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

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
61

Decision: Accepted (CoE)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2290
[] ACT: N/A
[] UC GPA: 3.84 UW, 4.21 W
[] AP: Calc AB (5), Chem (5), Music Theory (4), Calc BC (5), Stats (5), Lang (5), Physics C: Mechanics (5)
[] IB: N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.: N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Linear Algebra, AP Lit, AP Physics C: E&M, AP Economics, AP French, Choir
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: World I come from: 8/10, Personal quality: 6/10
[] Letters of Recommendation?: Submitted two, both probably strong
[] Did you get into Cal during the month of February?: No

[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: Leadership in many math- and music-oriented programs
[]Job/Work Experience: Very little
[li]Volunteer/Community service: ~50 Hours[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Engineering Mathematics and Statistics
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: No
[] NCAA?: No
[] Are you from California?: Pennsylvania
[] If International, from what country?: N/A
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: No
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military? No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: High
[] # of Family Members: 3
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Grad School
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): No
[li] Living on-campus? Yes[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Scores, EC’s
[] Weaknesses: Lack of volunteering, work experience, or research
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Still have some big decisions to make
[] If not, where are you going?: Waiting on Penn and Cornell, but even then idk

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information: I’ve been denied practically everywhere so far, so this came as surprise. Pretty excited![list]

62

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2230 (750 CR / 700 M / 780 W)
[] ACT: 32 (35 E / 29 M / 35 R / 28 S)
[] UC GPA: 4.13
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (4), Bio (4), Calc AB (5), US History (4), Macroecon (3), Microecon (4), Physics 1 (3)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.: Math 227 (Statistics)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Euro, AP Spanish Lang, H Gov/H Econ, H Art History, Advertising Design
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: Apparently really good! 9/10? I think maybe a bit generic, but together they captured my story really well.
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Submitted. I’ve seen one and it’s great, the other one was probably rushed but still good
[] 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 **: English
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: I applied but not sure
[] 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: Large Public Magnet
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: F
[] LGBTQ?: lol yes but do they even consider that
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military? No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: < 30,000
[] # of Family Members: 4
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Mother: HS, Father (NCP): Master’s
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): nah
[] Living on-campus? Yes
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Personal Statements, extracurriculars, letters of rec - basically everything subjective
[] Weaknesses: GPA and scores apparently? I thought they were great but CC implies otherwise :confused:
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Definitely considering it!

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list] I normally hate posts like this but I really want younger folks to see that when a school says they use holistic review, they’re not lying. I was rejected from UCLA and thought I’d get a similar answer from Cal. But if you can show your passion (in ECs and personal statements) and can use those to show how everything in your life has made you who you are, almost everyone has a great shot.

63

Decision: Accepted (L&S) :))

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: Didnt’t take
[] ACT: 34 (36E, 34M, 33R, 34S)
[] UC GPA: Weighted-4.41, Unweighted-3.95
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): European History-5, Chemistry-4, English Lang-5, US History-5
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.: None
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish Lang, AP English Lit, AP Psych, Honors Physics, AP Calc AB, Econ
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: I originally thought they were good but they really weren’t. I would say the first one was 6/10 and the second 8/10 maybe.
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes. I sent in two. One of them was sort of generic because the teacher I asked writes about 100 per year. The other one was more unique and probably more helpful because the teacher I asked only wrote one other rec letter and I’m closer with her.
[] 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: Cognitive science or linguistics
[] 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, Sacramento
[] School Type: Public, about 2200 students
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: Yes
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military? No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: I didn’t list this on the UC app
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: One went to college, one didn’t
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None
[li] Living on-campus? Yes[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Honestly none. I guess my ACT score was slightly above average lol
[] Weaknesses: Grades, ECs, essays weren’t great
[li] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Probably!![/li]
[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
I’m really surprised I got in! I didn’t do anything amazing in high school and my grades weren’t great… but I’m still super happy!! I applied to all the UCs except Merced and Riverside and I was admitted to all of them, so I’m content. :x

