Should I even apply to Berkely?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

I know Berkely is a reach for everyone even me, and I want to major in Chemical Engineering. However I heard it is one of their most competitive majors for admission. Should i even bother applying there even if I have a high chance of rejection?
4.17 W and 4.08 UC GPA
1460 SAT
Science Olympiad is my main EC
so should i just apply for the heck of it?

2

I feel the same way about some colleges I’m applying to. I’d say (if paying for applying and all that isn’t a problem) go for it. The worst thing that will happen is you will get rejected, and you already feel like you might so who cares. You have SOME chance >0%, but not applying at all makes it a 0% chance.

3

You should also consider whether you will be able to manage the work at UCB or not.

4

A good thing about applying to Berkeley is that you can apply to all of the UC’s with the same essays/application, so if you’re looking into other UC’s you can hit two birds with one stone. (Of course it costs more if you apply to more UC’s, though)

5

yah but if i get in I rather go to UCLA or UCSB over berkely

6

shud i still apply even if I rather go other UC’s

7

Why apply somewhere that you don’t want to go to? I don’t care if it’s Harvard - why spend the $$ just to see if you could get in? The smart person only applies to schools they would be willing to attend. Also, if you can’t spell “Berkeley” correctly, you maybe really don’t care anyway. It isn’t for everybody.

8

also is it fine if u have no reaches on ur list?

9

Perfectly fine.

10

^^ if you’re really not interested in attending any reaches than there’s nothing wrong with not applying to them.

11

"also is it fine if u have no reaches on ur list? "

It is perfectly fine to have no reaches on your list. There are many great schools in the US, and many more outside the US. If your top choice happens to be safe and affordable given your GPA and other information, then you are in very good shape and you get to go where you want to go.

12

also what if ur schools are all safeties?

13

I don’t see anything wrong with applying to a few reaches IF they are places you would want to attend. If you get into ALL of the schools you apply to, you will never know if you could have gotten in somewhere higher up the food chain.

Since OP would go to UCLA or UCSB over Cal, apply to those but not to Cal. UCLA will also be a reach, BTW.

14

Berkely isnt acutally that bad for me.
the only negatives are high competition and lot of SJW’s
also how are chances for me (UC GPA si 4.08 and 1460 SAT and 10 AP’s by senior year and EC’s of Scioly and tutoring) for matSci?
is materials science less compeitigve to get into than other forms of engineering?

15

No lol

16

so materials is just as hard as other forms for admission?
also can u apply as joint majors or not?
is it wise to do just MSE?