***UC Berkeley Class of 2020 Decisions***

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

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 1830
[] ACT: 24
[] UC GPA: 4.11
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 4’s
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.:
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AP Calc AB, AP English Litterature and Composition, AP US Government and Politics and Drama
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 8-9?
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Requested for a letter of rec
[] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: No

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Urban Studeis
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: Yes
[] NCAA?:
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Los Angeles
[] If International, from what country?:
[] School Type: Small Charter
[] Ethnicity: Chicana
[] Gender: Female
[] LGBTQ?: No
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military? No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: ~<20,000
[] # of Family Members: 3
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Middle school
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): first gen
[li] Living on-campus? yes[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Definately my extra-curriculard and circumstances. Also probably my essays.
[] Weaknesses: Scores. Meh
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: 99% sure
[] If not, where are you going?: Well I’m waiting on Stanford, but not betting on it lol i’m lucky to have gotten into Cal

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
I believe I’m living proof that it takes a lot more than numerical scores to get into a great school like Cal. I’m so excited to start soon!

42

[ b]Decision: Waitlisted**

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I: 1970 (however this was sent past SAT deadline so idk if they used it. My score before was 1850)
[ *] ACT: 31
[ *] UC GPA: Don’t know my UC GPA, but - 4.0 unweighted, 6.3 weighted
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World History (5), AP Human Geography (5), AP Environmental (4), APUSH (5), AP Stat (3), AP Language and Comp (3). Senior year APs: AP Calc BC, AP Literature, AP Physics, AP US Government/Comp Politics, AP Computer Science.
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[ *] College courses? If so, list them.: Dual Enrollment College Success
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Literature, AP Physics, AP US Government/Comp Politics, AP Computer Science, Chinese III, Economics Honors.
[ *] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: eh 7?
[ *] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes. One was deep and very reflective from a teacher. The other was from my guidance counselor because my varsity football coach was too lazy to do one for me lol.
[ *] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: Nope

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Computer Science BS
[ *] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: freshman
[ *] EOP?:
[ *] NCAA?:
[ *] Are you from California? No. Tampa, Florida :slight_smile:
[ *] If International, from what country?:
[ *] School Type: public
[ *] Ethnicity: white
[ *] Gender: male
[ *] LGBTQ?: No
[ *] Citizen?: yes
[ *] Served in military? no
[ *] Married?: no
[ *] Orphan?: no
[ *] Income Bracket: ~100,000
[ *] # of Family Members: 5
[ *] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: one Under grad, one Grad
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Chinese III (not common), Varsity Sports
[ *] Living on-campus? I hope lol

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: My GPA and rigorous high school schedule. Extracurriculars.
[ *] Weaknesses: Test Scores for sure.
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: if I get admitted I think I will. Out of state tuition and student loans are having me second guess though.
[ *] If not, where are you going?: If I don’t get in or I decided I don’t want to be in debt my whole life, probably University of Florida.

[ /list][ b]General Comments/Additional Information:[ /b][ list]
Anyone have insight on out of state tuition/student loans? Would it be worth it? Or should I just attend UF and come out debt free?

43

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

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I: 1910 (scores were all in the 600’s)
[ *] ACT: 33
[ *] UC GPA: no clue i was way too lazy to find out my high school GPA is 3.72 UW and 4.3 W
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP European History (4), APUSH (4), AP Biology (4), AP Psychology (5), AP English Language (5)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): tbh i dont know what IB means
[ *] College courses? If so, list them.: Japanese at local CC
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Physics C, AP Government/Economics, AP Calc AB, Took French 4 first semester and then changed it to TA
[ *] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section:
I liked them. I thought that they were pretty good plus I did hire a private cc so they helped edit it down and made it more concise - to be clear she did not write ANYTHING for me, I did all the work but she packaged it into something that the school could understand about me
[ *] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?:
Teacher Rec #1: ap lit teacher idk if he really likes me im tardy to his class a lot but I contribute a lot and leads in the class, tbh i should’ve gone with my apush teacher cause his son goes to my karate so he sees me a lot there (7/10)
Teacher Rec #2: ap bio love him and we have conversations about martial arts and college and bio all the time (8/10)
[ *] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: lol no some other girl did and I got so stressed out

