******UC BERKELEY CLASS OF 2019 DECISION STATS ONLY******

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

This thread should hopefully be useful for future UC Berkeley applicants. Good luck :slight_smile:
Go bears!
Copy and paste information below and fill it out. Delete the spaces after initial brackets.

[ size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted[ /b][ /color][ /size]
[ size=+2][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Waitlisted[ /b][ /color][ /size]
[ size=+2][ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected[ /b][ /color][ /size]

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[ *] UC GPA:
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] ELC?:
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Personal Statement:

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?:
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]:
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:
[ *] Ethnicity:
[ *] Gender:
[ *] Income Bracket:
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths:
[ *] Weaknesses:
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?
[ *] Schools you were rejected from?
[ *] Schools you are waiting for?
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] Good Luck!!

2

I’ll start! :slight_smile:
Decision: Accepted (College of Letters and Science, Pre-Applied Mathematics)

Objective:

[ul]
[] ACT: 34 (34 M, 34 E, 35 R, 33 S)
[] SAT II: 740 (Math II)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.9 UW
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank, but 1 or 2 in (small) class
[] IB scores: Diploma Candidate (Testing in May), predicted IB scores of 7 in History and English (I’m unsure about the rest because we don’t get to see most predicted grades)
[] Senior Year Course Load: IB Higher Level Mathematics, IB Higher Level Physics, IB Higher Level History of the Americas, IB Higher Level Literature, IB Standard Level Visual Arts A, IB Standard Level Spanish B, Theory of Knowledge
[li] Major Awards: Scholastic Art & Writing Gold Key (Poetry) and National American Voice Winner, Harvard Book Award, George Eastman’s Young Leaders Award, Published poet in an international writing magazine, best-in-class awards (Humanities, English, Design Technology), some other things too![/ul][/li]
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Orienteering Club (takes up a majority of my time, very committed!), Poetry (Published and nationally recognized), Varsity Soccer, Playing keyboard and singing in 2 bands (Rock and Jazz), classical piano, Academic Decathlon (Founder and/or President of Each Mentioned Club), some other things for fun.
[] Job/Work Experience: Paid performer with band, Working DJ
[] Volunteer/Community service: Athletic Leadership at school, Coaching and event volunteering for orienteering, Volunteer Event DJ
[] Essays: I liked my personal statements, wrote about film in my life and a food experience as personal anecdotes with bigger meanings about me. Wrote the optional essay on the UC app as well, but was talking about Los Angeles the whole time because I wrote it thinking I was only applying to UCLA! Glad they overlooked that for me…[/ul]

Other:

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Idaho
[] School Type: Private International Baccalaureate
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Income Bracket: Upper-Middle
[li] Hooks: None![/ul][/li]
Reflection:

[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, academics (All A’s—besides some B’s in 9th grade—in extremely rigorous IB course load with 4 Higher Levels), dedication to extracurriculars (orienteering, poetry, and band).
[] Weaknesses: No major awards, not a lot of research pertaining to major, imperfect test scores (especially the ones I took in junior year with no practice or prep…), and error in optional essay!
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Strong academics and unique essays/extracurriculars.
[] Where else did you apply?:[/ul]
Accepted to: University of California Berkeley (Pre-Applied Mathematics), Swarthmore, Claremont McKenna, University of Southern California (Biomedical Chemical Engineering Honors with Presidential Scholarship), University of California Los Angeles (Pre-Applied Mathematics with Achievement Scholarship), University of Texas Austin (Biomedical Engineering and Plan II Honors), California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Biomedical Engineering with Outreach Scholarship).

Deferred: Yale-NUS.
Waitlisted: Washington University in St. Louis, Vanderbilt.
Rejected: Duke.
Waiting for: Yale, Columbia, Brown, University of Pennsylvania, Amherst, Rice

3

Decision: Accepted (College of Engineering)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2220 (680 CR, 770 M, 770 W)
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: Math Level II - 800, Biology - 800, Chemistry - 790
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
[] UC GPA: 4.23
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] ELC?: ?
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry - 5, Biology - 5, Art History - 5, English Language - 5
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science, AP US Government, Spanish 3
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist (named USC First Choice)[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): SADD (Founder / President), School Newspaper (Webmaster), National Honor Society
[] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[] Volunteer/Community service: Red Cross (since 8th Grade)
[] Personal Statement: Don’t remember specifics but I wrote about my obsession with numbers (stock games, sports statistics, etc) for one and other about Economics for Leaders (this Econ camp I attended last summer at UCLA).

