<p>^^^This is in response to Zelda’s post #3:</p>
<p>UC Berkeley cares about numbers first and foremost but to say “UC’s only care about your numbers; they could honestly care less about your ECs” is generally not the case. There are plenty of instances that I am aware of when someone of the same gender, both unhooked, with lower stats is accepted over someone with higher stats within the same intended major. Cal is extremely holistic in their selection process, as well as the other top-tier UC’s. The top-tier UC’s WILL look at your EC’s, leadership, community service and the like. </p>
<p>My S, a freshman at UC Berkeley this year, received generous merit aid that was NOT need-based and most of which was not tied to a work program either. He also did not receive one of the Regents Scholar awards or any others.</p>
<p>Some of the private schools that are used as examples in post #3 for being generous with scholarships and aid are simply NOT- namely Boston College and USC. Boston College, for example (where my D attends), gives virtually no merit-based aid with the exception of a couple handfuls of Presidential Scholarships each year. USC, as the other example, is generous with merit-based aid IF you happen to be a National Merit finalist, semi-finalist, or commended recipient. I cannot comment on many of the other schools on Zelda’s list with regard to your chances of receiving merit aid for someone with your profile.</p>
<p>If you want to see what your admit rate at the various UC’s are for someone similar to your profile, go to the link below and click on “Custom Tables” and enter up to 3 “mean characteristics” at a time. Make sure if you are ELC, you note that:</p>
<p>[University</a> of California: StatFinder](<a href=“http://statfinder.ucop.edu/]University”>http://statfinder.ucop.edu/)</p>