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: pre-business got into CAS so i think i have to apply to haas?
[ *] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[ *] EOP?: what
[ *] NCAA?: no
[ *] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: yep!
[ *] If International, from what country?:
[ *] School Type: competitive public
[ *] Ethnicity: Chinese
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *] LGBTQ?: nah
[ *] Citizen?: permanent resident
[ *] Served in military?nah
[ *] Married?: haha no thanks
[ *] Orphan?: no
[ *] Income Bracket: 200k+
[ *] # of Family Members: 5
[ *] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: graduate
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): none lol asian female from affluent LA beach area… are you joking
[ *] Living on-campus? fursure man

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: ACT, essay
[ *] Weaknesses: typical extracurriculars, i dont think my recs were that good…, low GPA
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: idk its my third i think
[ *] If not, where are you going?: idk man its march dont stress me out
Waiting on: NYU, George Washington

[ /list][ b]General Comments/Additional Information:[ /b][ list]
this didnt ask for EC’s but i think thats more helpful but word of advice my ec’s aren’t stellar but I believe that you should commit fully to what you enjoy and feel free to try things out during freshman and sophomore year and NEVER back down from a leadership position
also just to clarify my parent was not a tiger mom AT ALL and didnt force me to take any AP classes I just decided to taken them on my own not for college but I thought that they were more interesting.
Please don’t box me into the stereotypical asian girl that has to get into a school with an low acceptance rate thanks

Member of National Honor Society
Member of California Scholarship Federation
Principal’s Honor Roll
AP Scholar of Distinction
Scholar Athlete Award
Club Scholar Award for outstanding contributions to ___ Club
Excellence Award for Academics (Japanese Language School)

(Secretary)Volunteer Tutor, Tutored underprivileged 4th and 5th graders in nearby elementary school in mathematics
(Co-Founder, President)delegating and leading social projects that are helping residents to lead healthier and happier lives, perform administrative tasks, lead monthly club meetings
(Editor) for a student-run science magazine: Edit articles and contribute relevant article ideas, created a more efficient editing system for editors and staff writers
Martials Arts for 4 years: won a lot of regional tournaments, theres no nationals
Varsity track for two years: my school awards captainship(?) based on how many years you have been there so i didnt get it
(VP)school club that make food for the homeless shelters
-took japanese in middle school and then graduated from a japanese language school when I moved and got academic honors when I graduated + took japanese classes at the local community college + visited japan during the summer with friends + took in japanese exchange students for two years and i am still in contact with them
-native chinese speaker thus proved through the SAT II
Job/Work Experience:
worked for my step-dad’s dental clinic during breaks
interned for a criminal law firm the summer before senior year
Volunteer/Community service:
volunteered at a local pet shelter 200+ hours
volunteered with a community organization whose main goal is to help the residents achieve healthier and happier lives 200+ hours

44

[ size=+2][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Waitlisted[ /b][ /color][ /size]

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I:
[ *] ACT: 32
[ *] UC GPA: Not sure but unweughted gpa is 3.908
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (3), bio (3), lang&comp (5), world hist (3)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] College courses? If so, list them.:
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: ap calc ab, ap lit, ap env sci, ap human geo, spanish 5 (school doesn’t offer honors or ap), advanced art, climate change science & policy (one trimester)
[ *] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: both 9/10
[ *] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: submitted 2, didn’t read either but the teachers like me
[ *] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: no

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: biology
[ *] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: freshman
[ *] EOP?:
[ *] NCAA?:
[ *] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: no, MN
[ *] If International, from what country?:
[ *] School Type: Environmentally-focused/ interdisciplinary
[ *] Ethnicity: white
[ *] Gender: female
[ *] LGBTQ?: yes
[ *] Citizen?: yes
[ *] Served in military? no
[ *] Married?: no
[ *] Orphan?: no
[ *] Income Bracket: 100,000
[ *] # of Family Members: 5
[ *] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: batchelors, 2-year degree
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):
[ *] Living on-campus? lol if i get in

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths:Lots of exracurriculars (almost all with leadership positions), good gpa, essays
[ *] Weaknesses: ACT, out of state
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: i hope so
[ *] If not, where are you going?: not sure yet

[ /list][ b]General Comments/Additional Information:[ /b][ list]