64

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I:
[] ACT: 36 Composite (35 English 36 Math 36 Science 35 Reading)
[] UC GPA: 4.08
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5) English Literature (5) Calc BC (5) Physics B (5) Physics C Mech (5) Chemistry (4) Biology (5) World History (5) US History (4) US Government (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Physics HL (6) English HL (6) History HL (6) Math HL (6) Biology SL (6) Spanish SL (7)
[] College courses? If so, list them.: English, history, further math
[] Senior Year Course Load: College English, college history, IB further math, AP comp sci, internship, P.E., metal shop
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 6-7/10—well written but not noteworthy, perhaps a bit too self-deprecating
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?:
[] 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 **: Economics
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: ?
[] NCAA?: No?
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Bellevue, Washington
[] If International, from what country?:
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Indian (South Asian)
[] Gender: Female
[] LGBTQ?: Yes
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military? No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: High
[] # of Family Members: 3
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Grad school
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): LGBT?
[li] Living on-campus?[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Test scores, GPA, course rigor, unusual ECs
[] Weaknesses: No national awards, 2 Bs senior year
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Haven’t decided yet
[] If not, where are you going?: Strongly considering University of Oxford

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

65

Decision: Accepted L&S

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2150 (720 M, 720 R, 710 W)
[] ACT: didn’t take
[] UC GPA: not sure how to calculate, but regular gpa is 4.51
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), AP Physics 1 (3), AP World (3)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.: N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Macroeconomics, AP AB Calculus, AP Computer Science
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: #1, just reused my common app essay (9/10) #2, kind of rushed, but still an okay essay (7.5/10)
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: yes
[] 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: computer science
[] 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)?: Georgia
[] If International, from what country?: N/A
[] School Type: private
[] Ethnicity: African
[] Gender: Female
[] LGBTQ?: no
[] Citizen?: yes
[] Served in military? no
[] Married?: no
[] Orphan?: no
[] Income Bracket: Upper Middle Class
[] # of Family Members: 5
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Graduate School
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM
[li] Living on-campus? N/A[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: LOR, GPA
[] Weaknesses: SAT scores
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: No, only got 6k in financial aid :confused:
[] If not, where are you going?: Not sure

66

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2310
[] ACT: 33
[] UC GPA: idk, UW 3.42
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), U.S. History (5), English Literature & Composition (5), Psychology (4), U.S. Government & Politics (4), Calculus AB (4), Calculus BC (3) w/ AB subscore (4), Physics 2 (2)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] College courses? If so, list them.: Astronomy, Biology
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Macroeconomics, AP Spanish Language & Composition, AP Computer Science A, AP Statistics, AP English Language & Composition
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 4/10. I wrote them very late, and didn’t get much time to review or edit. I also didn’t show them to anyone I was close to.
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes. 9/10 from my coach, not sure about my teacher. Probably an 8 or 9/10, she really liked me and was an incredibly positive person.
[] 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 **: Environmental Economics & Policy
[] 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)?: Yes
[] If International, from what country?:
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] LGBTQ?:
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military?
[] Married?:
[] Orphan?:
[] Income Bracket: 150k+
[] # of Family Members:
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: College
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Research
[li] Living on-campus? Yes[/li]
[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[] Strengths: My research probably showed a strong interest in environmental policy. I also took a lot of APs, and self-studied a few more than necessary. My grades were shit, but it was clear that I’d challenged myself a lot: I took the hardest classes at my school, and a couple more at a local community college. I’ve also worked for the last two years.
[] Weaknesses: I didn’t spend enough time on my essays, and they ended up not reflecting my persona as accurately as I’d have liked. Also, my GPA was terrible. I got a few C’s, and a lot of B’s, even in non-AP classes. I wasn’t part of many clubs or organizations at school, all my ECs were through other organizations. My interests are also weirdly specific, and lacked the “I’m good at everything” vibe that I felt was necessary to get into higher-tier colleges, i.e. play an instrument and a sport, excel in STEM subjects and also be a great writer or artist.
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Probably.
[] If not, where are you going?: Maybe UCSD.

