<p>As someone who really wants to get into Berkeley, this question has always been bothering me. How exactly does Berkeley holistically analyze OOS and international applicants when each school has a different grading system? I ask because our school has massive grade deflation, and despite having the top statistics for IB and AP results, our UC GPAs are ridiculously low (I'm in the top 5-10th percentile and I have a UC GPA of about 4.1, which isn't particularly high). This has been a massive thorn in my side, especially as it seems like Berkeley puts a lot of weight onto our UC GPAs. Does anyone have an insight on how they would resolve issues such as this?</p>
<p>Are there any big public schools out there that do holistic admissions? I know they all claim to, but looking at the kinds of people on CC who get into UMich/UVA, it’s all about stats.</p>
<p>Well that’s pretty discouraging :/</p>
<p>Actually, while UMich/UVA may only look at stats, Berkeley certainly looks at your scores in the context of your school (and even within CA they do that). Your percentile and your school’s statistics will demonstrate the quality of your education. My UC GPA was lower - much lower - than yours and my high school also had ridiculous deflation despite having amazing AP scores. I am now a senior at Berkeley. So don’t worry. Focus on your essays and your ECs.</p>
<p>The holistic thing sounds good in theory but in reality I suspect that it’s little more than a cursory look at the essay and Ec’s just to say that the candidate was fully considered. Barring olympic status or a stint on Broadway, I suspect that very few benefit from the holistic touch and as usual it come down to grades, courseload, and board scores.</p>
<p>“Are there any big public schools out there that do holistic admissions? I know they all claim to, but looking at the kinds of people on CC who get into UMich/UVA, it’s all about stats.” esimpnoxin is correct. </p>
<p>This holistic thing is pure BS. I hope they introduce some sort of entrance exams in addition to evaluating GPAs and test scores. anyways thankfully FYI Berkeley doesn’t give a s*** about ECs/essays/LORs/race.</p>