When Berkeley looks at GPAs, do they ever even consider ninth grade GPAs? My unweighted for all of high school is a 3.9, but when only including 10th-11th grade, it’s a 3.81, which seems pretty bad. (I’m from an out of state school, but it’s like top 20 in the nation.) Another thing: I’ve taken college courses since eleventh grade, but since I’m out of state, I don’t know if my college credit is transferable and will thus count towards honors designation. How can I find out?
Also, according to this report (http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/05/16_houtreport.pdf), Berkeley puts my GPA at a percentile compared to applicants from previous years to gauge my success. Since my school is very small and only the top kids tend to apply to Berkeley, if what the report says is true, then I am being portrayed in a disadvantaged scenario! It makes me seem like I’m one of the worst, even though I’m one of the better students.
Freshman GPA will not be counted in your UC GPA, but they do see the freshman grades you input on the application. The adcoms will note any downward trends on your transcript.
Your HS counselor should also mention in her or his recommendation what percentile or standing you have compared to the rest of your class. Regional adcoms are aware of differences between local schools.
Don’t worry too much about things like this, especially since you turned in your app ages ago. Apply for some scholarships instead!
Best of luck!
@jae221 The thing is, HS Counselors don’t send recommendations to UC schools (Berkeley, UCLA) so they don’t see that.