<p>Okay, first of all I am going to be a UC Berkeley '13 student. As I look over my 4 years of high school, the good things that I did and the wrong, I wish that I had a second shot at high school. If I did maybe I could be going somewhere else next year, and since there is no time machine available, I thought that I would educate everyone here on how to get into your dream college. </p>
<p>The most important things are as follows. </p>
<li>Grades: You don’t necessarily need a 4.0 to get into a good school. I have a 3.65 unweighted GPA and am going to Cal next year. Some other of my friends have around 3.7 gpa’s and are also going to Cal. However if your aim is Ivy or upper level privates, I suggest having atleast a 3.8 unweighted GPA.
—When I was a sophomore and junior I thought that taking all the AP’s and loading my schedule was the smart thing to do. This is not the best thing to do. This only screws up your gpa, and people with less AP classes than you and better grades will end up going to a better college than you. </li>
<li>Test scores: People, please don’t be OCD about your test scores. A 2100 is good enough for the UC’s. For the Ivies atleast get a 2200. I know people who got 2300’s and still got rejected from every Ivies they applied to. I know someone people with 2200+ scores who got rejected from Cal, UCLA, UCSD and every Ivy. On the other hand, I got into Cal with a 2110. I know someone with an 1830 who got into Stanford. Scores are NOT everything. </li>
<li>Leadership: Here is one good advice. Try to get two leadership positions in clubs on campus. Start a club if you have to. This will help you very much in apps to even stand a chance against many other teenagers against the country. </li>
<li>Do community service like every other guy or girl in your school.</li>
<li>Show some interest in an activity other than academics. Most of the people who got into Stanford and other high level schools this year from our school were not smart, they showed passion in non-academic activities. One girl was a cello star player. One was a super star swimmer.One was a super star cross country runner. One was an excellent soccer player. Be committed to this activity, music, or sport. Do it all 4 years, or 3 years if 4 is not possible. You don’t want to be a bookeating zombie to the colleges. You want to seem to have a personality.</li>
<li>Nothing makes you stand out to colleges more than your participation in competitions. If you are into science try to participate in things like Intel STS, Siemens, internships, Synopsys (which is near my city), etc. Win some awards. Awards are VERY important. If you do internships don’t settle with it, try to use what you learnt in a competition, spread the word of your research, apply for patents, etc.</li>
<li>Have a personal story. Make yourself different from everyone else. If you grow up in a weird environment include that in your essay. If you are disabled and overcame obstacles, write about that in ur essay. If you are an illegal mexican immigrant and crossed the border when you were 7, then write about that. If you worked a part-time job to support your family write about that. Make yourself different from every other applicant. </li>
<li>The essay is overrated. If you don’t have everything listed above, the essay means nothing. IF you have everything above, the essay is a nice whipped cream and will make the adcom jizz in his pants. </li>
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<p>That is how to get into any college of ur choice. Good luck, and hope your college applications seasons is more pleasant than mine. Oh, if you know any freshman please send this to them so that they can plan accordingly. My biggest mistake was not knowing the college application process early on and planning.</p>
<p>Are you serious? Doing all the things above may still make you look like everyone else. Tons of people “start” clubs nowadays, it’s an old, and cliche way to show leadership, and this especially true for the people who apply to elite schools. How do college differentiate the students who start clubs/organization for just admission purposes and ones who do it as a passion? Easy. The Essay.</p>
<p>it is so refreshing to see someone on here who has talked some sense into these people. everyone here thinks that you need to get an A in 5 AP classes, have 1000+ hours of community service, a 2200+ SAT, play 12 instruments, and cure cancer to get into a college like berkeley.</p>
<p>your post really makes more “normal” people like me feel better. dont let any of these uber nerds flame your responses either. you are completely down to earth and realistic.</p>