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, but not getting anything
[li]** Intended Major **: Industrial Engineering[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public, Large (3500+ Students)
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Don’t want to be too specific, but upper middle class, not enough for good FinAid.
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): N/A

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Stats. I was almost perfect in the classroom and testing, and I’m still really proud of my accomplishments even if they didn’t get me where I wanted.
[] Weaknesses: ECs.
[] Accepted: Cal, UCLA, UCSD, UC Irvine (Campus Honors Program), Washington (Purple and Gold Scholarship)
[] Schools you were rejected from? MIT, Northwestern, USC
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Stanford and literally the entire Ivy League[/li][/ul]General Comments: Still got a few more schools to wait for but I am so pumped up right now! Where my fellow Golden Bears at?

4

[size=+2][ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected[ /b][ /color][ /size]

**Objective:[ /b][ list]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2340
[] ACT: 36
[] SAT II: Math II 800 Chem 800 Physics 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] UC GPA: -
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/350
[] ELC?:
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB and BC, Stat, World History, US History, LA, Computer Science, Physics, Chem, all 5s
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Latin, AP Bio, AP LA, AP Gov, Orchestra, Multivariate Calculus

[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

[/li] [/list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list] [li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):[/li]Swim Team Captain Investment Club President Rowing Lightweight Varsity Math Team Treasurer

[] Job/Work Experience:
Lifeguard
Swim Coach
[] Volunteer/Community service:
Over 300 hours at Hospital
[li] Personal Statement: Fine[/li]
[/list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Computer Engineering[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): WA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 150000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): -

[/list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[] Strengths: Test Scores
[] Weaknesses: Everything else I guess
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCLA Accepted
[] Schools you were rejected from?
[li] Schools you are waiting for?[/li][/list][ b]General Comments: I don’t really know what else I could have done. Pretty bummed at this point. I guess I’m just waiting for ivy day but I’m really not counting on it now. [ /b] Good Luck!!

5

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2340
[] ACT: 35 (33E, 36M, 36R, 36S 10 Essay)
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 770 Chem
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
[] UC GPA: N/A
[] Rank: Top 10%
[] ELC?:
[] AP : Chem, Stats, APUSH, AP World History, all 5’s
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Physics C Electricity & Magnetism, AP Calculus BC, AP Spanish, AP Literature and Composition
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of clubs, track and field, cross country.
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: ~100 hours over the last 3 years at various places (hospital, library, etc)
[] Personal Statement: I thought both were really solid (9/10’s), one on a love for learning, another on hard times my family went through.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li]** Intended Major **: EECS[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): Midwest
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 100,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Test scores, GPA, strength of schedule, essays.
[] Weaknesses: EC’s were average, out of state, competitive major.
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted in EECS for Purdue, Georgia Tech, UMich, Ohio State.
[] Schools you were rejected from? Berkeley lol
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell[/li][/ul]General Comments: Really sad, thought I had a good chance of getting in. Gratz to everyone that did get in.

6

**Decision: Accepted (College of Arts and Sciences) **

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2180 (740 CR, 740 W, 700 M)
[] ACT: 33
[] SAT II: Spanish 780, US History 720
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
[] UC GPA: 4.18
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 9%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):
English Language (4), European History (3), Human Geography (5), Spanish Language (5), Spanish Literature (5), U.S. History (5), World History (4)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Psychology, Debate, AP Calc AB, AP US Gov, AP Macroeconomics, AP English Literature, Ceramics

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Competitive equestrian (10 years)
[] Job/Work Experience: tutor (Spanish, Math)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Just World International (ambassador), neighborhood Earth Day clean-up (organizer), Tri-Valley Youth Court (advocate & translator)
[] Personal Statement: one about growing up with my parents being pilots; the other about feeling out of place in high school, being an introvert among extroverts (sounds a little cliché)

