Hi! Unfortunately i wasn’t admitted into Cal this year, but i would like to appeal the decision. I have a 4.5 GPA and 1560 SAT. I was planning on talking about how the death of my grandfather from a rare disease really impacted my grades in high school (even though they were still fairly good) and how id really like to research this disease more at Berkeley. I know appeals are a long shot, but i hear UC berkeley appeals are a little easier than ucla. Do you think i have a shot? And do you have any advice for what to include in the appeal?
I think a forward thinking attitude will be better in an appeal, not to dewalling about the past and trying to explain why your GPA is not sterling. Lets face it, everyone has some kind of family problem, including death in a family. What makes you so derailed in your school work is not the adcomms business. Besides, your grade is not bad, its not the major barrier to get in Cal, its some thing else that causes the rejection, you need to dig in more deeper to find the problem and provide a solution to the adcomms.
I’m sorry for your loss but grades aren’t everything, the fact that you got rejected with amazing, nearly perfect grades shows that the fault was in your grades it was probably your PIQs. You need to talk about something that sets you apart from others, something memorable and unique rather than making them feel bad for you. Have you participated in any extracurricular activities? Dont try and convince them you’re good enough on merit alone, that’s clear based on your grades, talk about something that’s more meaningful
How likely is Berkeley going to overturn the decision over appeal?
wow your stats are amazing, sorry for your loss
@kl95070 Pretty low honestly… : / I read somewhere that it’s less than 5% chance
It was not your GPA or your SAT score, and I don’t think that trying to explain why those weren’t “better” (really?) is going to get them to change their mind. Cal admits a lot of people who do not have the stats you do, so maybe where you were lacking was:
- a non-crazily impacted major
- compelling EC's
- well-written essays that really told them who you are
- stellar LOR's (if required)
- being a first generation college student
- being an in-state applicant
- some other reason you will never know of and shouldn't obsess about.
There are many kids out there with stats like yours (or better) who did NOT get into their top choices. There are only so many slots, and schools like to balance their classes with all kinds of people, not just those with super high GPA’s and nearly perfect SAT scores. I would move on and concentrate on where you DID get in. If Cal is still on your list for grad school, try again.
Will UC Berkeley appeal response come via email or portal?
@Stressout I believe they will send an email to check portal
Does anyone know what time we’d get the appeal response? I know they say before 6/1 but I checked the appeal thread last year and some people got theirs in about a week before May ends.
Rejected by all colleges I applied to with a SAT score of 1550. ( ･᷄д･᷅ )
@lee2000 I’ve checked the forums of the past few years. Most people get their decisions around the second week of May. I guess this year might be the same. I really feel sorry for you. What major did you apply for? So what are you going to do if the appeal is not successful?
Looks like waitlists are coming out, anyone get rejected/accepted off appeal yet?
Not yet, but has anyone’s portal changed at all? Mine is still the exact same since I got rejected…
@infinitexalexander Thanks. I was probably rejected because the major I chose was EECS. If this appeal isn’t successful, I am going to have a gap year and try to upgrade my extracurricular activities before applying for colleges again this November. Definitely not going to apply for EECS though, I’m going to go for Nuclear Engineering.
Never say Never again, @lee2000. My brother appealed to EECS at Berkeley and got in. However it was 30 yrs ago. 
@artloversplus <3 thank you
I’m at 4 addresses, anyone else change?
Same with me @nmart1n
Anyone not have any change?
I’ve seen this come up often, the addresses are meaningless.