45

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 1940 <- Didn’t report on app but sent in official score report
[] ACT: 32
[] UC GPA: 4.34
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Math II (720) Molecular Biology (720) US History (720)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): School don’t offer
[] College courses? If so, list them.: Nope
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP European History, AP Calc BC, AP Government/ Regular Econ, AP Lit, AP Physics C, AP Stats
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 7.5-8/10, didn’t use the additional comments section
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yup, had my AP Lang and AP Bio Teacher write it. Idk how good it was but I think that they liked me :smiley:
[] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: Nope

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Biochemistry (for now going premed)
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: Nope
[] NCAA?: Nope
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Yes, LA County
[] If International, from what country?:
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese/Vietnamese)
[] Gender: Female
[] LGBTQ?: No, but a supporter :slight_smile:
[] Citizen?: Yas
[] Served in military? Nope
[] Married?: Nope
[] Orphan?: Nope
[] Income Bracket: Lower Middle Class?
[] # of Family Members: 2 in my current household, my mom and me
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Bachelor’s
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Nope
[li] Living on-campus? Yes[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: GPA, Personal Statement, Maybe Rec Letters?
[] Weaknesses: ACT score, I had okay extracurriculars (just realized that I didn’t list them LOL but there isn’t much), No Major Awards
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Deciding between being a Bear or a Bruin :confused:
[] If not, where are you going?: UCLA, but still debating

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list] Honestly I am so honored to be accepted to such a prestigious university, it’ll be so hard to decide to go here or LA (most of it has to do with the fact that Berk has a bit better financial aid prospects for me) but hopefully things will work out :smiley:

46

Decision: Accepted
Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 1890 lol
[] SAT II: Chinese w/ Listening 660, Bio E 700, Math 2 650, Lit 650
[] ACT: 32
[] UC GPA: ~3.9 whoops
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (3), APES (4), Eng Lang (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Nope
[] College courses? If so, list them.: Introduction to Functional Neuroanatomy at UC Berkeley, Psych 101 at community college
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP English Lit, AP Gov, AP Physics 1, a few unimportant classes
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: At least 8/10, I worked 6 months on them and had them examined and reviewed by 10+ people
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes
[li] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: Nope! My stats are nowhere near the top so wasn’t surprised by that[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Social Sciences (Psychology)
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: No
[] NCAA?: No
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Yes (Norcal)
[] If International, from what country?:
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] LGBTQ?:
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military?: Nope
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: >$200k
[] # of Family Members: 3
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Graduate school
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None tbh
[li] Living on-campus?: Yes[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: ECs, essays, ACT
[] Weaknesses: GPA, could have been more detailed in my essay
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Yes!
[] If not, where are you going?:

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
-I got rejected to UCI, UCSD, UCD, UCLA, and waitlisted at UCSB. It’s been a super rough few weeks for me.
-Don’t lose hope! I hope my stats prove that you don’t have to be perfect to get in :slight_smile: good luck!

Good luck to all possible future Bears!

47

Decision: Accepted to College of Chemistry

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: N/A
[] ACT single: 33 C 35 M 34 E 32 R 30 S
[] SAT II: Chem 800, Math II 760, Bio M 760
[] UC GPA: 4.2
[] Rank: 1/100
[] AP: Chem (4) Spanish (5) Physics 1 (3) English Lang (3)
[] Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous available. AP Bio, AP Calc AB, AP Physics C, AP Spanish Lit, English, bunch of other non honors humanity classes
[] How were your personal statements? Both 9, worked really hard on them and it payed off
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: No, thought I was doomed for rejection after it. Apparently not :smiley:
[] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: No [/ul]

Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: tutoring club (president), dance 7 h/week (advanced group), varsity basketball (captain 11 12), school athletic council (treasurer), missionary trip, other minor volunteer projects (120h), French classes, Stanford summer camp
[] Job/Work Experience: Not possible in my country
[li] Volunteer/Community service: 500h[/li]
[/ul]Other:[ul]
[]** Intended Major: ** Chemical Engineering
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: No
[] NCAA?: No
[] If International, from what country?: South America
[] School Type: Private, International
[] Ethnicity: Latino
[] Gender: Female
[] Citizen?: No
[] Served in military?: No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Hooks: Female in engineering?
[] Living on-campus? Yes [/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Grades and rank, definitely essays, bunch of community service, SAT II
[] Weaknesses: No pattern in extracurriculars. No experience in research or engineering. AP scores
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Top choice so far
[] If not, where are you going?: Waitin for Stanford, Princeton, and Cornell [/ul]