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[li]** Intended Major **: Arts & Humanities (Spanish or Latin American Literatures)[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): California
[] School Type: public
[] Ethnicity: caucasian
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket: upper middle class (no financial aid granted :confused: )
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): none[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: essays probably, and specific extracurriculars
[] Weaknesses: SAT I and II scores
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UChicago (waitlist), Boston U, Northeastern, UMaryland, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UCI
[] Schools you were rejected from? none (yet)
[*] Schools you are waiting for? Brown, UPenn, UMichigan, Georgetown

7

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2110 (770 Math, 710 Writing, 630 Reading)
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: Math 2 (800), Chemistry (740), Physics (720)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.76
[] UC GPA: 4.21
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] ELC?: N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Comparative Govt. (4), BC Calc (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Design and Technology SL (5), Chemistry HL (6), Economics SL (6)
[] Senior Year Course Load: Astronomy, Ceramics, HL Physics, SL English, SL Geography, HL Math, HL Economics
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Honors Society (Secretary), NHS, FBLA, Varsity Tennis (Co-Capitain)
[] Job/Work Experience: Tennis Instructor (Since 10th Grade), Math Tutor
[] Volunteer/Community service: Gracing Spaces (Since 10th Grade), Math Tutor
[] Personal Statement: My first personal statement was about how I was introduced to the world of physics/astronomy and how it was a big turning point for me. Second was about family trips up to cape cod and how I liked to look up at the stars at night.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[li]** Intended Major **: Physics and Mathematics [/li][] State (if domestic applicant): Virginia
[] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type: Public (Large, 4000+ students)
[] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: somewhere between middle and upper middle, too high for financial aid
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): N/A

[/ul][ b]Reflection**[ul]
[] Strengths: Probably my personal statements, they were about things that meant a lot to me and I fell like I did a very good job conveying that
[] Weaknesses: My lack of awards and test scores (aren’t bad but aren’t great for Berkeley)
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCLA, UVA, UT Austin, Illinois @ Urbana, Virginia Tech, UCSB
[] Schools you were rejected from? MIT
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Stanford[/li][/ul]General Comments: Good Luck!!

8

Decision: Accepted College of Letters and Sciences

Hopefully this helps someone!

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): 2390 (790 CR, 800 WR, 800 M)
ACT (breakdown): Did not take
SAT II: 750 Math II, 760 Chemistry, 760 US History, 770 Chinese w/Listening
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chemistry: 5, AP US History: 5, AP English Language and Comp: 5, AP Psychology: 5, AP Human Geography: 5, AP Chinese: 5, AP Comparative Government: 4, AP Statistics: 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature, AP Macroeconomics, AP US Government, Japanese
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist, published a paper on Japanese Tokugawa foreign relations during the 17th-19th centuries (I sent in the first page of the journal article as a supplement) in a Stanford Institute of International Studies journal, Chinese-American Semiconductor Professionals Association Scholarship (not that major), various awards from the World Affairs Council for my passion for international relations, a bunch of awards from flute competitions

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Director of Foreign Relations for the UN International Youth Council (currently in the midst of creating a youth-run policy journal), Youth Ambassador to Finland (1 of 12 students to receive a scholarship from the Finnish govt), Stanford Reischauer Japanese and Sejong Korean Scholar (competitive program, only 25 students nationally selected), Board Member of the Silicon Valley United Nations Association (10-12), Student Ambassador for local World Affairs Council (10-12), Principal Flutist of a state-level youth symphony and school Wind Ensemble (sent in a flute supplement) (9-12), Undersecretary general for Model UN (9-12), Director of finances for National Honor Society (10-12), Founded my own financial literacy initiative after interning at a microfinance NGO in China (10-12), Business editor for award-winning school newsmagazine (10-12)

Job/Work Experience: Interning at a microfinance NGO? That was only for a summer though.

Volunteer/Community service: Many hours through the UN Association

Summer Activities: 2013 summer was spent touring Central Europe with my youth symphony for 2-3 weeks, Interned at a Microfinance NGO in Central China, 2014 summer: Received a scholarship from the Finnish government to study abroad 7-8 weeks

Essays: pretty terrible and last minute tbh

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: International Studies/Linguistics/East Asian Studies- I haven’t decided yet
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Competitive Public
Ethnicity: Chinese-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~$400,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.

