Hey all,
I was admitted to UC Berkeley this year (L&S CS), and I know at this time of year, juniors are researching colleges. I’d like to share my experience with you guys. Ask away!
I got into Berkeley tooooo!!! I got one question dear friend. So I reported my grades on the UC application via quarters because that is what my school used normally but my final transcript will only show semester grades. There is not change in the grades I reported A (q1) A (q2) and my school will report A (sem 1). Thank you
Do you know how you got in over other applicants?
@JustOneDad I’d personally say standardized test scores and extracurricular activities/achievements. Being out-of-state was a small boost as well. I had 2 800 subject test scores, and a 35 ACT, and to be frank, Berkeley L&S heavily emphasizes grades and test scores. Extracurriculars come next in order of importance, in my opinion. Show initiative and leadership through your EC’s. Just holding a leadership position (i.e. being a treasurer/president) is not leadership. What I did to show leadership was I founded clubs and organizations, and went above and beyond my normal tutoring hours when I was a physics TA. I believe essays are important, but are only heavily used for borderline applicants. Mine were nothing special.
I’m really curious about my chances of gaining acceptance for the fall of 2016. First, I’ll tell a little bit about myself. I am a current junior in high school, and my cumulative weighted GPA is a 4.3. I hope to continue the upward trend for the remainder of this year and into next year. I just took my SATs for the first time – didn’t do as well as I hoped – 1310/1600; 1900/2400. First try at ACTs this weekend. Fingers crossed. I am really involved in my schools extracurriculars. I am a part of the Science Olympiad, Academic Bowl, and Spanish Club. I am also a part of a nationally-ranked “TEAMS” (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science) team (3rd & 9th in nation). I am a member of my school’s chapter of the National Honor Society. I recently won an art award from the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition. It earned significant recognition - 2 Gold Keys, 2 American Vision Awards, an article in Scholastic’s magazine, other publications, etc. I have also taken 5 APs/7 honors courses up to this point, and am scheduled for 4 more APs for next year (senior year). I also won the National Spanish Exam’s Junior Travel Award, an award in which recipients travel to a Spanish-speaking country for 1 week, all expenses paid. I was one of 24 in the nation. Also, I am a two-sport varsity athlete: football and basketball. I volunteer at two organizations in my free time. I think that covers most of it. I am seeking any insight on how I stand based on my current grades/scores/extracurriculars? I am not a resident of California. Can you give me any tips that might benefit my application? Thanks!
If I want to go to Cal for L&S CS as well, but have a 3.65 UW (3.93 UC), should I rely on emphasizing the software engineering interships and leadership stuff (coached middle school debate) I did?
@2019Goldenbear, Congratulations on your acceptance.
It’s nice that you want to help people, however, getting accepted to a college doesn’t make you an expert about how to get in. Many kids with similar profiles are rejected from popular schools. Nobody really knows why any student with competitive stats was accepted or rejected from a particular college. What worked for you may not work for another student.
@austinmshauri Yes, I completely understand that! I just wanted to give some insight on my experience, and fellow readers, you should not take everything I say to heart. As @austinmshauri said, what may have worked for me may not work for you, but I will do my best to answer your questions within the context of my experience.
@jv3cc923 If you are applying for the College of Letters and Science, I would highly recommend that you bring your SAT and ACT to 2250+ or 34+. A 1900 is slightly below the bottom 25% at Berkeley, if I recall correctly. This will significantly boost your chances. If you do not have the grades or the test scores to be considered competitive, Berkeley adcom officers will find it difficult to find reason to admit you. The people who do get in with low test scores are the exception, and do not expect that you can be one of them. While I was panicking over decisions in this February, I was looking at posted admissions threads and people’s stats that got in. If you apply to L&S, and have a 2300+ SAT, out of the people who posted their stats on CC, around 75% got in. (This is a small sample size out of the 78,000 people who applied, so take it how you will.) A 4.3 is a solid weighted GPA, but do your absolute EXTREME best to raise it as high as you can. I believe a 4.6 weighted UC GPA is considered to be in the top 2% of all applicants.
As far as extracurriculars, just make sure you are involved deeply with them. You seem to have this down. You don’t have to win any major awards (but you have done so!), but you should dedicate a lot of time and effort into demonstrating leadership, which is crucial for the application.
Also, I would highly, HIGHLY recommend you taking SAT subjects and aiming for either an 800 or a 790 on at least 2 tests. If you can raise your standardized test scores to 2300+ or even 35+, I can say with confidence that you will be admitted. The good news is that being out of state is a HUGE boost. Yes, standards are a little bit higher for out of staters, but out of staters have a higher acceptance rate, and Berkeley needs money.