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

67

Decision: Accepted into L&S

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: Didn’t send
[] ACT: 33C (35E, 34R, 30M, 31 S, 23W <lol)
[] UC GPA: 4.29
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), Stat (5), Comp Sci A (4), Chem (4), Euro (4), US History (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.: Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Calculus 2 (Senior Year)
[] Senior Year Course Load: Gov/Econ, AP Bio, English, Tutor, Law and Society, AP Physics C
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: first one was about how my family circumstances which i thought was perfect. My second one was meh 6/10
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: yes
[] 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

[/ul]Other[ul]
[][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Undeclared
[] 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)?: Yes.
[] If International, from what country?: -
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: -
[] Citizen?: Dual
[] Served in military? -
[] Married?: -
[] Orphan?: -
[] Income Bracket -:
[] # of Family Members: -
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: -
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): -
[li] Living on-campus? -[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Personal Statement and I guess ACT a bit.
[] Weaknesses: GPA and EC’s
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: yes
[] If not, where are you going?:

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

I had a pretty crap UW GPA and I barely had any extracurriculars. I expected the rejection. My Personal Statement saved my application. I am a perfect example of how Berkeley seriously considers unusual circumstances as part of their admissions process.

68

Decision: Accepted - College of Letters and Sciences

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2240 one sitting (780 CR, 770 M, 690 W), 2330 superscore (780 W)
[] ACT: N/A
[] UC GPA: (3.72 UW) 4.33 uncapped UC GPA
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology (5), AP Chemistry (4), AP Physics 1 (5), AP US History (5), AP Statistics (5), AP Computer Science, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Physics C E&M, AP Calculus BC
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] College courses? If so, list them.: Astronomy 101A at CC (A grade), Microeconomics 101A (A grade)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C Mech (Sem1), AP Physics C E&M (Sem2), AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science, Government/Economics, Expos. Reading and Writing Course, Digital Imaging
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 9+/10. Discussed my passion for astronomy and physics and how it had resonated with me from an early age, and how it fed my desire for research and scientific exploration.
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes, and they must have been amazing.
[] 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 **: Astrophysics
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: N/A
[] NCAA?: N/A
[] Are you from California?: In-state (Bay Area)
[] School Type: Large public, among the most competitive in the country
[] Ethnicity: Asian Indian
[] Gender: male
[] LGBTQ?: straight
[] Citizen?: yes
[] Served in military? no
[] Married?: no
[] Orphan?: no
[] Income Bracket: $200k+
[] # of Family Members: 6
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Master’s Degrees
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Did research with LBNL/UCB scientists.
[] Living on-campus? Yes

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Test scores, unique extracurriculars centering on my passion
[] Weaknesses: Grade. Point. Average.
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Almost certainly
[] If not, where are you going?: UCLA, UIUC, or Harvard if I make it

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
I am grateful that the Admissions Committee offered me a spot; a lot of good people didn’t make it. My ECs and test scores stand out from the rest but my school GPA (wrongly) makes me seem lazy. Honestly, I feel that the Admissions Committee was refreshed that they had an Indian male NOT on a CS/EE/medical track, and offered me admission for that reason. I feel that the letters that my recommenders wrote helped to verify and complement this theme in my application, and made the difference for me.

UCs overall were kind to me, I got accepted to all UCs except for Davis (didn’t apply Irvine, Riverside, Merced).

