College of Chemistry?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

Do I even have a shot? I just got waitlisted from UCLA from the College of Letters and Science and I’m feeling really down on myself. I stupidly applied to the college of chemistry, not realizing how hard to get into it it was. Please give me some guidance. I heard a rumor that UCLA and Berkeley collaborate on decisions, and most people don’t get into both, giving me very slight hope for Berkeley. Crush my dreams or give me some hope, please.

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I: N/A. SAT II: 700 Chem, 700 Math 2, 700 US History.
[ *] ACT: 33 (31 English, 32 Math, 36 English, 32 Science)
[ *] UC GPA: 4.15. (3.8 unweighted)
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (4), US History (4), English Language (4)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] College courses? If so, list them.: Trigonometry
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature, Religion (Private Catholic School), Acting III, Honors Precalculus, AP Physics 1, AP Macroeconomics, AP US Gov, AP Psych
[ *] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 9.5/10. Very solid. Showed how well rounded I am as a person.
[ *] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes. Both I believe were solid. One from my chem teacher who likes me.
[ *] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: No :confused:

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: B.S. in Chem.
[ *] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[ *] EOP?: No
[ *] NCAA?: No
[ *] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Yes. Studio City.
[ *] If International, from what country?: N/A
[ *] School Type: Private catholic
[ *] Ethnicity: White european (sadly)
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] LGBTQ?: Bisexual
[ *] Citizen?: Yes
[ *] Served in military? No
[ *] Married?: No
[ *] Orphan?: No
[ *] Income Bracket: Not sure but low enough to get 23k in grants from UC Davis.
[ *] # of Family Members: 3 immediate.
[ *] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: High school graduate, 4 year university.
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Nothing :confused:
[ *] Living on-campus? Yes

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: Being a professional actor for 10 years has given me professionalism and experience that nobody else my age can compare to. I have traveled the world and experienced many different cultures because of this. Good essays because of this. I believe my letters of rec were good, and I’ve heard that Berk strongly considers letters of rec and essays. 2 years of chemistry study at school (Honors chem 10th grade, AP Chem 11th grade).
[ *] Weaknesses: No hooks. No internships, research, or chemistry experience in the real world.
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Hopefully
[ *] If not, where are you going?: UCSD

[ /list][ b]General Comments/Additional Information:[ /b][ list]

2

I don’t think anyone can chance you at this point, but actually, the LOR at Berkeley this year are a pilot study so it’s more likely than not that they’ll have little impact on our applications. So I wouldn’t say they heavily consider those. Berkeley is more holistic overall though than UCLA, so you may yield a different result here. I’ve just gone through a couple of disappointing rejections/waitlists myself, but keep your head up. UCSD seems like a great offer given the 23k grant.

3

It’s not true that you can’t get both. I was accepted into both this year.

4

I was accepted to Cal’s College of Chemistry and was invited to interview for the Regents Scholarship. My interviewer was actually one of the people who read my application. He congratulated me for my achievement in chemistry (As, 800 SAT II, 5 AP, USNCO Honors) and in math (As, 800 SAT II, 36 ACT Section Score, AIME Qualifier) but made little mention of my essays. He emphasized that those objective factors were very important in my admission decision.
Although it is possible to get in with more moderate test scores, your chances are probably on the lower side even with great essays.

5

I can’t, and don’t want to, do either one. But I think this is simply not true:

I know people who got admitted to none, one, or both of them.