Expert: Sarah Sanchez Date: 7/9/2000 Subject: Please Help Me Get Some Peace of Mind
Question Okay, Berkeley is my number one choice for college...I`m going into my senior year next year and application time is coming up. All my life I have been a good student, I have been an excellent student, but hearing people`s tones when I tell them I want to attend Berkeley and talking to one persom who attends Berkeley who seemed like a far better student than me, really makes me have some strong doubts. I just want to know at this point what are my chances of getting accepted into Berkeley.
I have approx. 3.8 GPA unweighted/4.2-4.3 weighted
Fresh/Soph year I took Pre-AP/IB Honors classes
Junior year I took two AP classes, 1 Honors
Next year Im taking two AP classes
I hate having to tell you my SAT score this is what really scares me (1200 comp. score-530-Math;670-Verbal)
My ACT was a 28 (I have no idea what kind of score UCB is looking for-they only list SAT standings)
I have a pretty good Extra-curricular activity history, awards, community service...etc. (Not the best, like Im not an officer of any club)
I am an African-American student (I know there`s no more affirmative action, but diversiry, diversity, diversity, right?)
I am not a California resident
If Im not UCB material...what schools do you think I should look at in California? NOT state schools!!
Do you think holding a job at the local library will look impressive?
Should I try to retake the SAT`s again...what about SAT II`s? What SAT score should I aim for?
What could I do to boost my resume?
Does senior year ever get accounted for by colleges whose application deadlines are so early in the school year?
I`ve worked this hard so far and I think that it would suck If I couldn`t get into a good school...I know a college diploma is a college diploma...but Ive worked to hard not to be able to go to the college I want to go to...were my efforts just not good enough? I`d really appreciate if you gave me as much feedback as you possibly can...the short comments here and there from others hardly ease my worries (but please be honest if you dont think I would cut it)
Please write back to me as soon as possible...I really want to know your opinions about the SATs...if you really think I should retake it...I`ll begin studying right away to get the score I need. I can`t let one test affect my chances of getting into my dream school.
Sincerely yours and thank you!
Answer Traci, my first advice to you is to take a deep breath! Okay now that we have done that let me try to help you. You seem like a very good student, and I believe that you stand a very good chance of being accepted into Berkeley. However, I do think that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket, no one should, you should apply to several colleges just in case. Not even a person who has straight A's and got a 1600 on the SAT's should apply to only one college, because you never know what might happen! And one thing to remember is that if you don't get into Berkeley at first you can transfer later (transfering in your junior year to Berkeley is a lot easier to do then being accepted as an incoming freshman)! With that said let me answer some of your other questions, I will just go in order.
I really don't know of any none state schools to recommend that would compare to Berkeley. As you said Berkeley is the best, however there are really good state schools in California too! UC Davis is a good school and so is UCLA. I don't know if you were counting UCs as state schools or not, but they are run by the state!
I think that a job at the library would look very impressive because it shows that you can still keep up with your studies along with a job, which is something that is hard for a lot of new college students to master. Along with that thought I think that you really need to consider doing some volunteering, and fast, becuase that is something that they really like, and you have half of the summer left, so get to it. I served my time at a convalescent hospital (over 150 hours) and it really was quite fun. You don't have to to the dirty work, I directed Bingo and other cames for them, and you really create great relationships.
YES, YES, YES! Take the SATs again. You did not do bad at all you got a 1200 (I got a 1380 and I am at Berkeley)! You aren't far off from me, but my advice is to look around and find an SAT course to take and take it! They are about $60 and well worth it, some of them can boost your SATs about 100 points. If you do that it would be really beneficial, and you already have a good starting point! Yes take the SAT IIs also, they can be used in place of the ACTs but they also look good if you have both of them. It also has been shown that some people do better on teh SAT IIs then on the SATs and that helps a lot. Your ACT score is also good, you have a 28 (I got a 32). As you can see we are pretty close and I am in Berkeley, so you have a good chance.
To boost your resume I suggest that you do the volunteering and you take the SATs and the SAT IIs. I also suggest that you get started now on writing your essay, that is a very important part of the application process. They first accept x number of students based solely on grades and SAT scores (which is what happened to me) and then they accept the rest based on a combination of that and their activities and their essays. Since you are pretty close to me on scores you might get in on just the academics, but you don't want to chance it so you want your essay to be perfect. You want to charm your reader and show them why you would be a good canidate for Berkeley. Entertain them, but don't be rude, but also don't write the same old thing that they hear every day!
Yes senior year does matter, they ask you what you plan on being involved in during the year, and at the end of the year you have to turn in your final transcript so that they can make sure that you kept up your grades during your senior year. They want to make sure that you didn't get senioritis to bad!
I think that you have a really good chance of getting in, and I hope to see you here! Let me know how things are going and write me back with any extra questions that you might have! Keep me posted on your progress! Don't stress to much and know that Berkeley would be making a terrible mistake if they didn't accept you!
