My friend wants to apply to UC Berkeley. He got a 2020 (writing section: 760) on the New SAT, but he is only in the top 25% of his class nearing the end of his Junior year. How highly does Berkeley put class rank on its priority list?
<p>i don't think they consider class rank at all, but obviously, they take into consideration one's GPA.</p>
<p>That's great news!
He has a 3.7...what would you say his chances are with good EC's?</p>
<p>Even though they don't look at class rank, they may know about the school and what puts you in the top 10% more or less because I've heard that about 90% or some incredible number of UC students are in the top 10%, so yeah.</p>
<p>3.7 Weighted or Unweighted? If its unweighted, then its pretty much what mine was and I got into EE at Berkeley.</p>
<p>Unweighted. If you don't mind my asking, where were you in your class?</p>
<p>I suppose that Berkeley might put greater weight on the New SAT than just a recommendation (like most colleges in this first year). At least I hope so.</p>
<p>young_one: could I get some confirmation on that top 10%? :)</p>
<p>Actually, according to Collegeboard at <a href="http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=988&type=qfs&word=Berkeley%5B/url%5D">http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=988&type=qfs&word=Berkeley</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
98% in top 10th of graduating class
[/quote]
</p>
<p>so it's even tougher than i thought</p>
<p>The rank will really hurt. I'd say there's not a good chance your friend could get in. Also, the SAT is not a strong score for Cal. 2200 would be.</p>
<p>Wow. 98%...</p>
<p>Thanks everybody.</p>
<p>GPA is the most important admissions factor for the UCs, especially the top ones. The average GPA for Cal is something like 4.24. I wouldn't rate his chances as good.</p>
<p>Well, it's too bad he could never get in. Still, this figure from a couple years ago says the SAT averages are much lower at 667 and 624:
<a href="http://www.ophs.opusd.k12.ca.us/average_sat_act_scores.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.ophs.opusd.k12.ca.us/average_sat_act_scores.htm</a></p>
<p>I wouldn't say he could "never" get in.</p>
<p>Rank depends on the school--if they know it as a highly competitive school, then I don't know that they would look at rank all that much, since there are so many students excelling.</p>
<p>I don't know anything about Cal schools though, so I can't comment past that.</p>
<p>More important than rank is his UC GPA. He needs to caclulate a weighted UC GPA according to their specifications. Only then can you see if he is competitive. There are instructions on the UC pathways website. Only count sophmore and jr grades, yada yada.</p>
<p>the Berkeley chancellor said that he expects the median SAT to be ~2100, or 700 per test. UC doesn't use rank, except for elc candidates.</p>
<p>Do you have to take an arts class to apply to the UC's if you are from out of state?</p>
<p>TAWS:</p>
<p>art specifically, no. But, you do need to fulfill the VAPA (visual or perfroming arts) requirement, which can be completed by band, orchestra, ceramics and the like. For the non-musically inclined, AP Art History is a great class. My S, who hates art, loved the class and learned a lot.</p>
<p>Isn't there a way to bypass the VAPA requirement by test scores on SAT and subject tests according the UC site.
Anybody know if this requirement will be hard because they havnt released details on it?</p>
<p>I had a friend this year who had not taken a full year of art because his school does not offer it, Berkeley recommended that he go to a community college. To give you an idea of how smart this guy is he is currently choosing between MIT and Harvard.</p>
<p>Would a film making class count towards proformance arts credit for the UC's?</p>
<p>I don't think Berkeley cares at all about class rank. Yes, it's true that ELC candidates have traditionally had about twice the acceptance rate of non ELC students, but don't forget that ELC students are also generally more qualified elsewhere than non ELC students. </p>
<p>In my opinion, ELC is almost completely useless, unless you want that scholarship from UCI (which many ELC students don't bother to apply to). I believe that the top UCs don't really give much about ELC, since most of their applicants are already ELC.</p>
<p>lmo: where where you in your class?
I don't know, because our school does not give rank. But I know that I WAS NOT ELC, so probably somewhere between 5%-10%.</p>
<p>And about the chances of getting in, it really depends on your major. There is almost no such thing as "guaranteed acceptance" in the more competitive majors at UCB or UCLA. The average GPA for Berkeley Engineering was 4.34 (yes 4.34). This is pretty inhuman considering its the "AVERAGE." The SAT scores are within reach, but I don't think a 2020 is enough to cut it with the GPA your friend has if he is going after the more competitive majors. And what about your friend's SATII scores? I think they weigh that more heavily than SATI.</p>