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

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
41

Decision: Accepted EECS

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2390 (800 M, 800 CR, 790 W)
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Physics, 770 Bio m, 750 US
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4
[] UC GPA: 4.3
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[] ELC?:
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): physics B, Calc BC, Stat, World History, US, Comp sci, Enviro Sci -5; lang-4
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: multivariable, ap gov, ap lit, ap comp gov, ap physc c, spanish, diff eq
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): USAMTS Bronze, AIME x2, National AP Scholar, US presidential scholar candidate[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Piano (MTNA state winner, International Young Artist Finalist and 4th Place), Performed at the US State Department for an Arts Festival (woo hoo), math club (VP), comp sci (Sec, programming projects), intramural basketball (captain lol), quizbowl, swimming
[] Job/Work Experience:none
[] Volunteer/Community service: summer camp (120 hrs)
[] Personal Statement:

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: EECS[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): PA
[] 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/ extracurricular
[] Weaknesses: bad at writing essays
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? caltech (waitlist), georgia tech (accept), carnegie mellon (accept)
[] Schools you were rejected from? MIT, Stanford, Johns Hopkins
[li] Schools you are waiting for? ivy leagues[/li][/ul]General Comments: I feel like the strategy to get into the engineering school is to show your passion for a specific engineering hobby. Another thing to do is to demonstrate any challenges you had in your essays. Good luck to future applicants considering engineering at Berkeley! …oh and one final thing Berkeley >>> Stanford!!!

42

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: Didn’t send
[] ACT: 34C
[] SAT II: Math II 780, Biology E 740
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 (W 4.182 - 4.25 Max at school)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):6/330
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): ESS (6), Math SL (6)
[] Senior Year Course Load: HL 2 English, HL2 History, SL Spanish 5, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, HL2 Art, TOK
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Global Visionaries Travel Scholarship to Berlin (I doubt this is major, but it was a national applicant pool), NSLI-Y Scholarship Semifinalist (Now a finalist - going to China for 6 weeks this summer!) [/ul]
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars:Ambassadors (District Representative and Trainer), Global Visionaries-service and travel group (Executive Board Member and Communications Director), NHS-comparitively active in my school (President), Founded tutoring program at nearby K-12 school) Service Club (Service Coordinator), Investment Club (Founder and President), bunch of other minor stuff
[] Job/Work Experience: 2 years at fast food place
[] Volunteer/Community service: Probably a total of 1200ish hours or more
[] Essays: Commonapp Essay was really good (9-10)
[] Interview:Really good, she was very nice and we had a lot in common [/ul]
Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
[] Country (if international applicant): US
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Middle Class
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope [/ul]
Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: My general essay and maybe community service
[] Weaknesses: ACT score, it’s not as great as others’. SAT II’s were also comparatively weak. No national awards, Not really recognized ECs
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Service maybe? I loved my essays too
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Duke, Johns Hopkins, NYU, UC Berkeley, BU with Presidential Scholarship and Kilachand Honors College, Northeastern with Deans Scholarship, URochester; Rejected: UChicago, Columbia ED, Stanford, Swarthmore; Waitlisted: Northwestern[/ul][/li]General Comments:

43

Decision: Accepted: College of Chemistry

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): n/a
[] ACT: 32
[] SAT II: 740 Chemistry, 730 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 9th-11th: 4.0 9th-12th: 3.96
[] UC GPA: 4.57
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
[] ELC?: n/a
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chemistry (4), AP US History (5), AP English Language (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Japanese, AP Physics 1, AP Calc BC, AP US Gov, AP Macro, AP Lit
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): [/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mock Trial (President/Founder), Student Leadership, Senate, Link Crew, Superintendent Advisory Council, Piano CM Test
[] Job/Work Experience:
[] Volunteer/Community service: Homeless Shelter, Summer Camps
[] Personal Statement:

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li]** Intended Major **: Chemistry at the College of Chemistry[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Taiwanese
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: Upper Middle Class
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):