Reflection

Strengths: SAT I score, unique passions and extracurriculars, not a cookie-cutter Asian, international perspective
Weaknesses: GPA, SAT II scores, bad at math, demonstrated ZERO interest in the school
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: It’s a crapshoot! I was unlucky lol
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

Accepted: UPenn College of Arts and Sciences (likely), Wellesley, Washington University in St. Louis, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Davis (w/ rejects and honors), UC Irvine Honors Program w/Regents
Deferred: Princeton SCEA
Waitlisted: Duke
Rejected Northwestern

still waiting on a couple more Ivies and privates (though not expecting much)

9

Decision: Accepted (College of A&S) w/ regents

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (CR790, M770, W800)
[] SAT II: Bio M (800), US History (790), Chem (780), Math 2 (760)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Weighted GPA: 4.55
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~4%
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Euro History, Bio, APUSH, Lang, CS, Calc BC (all 5)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: college classes (linear algebra, political science), AP Psych, Orchestra, AP Comp Sci[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Started a youth organization for young composers, composed music for performance at a couple music festivals, music summer camp, cellist in several orchestras (principal / asst. principal at all), etc.
[] Job/Work Experience: Did a paid internship doing work for JPL
[] Volunteer/Community service: Eagle Scout, the aforementioned youth organization
[] Personal Statement: Very good, about my history as a composer and the organization I started.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[li]** Intended Major **: Music[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant): US
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: High
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Weird major

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Submitted an art supplement which was good, test scores / grades
[] Weaknesses: EC’s
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted: USC, Columbia (likely), UCSD, UC Davis, Cal Arts, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Buffalo, Oberlin; Waitlisted: UChicago
[] Schools you were rejected from? MIT
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Harvard, Princeton, NYU, Stanford[/li][/ul]

General Comments: Congratulations to those who got in, and to those who didn’t, you’ll do great things - you aren’t defined by where you go to college, and to be honest, nobody will really care all that much where you got your BS/BA in the real world, so though it may seem like it, it is not the end of the world. Good luck to everyone!!

10

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 1870
[] ACT: 27
[] SAT II: none
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83
[] UC GPA: idk
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4%
[] ELC?:

[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Stats (1), AP Eng. Comp (4) AP Spanish (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Art, AP Lit, AP Bio, Precal (H), AVID
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): I got nominated for a local scholarship and I won a speech contest?[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Art Club ( Secretary, 12 ) City club ( Treasurer, 12 )
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[] Volunteer/Community service: Big Brothers Big Sisters ( 2 years ), mentoring freshmen, 48 hours for my city club
[] Personal Statement: 1st was really good and was about my family and my love for the environment, 2nd wasn’t reviewed at all but I talked about how I love reading in Spanish and learning about my Mexican culture XD

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Genetics and Plant Biology[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): California
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public ( Fun Fact : our town had the highest teen pregnancy rate in California at one point LOL )
[] Ethnicity: Mexican
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 66,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First gen, Minority

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: ?
[] Weaknesses: No real leadership positions, not heavily involved/committed
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted to Davis, Santa Cruz and Merced
[] Schools you were rejected from? None XD
[li] Schools you are waiting for? None[/li][/ul]General Comments: I have no interest in actually attending Berkeley. I’m going to Davis for sure. :slight_smile:

11

Decision: Accepted to College of Letters and Sciences (Public Health)

Objective
SAT 1: 2370 (Superscore: M 800, CR 780, W 790), 2350 (Single: M 800, CR 760, W 790), took it twice (junior 2210 and senior 2350)
SAT Subject Tests: Chemistry 740, Math II 800, Biology M 800
ACT: Did not take
GPA: 3.86/4 UW, 4.02/4 W (all six of my Bs were from freshman year, straight As afterwards including senior year)
Rank: School doesn’t rank
AP: Spanish Lang (5), Biology (5)
IB: School doesn’t offer
Senior Course Load: AP Economics, AP English Lit, AP BC Calculus, AP Spanish Lit, Advanced Journalism, AP Physics C
Major Awards: National Spanish Exam Gold Medal Levels 3 and 4, National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, World Language Department Award, NSPA Pacemaker Award (awarded to newspaper, not individual)