48

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2040 (740M, 650R, 650W)
[] ACT: 33(35M, 35E, 31S, 31R)
[] UC GPA: 4.55
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem(5), Stats(5), APUSH(5), Bio(4), EngLang(4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] College courses? If so, list them.: Human Anatomy, CompSci, Intro Programming, Java 1A, Intro Psych
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Eng Lit, AP Econ, AP Gov, Spanish III, Physics, Art
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 9
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: N/A
[] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: No :frowning:

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Chemistry (L&S)
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: Yes
[] NCAA?: No
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: California
[] If International, from what country?:
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian Indian
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: No
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military?: No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: Low: ($0 to $15,000)
[] # of Family Members: 2
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Did Not Complete High School
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Low Income, Summer Program, Independent Projects, Family Issues
[li] Living on-campus?[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, GPA
[] Weaknesses: SAT/ACT Scores,
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: No, financial reasons
[] If not, where are you going?: Still deciding

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
If your GPA and Test Scores are in the general ballpark, it’ll ultimately be your essays and activities that make or break you. Do something unique and extraordinary. You don’t necessarily have to win a national prize, but if you do things in high school that demonstrate your passions, and write about those in your essays, you’ll be fine.
I wish I had received more aid from Berkeley, but I was having second thoughts on it anyways as a premed. Cal is great for engineering, but if you’re trying to maintain a good college GPA for med school, this isn’t exactly the place to be :wink:

49

Decision: ACCEPTED

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I: 2050 (580 CR, 710 M, 760 W)
[ *] ACT: 29 (29 E, 29 M, 33 R, 25 S, 28 E/W)
[ *] GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.41 W
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (4), Physics (3), APUSH (4), English Lang (4)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] College courses? If so, list them: Music in Film at Rio Hondo Community College (for art credits)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Honors Economics, AP Government, AP Biology, AP Lit, AP Calc AB, Student Government, AP Spanish Language, AP Psychology
[ *] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 8 or 9/10
[ *] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Letters of Recommendation request, both were excellent letters
[ *] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: No

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Neurobiology
[ *] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[ *] EOP?: No
[ *] NCAA?: No
[ *] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Yes; Los Angeles
[ *] If International, from what country?: N/A
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *] LGBTQ?: No
[ *] Citizen?: U.S. Citizen
[ *] Served in military? No
[ *] Married?: No
[ *] Orphan?: No
[ *] Income Bracket: Middle Class
[ *] # of Family Members: 3
[ *] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: High School
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM, First generation
[ *] Living on-campus? Yes

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: GPA, Extracurricular activities, personal statement, letters of recommendation
[ *] Weaknesses: Test scores not as high as other competitive candidates
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Possibly
[ *] If not, where are you going?:
Accepted- UCLA, USC, Creighton, UCSD, Fordham, Notre Dame, Berkeley
Waiting on Brown and Columbia
Rejected- Stanford

50

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I: 1980 (620 R/ 770 M/ 590 W)
SAT II: Math Level 2 800, Chinese 800
ACT: 32 (31 R/ 28 W/ 36 M/ 29 S)
GPA: UW 3.85 W 3.97 UC GPA 4.08
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), Music Theory (5), Statistics (5), Chinese (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): School doesn’t offer
College courses? If so, list them:
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Econ, AP Psych, AP Environmental Science, Concert Choir, English, Gov
How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: first one 8/10, second 9.5/10.
Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: No
Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: No
Other
Intended Major : Statistics
Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
EOP?: No
NCAA?: No
Are you from California?: Yes
If International, from what country?:
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
LGBTQ?: No
Citizen?: Yes
Served in military? No
Married?: No
Orphan?: No
Income Bracket: Don’t know

of Family Members: 4

Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: 4-year University graduates
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None
Living on-campus? Yes
Reflection
Strengths: Essays, piano, volunteer.
Weaknesses: Stats…
Are you going to UC Berkeley?: 98% probability, 1% goes to UCSB and 1% goes to NYU and USC
If not, where are you going?:
Other acceptances: UCSB, UCI, UCSC, UCR, Cal Poly SLO, SJSU, U of Washington Seattle, Pepperdine
Waiting: USC, NYU
Rejected: UCLA
Wait-listed: UCSD, UCD
General Comments/Additional Information: My stats really weren’t strong… But my essays were pretty good and I guess they moved them? Also my talents in piano and badminton, plus lots of volunteer activities and 2 leadership positions in clubs may have helped…

