<p>"Dear Anon,</p>
<p>We have received your University of California Undergraduate Application for Admission and Scholarships. Thank you for your interest in our campus. </p>
<p>We are in the process of reviewing your application. Before we can complete our review and reach an admission decision, we need the following information from you:</p>
<p>Is the Incomplete at [College] for [Class] remedied? Is it still an Incomplete? Have you received a grade? Is is a Withdrawal or Academic Renewal?</p>
<p>We must receive this information within five days of this message date, or processing of your application may be delayed or canceled.</p>
<p>To respond to this message please use our online response form by clicking the following link: [Redacted]</p>
<p>DO NOT reply to this email as it will not be delivered.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>UC Berkeley Undergraduate Admissions"</p>
<p>The grade I received was a "C". It was a UC-transferable major elective course in English (which is not my declared major). Considering the course was not a part of any general educational or major requirements, will this negatively impact my chances of admission? </p>
<p>Again, the course was not used to satisfy any subject areas on my IGETC. It was simply a non-major "upper-division equivalent" course in English which I enrolled in out of a purely personal intellectual interest (a decision which I deeply regret). </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I am going to be blunt. Yes, it will negatively affect
your application because it’s a “C”.</p>
<p>Thank you for the realistic assessment. Anything otherwise would be detrimental at this point. When I asked the director of my college’s transfer center and counseling department, he told me that it’s nothing more than a blemish on my record and that the UCB adcom would understand as much. </p>
<p>Well, then. I guess it’s time for me to start readjusting my expectations and get used to the idea of going to UCSD – which is a world-class educational institution in its own right (the entire UC system is, in fact, with the sole exception of Merced).</p>
<p>just out of curiosity, was that C the only C grade you have? Are most of your grades above B? I find it so weird that they contacted you just to verify the C grade…</p>
<p>Yes. This will be my only C out of nearly 100 units of UC-transferable coursework. </p>
<p>I have received two B’s out of over 60 units taken in the community college system; a B- and a B+ in 24 quarter units taken in various upper-division courses at UCLA (I would take summer sessions there as a high school sophomore); and, if it matters, I can transfer up to 24 or 25 units in AP exam scores (I have all 5’s apart from a disastrous 2 on AP Bio).</p>
<p>Who knows. I’ve been told that grades sometimes don’t matter that much at Berkeley (meaning as long as you’re over 3.5 you have a shot), depending on the strength of your personal statement, ec’s, etc. It sounds like you’re a pretty impressive candidate, and considering your major isn’t in that class you got a C in, it might not be too bad of a blow.</p>
<p>Also, should I explain the circumstances behind me getting the C (which I consider very pertinent) or should I just list the grade and be done with it? </p>
<p>I have to submit my response today. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>I would say offer an explanation but don’t make it come across as purely excuses. For example don’t say “I was so overloaded that semester with work and my other more important classes.” </p>
<p>Instead say something along the lines that you were very challenged by the course because it wasn’t part of your major and you were caught off guard, but you learned from the experience regardless. </p>
<p>Just my 2 cents. Maybe someone else has a better idea.</p>
<p>Thanks again. Your insight is greatly appreciated. I’m not caught between trying to decide on the explanation, I’m just wondering as to whether or not it is actually allowed. It wasn’t asked for outright, but the linked reply provides ample space for comment.</p>
<p>@ zomgrad
“Who knows. I’ve been told that grades sometimes don’t matter that much at Berkeley”</p>
<p>Did you hear this from a credible source? Because that would be such a relief to me. I received a C in my physics class to fulfill an IGETC requirement (in the FALL no less!) but my overall GPA is 3.67. All this talk about grade trends being an important factor for UCB and UCLA have really been stressing me out.</p>
<p>“Before we can complete our review and reach an admission decision”</p>
<p>I just don’t understand why they are basing their admission decision on a SINGLE FREAKING GRADE! A grade that should not even matter! ARGH!</p>
<p>So, last minute advice, should I or should I not explain the C? </p>
<p>As you guys can see (I’ve pasted the email in my first post), they only asked for the grade. If I do explain, it’ll be a sentence like “zomgrad” suggested but I don’t want to be giving them information they did not request. It’ll give a bad impression.</p>
<p>“Did you hear this from a credible source? Because that would be such a relief to me. I received a C in my physics class to fulfill an IGETC requirement (in the FALL no less!) but my overall GPA is 3.67. All this talk about grade trends being an important factor for UCB and UCLA have really been stressing me out.” </p>
<p>Well, UCB’s admissions process is guided by a philosophy of ‘holistic review,’ meaning that they take into account (and, presumably, weigh more equally) things like participation in extracurricular activities, work- and family-related obligations, etc. with academics. They are somewhat odd in their admissions – definitely moreso than the other UC campuses.</p>