3.9 and average W GPA is a 4.4, for the most recent class.

In your case, while your scores are a bit below average, I'd say Berkeley's worth the visit. It's a great campus and you aren't an obvious reject; you'd have a shot. It's good to have reaches, and if you can visit their campuses, go for it. Definitely apply and see what happens.

Quote:

Berkeley is notorious in my area for being the worst about racial profiling.

Worst about racial profiling? What do you mean? It does not matter that you are white; Berkeley does not take race into consideration for admission.

TheBlackLantern · 08-10-2008, 04:53 PM

even if you dont think you can get in, just visit berkeley as a fun trip. no way am i going to get into harvard and mit but i still visited anyways. have fun!

PBailey · 08-10-2008, 05:09 PM

I'm going to disagree. I think the OP is right in thinking that it is unlikely he will attend Cal and since she mentions "significant" cost, I think that she may be wasting time and money. While I agree that it is great to have a dream, if she thinks that she will be wasting a lot of money, then she simply shouldn't do it. IMHO, visiting colleges isn't exactly the most fun thing she could do with her time and money.

mom in virginia · 08-10-2008, 05:23 PM

Sounds like you want to go and your boyfriend is trying to be practical. So much of how we spend our time could be termed "wasteful" from a purely analytical standpoint. If you want to go visit, go--this could turn into a fun time together for you and your mom where you also are seeing a college together. But if it's just adding more stress (time and money spent) and since visiting doesn't seem to give kids a leg up in terms of interest, then skipping it is fine, too.

d_galin09 · 08-10-2008, 11:03 PM

It's probably not worth the visit based on money and time, and the fact that you don't believe you'll get in. However, Berkeley is awesome and you'll have a good time so based on that alone it's worth the money.

tyropita · 08-10-2008, 11:41 PM

We took the Sunday afternoon tour today. Most buildings were closed. We did not go into a single one, and covered only the central part of campus. The tour guide said nothing surprising or insightful and nothing that you couldn't discover in an afternoon of Web searching. The admissions office was closed. I won't comment on whether or not you should apply, but if you are planning on visiting, at least try to come on a weekday, in the fall if possible. The city itself is worth a visit but you will feel cheated if you get nothing from the campus tour but a glance at the outside of some nice buildings.

Viromonkey · 08-11-2008, 02:26 AM

As typoita said dont go on the weekends. I went on a tuesday and it was cool because students were there and the buildings were open but not too crowded. The campus is like a mimi amusment park. They have the Garden, gift shop, ride to the top of Sather Tower. By the way San Fran is close by and it is always fun there. My SAT's were much lower than your (well not subject) and I got into UCB. I just cant stress enough that what REALLY counts is your essays. They wont reject you for low SAT but they will burn and throw away your application if you write terrible essays.

PBailey · 08-11-2008, 05:00 AM

While I still recommend not going, if you do, be sure to get the Peking duck at that restaurant up there. That stuff is GOOD.