<p>I understand I am way below par on with my statistics. My question is:
Will the fact that I’m an out of state HISPANIC student who DOES NOT NEED FINANCIAL AID increase my chances to a point where I am a viable competitor?
Given California’s current financial state I thought I would ask. Thank you.</p>
<p>Academics:
3.6 GPA
1900 SAT
My School does not rank.</p>
<p>Other:
100+ Red Cross Volunteer Hours
Worked at Whole Foods for 1/2 year
President of Support our Soldiers Club
Member of Varsity Swim Team
Of Hispanic Descent
No need for financial aid
3 letters of recommendation (math teacher, club advisor, guidance counselor)</p>
<p>AP Courses Taken:
Biology
Computer Science AB
Economics</p>
<p>California law specifically prohibits campuses of the University of California and California State University from considering ethnic status in admissions so being Hispanic will not increase or decrease your chances. Out of state students who are accepted at a California public university would almost certainly not be offered any financial aid whether they need it or not. It is probably true that California public universities are much more open to out of state applicants than they used to be because of Califonrina’s current budget situation since OOS students do pay much higher tuition than California residents and are generally not eligible for financial aid from the state.</p>
<p>Your SAT scores are a little low for UC Berkeley but UCB probably accepts a fair number of students with SAT scores in the 1900 range. A GPA of 3.6 is definitely low for Berkeley but the UCs have their own method of calculating GPA so it is hard to say what your UC GPA is and whether or not it is competitive for UCB. Although it is not an Ivy, UC Berkeley is very selective and is not a sure thing for anybody. If you really want to attend a university in California and cost is not a problem, in addition to UC Berkeley you should apply to some of the other UCs as well as upper tier CSUs. At least one of these schools would probably accept you.</p>
<p>“California law specifically prohibits campuses of the University of California and California State University from considering ethnic status in admissions so being Hispanic will not increase or decrease your chances.”</p>
<p>There’s the law of the State of California and then there are the biases of the folks who work in admissions. Many of them think the law is unjust and some might even put their thumb on the scale from time to time.</p>
<p>I’m guessing it would only affect a very borderline application.</p>
<p>You’re definitely not competitive at all as an out of state student. Even if you do get in, you will most likely struggle academically unless your major ends with “studies”.</p>