51

Decision: Accepted College of Engineering EECS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310( 800M, 800W, 710CR)
ACT:
SAT II: 790 M2, 760 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83
UC GPA: 4.42
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/250
ELC?:
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Boy Scouts Eagle Scout, Quiz Bowl National Competition, UCSB Research Mentorship Program (research in machine learning), iOS Club
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Personal Statement: 9/10 good
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major : EECS
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):
Reflection
Strengths: sat, extracurriculars are solid
Weaknesses: gpa
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCLA CSE, UCSD, rest of the UCs, UIUC Electrical Engineering
Schools you were rejected from? UT Austin, Stanford lol
Schools you are waiting for? CMU, USC, Cornell
General Comments: UC Berkeley was my dream school. It was a reach school for me because I thought my GPA was low for EECS. But, if everything else on the application is good, you are in great shape! Do activities in programming to show your passion. Good Luck!!

52

My sister was admitted with a 1480 SAT score, 4.2 UC GPA, 5 on AP Spanish test
She’s the current ASB President
low income, first generation
applied major: not sure tbh

anyone reading this: please don’t get discouraged! Clearly, you don’t need perfect test scores or GPA to get into Berkeley
she was also admitted to UC Santa Barbara (Berkeley was the only other school she applied to)
Congrats to you all!

53

Wow, I finally get a chance to do one of these

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I 620 (CR) 680 (M) 660 (W)(breakdown):
[] ACT: 33
[] SAT II: World History: 700 Math 2: 710 Chemistry: 790 Biology E: 740
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9787
[] UC GPA: 4.7586
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/588
[] ELC?: none
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5)
Calc BC (5)
Chemistry (4)
English Lang (4)
Physics C E/M (4)
Physics C Mechanics (5)
Spanish Lang (4)
US History (5)
APWH (5)

[] IB (place score in parenthesis): none
[] Senior Year Course Load:AP Environmental Science, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Literature, AP Psychology, Multivariable Calc at close by Community College, AP Statistics, American Sign Language 1
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):National AP Scholar, Commended Student for PSAT/NMSQC, Research publication, small Science Olympiad medals, Varsity speech/debate[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad was the only big school related thing I did, occasional speech/debate in 9th and 10th grade, Shadowed a neurosurgeon, loved playing piano, and the school math team (very insignificant)
[] Job/Work Experience:Tutoring
[] Volunteer/Community service: Ronald McDonald Charity House (helps families that have relatives in hospital) Break the Barriers (gym for people with disabilities), Research Volunteer (helping doctor with pulmonary research), Restore Habitat for Humanity (warehouse volunteer basically) and some small UNICEF soup kitchens
[] Personal Statement: Talked about how my family would move around a lot which didn’t fit with my personality since that made it very difficult to actually make friends. This led to me being a dismissive freshman in high school that didn’t buckle down and focus on many EC’s or team related activities since I felt insignificant. However, volunteering at Break the Barriers turned me around and taught me the value of commitment to an activity.

2nd essay was about my 1st experience tutoring and how I need to adapt my learning style into a brand new one for my student. Ended up with me increasing his grade and feeling pride that way.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: yep
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: General Biology[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): California
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White (I’m considered white by US Census standards but I’m really Central Asian from Uzbekistan)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 150,000 ish
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):
GPA HOLY ***. LIFE SAVER.
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: GPA GPA GPA. I had an absolute boatload of AP classes and succeeded in them very well. Volunteering is probably the best category I have, but it wasn’t super crazy, along with a bit of research over the summer before my 12th grade year. Also I didn’t apply for engineering and was within top 20 of my class.
[] Weaknesses: Pretty much everything else? Test scores were really average compared to some other guys that I know, extracurriculars were so generic, the only one I felt like I actually cared about was Science Olympiad. Putting down Piano seemed kinda desperate but admittedly I do really care about it. I had 2 good awards, the rest were kinda lame imo, but on paper I suppose it looks good.
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted: UCSD, UCD, U Michigan, Rutgers, Berkeley Waitlisted: UChicago, Case Western
[] Schools you were rejected from? Johns Hopkins
[] Schools you are waiting for? Carnegie Mellon UPenn
[/ul]General Comments:

UCLA and Cal were my top choices and I got both. I was an incredibly strong academic candidate, although my test scores were sorta weak. My extracurriculars seemed so BS to me and I thought I wouldn’t stand a chance but that just goes to show that college decisions are holistic.