[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: Grades
[] Weaknesses: Extra Curriculars, Standardized Tests
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCLA, UCSD, UCI, UCSB, UCR, UCD, CSUF
[] Schools you were rejected from? USC
[*] Schools you are waiting for? n/a

44

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2330 (Reading 800, Writing 790, Math 740)
[] ACT: n/a
[] SAT II: Literature 720, Japanese 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): n/a
[] UC GPA: n/a
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
[] ELC?: n/a
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Predicted: 42
[] Senior Year Course Load: HL English HL History HL Japanese B SL Math SL Bio SL Visual Arts
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): [/li](Student Council President)
Student Council Treasurer
(Literary Magazine Editor)
Cast in six school musicals
Leadership Conferences
School TV anchor
MUN delegate for two years
(School Strings Orchestra cello section leader)
(community symphony orchestra cello section leader)

[] Job/Work Experience:
School’s saturday school program teaching kids english for two years
[] Volunteer/Community service:
Bali service work building bathrooms & teaching english
caring for dogs at animal shelter
handing out food to the homeless
[li] Personal Statement: about cultural influences in family, second was about student council [/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: no
[li]** Intended Major **: English Literature[/li][] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant): Japan
[] School Type: Private IB International School
[] Ethnicity: Korean
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket:
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): none

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: test scores, IB student, extracurriculars, trilingual
[] Weaknesses: typical asian?
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? accepted UChicago early action, deferred by Brown
[] Schools you were rejected from? williams, amherst, swarthmore, stanford, duke
[li] Schools you are waiting for? ivy leagues [/li][/ul]General Comments: can’t believe I got accepted, so happy! good luck to future applicants and always be hopeful :slight_smile: congrats to everyone else as well

45

Decision: Accepted: College of Chemistry

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (730 R, 670 M, 800 W)
[] ACT: 34 (34 E, 34 M, 34 R, 35 S, 11 Essay)
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 710 Bio-E, 760 US
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] UC GPA: Unsure
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
[] ELC?:
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology (5), AP European History (5), AP U.S. History (5), AP Human Geography (5), AP English Language (5), AP Macroeconomics (4, Self Study), AP Microeconomics (4, Self Study), AP Environmental Science (4, Self Study)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Calculus AB, AP Spanish, AP English Literature, AP Chemistry, Ceramics
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Questbridge College Prep. Scholar, Questbridge National College Match Finalist, National Merit Commended, National AP Scholar, Gates Millenium Scholarship Finalist[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech & Debate (10-12), Key Club (11-12), Quiz Bowl (11-12), Science Olympiad (11-12), Liberty in North Korea Club (11-12, President), Columnist for a Science website (11-12)
[] Job/Work Experience:
[] Volunteer/Community service:Volunteered at local library and Key Club events (80 hours)
[] Personal Statement: Prompt 1: Talked about Science Olympiad 5/10, Prompt 2: Talked about family values/issues 10/10

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li]** Intended Major **: Chemical Engineering[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Korean
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: $30,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Personal life circumstances/unexpected events

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Scores, Life circumstances
[] Weaknesses: Essay 1, No 4 year extracurricular commitment?
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?: UCI (Regent’s) UCSD (Regent’s), UCLA, USC
[] Schools you were rejected from?: Stanford, MIT, Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, JHU
[li] Schools you are waiting for?: Ivies[/li][/ul]General Comments: Good Luck!!

