Getting into UCB AND Haas

<p>Hi Everyone,</p>

<p>I have been receiving tons of mails about how I did it to get into HAAS with my GPA 3.79</p>

<p>So I decided that instead of Individually replying I would just make a thread =]</p>

<p>I wish I could post my essays but my counselor told me I shouldnt in case of plagiarism. So sorry =[</p>

<p>Hi </p>

<p>First of all, you need to have ALL THE SPACES IN UR APPLICATION FILLED OUT. For the HAAS application AND the Berkeley application. U can use the same stuff as in ur uc application but u have more space to put details. This is a must ! Its common sense, but believe me, most ppl dont do it.
Essay part:</p>

<p>For the 1st prompt ( which is why did u choose ur major, i think?) U must CLEARLY state ur major in the beginning sentence:
This is how I started:</p>

<p>I intend to major in business administration. A Bachelor of Science degree is fundamental to ...(why is it important to get this degree, what kind of job u want to get, whats ur goal).... blah blah. THEN IN HERE U GIVE AN EXPERIENCE THAT MADE U WANT THIS MAJOR.... </p>

<p>2nd prompt which i believe asks about ur most substantial accomplishment, talent or whatnot.. ...
Start with: My most substantial accomplishment is.... or The talent(s) that define me.. blah blah dont put too many..max 2! tell a story about why it made u who you are, or how have u use those talents to accomplish something..</p>

<p>HAAS essay: At Haas we value our Defining Principles (Confidence without Attitude, Question the Status Quo, Students Always, Beyond Yourself). Pick one principle. Why is this principle important and how do you identify with it?</p>

<p>I started like this...: </p>

<p>I started the year with a handful of enriching experiences. These experiences could be described under Haas’s four defining principles, but “Beyond yourself” is the principle that is most important to me and describes what I lived over the past month, January 2011.</p>

<p>DESCRIBE WHY...TELL A STORY</p>

<p>END SOMETHING LIKE THIS: The reason why I believe that Haas’s defining principle “ Beyond yourself” is so important, is because...</p>

<p>My ending was:The reason why I believe that Haas’s defining principle “ Beyond yourself” is so important, is because sometimes is just not about you, and what is best for you or the company you are working for, but is about good values and contributing in changing the lives of the people around you that are less fortunate. I believe that a successful business is not only measured by how much profit it makes, but about how many positive contributions it has made to society thanks to that success. </p>

<hr>

<p>This is what i wrote to another student that emailed me before in case u are interested</p>

<p>I just read your essay and I thought it was good but not right for what berkeley is asking. First of all, your essay is really really general and broad. Berkeley and Haas are looking for a personal experience and what did u learn from it that is why is called PERSONAL state. At the end, when they finish reading it they ask themselves what kind of person she/he is, and i couldn’t answer that from the essay you did. </p>

<p>you need to talk ABOUT the experience, and THEN talk about what it meant for you and what you learn and how it defines one of haas principles. </p>

<p>It need to be clean, SIMPLE and strong. memorable. remember they only take 1 min to read it. tell someone to read your essay really fast and see what they get from it. your essay had so much stuff that i only remembered the word ego. they will not re-read your essay if they dont understand.</p>

<p>THIS BOOK WAS MY SECRET WEAPON
65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays: With Analysis by the Staff of the Harbus, the Harvard Business School </p>

<p>I bought it in borders and used it for all my 3 essays. My essays were really simple, no fancy words.</p>

<p>Hope this helped you! </p>

<p>READ THE BOOK, I CANT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH. Berkeley admits people based on ur stories. My friend who has better GPA than me didn’t get it and it was because of this.
(although i did tell her to read it)</p>

<p>LOL mily- you have posted EXACTLY what you wrote to me.</p>

<p>yup lol it was easier!! i was getting too many emails lol</p>

<p>mily2008 , do you think it will still be possible to get in with this kind of gpa next year? because i am applying next year, but they are cutting the requirements this year making it harder :(</p>

<p>what kind of GPA do u mean? I think as long as you have a 3.5 -above and a very strong essay you can get in. Oh and they are making CALCULUS 2 a requirement so take a note on that</p>