- Nora Sun
Tags: UC Berkeley
Institution: University of California Berkeley
Study: Major in M.E.T. (Management, Entrepreneurship, Technology)
High School Experience
My high school experience was overall very positive. I learned a lot and made a lot of new friends (especially because I transferred out of my district- there is a lesson there about jumping at opportunities for new experiences). I also did a lot- which may sound blunt, but high school is the first time in your life where you are old enough to make life-long accomplishments. In high school I started and ran an 501c3 environmental non-profit, I built web apps that I was able to put out in the real world, and participated in clubs, extracurriculars, etc. I suggest to anyone in high school that you take every opportunity presented to you, because you never know where that will lead.
Course choices
I knew that I wanted to do some sort of engineering since I was 7 years old although high-school is really where I narrowed in on CS. I was a part of the Dos Pueblo’s Engineering Academy, a program that allowed me to find my passion for programming.
AP/IBs
AP Physics 1: 5
AP Physics 2: 4
AP Environmental science: 5
AP Calculus: 4
AP Computer Science: 5
AP Macro Econ: unknown
AP Micro Econ: unknown
AP Government/Politics: unknown
IB English: unknown
GPA
4.91 weighted
Standardized Testing
ACT: 34
Extracurriculars
Recommendations
I had good relationships with both my teachers writing my letters. I had my AP physics teacher for 2 years and tutored for her for 3 years.
Essays
As you will soon learn all the college essays are different and so it’s rare to have an overarching theme for all, but I talked about the most important parts of my life. I made sure to have academic and personal details to make sure I could show off who I really was.
Strengths
Advice
Someone who has done something. First off, as someone who has been accepted to a 2% acceptance rate program I was actually rejected at some schools that were significantly easier to get into. Remember that a lot of the college admissions process is kind of random, but the best thing you can do is set yourself apart- go out and start something, make something, publish something. If you can accomplish something that’s impressive for an adult in high school, you will stand out.
Circumstances
None
Why?
First off UC Berkeley is the #1 CS school in the world, but M.E.T is really what made my decision simple. The program offers tons of resources for Silicon Valley tech start-ups and it’s dual degree tech-business style is only found at a few universities.