69

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I: 2260 one sitting; 2310 superscore
ACT: N/A
SAT II: Biology (780), Math II (800), Chem (760), US History (770)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0; weighted 4.8
UC GPA: 4.40
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/116
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (4), Calc BC (5 with AB subscore 5), Chemistry (4). English Lang (5), US History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Lit, AP Gov, World Religions, Peace & Justice, AP Psych, AP Physics I, AP Spanish Lang
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Scholarship Finalist, nothing major
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)?: yes, interviewed for Regents but didn’t get it

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Tennis team (1 yr JV, 3 yrs Varsity and team captain senior year), Model United Nations club (secretary 11th grade, president 12th grade), Science club (cabinet position 12th grade), various honor societies, CSF
Job/Work Experience: none…
Volunteer/Community service: National Charity League (past 6 years), food bank volunteering, tutoring through NHS and CSF
Personal Statement: First one was about my school, and second was about my summer at COSMOS; I would say 7-8.5 for each idk xD

Other
[ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Bioengineering
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: small all-girls Catholic school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: female
Income Bracket: >$150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): I think my research through COSMOS helped me out a bit at least for the UC’s

Reflection
Strengths: I think my test scores, GPA, and extracurriculars were pretty strong (I chose a few and stuck with them)
Weaknesses: My essays were decent, and I didn’t have any letters of rec
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted: UCSD, UCLA, UCI, Chapman, USC
Schools you were rejected from? Cal poly SLO, Stanford, Pomona College
Schools you are waiting for? Princeton, Harvard (lol)

General Comments:
I got into all of the UC’s I applied to! Also, just reading through all of these and comparing myself (bc who doesn’t?), I realized that you don’t need to take every AP class in existence or be nationally ranked in something or have a rack of medals to be accepted into prestigious schools. I definitely worked very hard, and I am quite certain that these schools do give a holistic review of your application because I took most of the APs offered at my school and in context I did quite well.
Congrats to everyone else who got in! :slight_smile:

70

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2000
[] ACT: 32
[] UC GPA: 4.18? (3.8 UW & 4.4 W)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (3) :(, Calculus (4), English Lang. (4), and US History (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.: Political Science 101 and 102
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Computer Sci, AP Stats, AP Environmental Science, AP Psychology, ERWC, Video Production, Poli Sci 101 and 102
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: First one I think was an 8/10, talked about challenges when my dad left during the middle of my junior year without a word and all of the responsibilities I had to take on and how I became wiser because of it. Second was better so probably a 9/10, talked about carrying on a teacher’s legacy by keeping his weekly video bulletin alive after he was fired.
[] 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)?: N/A

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Computer Science (College of L&S, not EECS lol)
[] 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, San Diego
[] If International, from what country?: N/A
[] School Type: Small public with a lottttttttt of issues
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: N/A
[] Income Bracket: $10,000
[] # of Family Members: 3
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Father has degree, Mom has some college
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM but UCs don’t look at that, low-income, ELC?, and went to a bad school maybe
[li] Living on-campus? Yup[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Decent ACT and SAT, lots of leadership, 2 sports
[] Weaknesses: UW GPA (for other schools where I applied for the College of Engineering, this really hurt me)
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Looks like it :slight_smile:
[] If not, where are you going?: Maybe Penn, SD, or USC, gonna visit all of them excluding Penn this week.

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
[] Where else you are applying or have already applied:
[] Accepted: MSU Bozeman, SDSU, Cal Poly Pomona, UCSD, UCSB, UC Davis, UCB, and USC
[] Waitlisted: None
[] Rejected: Cal Poly Slo (lmao), UCLA, Stanford, and Duke
[li] Waiting: University of Pennsylvania[/li]
Visited the campus last year and it was INCREDIBLE. So excited to have this opportunity, go bears!