46

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2230 (Cr 730, Math 800, W 700)
[] ACT: n/a
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 800 Chem
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):n/a 95 avg through high school in Canada. Upward trend, this year 98ish
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):n/a
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):All self-studied. All 5 Chem, Bio, Both Physics C, Calculus AB & BC
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: English, Chem, Physics, Biotech, Data Management, French, Computer Science
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing special really. Ap scholar with distinction ap national scholar[/li]
[/ul][ b]Subjective:**[ul]
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):[/li]Research
iGEM (International genetically engineered machine)
Student Ambassador of School Events Council
Academic Council

[] Job/Work Experience:Internship at University
[] Volunteer/Community service:
over 1000 hours collected
[li] Personal Statement: Wrote one about a volunteer experience. Other is about how my aquarium has shaped me[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: no
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Mol Bio on pre-med track[/li][] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant):Canada
[] School Type: Mediocre Public
[] Ethnicity: Chinese
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: 100000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): applying to uni as an international asian male into sciences really suck

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths:I guess AP and a lot of interest and experience in my intended major
[] Weaknesses: Awards. International Asian
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? University of Toronto Engineering Science
Waterloo Software Engineering
Mcgill Biochem
Now Berkeley!
[] Schools you were rejected from?MIT, Caltech, Stanford
[li] Schools you are waiting for?Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Cornell[/li][/ul]General Comments: I’m happy that I got in SOMEWHERE in the US. Don’t know if I’m gonna go though. Now just waiting for ivy day, but I don’t really believe in my chances. Maybe a miracle?!? Good Luck!!

47

Decision: Accepted into College of Letters and Sciences

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[] ACT (breakdown): 31 (28 M, 35 R, 34 E, 27 S, 31 W)
[] SAT II: N/A
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Weighted GPA: 4.45
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/182
[] AP (place score in parentheses): AP Lang (3), APUSH (Dual Credit), AP Calculus AB (Upcoming), AP Lit (Upcoming), AP Spanish (Upcoming), AP Gov (Upcoming)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Economics Honors, AP Government, AP Calculus AB, AP Spanish, AP Literature, Physics
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing extraordinary. Honors societies: NHS, CSF, NSHSS, etc.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Equestrian (Varsity Rider and Captain; Internationally Awarded), JustWorld International (Ambassador)
[] Job/Work Experience: Horse Show Manager @ Local Competitions
[] Volunteer/Community service: Horsemanship Camp (Counselor), Samaritan’s Purse (Volunteer with Operation Christmas Child), Soroptimist (Volunteer)
[] Personal Statement: It was well done.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No.
[li]** Intended Major **: Economics[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: Mid-High Six Figures
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Catholic, Equestrian Accomplishments
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: GPA, ACT, Equestrian Accomplishments
[] Weaknesses: AP Testing History (Lack thereof)
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? - Accepted: UCLA, UCSD, UC Irvine (Honors), Pepperdine, Santa Clara; Waitlisted: UChicago
[] Schools you were rejected from?: Stanford, USC
[li] Schools you are waiting for?: Harvard, Penn, Brown[/li][/ul]**General Comments: Very excited to have Berkeley as an option! I can verify that the talent supplements are worth their weight in gold - I’d say that’s why I was admitted! Congratulations to everyone! **

48

Decision: Accepted (College of Engineering – EECS)

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 800 CR, 750 W, 690 M
[] SAT II: 740 Math II, 750 Lit, 750 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 AP Calc, 5 AP Lang, 4 USH, 4 CSA, 3 Physics (I took more, but didn’t report them)
[] Senior Year Course Load: 6 APs, 1 DE, 1 advanced
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Robotics Award, World Championship[/li][/ul]

Subjective:

  • [] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Robotics (Programming Captain), NHS, SHF
    [    ] Job/Work Experience: Camp Counselor
    [] Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring, General volunteering
    [    ] Personal Statement: decent. not my best piece of writing, but I’ve often found that pieces I hate still do fairly well.

Other

[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes. Received is a whole 'nother matter
[li][ b] Intended Major **: EECS[/li][] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: too many to count.
[] Gender: Female
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Woman in Computer Science, ancestry from all over the globe. [/li][/ul]

Reflection

[ul]
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Ivies… but Berkeley is so much better for Engineering[/li][/ul]

General Comments: Still can’t believe I got in. I thought I would be rejected. Didn’t even stay up to check my decisions. Almost didn’t even bother to look.