Subjective
**Extracurriculars: **Young Scholars Program at UC Davis (selective research summer program), LGBT teen-counseling group, Co-President of Spanish Club, VP of healthcare-related club, 300 hours of community service at blood center and hospital, Board Member of community service club, Photo Editor in school newspaper, Piano
Job: Was a dental intern at a dentistry
**Essays: **Talked about being gay on first essay, then about working on school newspaper
Teacher Recs: Submitted three, not allowed to read them, but my teachers all love me.
**Counselor Rec: **Large school with overworked counseling, so don’t really know
Hooks: Being gay may have helped with diversity…
Interview: N/A

Other
State: CA
School Type: Large Public School (a little less than 2000 kids)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Applied for Financial Aid: Yes

General Comments/Reflections/etc.: Meh. I think I’ll be happier at UCLA. UCLA will remain my top choice unless I get into some Ivy Leagues. But I’m happy to say I got into all the UCs I applied to.

12

Objective: Accepted
SAT I (breakdown): 2240
ACT (breakdown): 34C (34E, 36M, 32R, 32S)
SAT II: Math II 780 and 760 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/200
AP (place score in parenthesis):Chem-4, Calc AB-5, Lang and Comp-5, Gov-4
IB (place score in parenthesis):none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Spanish, AP Psych, Organic Chem(local university), Calc II(local university), Calc III(local university)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF, Outback Bowl Grand Champion, Presidential Volunteer Service Award, AP Scholar,

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Composer(hobby), NHD Nationals, Poster Designer at local library-300+ hours, First chair French Horn in selective Wind Ensemble Program, Tutor-middle school, Senate Scholar Program, Forensics State, VAC State winner,
Job/Work Experience: McDonald’s- 1 yr
Volunteer/Community service: Mentioned
Summer Activities: Pit Orchestra, Website Design
Personal Statement 1- cliche, maudlin, kind of cringe-worthy, but I guess the adcoms didn’t care too much lol. wrote about family.
Personal Statement 2- dry, cold, essentially the opposite of my first statement haha, but a little more original. wrote about film soundtracks.

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Undeclared Physical Science
State (if domestic applicant):WI
Country (if international applicant):USA
School Type: Small public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 90,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Taking O-Chem?

Reflection
Yes!! 5 for 5!! Probably won’t be attending Berkeley in favor of UChicago, but either way, still extremely happy with the way the college admissions process worked out.

To prospective applicants looking to getting into the top colleges, I have to say this. College admissions is a game, and you have to play it to your advantage. Admissions officers are looking for individuality, specialization, uniqueness. Essentially, try to be the most memorable, interesting person possible. Don’t conform to standard extracurriculars if you feel you have to. Pursue the oddities and reveal your eccentricities.

Strengths: GPA, Course rigor,
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Music oriented, composing
Weaknesses: EC’s, Scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Came across as curious and nuanced.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to UW-Madison, Cornell University, UChicago, UCLA,
The most unique thing in your application: Composing, taking O-Chem,

13

Decision: Accepted (College of Letters and Science)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): n/a
[] ACT: 31
[] SAT II: n/a
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] UC GPA: n/a
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
[] ELC?: ?
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US History (5), AP English Comp (4), AP Calc AB
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Psychology, AP English Lit, AP Comp Sci, AP Physics I
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Piano for 10+ years, saxophone, flew to Taiwan last summer by myself and spent 6 weeks at language camp
[] Job/Work Experience: n/a
[] Volunteer/Community service: Youth Ambassador for my city (longest serving), HIV/AIDS Prevention Club (officer), Link Crew Leader, 10 day Alaska service trip, National Honor Society
[] Personal Statement: Most people loved it. One of my advisors didn’t really like it, but evidently it was good enough.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
[li]** Intended Major **: Computer Science[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): OOS, WA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: Upper
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): I know a bunch of languages (of varying degrees) which I really emphasized in one of my essays.