54

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 1960 (660 CR 660 M 640 W)
[] ACT: Nope
[] UC GPA: 4.0 UW
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Spanish (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Nope
[] College courses? If so, list them.: ATDP? At UC Berkeley
[] Senior Year Course Load: Calc, Environmental Science, Spanish, LA, Lit, Econ, Physics
[] How were your personal statements? 10/10 and 9/10, hard to rate my own
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Nope
[] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: Nope

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Chemistry
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: Nope
[] NCAA?: Nope
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Nop, I am Mexican
[] If International, from what country?: Mexico
[] School Type: Private (very small)
[] Ethnicity: Latino (Mexican)
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: No
[] Citizen?: No
[] Served in military? No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: I dont want to disclose that
[] # of Family Members: 3
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Both went to college
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): I am Mexican?
[li] Living on-campus? Yep[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: ECs (won national science fair and attended the international ATDP last summer, among others), and I am Mexican
[] Weaknesses: SATs
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Yes! Of course!
[] If not, where are you going?: Nowhere!

55

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

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
SAT I: 2150 (730CR-730W-690M)
ACT: don’t think I submitted it
UC GPA: 4.44?
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History(4), Language and Comp.(4), Calc AB(4), AP Environmental Science(4), AP Biology(4), AP U.S. History(3)
College courses? If so, list them.: Intro to Economics
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Lit, AP Micoro/Gov, AP Studio Art, UC Honors Spanish 4
ECs: Team Captain of football, wrestling, and track teams with all league and other honors in each. President of 4-H club and other stuff in there like state public speaking finalist. Lots of clubs (helped found art club), did after school tutoring and helped find tutoring club for athletes, did a little research at UCSB, helped coach youth wrestling team and freshman football team. Worked for a landscaping company and in a dental office. Also bc no art supplement talked in writing supplement about art and the portfolio I’ve developed (in AP studio art), my work I’ve done in poetry in music, and have also helped produce and direct a few films for local film festivals
How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section:
P.S. 1- wrote about leadership; captain of football team, a lot of kids came from bad family lives, helped start tutoring club to keep their grades up; one of my friend’s mom was a meth addict and dad was in jail. He was really good at football and I would meet with his counselor and fought to get him certain classes so he was NCAA eligible and could play in college (8-9)
P.S. 2- wrote about Jewish family leaving Europe and coming to America to escape the Holocaust. Talked about how they were poor at first but a couple generations are all doctors and lawyers, and how I apply this work ethic to my life (9)
also my school is title 1 so we have a lady who works at our school and is trained in reading UC statements so that sort of helped
Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: just two from teachers (quite average
Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: no

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Economics (hopeful transfer to Haas)
[ *]Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[ *]EOP?: no
[ *]NCAA?: no
[ *]Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County
[ *]If International, from what country?:
[ *]School Type: title 1, mid-sized (2000+), 80% Hispanic
[ *]Ethnicity: white
[ *]Gender: male
[ *]LGBTQ?: no
[ *]Citizen?: yes
[ *]Served in military? no
[ *]Married?: no
[ *]Orphan?: no
[ *]Income Bracket: 185,000
[ *]# of Family Members: parents and sister who is in medical school
[ *]Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Dad is a dentist, mom received 3 masters from Berkeley
[ *]Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): legacy?
[ *]Living on-campus? yes

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: ECs, statement maybe
[ *] Weaknesses: Test score, had one B (although my friend got in with a C)
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: no decided yet. Also have gotten into USC. Not sure if I want to risk not being accepted into Haas when I can just go straight into the business school as USC. Also have to hear back from some East Coast school
[ *] If not, where are you going?: ^