I will be the first to credit my acceptance to the fact that I’m a girl with a record of sustained interest in CS. So many people applied, that I would say have better stats than I do…
That, and I’m diverse. Alone, I up Berkeley’s diversity by a lot. :slight_smile:

49

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (690 CR, 800 M, 760 W)
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: Math II (800), Chemistry (790), US History (770), Japanese (710)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
[] UC GPA: ~3.83? (Maybe it’s a bit higher than that since I took a few community college courses)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] ELC?: N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (5), US History (5), Microecon (4), Macroecon (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Eng Lit, AP Studio Art, AP Calc BC, AP Stats, AP Japanese, Gov/Econ
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Honor, NHS[/li]
[/ul]**Subjective: **[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): JV Badminton, amateur translator, anime club, political campaign intern, medical club (officer)
[] Job/Work Experience: 3 different jobs as tutor lol
[] Volunteer/Community service: Lots of volunteering at library (advisory group, tech specialist, shelver), math & science tutor, summer student TA
[] Personal Statement: (I crammed my essays during thanksgiving break ><) But nonetheless I thought they were entertaining and humorous but very sincere and very ME.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
[] Intended Major: Economics
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: large, competitive public high school
[] Ethnicity: Chinese
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket: <80k
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): nada. unless being a chinese immigrant is very special…[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Test scores. Upward trend in GPA. Dedication to EC’s (even though they aren’t too impressive).
[] Weaknesses: Lack of impressive awards. EC’s aren’t too amazing.
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?
Accepted: UC Berkeley (duh), UCSD, UCSB (chancellor), UCI (CHP), NYU, Boston College
Waitlisted: UCLA, UC Davis, UChicago
[] Schools you were rejected from? Northwestern, USC
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Cornell (but what are the chances? D; )[/li][/ul]General Comments: Congrats to everyone else who got in! I was honestly surprised that UCB accepted me since my GPA & EC’s are so-so, but it just goes to show that luck and college admission are unpredictable! Seems like I’ll be spending the next 4 years settling my grudge against Cal, and I’m certainly excited for that~

50

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] ACT: 34 C
[] SAT II: Math II - 800, Physics - 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
[] UC GPA: Not sure.
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3
[] ELC?: N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): US (4), Bio (5), Lit (4), CS (5), Chem (5), Calc AB (5), Micro Econ (4),
Macro Econ (4), Psych (5), Physics B (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Calc BC, AP German, AP Stats, AP World, AP Physics C, AP Lang
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, AP Scholar with Distinction, National AP Scholar[/li]
[/ul][ b]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Interact Club (Statistician and Publicity), Science Club (President and Co-Founder), Model UN (Secretary), NHS (Communications), Computer Science Club (Vice President and Co-Founder), Varsity Tennis
[] Job/Work Experience: Romeo’s Pizza and Kumon Learning Center
[li] Personal Statement: Really liked these essays. Wrote about why I want to study Physics and the time Homeland Security almost arrested me.[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes.
[li] Intended Major **: Physics and Mathematics[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Italian and Indian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: ~$80,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None.[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Personal statement and scores.
[] Weaknesses: Lack of research or real distinction.
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Ohio State University
[] Schools you were rejected from? MIT
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Cornell, Harvard, and Princeton[/li][/ul]**General Comments: This is so crazy. I’m really not a unique student! ** Good Luck!!

51

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 730 writing, 740 reading, 750 math (2220)
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: 790 Biology M, 760 Chem, 750 Literature
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): no idea, come from Canadian school (out of 100), but pretty low- 91.4?
[] UC GPA: uh
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): none
[] ELC?: what
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): school doesn’t offer
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): IB diploma- math SL (7), chem SL (7), bio HL (7), english HL (7), history HL (5), french SL (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: above courses + band + TOK
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National piano competitor, international poetry award, some minor science fair awards (regionally), provincially ranked cross country runner[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): on a college cross country team, piano, poetry, ehh not much else
[] Job/Work Experience: worked at movie theater summer of grade 10, chosen for science internship at university for summer of grade 11
[] Volunteer/Community service: volunteer teacher (piano) to four students for 2 years, mentored with Big Brothers Big Sisters for 3 years, Reading Circle for 2 years (program coordinator), worked with special needs youth + adult for 3 years, read at an elementary school once a week for 2 years
[] Personal Statement: one was about piano, the other about how my dad’s erratic behaviours influenced my desire to explore cognitive science

