My feedAdmissions Advice
1
@amitha
4 answers, 6 votes
 • a year ago •
Admissions Advice
[edited]

Good enough for UC Berkeley ?
Answered

Hi, I'm a junior in HS and I want to go to either UW applied math or UC Berkeley's data science program. I'm not sure if I'm going enough and I seriously need some suggestions.

GPA (unweighted) 3.94 (might go down to 3.92 due to a B in AP calc AB)

ACT: 27 (retaking it in April)

AP courses: 9 (currently, will take 3 more next year) and 1 college course (doing college in high school program during senior year so more college courses)

Clubs: Secretary and Vice president of 2 clubs, volunteering (over 25 hours), hobbies like dancing and art (been doing it since middle school and participated in an organization)

I used the chance me simulation and got 12% chance of getting in but i really want to go to UW applied math and UC Berkeley. Is there specific ways I can improve?

uw-seattle
junioryear
APscores
highschool
Admission
UCBerkeley
junior
1
8

Earn karma by helping others:

1 karma for each ⬆️ upvote on your answer, and 20 karma if your answer is marked accepted.

1 answer

1
Accepted Answer
@AdaH
136 answers, 165 votes
 • a year ago

Hey there @amitha!

UC Berkeley is a competitive school, with an overall acceptance rate of 14% according to CollegeVine. Basically nobody has a guaranteed shot into a school like this, so a 12% is pretty decent. Your extracurriculars sound strong, I would recommend working on something closely related to your intended major, such as a science/math club or something. Also, definitely retake the ACT and aim for high scores in the science and math sections.

A typical GPA for UC Berkeley is a 3.85, so you're above average on that front. Also, according to CollegeVine, they have test-blind admissions, so I would focus more on your ECs and GPA.

Good luck!

1
[🎤 AUTHOR]@amithaa year ago

I started a AI club w my friend (which I'm the VP of). Would that be a good EC to have? That's why I started learning python and java. also would my B in ap calc lower my chances of getting in UC Berkeley? I'm really stressed out and my calc teacher is extremely harsh with grading and I'm not as to how I can fix that

@AdaHa year ago

Yes, an AI Club is an impressive EC to have on your resume. And Python and Java are good too. A B will definitely lower your chances, but since it's an AP class it won't mess up your GPA too much. If you have mostly all A's otherwise, one B isn't going to hurt you.

[🎤 AUTHOR]@amithaa year ago

But can I compensate for that B with an A in the second semester and a 5 on the exam? would this help in anyway or will I need to explain this grade in some way. I personally feel like my teacher is really harsh hence why I feel like this B doesn't reflect my actual learning

@AdaHa year ago

Yeah, if you work hard and get an A in the class and a 5 (or honestly even a 4 really) on the exam, you should be fine. Also, a B isn't a bad grade at all, and colleges understand that there are harsh teachers out there. You'll be fine.

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools

Your chance of acceptance
Duke University
UCLA
+ add school
Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)
Add more factors ›

Community Guidelines

To keep this community safe and supportive:

  1. Be kind and respectful!
  2. Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
  3. Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!

How karma works