[ /list][ b]General Comments/Additional Information:[ /b][ list]
think they are just looking for well rounded individuals who show genuine passion in their applications, not a bunch of ECs that are purely just resume fillers. The kids from my school that didn’t get in were kids who were smart, but all they really did was go to school and do one or two activities. We who did get in worked to push our boundaries

56

[color=orange]Decision: Waitlisted/color

Objective:[ul]
[] ACT: 31C (34 E, 33 R, 30 M, 28 S)
[] UC GPA: 4.1
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (3), Eng Lang (4)
[] Senior Year Course Load: Econ/AP Gov, AP Eng Lit, AP Calc AB, AP Environmental Sci, AP Physics C
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 9/10 for the first, I wrote about being a woman in science. it was interesting, well-researched and written, and unique. 8.5/10 for the second. it was about being a tutor and rowing camp helper.
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: requested and submitted

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: biological sciences (genetics, genomics, and development)
[] School Type: public
[] Ethnicity: hispanic
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket: ~70k
[] # of Family Members: 3 (+1 that isn’t a dependent)
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: one w law degree (bachelor’s from Cal), the other w no degree
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM
[] Living on-campus? yes
[] ECs: very competitive rowing 10-12, theater tech 9 & 12, feminism club 11-12, film club (secretary), SNHS (chapter founder and officer)
[li] Community Service: >600 hours, peer tutor 9-12, rowing camp helper for 2 summers[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: essays, ECs, recommendations probably
[] Weaknesses: GPA, ACT score
[] Where have you been accepted? UW Seattle, Northeastern, UC Santa Cruz
[] Where have you been waitlisted/rejected?: waitlisted: UCB, UCD; rejected: Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, UCLA
[li] Other schools?: Dartmouth, Cornell, UPenn[/li]
[/ul]**General Comments/Additional Information: I’m pretty psyched that I got anything. I thought my scores and GPA were too low to even be considered, but I guess not. This gives me hope for the Ivies, especially after getting 3 rejections in a row last week. **[list]

57

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2110 800M/670R/640R
[] ACT: 34 36M/36S/35R/29W
[] UC GPA:?? UW:4.0
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (5) World History (4) Chinese (5) Music Theory (5) Calculus BC (5) Chemistry (4) English Language (4) US History (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.: N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government, AP Macroeconomics, AP English Lit, AP Seminar, AP Physics C, Student Leadership, Welding, Academic Decathlon
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section:7/10 on both?
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: One from my PAP & AP Chem teacher, one from my AP Human Geography teacher
[] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: no

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Chemistry
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: No
[] NCAA?: No
[] Are you from California? Texas, Fort Bend County
[] If International, from what country?:
[] School Type: Public ~2400
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: Yes
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military? No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: ~$30,000
[] # of Family Members: 5
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: high school
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): first generation
[li] Living on-campus? yes[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: many EC, many leadership, math and science awards, variety (engineering/TSA, agriculture/FFA, health/HOSA), GPA, Academics
[] Weaknesses: no sports, personal statement not that great, no work experience
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Hopefully? :-/
[] Accepted: UT Austin, Texas A&M, UT Dallas, Baylor University, UCLA, UCSD, UCD
[] Rejected: MIT
[] Waiting: Stanford, Rice, Cornell

58

[color=green]**Decision: Accepted/b]/color]

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2060 (Never sent to colleges)
[] ACT:34C 35E 31M 33R 35S 31E/W
[] UC GPA: 4.05
[] AP: AP Biology (4), AP Chemistry (2), AP English Language (5), AP U.S. History (4)
[] IB: N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.: N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Economics, AP Calculus AB, AP Literature, AP Latin 4, Honors Physics
[] Personal Statements: Essay 1: Poorly written since I procrastinated to write it until the day it was due, but good in content. (8/10). Essay 2: Also poorly written, but not as badly as the first one. (8.5/10). Additional Comments: Straightforward but informative of a major life situation. (8.5/10).
[] Letters of Recommendation: Letter of Rec #1: AP Latin teacher: Undoubtedly great. (10/10). Letter of Rec #2: Speech and Debate Coach: Also great. (10/10).
[] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: No