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, GPA
[] Weaknesses: ACT score, no awards/major accomplishments, no work experience
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? University of Washington, UCLA (waitlisted), UCSD, Texas A&M
[] Schools you were rejected from? UT Austin
[li] Schools you are waiting for? None! Berkeley was my last.[/li][/ul]General Comments: WOW. I am seriously so shocked right now, I did not expect to get into Cal at all since my ACT score is slightly below average and my extracurriculars are so-so. I was accepted into the CS department at the University of Washington so I will likely be attending there due to the lesser cost, but I am still so blessed and honored to have been accepted to UCB. Congrats to all. :slight_smile:

14

Decision: Accepted (College of Letters and Science)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (720M, 720CR, 800W)
[] SAT II: 720 Math II, 640 Bio E, 690 Bio M
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.66
[] Weighted GPA: 3.98
[] UC GPA: 4.05
[] Rank/percentile: 15% (55/471)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 3 World History, 3 Biology
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish Language, AP Calculus AB, AP Government, AP Economics, ASB Leadership, AP English Literature, Intro to Psychology (local community college, 1st Semester), Intro to Organic Chemistry (local community college, 2nd Semester)
[li] Awards: My city’s “Teen of the Year” 2014, Chemistry Award (only my school)[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): ASB Leadership (Student Body President, Junior Class President, Site Council Rep., Freshman Vice President), Earth Club (Co-Founder and President), Peer Tutoring Program (President), Tobacco Use Prevention Education (Program Leader and Peer Educator in 10th, 11th and 12th), my calculus class (teacher literally stays until 10PM haha), Link Crew (commissioner), Medical Club (President).
[] Job/Work Experience: Hospital Intern, Tae Kwon Do Instructor, Abercrombie and Fitch cashier/floor model.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at a local library in a more underprivileged neighborhood,
[] Summer Activities: Intern at a Hospital in Nepal, started a program called “Bhaskarko Asha” in which I traveled to villages around Nepal to teach English and tobacco use prevention to schoolchildren.
[] Essays: I had worked on one since August (your world), and the other one was shorter and written hastily the night before he app was due.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I’m hoping they were good, I knew the teachers very well.
[] Counselor Rec: The most mind blowing and beautiful recommendation of life. (I got to see it when I applied for scholarships)
[] Additional Rec: Dhulikhel Hospital, which was also amazing

Of course, none of the recommendations actually went to UC’s for consideration though…

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Biochemistry/Public Health
[] State: California
[] School Type: Large suburban public, fairly competitive
[] Ethnicity: South Asian
[] Gender: Male
[li] Hooks: None really. I guess being Nepali means I’m a minority.[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: triumphs, experiences, leadership, and sat scores.
[] Weaknesses: GPA and Class Rank
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I LITERALLY AM FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW IDK IDK IDK! Congratulations to everyone else who got in!!! Haha
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted - UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara (Honors), UC Riverside, UC Irvine (CHP), UC Davis, UC San Diego (Honors)
Waitlisted - University of Chicago, UCLA, Pitzer College, Claremont McKenna College
Waiting - Brown University, Columbia University, Harvard College, Stanford University, Tufts University

15

Decision: Accepted into College of Letters and Science

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2120 superscore. CR: 640, M: 730, W: 750, (9 essay)
[] ACT: 31 Composite
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 20/324
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 4’s on all (total 9 to date).
[] Senior Year Course Load (Sem. avg.): AP Eng IV (98/100), AP US Gov’t (98/100), AP Macroecon (98/100), Insurance (100/100), AP Stat (93/100), Anatomy/Physiology (91/100), AP Calculus AB (91/100).
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ honor[/li][/ul]

Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):6 Varsity sports (Baseball, football, swimming, water polo, golf, bowling). DECA business comps. UIL Academic comps.
[] Job/Work Experience: Full-time Summer Internship @ Non-Profit Org (Paid).
[] Volunteer/Community service: Lot of hours at Food Bank
[] Summer Activities: Internship (See work exp.)
[] Essays: Traditionally, I am a very good writer, though the essay prompt was rather bland IMO. Still good.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Did not see.
[] Counselor Rec: Did not see.
[] Interview: None
[/ul]

Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): TX
[] School Type: Public (Urban)
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 150k+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, Hardship.
[/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Extracurricular activities. Senior/yr courseload and mid year transcript.
[] Weaknesses: Extracurricular activities not dedicated at single thing (6 varsity sports might show a lack of true passion for any to some adcoms). SAT critical reading section.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: The world may never know
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Tulane EA (20k/yr merit), South Carolina (Full ride, yes not full tuition), Alabama (Full ride), Arkansas (full tuition), UCLA (no financial aid), UC Berkeley (no fin aid)
Waitlisted: Vanderbilt
Rejected: Duke.
Still waiting on Harvard, Penn, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, and UNC-Chapel Hill.
[/ul]
General Comments: Extremely proud to be admitted to Berkeley OOS. Unfortunately, finances will bar my attendance. Berkeley truly is a premier university and I offer my most sincere congratulations to all admits. 96,000 apps is just insane. And to all of those who did not receive admission or cannot afford Berkeley; there’s always grad school lol

16

[size=+3]Decision: Accepted: College of Letters and Sciences

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (R: 690, M: 770, W: 790)
[] ACT: 35 (E: 34, M: 36, R: 33, S: 36, Essay: 10)
[] SAT II: Math II: 800, Chemistry: 770, Physics: 770
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] UC GPA: 4.3
[] Rank: n/a
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), US History (5), English (4), Comp Sci (4), Physics Mechanics (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish, AP Literature, AP Statistics, AP Chemistry, AP Government
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist… nothing major.

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Engineering Team (Captain), FBLA (Officer), Basketball Team, Coding Team (Officer)
[] Job/Work Experience: UCLA Unpaid Internship.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer Club (President), Tutoring, National Honor Society
[] Personal Statement: I put a lot of time into these essays. I feel they showed a humorous side to me but they were also very heartfelt and expressed my genuine character and interests.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li]** Intended Major **: Computer Science[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant): n/a
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 150k +
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Test scores, Essays
[] Weaknesses: Major awards
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted: UCLA (Regents), Georgia Tech, UIUC
[] Schools you were rejected from? MIT
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia[/li][/ul]**General Comments: I’m making this post in order to help those applying to college. I know I looked at these posts often and I really appreciated the people who had some good advice. Hopefully I have some wisdom to impart from my experiences as well. Make sure you start your essays early. I always wanted to go to Cal. So, I spent the most time on my UC essays. Work with your friends on your essays. Have them help you as you help them. I honestly think the essays are the most crucial part of the application. I’ve seen people get rejected with great scores and I’ve seen people get accepted with not so great scores. The essays, in my opinion, can make that difference. Try to have something unique in your essay, that shows who you are are and your genuine interests. Lastly, if you don’t get into your dream school, as cliche as it is, life always has a better school waiting for you. You just don’t know it yet.

** Good Luck to all you future applicants!!

17

[ size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted[ /b][ /color][ /size]

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 2130 (superscored) (670 R, 750 M, 710 W)
[ *] ACT: 35 (34 M, 35 S, 35 W, 34 R)
[ *] SAT II: 780 Math 2, 660 World History
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.88
[ *] UC GPA: 4.17
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 20/547
[ *] ELC?: Idk what this is…
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (3), Chemisty (3), US History (4), Language and Comp (4) Calc AB (5)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, Calc BC, AP Stats, English 4, Econ, TA for AP US history class, AP Physics
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of music stuff (ie orchestra, competitions, made my own ensemble, etc)
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Guest flutist at a church
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Lots of random stuff
[ *] Personal Statement: Meh, it could’ve been better, it could’ve been worse

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Comp Sci
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[ *] Country (if international applicant): USA
[ *] School Type: Large Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *] Income Bracket: >$200K
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None sadly

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: Testing score (that one ACT, thank god for that) and extra curriculars.
[ *] Weaknesses: Definitely my GPA, maybe I seem too generic too? possibly?
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted: UCSD, UCD, UCI, UCSB, UW, RPI
Waitlisted: UChicago, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, UCLA
[ *] Schools you were rejected from? Stanford, Northwestern
[ *] Schools you are waiting for? IVIESSSSS and Rice
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] It’s hard. I’m tired. But it kinda worked out. Just do you and it’ll work out.