<p>I completely agree with this list. Sat scores are basically a qualifier. You gotta figure that most people applying to ivies got the scores, clubs, and if they are smart enough for that, they can definitely write a stellar essay. The most important things that separates the top students are competitions(which show interest and passion) and GPA, because these things are the hardest to achieve.</p>
<p>I disagree with 6 and 8, while agreeing generally with the rest. </p>
<p>Unless you’re winning a major award (Intel STS, Siemens etc…), competitions in my opinion are only good as an extension to extracurriculars. If competitions aren’t your forte, I don’t think there should be any obligation to try. Also, I think a long term, dedicated extracurricular activity is worth more than a brief competition that merely showcases skill. I do however, agree that internships could be a valuable experience, but not all internships are created equal. Some won’t let you get past running copies and stapling papers. Make sure you get the ones with real opportunities. </p>
<p>I very, very strongly disagree with number eight. </p>
<p>In my opinion, you can do all of the above and more, but if your essay is not up to par, you WILL get rejected. I believe that many competitive candidates get frozen up about the essay and try BS essay tactics that they hope will jerk a tear (writing about their supposed hardships, a death in the family, or some convoluted disorder) or wind on and on about how their extracurriculars that supposedly match their intended majors (Making their entire essays about their “leadership” abilities in a club that supposedly matches their Medical school dreams). </p>
<p>There are thousands of those essays, and adcoms are not impressed. Your essay is your only voice in that room with those people. You have 500 words to make a statement that will represent the core of who you are… don’t try to manipulate them by jerking the system. Actually, the best way to stand out is by NOT adhering to the standard tactics. Pretend you’re in front of them in a friendly atmosphere, a local Starbucks perhaps, and strike up a colloquial conversation in which you are doing all the talking. </p>
<p>Oh… and while GPA and SAT are not everything, try to get them as high as possible. You don’t the when **** is going to hit the fan, especially with your grades. :)</p>
<p>“A in 5 AP classes, have 1000+ hours of community service, a 2200+ SAT, play 12 instruments, and cure cancer to get into a college like berkeley.”
lol… i only have like 80 community service hours. Yeah, what I wrote is what you have to do to get into a college better than cal. </p>
<p>Oh, and rockerguyasj, “Tons of people “start” clubs nowadays, it’s an old, and cliche way to show leadership, and this especially true for the people who apply to elite schools. How do college differentiate the students who start clubs/organization for just admission purposes and ones who do it as a passion? Easy. The Essay.”
—That’s why I included the part about the competitions. I was too lazy to participate in them, thus you don’t see Stanford '13 on my location. I only did 1 year of golf. I should have done more. Thus, another reason why you don’t see Stanford '13. Okay, to clarify my opinions on the essay. My friend, a super great writer with 2300+ SAT’s, 790’s on all of his SAT II’s, straight A’s, but with only academic extra curriculars but no leadership positions, and no competition awards did not get into anything better than cal and northwestern. His essays were by no doubt superb. I tell him that if he even had one leadership position and some science fair awards or something, and a sport, he would have gone to a “better” school. He did over 500 hours of community service. I also see people in my school with all of the things on the list above and going to ivies next year. The essay is good for icing the passion that u demonstrate in your activities. That’s all I’m saying. It should complement something, not stand alone.</p>
<p>These just seem like unsupported simplifications of the generally accepted factors playing into selective admissions. I would advise those new to the process to not put a lot of stock into that list.</p>
<p>That’s the part I disagree with it, for top schools, the essay is not the icing but really, the foundation.</p>
<p>The essay(s), directly and/or indirectly, gives perspective on the rest of one’s application. The essay can make your file become human, and not just a a resume, grades, and test scores. IMO, the admissions officers see thousands of similar activities, internships, sports, and competitions. How do they choose? Again, I point to the essay. The essay can show the Adcom why you did the things you do, it can make a jumbled list of activities turn into a cohesive passion. Why does one complete over 500 hours of community service? Maybe for one applicant it is because they wanted to get prepared in the medical field, but for another, they do it for a completely different reason. </p>