71

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

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I: 2380
[ *] ACT: 35
[ *] UC GPA: 4.7
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 22
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): 0
[ *] College courses? If so, list them.: Calculus 3
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Macro/Micro, AP Physics C (both), AP
[ *] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 10
[ *] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: 10/10 Knew all the teachers sexually
[ *] 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:

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Biomed egnineering
[ *] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshmen
[ *] EOP?: n/a
[ *] NCAA?: n/a
[ *] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Yes
[ *] If International, from what country?: n/a
[ *] School Type: High school
[ *] Ethnicity: black
[ *] Gender: female
[ *] LGBTQ?: q?
[ *] Citizen?: Y
[ *] Served in military? N
[ *] Married?: N
[ *] Orphan?:N
[ *] Income Bracket: 20,000
[ *] # of Family Members: 6
[ *] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: High School
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First gen
[ *] Living on-campus? Y

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths:
[ *] Weaknesses: idk sat?
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: NOOOOOOOOOOO I got differed
[ *] If not, where are you going?: idk prob St. Johns

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

72

Decision: Accepted - College of Engineering

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2230 (800M, 740R, 690W)
[] ACT: N/A
[] UC GPA: No GPA system, 97% average (Canada)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Literature & Composition (taking this May)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Not offered
[] College courses? If so, list them.: N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Advanced Functions, Calculus & Vectors, Chemistry, Physics, AP English, Band, French, Computer Science
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: I actually thought they were not that good compared to my other applications, but I’m not sure. I wrote about being a twin (6) and my eye for detail (7). I just put a short paragraph talking about my other EC’s for additional comments.
[] 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

[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[] EC’s: Varsity and club soccer, piano, clarinet (concertmaster of three ensembles), visual art, Math Challenge program, Science Olympics, snowboarding, multicultural club co-president, peer tutoring, guitar
[] Awards: Ranked top 3 in my grade since grade 9, various math/computing/chemistry contest awards, RCM level 10 pianist, etc.
[] Work: Tutor at underprivileged elementary school
[] Volunteer: 150 hours or so, nothing significant

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Electrical Engineering
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: No
[] NCAA?: No
[] Are you from California?: No, international
[] If International, from what country?: Canada
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Chinese
[] Gender: Female
[] LGBTQ?: N/A
[] Citizen?: No
[] Served in military? No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket:
[] # of Family Members: 4
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Both PhD
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Female?
[li] Living on-campus? Yeah[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Grades, EC’s, leadership, well-rounded
[] Weaknesses: Hardly any AP/IB, essays
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Not sure, depends on whether my family can pay for it.
[] If not, where are you going?: University of Waterloo (it’s in Canada and is a lot more affordable)

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
My school does not gear towards US applications, as it doesn’t offer any “honors” courses and only has 2 AP courses. Overall I was honestly a little surprised when I got in since Berkeley engineering is supposedly really difficult to get in for internationals, and now I guess my decision is a lot harder haha

I also applied to MIT (rejected) and CMU CS (“priority” waitlisted) in the US.
I applied to UWaterloo (accepted) and UofT (accepted) in Canada.
Congrats to everyone else who got in! :slight_smile:

73

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2380/2400 (800M/800CR/780W)
[] ACT:
[] UC GPA: no clue, I had a 10-12 GPA of 4.8, 4.0 UW so I’m assuming max
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem, Euro, USH, Spanish Lang, Art History, Bio, Eng Lang, Calc BC (5 all)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] College courses? If so, list them.:
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP [Eng Lit, Physics, Stats, Government]
[li] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: Between a 6 and 9 probably.[/li][] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Didn’t ask for it
[li] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: Nah :([/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Chemistry
[] 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
[] If International, from what country?:
[] School Type: Large Public
[] Ethnicity: Vietnamese
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: No
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Income Bracket: 100-200k
[] # of Family Members: 5
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: BS, DDS
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Nope
[] Living on-campus? Yep

[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: Scores, essay maybe, GPA, decent extracurriculars
[] Weaknesses: No (real) research into a research heavy field
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Most likely, waiting for Ivy day
[] If not, where are you going?:

General Comments/Additional Information:

Wasn’t initially happy with what hand I’ve been dealt in terms of acceptances (Cal is best so far), but on closer inspection Cal’s College of Chem is probably one of the best chem undergraduate programs and I’m happy to go there after reading up on people’s sentiments on the CoC. We have reduced breadth requirements, research as a graded class and smaller courses. Excited to probably be a bear!