When you write your essays, do not write about sports, or your love for some school subject, or anything cliche. Think of something so unique to you (i.e. your favorite spot in your local library.) This is the part where I messed up; I wrote about my grandfather’s suicide attempt and how it affected me and why I took up volunteering in my essays. Yes, I got in, but I do not think my essays contributed much. Just make sure you have a unique topic.
HOWEVER, if you are applying for engineering, it is a whole different story. People with 2400s get rejected often, so it is difficult to show.
@throdisting If you mean emphasizing them in your essays, then NO. This is one of the biggest mistakes I made in my college application to Berkeley, and even though I got in, do not do this. Never, ever write about an extracurricular (for me it was volunteering) in your essay. It’s cliche, and adcoms will have seen that you participated heavily in your internship or whatever on your application. I’m going to be frank so you can have an accurate portrayal of what lies ahead of you.
The 3.95 UC GPA is concerning to me, as well as the 3.65 UW GPA. I don’t know what year you are in, but if you are a junior, it may spell trouble. Do your absolute best to get a 2300+ on the SAT or a 35+ on the ACT, because a 3.95 UC GPA to the Berkeley adcom officers tells them that you not only may have picked easier classes, but you may have also done poorly in the easier classes. This can spell rejection. If you are a sophomore, there is still hope to bring it up! Junior year is the most important year for grades, so it is absolutely crucial for you to maintain a high GPA in this year. Extracurriculars are not as important as grades and test scores are, unless you are some USAMO invitee, an Intel Science Research winner, or a Nobel Prize recipient. Even an internship is not seen as something as a huge boost, unless it was for a big tech company like Google or Microsoft.
If I were you, I would heavily focus on improving grades and scoring 2300s+ on standardized tests. Also, do make sure that you take the subject tests. Even though it is recommended, it can show the Berkeley admissions office more of your potential and capability. (Try to aim for 800s, but 750+ is good enough, depending on the test. An 800 on the Math 2, if you choose to take it, is almost a necessity given your GPA because 15% of the test takers of the Math 2 subject receive 800s, and a 790 puts you automatically outside the top 15%.
@2019goldenbear thanks for the response! I got a 770 in Math II without studying, should I bother retaking for the 800? The 3.65 UW was because of 2 Cs Junior Year 1st sem in AP classes, otherwise my weighted is 4.28
@throdisting Was there a specific reason for the 2 C’s as in a family matter or personal injury? If so, bring it up. And with the 770, this is entirely up to you. When you apply to Berkeley, you self-report scores and you only send official test scores if you get in so they can double check you to make sure you told the truth (You don’t have to list all sittings though, meaning if you took the same test twice, you only list the highest.) However, that being said, Berkeley does ask you to send all test scores, but many, MANY people usually just send their best scores and not show 1st attempts or low scores. So if you do choose to retake the Math 2 and get a 770, realize that if you get in, you may not have to show them the 770. However, this really depends on their policy next year regarding Score Choice and whether or not they want you to send all scores.
@2019goldenbear bring it up as in mention it in a personal statement or essay? Also, how much does community service hours affect decisions? Thanks for the clear, detailed responses, I really appreciate it!
@throdisting Never, EVER talk about a family situation in an essay or a personal statement. That’s one of the cliche topics and you will come off as a sob story. There is a special section on the Common App for situations like that, and you should put it there. It will not come off as a sob story. Just tell them the situation that occurred in junior year, and no more than that. Don’t try to explain how you recovered, as it will come off as an essay and will seem like a sob story.
Community service hours are important, but not as important as grades, test test scores, and recommendations in general. It varies from school to school. Look at the Common Data Set of the schools you wish to attend. Out of the possible ranks (Very Important, Important, Considered, Not Considered), I believe Berkeley puts volunteering at Important (Berkeley puts GPA, test scores, EC’s as Very Important), while some other schools like Duke will only put it as Considered, which has the same impact as your race. (which can go a long way if you are a borderline applicant.)
@2019goldenbear are you sure L&S considers subject test scores? I know engineering does but nothing is mentioned on their website about subject test recommendations for L&S
@throdisting I got into L&S Berkeley with almost no community service, it probably hurt me but not too much I suppose
@Masterball They won’t hold it against you if you don’t, but I think at my information session at Berkeley, the adcom officer mentioned that they will take it into account if you submit it.