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So here is the story.

Last semester I ended up with a 3.889 and a spot tied for second. This semester my GPA dropped to 3.762 with a big B and B+ pulling everything down. Given the curve and some statistical magic this means I most likely dropped to around 8% or 13/142. I am currently at University of Arizona ranked in early 40's.

My family is going through some major hard times (including my mother's diagnosis with cancer) in Los Angeles so I am hoping to transfer to that area. I also would be interested in Berkeley or other T14 schools (my mother told me if I pass up a really good school she would be too pissed with me to let me help her through treatment.)

Is it worth trying for berkeley with my stats? I am applying USC/UCLA/UC Irvine for sure because of the area - do I have a fair shot at those? Also - is the T10 something I should be trying for or is that unrealistic with my huge drop?

That's not a LARGE jump. You're in the top 10%, you can most likely transfer to USC no problem. I'd give GULC an app, too.

Hrm. I did think it was a pretty big drop but I see that it could be much worse.

Would UCLA be worthwhile to try for then? Berkeley? There seems to be very few ~40s ranked school transfers in the yahoo group database.

Thanks!

Yeah I'd try UCLA. Don't know much about Boalt's transfer policies, so I couldn't give you a fair answer there.

But definitely SC and UCLA. I bet you get in to atleast 1

dtl wrote:So here is the story.

Last semester I ended up with a 3.889 and a spot tied for second. This semester my GPA dropped to 3.762 with a big B and B+ pulling everything down. Given the curve and some statistical magic this means I most likely dropped to around 8% or 13/142. I am currently at University of Arizona ranked in early 40's.

My family is going through some major hard times (including my mother's diagnosis with cancer) in Los Angeles so I am hoping to transfer to that area. I also would be interested in Berkeley or other T14 schools (my mother told me if I pass up a really good school she would be too pissed with me to let me help her through treatment.)

Is it worth trying for berkeley with my stats? I am applying USC/UCLA/UC Irvine for sure because of the area - do I have a fair shot at those? Also - is the T10 something I should be trying for or is that unrealistic with my huge drop?

If you need to be in LA, why would you apply to Berkeley? Focus on USC/UCLA/Irvine.
I also don't think you're totally shut out of Berkeley with those stats (if you didn't need to be in LA), but they got super picky last year. If you're a CA resident, it will help.

Well, my mother is the one who needs me here. She also told me if I give up a better school she would disown me. So I am leaning towards UCLA/USC but if I get into a significantly better school I may consider it.

Thanks for the replies. I sent applications. Any more opinions would be much appreciated. I am bad at the waiting game.

Coming from USC, I would say you are well within the range to get admitted here. I would also emphasize your mother's condition. I know this may seem like milking pity, but it is not. It is a legitimate reason to transfer, and a compelling one at that. It can be used to explain (a) your desire to attend USC/UCLA and (b) the drop in your grades (even if there may be other factors at work).

In fact, we recently had a visiting student from U of AZ this past year. One thing that helped him get here was the fact that his family was here and he wanted to be close to family.

I'm not familiar with LA whatsoever so I won't attempt to chance you on any of those schools. This is just a solidarity reply because quite literally, I think we have nearly the exact same grades. I went from 3.88 to 3.6, with a cumulative GPA of 3.74. I'm still top 6% so it may not be as bad as you fear when you get your rank. Go for it-- you've got nothing to lose besides the app fee.

The solidarity is much appreciated! I walked into my finals more confident than first semester. I was extremely surprised when I got a B and B+ (at a 3.33 school).

Are you attempting transfers as well? I had all sorts of highfalutin plans for T1-6 apps but now it just seems like throwing app money away.