74

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2330 (superscore) - Math 740, CR 790, Writing 800
[] UC GPA: 4.32
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chinese (4), AP Calculus AB (5), AP English LangComp (5), AP Psych (5), APUSH (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP English LitComp, Government , Economics Honors, Teacher’s Assistant, Comparative Religions, Worldviews, AP Biology, AP Statistics, Pestilence and Civilization
[li] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: world you come from essay 8/10, personal quality essay 9/10[/li]
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes, one teacher 9/10
[] 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]
[][ b] Intended Major **: Cognitive Science
[] 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)?: California resident, Santa Clara county (Cupertino; very competitive area)
[] School Type: Small private Christian school
[] Ethnicity: Chinese-American
[] Gender: Female
[] LGBTQ?: No
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military?: No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: Too high for financial aid
[] # of Family Members: 4
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Post-graduate
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None
[] Living on-campus?: Most likely

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: A lot of dedication to leadership (Color Guard Captain-At-Large for two years), good numbers
[] Weaknesses: SAT (II) scores, ethnicity/competitive area?
[] Accepted: UC Santa Barbara (Regents), UC Davis (Regents), UC Irvine (Regents), Occidental College, Case Western Reserve University, University of Southern California, UC San Diego, UC Los Angeles, UC Berkeley
[] Waitlisted: Amherst College, Wellesley College
[] Rejected: Stanford University (EA), Pomona College, Swarthmore College
[] Waiting for: Yale University, Brown University

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

75

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

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2100 (best sitting) 2140 superscore
[] ACT: N/A
[] UC GPA: N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): 40
[] College courses? If so, list them.: UCLA general psychology 101, literature 101
[] Senior Year Course Load: Just the IB stuff
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 8
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes, got it from my psychology teacher
[] Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: Sadly no

[/ul][ b]Other**[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Psychology
[] 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)?: Beijing, China
[] If International, from what country?: China
[] School Type: Private International school
[] Ethnicity: Chinese
[] Gender: Female
[] LGBTQ?: No
[] Citizen?:
[] Served in military?
[] Married?:
[] Orphan?:
[] Income Bracket:
[] # of Family Members: 3
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Graduate school
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): long-distance running, community service
[li] Living on-campus? Yes[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: essay?? semester grades for high school
[] Weaknesses: Relatively low SAT
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: No
[] If not, where are you going?: Emory University

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
Congrats to everyone who got accepted!!

76

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2230 (770 CR, 770 M, 690 W ew) - third sitting double ew
[] ACT: 33 (don’t remember break down) - same score both times
[] UC GPA: Weighted is 4.67, capped is 4.38
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (4), World History (4), English Lang (5), Calc BC (5), Bio (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): nah
[] College courses?: Multivariable Calc, Linear Alg/Diff Eq
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Eng Lit, AP Spanish Lang, AP Physics C, AP Macroecon, AP U.S. GOPO, Tennis, Drawing & Painting
[] Personal Statements: kinda liked these and I think they were unique, so 8/10
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: yes, teachers were awesome and liked me, so 8.5-10/10
[] Did you get into Cal during the month of February?: nah

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Molecular and Cell Biology
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: what?
[] NCAA?: nah
[] Are you from California?: yes, but I’m considered an international
[] If International, from what country?: India ftw
[] School Type: large public, so large
[] Ethnicity: Asian Indian
[] Gender: Alien lol jk female
[] LGBTQ?: nah
[] Citizen?: hahaha nah
[] Served in military?: nah
[] Married?: pfffff nah
[] Orphan?: nah
[] Income Bracket: middle I guess?
[] # of Family Members: why? 4
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: both went to college
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): nah
[li] Living on-campus?: idk if I’m even going tho[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: GPA, scores?, courses, maybe essays
[] Weaknesses: EC’s fo sho (wait a sec, where is the subjective section in this???)
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: idk
[] If not, where are you going?: idk, still waiting for Ivy Day plus Georgetown and UNC Chapel Hill