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
[li]** Intended Major **: Cognitive science[/li][] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant): Canada
[] School Type: apparently we’re a magnet school? I dunno tho
[] Ethnicity: Chinese T.T
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: 200-300k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): full pay, piano (maybe)

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: I can pay; I think my essays were decent (but who am I to judge)
[] Weaknesses: SATs, GPA for sure, lack of extracurriculars, leadership
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? U of Toronto, McGill, U of British Columbia, UCLA, Berkeley
[] Schools you were rejected from? Stanford D:
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Cornell, Columbia[/li][/ul]General Comments: WHY IS UNIVERSITY SO EXPENSIVE

52

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ list]
[] SAT I (breakdown):
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: 800 Math 2 800 Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Don’t know off the top of my head.
[] UC GPA: 4.64
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Scholar with Distinction
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: Math Research Seminar 475, Real Analysis 475, Multivariable Calculus, Calc-based physics, Shakespearean English, Business
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Ronald Reagan Student Leader Award, Presidential Volunteer Service Award, National Merit Finalist

[/list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Chess Club president and founder, Varsity Tennis, Online tutor in like 15 different courses, AP Physics TA, College Biology TA, Tech Lead Administrator of state-funded online public school, founded online academic resource database similar to Khan Academy for the state-funded online public school for students to use, tutor of the month April 2014, Science Olympiad Treasurer, TSA Treasurer, STEM Club Treasurer, Performing Arts Club President and founder, 11+ years piano, reached highest level for piano in Royal Conservatory of Music Exam, played competitive chess and placed in top 4 in 7 different tournaments, play USTA tennis, ranked in top 120 in state, performed in school talent show, won various awards at Science Olympiad and finalists and 2nd place at many events at TSA, wrote grant proposals for many clubs, state governor’s school, film club, top 100 university engineering camp, organized elementary school Christmas performance.
[] Job/Work Experience: College Tutor in 3 courses
[] Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours. tutoring, child educational services at a local church, did inventory at adult literacy center,
[] Personal Statement: shit tbh they were my biggest concern but i’m in so it’s all good, but other ppl think UC essay 1 was like 7/10 and my other one was like an 8/10

[/list][ b]Other**[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yea
[li]** Intended Major **: Computer Science[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): NC
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: Top 20 in the nation
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: like 150k-200k, idk exact.
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):

[/ul][ b]Reflection**[ul]
[] Strengths: everything but essays lmao
[] Weaknesses: essays lmao
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted at Carnegie Mellon (computer engineering), UCLA, NC State, UNC Chapel Hill. Waitlisted at Duke and JHU.
[ ] Schools you were rejected from? Cornell (glad I got rejected ED because now I have Berkeley) and MIT
[] Schools you are waiting for? All Ivies
[/ul][ b]General Comments:* Berkeley doesn’t give a crap about your essays if your grades are are like top tier. Score in the 2300s, get perfect scores on SAT subjects (which is not hard), and maintain like 4.5+ UC GPA and you’re in (assuming you apply to L&S.) Go Golden Bears!!!

53

[ size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: Waitlisted (College of Letters and Science)[ /b][ /color][ /size]

Objective:
SAT I: 2270 (M800 R750 W720)
ACT: NA
SAT II: Math 2 800, Spanish 790, Bio 790, Physics 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10 pct
AP scores: Calc AB 5, Spanish 5, Comp Sci 5, Psych 5, Physics B 4, Bio 4, APUSH 4 - five APs in progress
IB scores: N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC, AP Japanese, AP English Lit, AP Chem, AP Gov/Econ, Theater Tech