<p>An honest and unique essay, like Gryfonn said is what can get you in or keep you out in the top schools. Again, I am talking about Top 25 schools, not a regular 2nd/3rd tier state school.</p>
<p>Most of your suggestions are good, but I think you are underestimating the essay just because of a few examples you encountered personally.</p>
<p>The admissions process isn’t that cut and dry. </p>
<p>Yes, leadership demonstration IS important for top schools, but I agree that starting clubs just to demonstrate leadership is cliche. There are many, many other ways to demonstrate leadership. </p>
<p>And the essay IS important. The other factors are essential just to be considered, but it is with the essay that the admissions committee determines your acceptance/rejection</p>
<p>Oh… and I’m not even going to go into talking about how you believe you would have gotten into Stanford with a few competition victories and ECs. </p>
<p>UC Berkeley is a wonderful school with some of the highest rated academic programs in the world. Let’s not talk about the other supposedly “better” schools. And it’s your future home for the next four years. So Cal pride?</p>
<p>I don’t think the original post should be followed too closely. Everybody’s talents, opportunities, goals are different – overgeneralization is not that helpful. I think the most important thing is for people to figure out their own strengths and find ways to show that, rather than treating this entire process like some to-do list. Just whatever it is that you do, make sure that you do it very, very well. For top 10 schools, make sure you’re golden in at least two areas. For “lower” schools, excelling in academics is enough. I got into UCB with Regents and I know why I could not get into an Ivy higher than Cornell–I did not excel in any of my EC’s. Sure, I had them, but they weren’t enough.</p>
<p>I agree with the awards: Intel finalist(top 40) can bag you into Harvard with a 3.0 GPA and a 2000 SAT. All the books by Adcom emphasize how much the Westinghouse is weighted: one of the former US presidents(believe to be older George Bush Sr) called it a “mini-nobel”.
Provided you have good Science SAT 2 (duh!!!).</p>
<p>This thread has its merits. Essay is overrated. Bag an Intel/Siemens Semifinalist and this could be your winning essay and still get in:
Hi, i am __________ .
I like your school. Let me in before i take my research talent some where Harvard.
PS I want cookies.</p>
<p>Not sure how I feel about #1…I think you are probably right, but D is doing honors even though some of her grades will be in the 84 to 88 range unweighted. Ultimately she is getting a better education in these honors classes, she is with students who care more about academics and it is teaching her to take on a challenge rather than to take the easy route. You are right…it will not help her rank in school (which is important for admissions)…but hopefully it will make her a stronger student.</p>
<p>A few of my comments to throw in another perspective:</p>
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<p>This should say, “aim to get the highest GPA possible but don’t sweat if it’s not perfect.”</p>
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<p>Wrong. I have never heard an admissions officer give a speech that didn’t include the words “rigorous courseload.” People with less AP classes but better grades will end up having a higher class rank, perhaps.</p>
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<p>Agreed.</p>
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<p>Agreed, but as an addendum, understand that admissions officers cut through BS like lumberjacks. Interviewers too. An interviewer posted a while back (I think it was Northstarmom) how she would ask people during interviews about the challenges, experiences etc that they encountered in running activities with which she was familiar. She could tell immediately if they were full of it.</p>
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<p>I disagree with this because every other guy or girl in your school probably thinks that “hours” mean something, when they don’t.</p>
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<p>Definitely.</p>
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<p>Only do these if you want to and have some reason for thinking you can do well. They’re not mandatory. I did fine in college admissions without having any major awards or competitions under my belt.</p>
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<p>Just don’t be a cliche.</p>
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<p>Super disagree. The essay is underrated. It is so much easier to reject a set of scores and a laundry list of activities than someone with a clear, powerful voice within a well-written essay. The essay isn’t so much used to introduce information but to introduce you.</p>
So Cal pride?</p>