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list] SO HAPPY I GOT IN! I finally got the time to post this. For all you people of the Class of 2021, don’t despair! I was rejected from some schools I really wanted to get into, and I was sad, but I got into Cal, which I was so happy about! You guys are all great people, and if you don’t get into the colleges you wanted, there is still hope! Stay strong :smiley:

77

**Decision: Accepted
College of Letters and Science! **

Objective:[ul]

[]SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 2260 (800 CR, 760 M, 700 W) single sitting
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): 2400 (chem, math 2, bio e)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): NA
[]Rank/Percentile: NA
[]AP (place score in parentheses): NA
[]IB (place score in parentheses): NA
[]Senior Year Course Load: NA
[]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NA

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
[]Job/Work Experience: Summer internship with doctor )
[]Volunteer/Community Service: a couple of hundred hours (hospital volunteer + rotary)
[]Summer Activities: 150+ hours shadowing a doc (he even gave me a rec which I used for CA)
[]Essays: First essay was good 8/10, second essay even better 8.5/10
[]Teacher Recommendations: average to good prolly 7/10
[]Counselor Rec: didn’t know her, so probably very generic
[]Interview: NA
[] Teacher recs requested: yes

[/ul]Other:[ul]
[]Applied for Financial Aid? Nope
[]Projected Concentration: I think immunology, idk
[]State/Country: International
[]School Type: Private
[]Ethnicity: B
[]Gender: M
[]Income Bracket: NA
[]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

[/ul]Reflection:[list]
[]Strengths: SAT scores, transcripts and ECs
[]Weaknesses: My mid terms were really bad (2Cs) and my ECs were not that unique compared to some other applicants. (plus no sports)
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: good SAT, essays, luck
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Some ivies and random colleges.
Already got into Tulane 32k/y merit, UCSD, UCLA, Case Western 31k/yr merit, USC
Rejected: Johns Hopkins, Grinnell, Northwestern, Stanford
[*]Advice: College admissions are a crapshoot. There is no method behind the madness. Just random chaos. I was lucky. Good luck to everyone else!

78

Decision: ACCEPTED (Regent Scholar)

Objective:
SAT I: 1560
SAT 2: US History 680, Spanish Lang 720
ACT: 26 (29 E, 23 M, 28 R, 22 S, 27 W)
UC GPA: 4.25, 3.8 UW, 4.2 W (9-12)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Spanish Language (4), English Language/Composition (3), U.S. History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
College courses? If so, list them.: Sociology (Young Scholars Program at CSUDH)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Government, AP English Lit, AP Calculus AB, Kinesiology, AP Physics 1, AP Spanish Literature
Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: Yes!!!

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Student Governmeny (Vice President 9th grade, 10th grade President, 12th grade Rep), Community Club (Founder and President), Peer Tutor (tutor and mento), Volleyball (joined another school’s volleyball team because my school did not have one), Gay Straight Alliance (founding member), Students Run LA team (Captain). There’s more but these are the ones I included
Job/Work Experience: Auto repairman assistant, Cashier, Babysitting.
Volunteer/Community Service: A lot of social equality community service.
Summer Activities: Educational programs I applied to
How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 9-10 for both, made them humorous and thought it highlighted my personality
How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: Personal Statement 1: 10/10 Have refined it since the end of sophomore year. Personal Statement 2: 9/10 Talked about a community based dinner I organized for an underserved community.
Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes, a scholarship I applied to made me send three letters of recommendations to Berkeley.