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Varsity Soccer, Varsity Badminton (Male singles top player)
Job/Work Experience: Soccer referee
Volunteer/Community service: AYSO referee
Essays: Very good - wrote about things I’m excited about.
Teacher Recommendations: N/A
Counselor Rec: N/A
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Cacasian
Gender: Male

Accepted: UCSD, UCD, UCI, GA Tech.
Waitlisted: Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science
Denied: MIT, Rice, Stanford, UCLA

Reflection: 2270 SAT, 12 AP mostly fives none lower than 4, studied two languages to AP level and a third to honors level, all A’s at challenging community college courses, multiple hackathon winner. I don’t know what else I could have done. It seems unfair see people with two AP classes and much lower scores accepted. Thanks for the life lesson.

54

This thread should hopefully be useful for future UC Berkeley applicants. Good luck
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]

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):
[ *] ACT: Composite 28
[ *] SAT II: Math II 660 APUSH 600
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95, 4.65
[ *] UC GPA: 4.2 something
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1% of a class of 750
[ *] ELC?: yes
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): APES 4 APUSH 3 WHAP 3
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): Spanish 4, Enviro 3, (English and History predicted 5, Math predicted 6, Physics predicted 3)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: IB physics, IB Math, IB History of Latin America, IB English Lit, Advanced Choir, Varsity Football
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Nothing too major. Received a lot fairly recognizable things for football and weightlifting.
[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity football, (Captain), 2 time California runner up, 4 year varsity letterman, ranked top 25 in the nation 3 years in a row
(Co-founder/CFO) of an NPO, raised 10,000$, built solar panels, traveling to an impoverished location in New Mexico to install them
Chess club (founder/president)
Competition Choir
Internship at a multi-million dollar business over 2 summers
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Worked at a dance studio for 2 years, I managed the weekend events & updated company’s website
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Mentored at an elementary school, acquired over 100 hours of CS hours
[ *] Personal Statement: My ACT tutor said it was genuinely the best admissions essay he’s ever read, he’s read hundreds of other students

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Political Science
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Huge Public with IB
[ *] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: 80,000
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First person in whole family to go to college, Received Berkeley Supplement

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: GPA/class rank, Success in ECs, Essays, Hispanic, First Gen.
[ *] Weaknesses: I can’t take a standardized test for the life of me
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? NYU Stern, Duke, UCSD, UCSB, Boston College
[ *] Schools you were rejected from? UCLA
[ *] Schools you are waiting for? Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, Princeton
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] So happy that admissions are viewing my -application holistically despite my less-than mediocre test scores

55

Decision: Accepted to Letters and Science (pre-CS)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2230 (800 reading, 770 math, 660 writing, 8 essay)
[] ACT: did not take
[] SAT II: 800 Bio Molecular, 800 Chemistry, 800 Math Level 2
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
[] UC GPA: 4.42
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 9%
[] ELC?: Yes
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem[5], Bio[5], Computer Science[5], Calculus BC[5]
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature, AP Physics(1&2), AP US Gov, AP Macroecon, Programming, Band
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): no major stuff (sadly only made USACO Silver after college apps)[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Programming Club[president], QuizBowl[won regional], Mu Alpha Theta(math club), Music[won a competition]
[li] Job/Work Experience: none[/li][] Volunteer/Community service: practically none (I did have a little)
[li] Personal Statement: it was ok, the topics were fairly unique but I could have written them a little better[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Computer Science in L&S
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: M
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): none

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: SAT Subject Tests though not sure how much that matters for L&S
[] Weaknesses: very little volunteer work, terrible SAT writing score, no amazing ECs or major awards
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? accepted to all other UCs (except Merced and LA), waitlisted at CMU
[] Schools you were rejected from? UCLA, USC
[li] Schools you are waiting for? none[/li][/ul]
Comments:
For some reason, I was not admitted regularly to UCB, I got some weird “enrollment path” thing, previously known as spring admission, which means I can’t take regular UCB courses until spring, though I can take classes (from a very limited selection) in fall in the ‘fall program for freshman’ through Extension. I’m not really sure why some people get this (is it random, is it for borderline applicants? over-represented groups?) I’m posting my stats in case others are curious about the stats of people who got this strange admission.

