Expert: Sarah Sanchez Date: 3/20/2003 Subject: Not a resident of California, but I am very interseted in such a school
Question Just to warn you I might not use a proper grammer since English is my second language, But my main concern is the fact that Berkeley is known to accept residence withing the state and this is a great college for me to be able to attend if I was to be accepted. My GPA is about 3.8 and might jump up to 3.9, my school doesn't offer Honors/AP classes but I will probably be able to take some of these courses next year at my new school. My SAT's so far are 1120(720-M;400-V) and I am probably going to improve my score, but what should I do if I want to be in California for college and I find out alot of them like to accept residents within the state. I do consider applying to other colleges of course but I always like to know the opportunities that I can have and boost it up more. I used to go to a school up in Santa Clara,CA for one year but I don't think that is good enough. I am also known for some talents over math, and being creative like a maniac, could I do something about it?
Answer Hello. Sorry it has taken me so long to answer. I was recently hit by a car while I was a pedestrain crossing a crosswalk and so I haven't been checking my email. Sorry! :-)
I am a little confused by your question. I dont understand if you are a resident of CA or if you aren't. I think you were saying that you do not live in CA but you did live in Santa Clara for a year, so I will answer your question based on that, and if I am wrong don't hesitate to email me again to clarify! :-)
Living in Santa Clara for a year is not enough to consider yourself a resident of CA. You have to live in a state for at least two years. And I believe it has to be the two years directly before you start college. I am not sure about that one, but I am positive that it has to be two years.
As far as your grades are concerned they are fantastic, however your SAT score leaves a little something to desire. It is not a bad starting point but for what Berkeley is looking for it needs to be higher. Around the 1300s would really be of benefit to you.
Berkeley does have a higher percentage of CA students than other states but that is because it is part of the University of California system and all high school students are gauranteed to get into one UC if they have a certain GPA and SAT score, this doesn't mean they are going to get into Berkeley, just one of the UCs. The other reason that Berkeley has a lot of CA students is because the out of state tuition is very high. I believe there is an added 10,000 dollars on the tuition for each academic school year. So this keeps a lot of people from wanting to attend.
Your creativity and your apptitude for math would be important to mention in your personal statement. This will give the reader of your application a little more insight into who you are and why you would be a good fit for the school.
I suggest that you work on that SAT score (take a class or read some of the great prep books they have out there) and you do some volunteer work and othe extra curricular activities. Berkeley definetly likes a well rounded student and they look for a life outside of school in the people they admit.
I hope this was helpful and again I apologize for taking so long. I usually am very quick to answer, but getting hit by a car kind of puts the brakes on things (hahah, pun intended)! Good luck on your applications and if you need any more advice don't hesitate to look my way!