Other
Intended Major : Sociology
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, Innercity of Los Angeles
If International, from what country?: n/a
School Type: Charter, 90ish students
Ethnicity: Mexican American
Gender: Male
LGBTQ?: No
Citizen?: Yes
Served in military? No
Married?: No
Orphan?: No
Income Bracket: $25,000

of Family Members: 4

Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: No High School
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First generation
Living on-campus? Yes

Reflection
Strengths: Extracurriculars showed a lot of leadership, Founder of many clubs, Awards (Recognition by the state of Calirfornia and local grassroot organizations), POSSE Finalist for Berkeley, GPA (3rd highest UC GPA in my School, Ranked 5th, and Personal statements. I had a lot of involvement in my community.
Weaknesses: SAT/ACT scores are low
Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Yes!
If not, where are you going?: n/a
General Comments/Additional Information:
Other Acceptances: UCLA (w/ full ride), UC Davis, UCSC, Middlebury 4 other CSUs
Rejections: Swarthmore, USC

Hopefully this inspires students in the future with low test scores but strong leadership to apply to Cal. I did not think I was going to be able to attend Berkeley but I was accepted early and recently have been notified that I will be a regents scholar.

79

ACCEPTED
[ *] SAT I: 1470/2400 (EXCEEINGLY LOW)
[ *] ACT: Didn’t take.
[ *] UC GPA: 4.30
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Failed both AP English and AP Spanish
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] College courses? If so, list them.: 6 classes at a community college
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: ^
[ *] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: I guess my personal statements must be extremely good because my test scores are low. Whatever reason they chose me for, I still think that my two personal statements were very basic.
[ *] 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. I do not care because I was never considering about UC Berkeley anyway.
[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Psychology
[ *] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshmen
[ *] EOP?: Idk. Idc.
[ *] NCAA?: ----What’s this?
[ *] 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
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] LGBTQ?: No
[ *] Citizen?: Yes
[ *] Served in military? No
[ *] Married?: Single
[ *] Orphan?: No
[ *] Income Bracket: 20k combined from parents
[ *] # of Family Members: 5
[ *] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: None. We’re immigrants.
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First generation
[ *] Living on-campus? Not attending.

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: Personal statement (I think)
[ *] Weaknesses: SAT Scores, AP Exams. Basically everything.
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: No.
[ *] If not, where are you going?: UC Merced obviously.

[ /list][ b]General Comments/Additional Information:[ /b][ list] :slight_smile: Even if you do not get it, don’t lose hope. You’re awesome the way you are.

80

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2230 (740 CR 720 M 770 W) 2310 (superscored)
[] ACT: didn’t take
[] UC GPA: 4.1
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] College courses? If so, list them.:
[] Senior Year Course Load:
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: I think they were alright. I spent two days to finish all three of them due to a heavy courseload and procrastination.
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes. 9-10 for both.
[] 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 **: Computer Science (L&S) and Economics
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: what even is this?
[] NCAA?: no
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Yes. Gold River, CA in the Sacramento area.
[] If International, from what country?:
[] School Type: Competitive Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian/Pacific Islander
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: no
[] Citizen?: yes
[] Served in military? no
[] Married?: no
[] Orphan?: no
[] Income Bracket: 200k+
[] # of Family Members: 5
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Graduate school/Ph.D
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): none
[li] Living on-campus? not sure as of now. I’ll probably commute after freshman year if I decide to attend[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Extracurriculars, awards, personal statement (?), test scores were above average
[] Weaknesses: GPA was absolutely horrible for a school that cares mostly about GPA. I slacked throughout my Freshman and sophomore years and spent more time partying than studying.
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Not sure.
[] If not, where are you going?: Currently leaning towards attending Vanderbilt. I’ll be going to Cal Day, and then visiting Vandy right after.

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
Not too happy that I didn’t get Regents. We’ll see how things work out in the end. Congrats to everyone who got accepted!