18

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2040
[] ACT: 30
[] SAT II: 800 Math II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] UC GPA: 4.27
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5/200
[] ELC?:
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Stat 4, APUSH 5, rest pending
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: Hard
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): (Leading Youth Government official in one of the largest Bay Area counties). Baseball analyst and researcher for major publication, heavily involved in using statistics to solve Baseball’s biggest secrets.

[] Job/Work Experience: Professional Baseball Writer/Analyst (paid, takes up all my time)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Local Gov. stuff is really time consuming, I’m an active member of my counties local government proceedings outside my commission .
[] Personal Statement: Pretty good, could have been crafted better.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yeah
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Statistics/Econ!!![/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Upper-Middle Class
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: EC’s all the way, grades are great for my notoriously competitive bay area high school; Essays, I did those too.
[] Weaknesses: Scores, Scores, Scores, Scores
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?
[] Schools you were rejected from? UCLA, NYU, More to come
[li] Schools you are waiting for?[/li][/ul]General Comments: However ironic, scores aren’t going to tell you much unless you want a measure that’s highly conflated with variables like socio-economic status, and investment (time & money). Glad Berkeley saw through that with me. Good luck!

19

Decision: Accepted (College of Letters and Science)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2270 (CR 670, M 800, W 800)
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: Math II 800, Chemistry 770, Korean with Listening 790
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] UC GPA: uncapped 4.72
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] ELC?: top 9%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB 5, Calculus BC 5, Statistics 5
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: 3 Honors Science courses, Honors Literature, AP Computer Science, Multivariable Calculus, and Art
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): no major ones but regional math, science, MUN, service awards…[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Biomedical research program, surgical internship, ambassador, middle school mentor, Model United Nations, math-related club activities, etc.
[] Job/Work Experience: Tutor
[] Volunteer/Community service: Hospital Volunteer
[] Personal Statement: used my edited version of common app essay.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: N/A
[li]** Intended Major **: MCB[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Asian (Korean)
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket:
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Nope.

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: GPA, challenging courses, lots of extracurricular activities
[] Weaknesses: took SAT more than three times.
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted - CWRU(University Scholar), UCI (Regents & CHP), UC Davis (Regents & Honors), UCLA (Regents), UCSD (Regents), and WUSTL
Waitlisted - Northwestern and Duke
[] Schools you were rejected from?
[li] Schools you are waiting for? couple more reach schools! [/li][/ul]General Comments: Good Luck!! I went to Berkeley Overnight program for prospective regents scholar, and everyone there was so nice :smile:

20

**Decision: Accepted Humanities **

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2150 (750 CR 660 M 740 W)
[] ACT (breakdown):
[] SAT II: 680 Lit. 780 USH
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.88
[] Weighted GPA (if available):
[] Rank/percentile (if available):
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 APUSH 4 APENG
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History, Newspaper, Speech & Debate Tm, AP Comparative Govt./Economics, AP Literature, Japanese 3
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): only minor awards

[/ul][ b]Subjective:**[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Newspaper (EIC), Speech/Debate Tm (Historian), NHS (Activities Director), Environmentalism Club (President), Peer tutoring (Historian), Student Council Historical Commission, HONY-esque FB page, school’s ambassador program (Media Commissioner)
[] Job/Work Experience: Freelance photographer, private tutor APUSH/APENG
[] Volunteer/Community service: Peer Tutoring, school ambassador program, NHS
[] Summer Activities: Summer school classes to get ahead: Contemporary Journalism, Algebra II, Chemistry, BYU Bio 100 200. SAT Boot Camp
[] Essays: losing an election and the tight-knit network of friends on the newspaper staff
[] Teacher Recommendation: n/a
[] Counselor Rec: n/a
[] Additional Rec: n/a

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: no
[] Intended Major: History
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: M
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): not that I know of

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: leadership and strong history background
[] Weaknesses: that SAT I score and SAT II Lit. score
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Shower thoughts!
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted at UCR, Humboldt, Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona, UCSD, UCSB, UCSC, UCD, UCB waitlisted: WUSTL rejected: USC, UCLA, Northwestern

[/ul]General Comments:[list]
Got rejected from USC earlier today and UCLA a couple of days ago so this came as a pleasant surprise! I wish y’alls the best-est of luck wherever you go!