56

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2060 Composite (630 CR, 750 M, 680 W)
[] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 710 US History, 620 Physics (lollol)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.93, ~3.88 A-G
[] UC GPA: 4.21 Capped, 4.38 Uncapped
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/467
[] ELC?: Y
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (3), Physics B (3), World History (4), English Language (4), Calculus BC (5), Calculus AB (5), US History (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: DE Intro to Statistics, AP Biology, AP English Literature, AP French, AP U.S. Gov/Econ, DE Differential Equations
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Listed on UC App: Academic Decathlon (Captain), Varsity Cross Country, Mathletes, Speech and Debate (Treasurer), MESA, Key Club, Human Rights Organization (VP)
[] Job/Work Experience: Couple Internships (one related to my major), Family Business
[] Volunteer/Community service: Few hundred hours; Youth Board, Food Bank, Political Campaign, Elderly Home
[] Personal Statement: I thought it was pretty good, but it lacked a story.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
[li]** Intended Major **: Economics (Letters & Science)[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Title 1 Average Large Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 100k-120k
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First Generation[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Stats were mostly up to par, Course Rigor, Extracurriculars/Leadership (?)
[] Weaknesses: SAT CR, Lack of major awards
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCLA (Waitlist), Colorado School of Mines (Waitlist); Acceptances: UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, Cal Poly SLO, University of the Pacific
[] Schools you were rejected from? NYU
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Georgetown, Cornell[/li][/ul]General Comments: Good Luck!! Feel really stoked about getting in. I’m probably going to go here. Surprised about the acceptance since I was expecting a rejection. I felt UC Berkeley placed a higher value on extracurriculars and overcoming adversities as opposed to UCLA. Congratulations to everyone who got in, and for those who were denied admission, you are all amazing and you will thrive wherever you go. There’s so many well qualified applicants for a limited amount of seats.

57

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

College of Engineering: Energy Engineering
[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):2330( 790 M 740CR 800 W)
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II:800 Math Lv 2 770 Physics
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):Not Applicable
[ *] UC GPA: 4.0 probably
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):9/100 I think but not given
[ *] ELC?:
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):Predicted 39-40/42
[ *] Senior Year Course Load:IB Math HL. Physics HL, Economics HL, Chemistry SL, Hindi SL, English SL
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):None Really

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
[ *] Job/Work Experience:2 Energy Focused Internships
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:250 Hrs, founded an organisation
[ *] Personal Statement:Great! The first one was about me for introduction to the world of energy and the second was about my time at an art camp.

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?:Nope
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]:Energy Engineering
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
[ *] Country (if international applicant):India
[ *] School Type:Public
[ *] Ethnicity:Asian,Indian
[ *] Gender:Female
[ *] Income Bracket:>200,000
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):Research, the fact that my application screamed energy engineering

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths:Match with major, Didn’t come across as a typical Asian nerd.SAT scores
[ *] Weaknesses:IB grades were lower than some of the other applicants from my school
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted UIUC(Honours), UCLA(likely letter),Purdue,UCSD Priority Waitlisted at Carnegie Mellon, Waitlisted Michigan.GTech
[ *] Schools you were rejected from: Northwestern,Duke
[ *] Schools you are waiting for:Cornell,Penn, Brown
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b]: Anything can happen. I didn’t expect to get into Berkeley(Energy Engineering has very limited seats) and I thought I was a shoe in for GTech. The thing that helped me soar above people with higher scores is the fact that my application was different from a the typical valedictorian who applies for a STEM major. Best of luck guys and remember that a rejection isn’t the end of the world.

