Well Rounded Enough for...Berkeley?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Please bear with me, but I really need some advice/tips, (not the usual “slight reach”, etc…), and I don’t know where else to ask. That’s why I came here. So, my father (who usually hits the nail right on the head, for lack of a better phrase) at this point,thinks that I have a better chance at Davis than I do at Berkeley. But, I’m not giving up hope…</p>

<p>Freshman gpa: 3.3/3.5 (semester one/semester two)
maximum # of honors classes; B in P.E. (i heard they don’t count p.e though.)</p>

<p>Sophomore gpa: 3.5/3.8
maximum # of honors classes
two weighted classes==> French AP, US History Honors
Only sophomore to take French AP test==> got 3, however I am a francophone (speak French fluently), although I ‘bombed’ test.</p>

<p>I have two passions: journalism/writing and medical stuff…(I want to be a surgeon when I grow up).</p>

<p>Extras:
Volunteer at library for 4 years
Currently work at library in paid page position (as of December)
Half summer day care volunteer
Currently volunteer at hospital
Internship at local newspaper
Part of Newspaper at school (will be 3 years by time I graduate)
Tutor at school (volunteer)</p>

<p>Junior year: Cross country</p>

<p>That’s all I can think of so far…but seriously, what do you guys think? Elaborate please…not just short answers.</p>

2

<p>i took the french ap tests (lang and lit) as a freshman and although I am not a native speaker (I went to a french school–not immersion, actually french-- for 9 years) I got a 5 on both… How can you bomb the LANG test and claim you are a native speaker unless you are functionally illiterate?</p>

3

<p>Well a 3 is passing, and I got a 3 in spanish LANG even though I’m fluent. Dude not everybody in here is a freakin child prodigy, and besides test scores don’t really reflect an individual’s intelligence, there’s other things to consider also.</p>

4

<p>i know, i’m not saying they are. nor am i saying you are worth less as an individual if you get a 3 (i got a 3 on bio because i suck at it). it’s just mystifying that a “native speaker” wouldn’t get a 4 or a 5 unless they were intoxicated during the test. hell, even the least intelligent native speakers i know get 5’s on the lang tests.</p>

5

<p>It is important that you do well on your SAT’s as the GPA is low for Berkeley. Everything else looks good.</p>

6

<p>drsarah:</p>

<p>Assuming you are a California resident,
UCB: Reach
UCD: Match</p>

7

<p>hmm, Davis is a match…cool. Going to ‘reach’ for Berkeley though :)</p>

<p>ramses88==> You make it seem like the majority of the French exam was speaking and comprehension skills (when it wasn’t)…there was verb completions, written passages, etc…</p>

<p>I can see how going to a French school where the main focus would be the ‘details’ (grammar, writing, reading, etc…) of the French language and not necessarily communicating in French would’ve gotten you a 5.</p>

<p>The reason I’m fluent in French is because I went to school in Morocco (French-speaking country) during 1st grade. The curriculum was much tougher than it is in the States, so I somehow still managed to remember a lot of French.</p>

<p>My parents are both fluent (more than I am) and they try to talk to me in French as much as possible.</p>

<p>I guess my point is: you CAN be fluent in French and still not know the grammar, verb tenses, etc…</p>

<p>Heck, there are people fluent in ENGLISH, and they don’t know crap when you sit them down for a basic English test.</p>

<p>Now, how do you explain that?</p>

<p>P.S. No, I am not illiterate, nor was I intoxicated during the course of the test. Thanks for asking.</p>

8

<p>Sarah, improve your grades and do well on the SATs. Bonne chance pour Berkeley! :)</p>

9

<p>merci beacoup beacoup! :)</p>

10

<p>Here are the stats on Berkeley’s 2006 freshman class:
<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting/camp_profiles/camp_profiles_ucb.html[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting/camp_profiles/camp_profiles_ucb.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>and here are the stats on UC Davis’s 2006 freshman class:
<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting/camp_profiles/camp_profiles_ucd.html[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting/camp_profiles/camp_profiles_ucd.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Here they are for all the UCs:
<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting/camp_profiles.html[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting/camp_profiles.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Based upon these numbers you are a reach for UC Berkeley and a match for UC Davis–and that’s presuming you do at least as well in your junior year’s grades as you did in your sophomore year’s grades.</p>

<p>Also, keep in mind that you cannot count more than 8 semester hours of APs during your sophomore and junior years in computing your UC GPA.</p>

<p>See here for details:
<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck.</p>

11

<p>Thank you SO MUCH. This helps…</p>

12

<p>bump</p>

<p>anyone else?</p>

13

<p>Sophomore post = unpredictable.</p>

14

<p>^^^ Total agreement. Need SAT I/ACT scores & SAT IIs.</p>

15

<p>but how am I doing so far?</p>

16

<p>c’est tres bizarre n’est-ce pas?..fluent in French…There was an essay, reading comprehension, and an oral part to the test…I thought you could ace that at least, if not the grammar and the verb tenses. I’m not trying to insult you, I’m just really surprised. Of course for the UC’s, taking 4 years of a language allows you to skip having to take any language courses in college, so your three doesn’t really matter(I mean about getting credit or not). As for your grades, don’t sweat your freshman year since the UC’s don’t count them. Because the UC admissions is largely based on numbers, so the best thing you can do right now is to raise your grades and work on your SAT scores. Bonne chance!</p>

17

<p>I started my French with 3-4 freshman year (skipped 1-2) and continued until 7-8 (they cancelled out the French program to replace it with Mandarin)…so, I’m pretty sure that counts as 4 years. Anyways, I’m planning on continuing my French studies at the community college. I didn’t know that about skipping language altogether-thanks!</p>

<p>Oui, c’est tres bizarre. Et TRES stupide. I’m pretty sure I did well on the essay and oral section…but the grammar and verb tenses…well, that’s another story.</p>