<p>In the beginning of my freshman year at community college i was put in an abusive scenario in my household where my dad would get very angry with me leaving the house to dance( which is my passion). He would start beating on me when I came home and because he has always restricted me from working I could not move out so I just dealt with it. i also have a younger sibling and did not want to leave him with my dad alone. I am his protector. One night it got really bad after coming home from dance around 10pm as well as it being finals week. He got angry because he told me to quit otherwise he would kick me out of the house I refused to quit and told him dancing is really all I have next to school. The next thing I know my dad punched me in my face and I was just laying there; I fell asleep there. The next morning I woke up with a black eye and blood filled in my entire right eye along with blurry vision. I had to miss two of my finals the following day and go to the hospital where I was treated for optic nerve damage as well a a subconjunctival hemmoraghe. I eventually had surgery done on my eye due to the damage done from the trauma. I had to lie at the doctor’s office in order to protect my family, brother, and my dancing( I cannot live without it). That semester I in turn failed my precalc class along with my chem class and could have got an A in english but got a B due to not being there during the final. I told no one what happened and just said i got hit with a softball in my eye. The following semester it was hard to get back in the sync of things with my dad still being very hostile yet not physical due to my injuries. I had to pay my own hospital bills by the way so I was working two jobs secretly during this time (also to pay for school because my dad said he wouldnt do it anymore as long as i danced). Ironically, dance got me through it all. The phsycological soothing affect it had on me ,gave me hope. The following semester I received a C in bio 1A a C is stats and a B in psych. During this whole time my major was biology( which i do not feel passionate about; just doing it to keep my dad happy) then my counselor at school knowing that i wanted to go to cal let me know that they had a dance major and she knew it would fit me perfectly! This summer i went back to complete the classes that i failed due to the circumstance which was chem 1, pre calc, and eng5. I tried my hardest this summer while secretly again working two jobs and volunteering as well as my internship but only have a 2.4. Now that I know what i want to do and my story being the driving force behind it i can start taking my major classes; the classes i actually will be good at. I did the calculations and will not have a 3.0 until the end of fall semester. Do you think i can get into Cal as a Dance and Performing Arts Major with a 3.0 and my abundance of dedication to the community. I just had a rough circumstance. I also actually got into Cal as a freshman, but could not afford to go because my parents could not afford it. So many unfortunate things have happened in the past two years but I still want to pursue my dreams plus getting into Cal will allow me to move out of my house and from under the control of my father who doesn;t support my dancing and will allow me to focus on school more. Plus my brother will not have to deal with my father’s rants because me being away at Cal will maybe put him at ease. Dance is my life and so is school. I just want to live and study freely. I am ready to live life for me. Give me your advice guys I want to apply in Fall 2011. Sorry this is so long but this is my story.</p>
<p>I am apart of TAP as well.</p>
<p>Hmmm, 2.4… I don’t know. You definitely have a strong personal statement essay though… I would use that to your advantage.</p>
<p>Sorry things have been rough - I was in a similar situation.</p>
<p>Though your story is unfortunate, realistically you most likely will not be accepted with ~3.0. You could try waiting an additional year and improving your GPA even more, but even that will be very unsure.</p>
<p>I’ve only heard of one person ever on here being accepted around the 3.1 range and they were a non-traditional student who had published a book before and were applying to English or something. Otherwise, the only other exceptional cases I’ve come across were students within the 3.3-3.4 range but once again, those were students with EXCEPTIONAL circumstances (not sob stories - no offense).</p>
<p>As a Performing Arts major I believe that while you will need to meet some minimum level of performance in academic courses, the factor that will be critical to whether you are accepted as a Dance and Performing Arts major is how well do when you audition and how much your audition convinces the Cal faculty that you have the potential to excell as a performer.</p>
<p>^that</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you’ll have an audition of some sorts and that will play a major role in the decision.</p>
<p>Sorry to break it to you but Berkeley admits people by colleges and not majors. I think dance major is under L&S. Your gpa is extremely low and 3.0 is the absolute minimum required to apply to Berkeley. So don’t get your hopes up but there isn’t much harm in applying.</p>
<p>hibernatingbear you have a very touching story. I’m sure if you write about in your personal statement and package it correctly it maybe powerful enough to convince the adcoms at Cal to overlook your gpa. I know a transfer at UCLA who came in with a 2.8 so it is possible. I really hope it works out for you. You should also look into other programs as well since you can never be sure these days.</p>
<p>You should raise your GPA, then you will have a better chance. You are showing tremendous courage to continue your education. Your hard work will only lead you to your desired destination. Good luck and hope everything gets better!</p>
<p>killmyentourage, isn’t it possible for him to raise his GPA efficiently while attending CC? This will show an upward trend of commitment and sheer determination. I heard of a student who got into Cal with 162 units. So he should just raise his GPA and there won’t be any problems regarding admission…</p>