What does it take to get into UC Berkeley?
Being an out of state student, I was wondering what makes a student stand out among the crowd, and how rigorous their life before college was and what their scores on their standardized tests are.
Thank You in Advance!!!
UCs including Berkeley really like top end grades in rigorous course work more than test scores. Obviously, higher test scores are better than lower ones, but probably won’t help as much at UCs as they do at many other schools.
Also, as an out-of-state student, can you afford to price?
The UC’s provide no financial aid to OOS students. Can your parents pay $60,000/year for four years?
I will probably take student loans even though my parents will definitely invest. Does UC Berkeley provide OOS scholarships?
There are a few merit scholarships that are extremely competitive and max at about $10,000/year. You cannot borrow much. It would have to be parental loans mostly. Are they on board for that?
Have you asked you parents what kind of budget you have for college?
@TomSrOfBoston @uclahopefull I am still in high school and was just looking at my options, so I would like to focus on the statistics and being a great candidate for a school. I will eliminate colleges along the road when money becomes an issue. At this point in time my parents could probably cover probably a little more than a year of tuition.
UCB Freshman profile for 2016. Aim to be at or above the averages for the best chances.
Freshmen
It is actually easier for out of state students to be admitted.
A lower percentage of OOS students actually end up enrolling compared to in-state students, raising the acceptance rate for OOS applicants.
Borrowing three years of out-of-state costs is a bad idea.
The money matters should be among the first ones to look into, since it is relatively simple to do so by running the school’s net price calculator on its web site. Then you need not spend any time researching schools that are too expensive.
Yes, but those large enough for you are extremely hard to get. For example, the Regents’ scholarship can cover financial need (based on FAFSA EFC) or $25,000 per year if no need, according to http://financialaid.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/docs/forms/RC_Tenure_Contract_OOS_2016-17.pdf . There is also the full ride Drake scholarship for mechanical engineering majors: http://www.me.berkeley.edu/undergraduate/admissions/drake-scholarship .
Basically, you would be aiming for one of these scholarships, not just admission (which is hard enough to begin with), to make UCB a possibly financially realistic choice.
Do you apply for these scholarships after you are accepted?
I mean I’m applying OOS rn. I think there is an MCAP thing, but it’s so super expensive lol (like a little under 40k).
For OOS, there is no purely need-based financial aid at UCs, although some highly competitive merit scholarships may cover the OOS additional tuition or more (examples in #9).