58

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2110 (800 math, 660 reading, 670 writing)
[] ACT: 33
[] SAT II: Math- 740, Physics-670
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] UC GPA: 4.3
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/600
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calculus (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: 3 AP’s, 2 Honors, 1 Elective
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Academic excellence, film awards, track medal

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Involved in a lot of organizations and clubs, lots of leadership
[] Job/Work Experience:
[] Volunteer/Community service: Large variety, more than 300 hours
[] Personal Statement: Good in my opinion

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li]** Intended Major **: Civil Engineering[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): California
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: < 100k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):

[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: perfect 800 in math, high GPA, lots of community service, involvement in athletics and arts
[] Weaknesses: fairly low english scores, no national recognition
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCLA, UC Berkeley, Cal Poly SLO, Chapman, UCSD, UCI, UCSC
[] Schools you were rejected from? Stanford, USC
[*] Schools you are waiting for? Ivies

59

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[] ACT: 31 (super subscore: E:32, M:36, R:23, S:35, W:9)
[] SAT II: Math: 800, Physics: 800, Chemistry: 790
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):
Taken: Chinese(5), Physics B(5), Calculus BC(5, AB subscore: 5)
To be taken: Chemistry, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, AP Lang, Computer Science A, Statistics
[] Senior Year Course Load:
AP Chemistry, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Lang, AP Computer Science A, AP Statistics
AP Psychology, Civics, World History (make up graduation requirement), Teacher Aid,
Multivariable Calculus (taking in college)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): not any, only AIME qualifier and AMC 12 Honor [/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): TEDx event, VP for three clubs, Key club, etc…
[] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[] Volunteer/Community service: 200+ hrs (?)
[] Personal Statement: About how my name “Tu” sounds like “Two,” which represents my duality in life – self reflection of my growth

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li]** Intended Major **: Applied Math (but gonna change major later)[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant): Not international applicant, but Chinese
[] School Type: public high school in USA, private high school in China
[] Ethnicity: Asian (mainland China)
[] Gender: Male

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Academic ability
[] Weaknesses: (1) Standardized scores: readings specially
(2) Only one year in USA to make up all the activities and courses I lack in China
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?
Accepted: USC, UCB, UCD, UCSB, UCSC, UCSD, Drexel, Northeastern, SCI-Arc, Syracuse,
Waitlisted: UChicago, UCLA, Cooper Union
[] Schools you were rejected from? Stanford, Rice, WUSTL
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Yale (EA deferred), Cornell[/li][/ul]General Comments: Good Luck!!

60

Decision: Rejected

Note: I’m an international student from Australia.

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (CR 800; M 800; W 720) - second sitting
SAT II: Math II 800; Literature 780; Chemistry 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): School does not issue GPA
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Approximately 7/167 (Highly academically-selective school)
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: English Advanced, English Extension I, Mathematics (2-unit), Chemistry, Latin Continuers, Modern History (ATAR: 99.05)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Young Australian Writer for the Year (2011)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Piano (12+ years; awarded Associate Diploma in Music), Creative-writing (won Young Australian Writer of the Year; published in literature anthologies), School Band and Percussion Ensemble (3 years)
Note: my ECs may seem very weak, but keep in mind that in Australia we don’t have the same culture of extra-curricular participation and leadership in high school that the US has, so I didn’t have as many opportunities in terms of high school clubs, organisations, etc.
Job/Work Experience: Unpaid internship at a law firm for 1 week
Volunteer/Community service: Study skills leader at school (18 hours); library assistant at school library (100+ hours)
Personal Statement: First essay was strong; I spent a lot of time on it - I wrote about coming to terms with my identity as a Chinese-Australian. Second essay wasn’t as strong because I didn’t have enough time :frowning: - I wrote about my long-standing and tumultuous relationship with the piano.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid: No
Intended Major : Political Science
Country (if international applicant): Australia
School Type: Academically-selective public school
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First-generation

Reflection
Strengths: Standardised testing scores
Weaknesses: Grades, lack of leadership in ECs, cookie-cutter Asian (?)
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCLA (accepted)
Schools you were rejected from? UC Berkeley, Stanford
Schools you are waiting for? Harvard, Yale, Columbia