<p>My bud really wants to go to Berkeley (his gf and I'm going there, so it's pretty appealing to him :D). </p>
<p>Can everyone spare some advice on what he should do to make him have the highest chance of winning the appeal? His grades are pretty strong, he's an English/History buff, math and science are decent, he's on varsity tennis, is in a youth orchestra, among other things.</p>
<p>So what does he need to do for his appeal? What can he do to strengthen his chances? And if it's pretty impossible, what can he do for his Freshman year to get the best chance of a transfer acceptance?</p>
<p>He has to mention things that are not in the application. Might be other ECs that he didn’t mention, might be a personal reason why his grades weren’t top-notch or other reasons. </p>
<p>Recommendations of course. As others will probably say, it’s best not to beg. You could imagine how many people say “please! my mom and dad went to Cal!” -.-;;</p>
<p>Be original, and tell him that he needs to bring other things that he has not mentioned in all of his application!</p>
<p>Best of luck to him and to you for getting into Cal. [:</p>
<p>Unfortunately, unless there was some glaring omission or new development since the original application, the chances are probably slim. That said, it doesn’t hurt to try. I would try to come up with something significant that he has done during Senior year not covered by the application and then get some awesome letters of recommendation to back it up.</p>
<p>If he is in state, the best shot for a Berkeley degree at this point may be going to a community college and then transferring. Just be sure he gets really good grades and keeps up with the extracurriculars. Transferring from another 4 year school may be possible, but it is not all that common. Again, if he wants to leave that door open, he needs to demonstrate extrordinary academics at the school he goes to initially.</p>
<p>If you are REALLY serious about appealing, message me your appeal letter, and I will help you out.</p>
<p>I appealed my admissions decision, and I got in. It is possible, but you better have a damn good reason as to why they should take a look at your application again.</p>
<p>I take back my last post. Do NOT send me your appeals letter. Don’t even message me on this topic anymore. My inbox was flooded with messages!</p>
<p>To answer your questions, let me start with this. To those of you who sent me your letters, in my opinion, NONE of them are strong. I didn’t see anything that made me believe I wanted you at my school. You just listed awards and clubs. There was nothing of substance that made me think of you in a different light.</p>
<p>Most of you asked to see my letter, but I am not going to post it. I feel that if any of you actually have something of substance to share, you will know what it is. Let me ask you this: what, outside of school/clubs/awards, contributed to your success or lack thereof inside school? What makes you more desirable than every other appellant who keeps talking about their awards, clubs, etc. too?</p>
<p>I will, however, provide you with a few examples from my own letter to stir your thoughts. They are NOT for you to copy or imitate in your letters if they do not apply to you. Please be honest in your letters. The appeals committee can smell a liar from a mile away. Do not present yourself as a victim. Instead, show you overcame whatever challenges came your way.</p>
<p>Some of my points:
I was ranked #1 in class during my first two years of high school, but my grades took a fall during my junior and senior years. This was because my father ruined his knee, lost his job, and I started working 32+ hours a week.
I managed the finances in my house. My parents’ English is not strong so I was the one paying the bills, translating all the mail, and filling out forms.
I lived in a room with my whole family. No one would rent to us because my dad has no credit. My family owns no property, no savings, no retirement accounts, and this caused a lot of stress in my life during high school.
I tutored all four years of high school and started a tutoring club at my elementary school alma mater on top of helping my own two littler sisters with their schoolwork.
I cleaned houses with my mom over the weekends to make the rent, and I worked as a janitor over the summers for a cleaning company. However, this didn’t stop me from taking extra classes over the summer and interning for my congresswoman.
My junior/senior schedule got so bad that I started losing A LOT of weight and got really pale. I always looked tired/depressed in school, and teachers started to worry about the drop in my grades. I was pulled aside by a school counselor, but I refused to share any informaiton about my home life (This was out of fear on my part). They thought I was being abused at home and sent my case to social services. This caused a lot more stress instead of helping.
My father was an alcoholic for as long as I can remember. Let’s just say there were a lot of negative experiences as a result.
My parents only completed their education up to the third grade so I always did my homework by myself. I also helped my little sisters with their homework.
I am a first generation college student, and I really worked my ass off in high school to get here. I emphasized that I did not let my home life deter from my involvement in school and that I tried my best to manage school with what I had going on in the background.</p>
<p>Hope this helped you figure out what your strong points are. Best of luck to all of you!</p>
<p>i think the appeals committee at berkeley will receive over 40000 appeal letters very similar to your last post in content. The appeals committee will probably have to skip spring break in order to process all the appeals.</p>