Just curious....

<p>I read that 99% of all accepted students are in the top 10% of their class. So, theoretically, doesn't that mean that a certain number of students who are applying just get cut because of their class rank? I wonder how many applicants aren't in the top 10% of their classes. BTW, I used Collegedata for this info, so I didn't just make it up.</p>

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So, theoretically, doesn't that mean that a certain number of students who are applying just get cut because of their class rank?

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<p>That's a loaded question. Realize that a class rank not in the top 10% will likely mean sub-par grades compared to other students (which means lower GPA as well), and I think we can agree that there is a GENERAL tendency for those that have a higher class rank (or higher GPA/grades) to better on the SAT/ACT. You could even go further to suggest that these people MIGHT not write as well either. Add all of this up, and you might have a candidate that might not be accepted compared to others.</p>

<p>It's ridiculous/illogical to conclude from that statistic you gave that people are rejected just for their GPA. You could only conclude this if the only thing on the application was your class rank.</p>

<p>A lot of schools that are very competitive (privates, publics like Lowell High in San Francisco) don't rank, which makes all such statistics (i.e. x% in top y% of their high school class) pretty worthless.</p>

<p>I realize all of this, and I know that Berkeley will still look at your app even if you're not in the top 10% of your class. But still, out of the students accepted who come from schools that rank, 99% of them are in the top 10%; that's higher than any other school I've seen. Even schools with single digit acceptance rates don't have those percentages. I was just suggesting that maybe this was one of the ways that Berkeley makes the first "cut", when deciding who goes and who doesn't. BTW, I don't want some flaming war or something, I was just curious.</p>

<p>hey I had a 3.8+ gpa (didn't really try all that hard for it) and was in the top 30% or some ridiculous percentage like that, and I still got in (I go to a really competitive school)</p>

<p>just have really good ecs, high sat scores, and good essays. at least thats what I think got me in :)</p>

<p>Berkeley definitely won't make the first "cut" by class rank. Class rank is pretty arbitrary (unless you're bottom 10%), especially if peers ranked above you don't take tough classes that lower GPAs.</p>

<p>If you have low class rank/GPA AND low SATs, then that's bad. However, I think GPA is weighed more than SAT because I know people who have 1700 SATs but 4.1-4.2 GPAs have gotten in but not vice versa. GPA is an indicator of FOUR years of work while some people can study a bit and do well on SATs.</p>

<p>Hmm, what kind of UC GPAs did those of you who got accepted have?</p>

<p>Only half of those in the top 4% are accepted, so imagine what the acceptance rate for those in the top 4-10% is, and then what the rate is for those not in the top 10%.</p>

<p>Well, according to collegedata, the rate for those below 10% is 1%.</p>

<p>I qualified for ELC so they sent me a booklet with GPA and SAT break down for ELC students. From my stats, I had > 95% acceptance rate at all except UCLA and UCBerkeley. Even for UCLA, I had 70%+ and for UCBerkeley 60%+.
The UCs are less forgiving when it comes to GPA.</p>

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Well, according to collegedata, the rate for those below 10% is 1%.

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<p>That's not an acceptance rate--that's just the makeup of those accepted. (By your logic, the acceptance rate for those in the top 10% is 99%. =p)</p>

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Even for UCLA, I had 70%+ and for UCBerkeley 60%+.

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<p>This year, I believe UCLA's is at 60% (up from last year's), and Berkeley's dropped between 50-55%.</p>

<p>I kinda get what ELC is, but how exactly do you qualify? Is it like applying to a college or do they only look at your UC GPA and SAT? Also, I know this is beside the point, but is senior year part of your UC GPA, or is it just 10th and 11th grade?</p>

<p>At the beginning of the year, my counselor called me in and gave me some paper with a pin number for ELC UC application. I think they only look at UC GPA. Then there's a separate application for ELC students.<br>
UCD, UCI said they'd accept me if I just apply.
UCSD sent a letter congratulating me on ELC and encouraged me to apply. From the statistics, it looks really good for ELC students, especially those with decent SAT score.</p>

<p>look man, admission statistics are pointless because they talk overall, not the individual situation</p>

<p>there are always ways to get in somewhere, you just have to capitalize on your +s while at the same time showing your acknowledging your -s and how you plan to change em. don't try to hide your -s, college admission officers are smart enough to realize them. don't make excuses for them.</p>

<p>just relax, you're not going to be able to change your gpa. worrying about whether you can get in just takes time away from other aspects of your application that you can work on, such as essays and other activities that show your brilliance. Do something over the summer even if it doesn't come to fruition. </p>

<p>this is coming from someone who wasted a HUGE part of first semester senior year looking up stupid statistics instead of working/having fun. I realize that's against human nature, but resist doing it.</p>

<p>"this is coming from someone who wasted a HUGE part of first semester senior year looking up stupid statistics instead of working/having fun. I realize that's against human nature, but resist doing it."</p>

<p>you said it LOL.</p>

<p>i agree.. ignore the statistics... they look at you as a whole, & to be honest i think the admission process can be pretty random too.</p>

<p>but yea, i had ELC too & i got guarenteed into uci, ucsb, ucr, ucm, & ucd & a letter from ucsd encouraging me to apply also (they rejected me tho)</p>