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Neurobiology
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: No
[] NCAA?: No
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Live in Sacramento, California
[] If International, from what country?: Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil
[] School Type: Private, Class of 200
[] Ethnicity: Latino
[] Gender: male
[] LGBTQ?: No
[] Citizen?: No
[] Served in military? No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: 200K
[] # of Family Members: 4
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Master’s Degree
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM
[li] Living on-campus? No[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths:I believe my letters of recommendation and high standardized test scores helped me significantly. On top of that, I talked about my minority status in my essays and really focused on how it changed me as I developed in America. Even though they were poorly written, I guess they somehow convinced the admissions committee based on sheer content.
[] Weaknesses: Somewhat low UC GPA, poorly written essays.
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?:No
[] If not, where are you going?:Undecided

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
[] Other Acceptances: UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, Boston College, Johns Hopkins University
[] Still waiting to hear from: NYU, Cornell, USC
[*] Rejections: None

59

Decision: Accepted College of Engineering
Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2310 (750 CR, 770 M, 790 W, 11 E)
[] ACT: 35 (36 E, 34 R, 34 M, 36 S, 11 E)
[] UC GPA: 4.3? (I have a 4.8 W and a 4.0 UW)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (5), Environmental Science (5), European History (5), Biology (5), Chemistry (5), Psychology (5, self study), U.S. History (5), English Language (5)
[] College courses? If so, list them.: Some lab training courses at UCLA
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus, AP English Literature, AP US Government, AP Economic, Wind Ensemble, AP Physics C Mechanics
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 8, decently written but not as good as they could’ve been due to the word limit
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: No
[li] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: No[/li]
Subjective:

[list]
[] Extracurriculars: Wind Ensemble (9-12, First Chair Saxophone, Librarian), Marching Band (9-12, Flute Section Leader 10-12), All-State Honor Band (9, 11-12), All-County Honor Band (9-12, First Chair), National Honor Society (12, Project Leader), National English Honor Society (11-12, Vice President), Special Olympics Club (11-12), School Writing Tutor (11-12), School Math Tutor (11-12), HOBY Local Leadership Seminar (10), HOBY World Leadership Congress (10), Gay-Straight Alliance (12), Lab Internship at UCLA (12), Hospital Volunteer (11-12, Student Coordinator/Shift Supervisor), Spring and Summer Music Camp Volunteer (10-12), Vacation Bible School Volunteer (9, 11)
[] Job/Work Experience: Surgical Assistant at an Oral Surgery Office (Summer between Junior and Senior year)
[li] Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring, Hospital, Music Camp, Vacation Bible School; 500+ hours, Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Bioengineering
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] Are you from California?: Yes
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian/White
[] Gender: Male
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military?: No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: <$50,000
[] # of Family Members: 4
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: College Graduates
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Research
[li] Living on-campus?: Yes[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Stats/Scores
[] Weaknesses: Generic Asian STEM applicant
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Not sure!
[] If not, where are you going?: Accepted - Duke, Waitlisted - UCLA, Rejected - Northwestern, Waiting - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, USC, Stanford

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information: Really excited! See everyone at Cal Day![list]

60

Decision: Accepted College of Engineering
Objective:
SAT I: NA
ACT: 29 (30 E, 30 R, 31 M, 24 S, 22 W)
UC GPA: 4.4
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (3), Japanese (5)
College courses? If so, list them.: NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus, AP English Literature, AP Physics 1, AP Biology, Civics
How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 7 or 8 but maybe it was better than I thought it was
Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yep
Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: No

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: NGO student ambassador, world affairs council member, volleyball, coding club, university assistant
Job/Work Experience: art assistance, science museum helper
Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring, making a dog shelter
Other
Intended Major : Computer Engineering
Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
Are you from California?: Yes
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian/White
Gender: Female
Citizen?: Yes
Served in military?: No
Married?: No
Orphan?: No
Income Bracket: <$50,000

of Family Members: 3

Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: College Graduates
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Research
Living on-campus?: Yes
Reflection
Strengths: Maybe my extracurricular?
Weaknesses: Test scores, like everything lol
Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Don’t know yet
If not, where are you going?: Accepted - Bryn Mawr, Willamette Waitlisted- Wellesley, BU, Carleton, Pomona College Waiting - Columbia, Brown, Amherst
General Comments/Additional Information: Don’t get your hopes down that you would get in if you didn’t get a high test score or anything. Remember it is holistic and don’t be scared away with all the stats. Go Bears!