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

[MayiqueCynthia]

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

**Objective:[ /b][ list]
[] ACT: 32 (33, 34, 32, 30, 36W), SAT physics 750, SAT math II 760
[] UC GPA: n/a
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): chinese 5, micro 4
[] College courses? If so, list them.: n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP calcu chem physics bio english macroecon, data management
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: REALLY GOOD 9/10 for the first one, wrote about suffering from earthquake and how it shaped my desire to pursue earth sciences and engineering to alleviate natural disaster catastrophes around the world, second one was like “meh” but apparently it was good enough, i’d give it 6.5/10 but on the second thought, 8/10, wrote about my leadership dilemma at a rigorous academic summer program and used this really deep yarn metaphor to symbolize the essence of leaderhsip and community
[ *] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: didn’t get requested by the school
[ *] 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]: earth and planetary sciences
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: freshman
[] EOP?: i don’t know what this is
[] NCAA?: no?
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: international
[] If International, from what country?: canada
[] School Type: private
[] Ethnicity: asian
[] Gender: female
[] LGBTQ?: no
[] Citizen?: canada
[] Served in military? no
[] Married?: no
[] Orphan?: no
[] Income Bracket: i’m not sure but i’m international so i have to pay full fee anyway
[] # of Family Members: 4
[li] Living on-campus? yes[/li]
[/list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[] Strengths: def my essays and extracurriculars, having a 36 in writing in ACT must have helped too
[] Weaknesses: low SAT mathII score, ACT,GPA, had a low 90 in canadian curriculum which isn’t bad but there are MUCH more students who have higher GPA than i do and got rejected
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: HELL YA!! IT’S BEEN MY DREAM SCHOOL FOR 3 YEARS
[] If not, where are you going?: waiting for Upenn and Cornell but I LOVE CAL!!

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

Grades actually MATTER, unless your ECs are really really strong that it balances out. I wish i haven’t transferred schools in my junior year (family circumstance) which brought my mark down so much

Good luck to all possible future Bears!

[deferralmode]

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

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I: N/A
[ *] ACT: 35
[ *] UC GPA: 4.21
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (5) Envi Sci (5) US (5) Lang (5) Human Geo (4) World (4)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] College courses? If so, list them.:
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: [all AP] Lit, Physics C E/M, Stat, Calc BC, Comp Sci, econ
[ *] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 7/10, 9/10, 9/10
[ *] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes, very good recs
[ *] 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]: Chemical Engineering
[ *] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[ *] EOP?: huh?
[ *] NCAA?: nah
[ *] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: NY
[ *] If International, from what country?:
[ *] School Type: Public, very competitive
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] LGBTQ?: no
[ *] Citizen?: yes
[ *] Served in military? no
[ *] Married?: no
[ *] Orphan?: no
[ *] Income Bracket: high
[ *] # of Family Members: 4
[ *] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: masters
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): research
[ *] Living on-campus? yes

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: Research and recs were very tied to my major and the research going on in Berkeley, which was what pushed me over the edge
[ *] Weaknesses: grades
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: probably
[ *] If not, where are you going?:

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

Admissions really is a crapshoot. I never thought I could get into any really prestigious university, including Berkeley. I think someone in admissions must just have really liked me. I would recommend to any other students to do the things you really care about and do them as well as you possibly can. I am really excited for Berkeley next year, to be working in the labs of some of the smartest and highest achieving scientists in the world. Congrats to everyone who got in and GO BEARS!!!

[Calvin21]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2220 (800CR, 800M, 620W (whoops!)) Single Sitting, 2400 Super Score
[] ACT: 36 (36W 35M 36R 36S 12E) Single Sitting
[] UC GPA: 4.18 Capped, 4.50 Uncapped
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4) AP English Lang. (4) AP Biology (4) AP Chemistry (4) APES (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.: N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP U.S. Govt., AP Macroeconomics, AP English Lit., AP Calculus, AP Statistics, AP Chinese, Honors Wind Ensemble.
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: Prompt 1: 8.5 Prompt 2: 9.5
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Not requested
[] 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 **: Public Health
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: What?
[] NCAA?: Hahaha… no.
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Southern CA
[] If International, from what country?: N/A
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic/Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: Nope
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military?: No
[] Married?: Possibly someday
[] Orphan?: Nah
[] Income Bracket: Middle Class
[] # of Family Members: 3
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: BA Mother, AA Father
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM (Hispanic)
[li] Living on-campus?: Yes[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Ethnicity, Test Scores, Unique Essays
[] Weaknesses: A few B’s
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Maybe?
[] If not, where are you going?: USC or Cornell

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
Congratulations to all those accepted!
To future students, I would recommend pursuing as rigorous of an academic schedule as you think you can handle and pursue extracurricular activities you really enjoy; do not simply do extracurriculars because you think it will look good on a college resumé. Challenge, yet enjoy yourself in high school — you only go through it once!

[Rowyee1113]

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

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I: 2190 :-&
[ *] ACT:
[ *] UC GPA: 4.3, 4.4 (?) (something like that)
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio, ES, Psch, US gov, Chinese, USH (all 5s)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] College courses? If so, list them.:
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP chem, calc ab/bc
[ *] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: Both were 9 essays. Couldn’t really spend that much time on them cuz of the early deadline.
[ *] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: One by my History teacher (i was his fav student), and the other by a professor whose lab I worked in over the summer (i did research on fungal pathogenomics)
[ *] 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]: Immunology & Pathogenesis
[ *] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[ *] EOP?:
[ *] NCAA?: lol
[ *] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?:
[ *] If International, from what country?: Taiwan!
[ *] School Type: private international
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] LGBTQ?:
[ *] Citizen?: US/Taiwan dual citizenship
[ *] Served in military?: nah
[ *] Married?: nah
[ *] Orphan?: nope
[ *] Income Bracket: <100,000
[ *] # of Family Members: 4
[ *] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: both college grads
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): I would say research i did over two summers. I spent one summer at Stanford as an intern in the cardiothoracic surgery department and another summer at Umass Amherst’s depart. of biochemistry as a research intern working on Pathogens
[ *] Living on-campus? yeah

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: Research, volunteer work at an emergency room (3 years), debate competitions
[ *] Weaknesses: Low SAT and sat subject test scores, not enough AP courses
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: I’m torn between Johns hopkins and Berkeley
[ *] If not, where are you going?: idk

[ /list][ b]General Comments/Additional Information:[ /b][ list] To future students: dont be discouraged by your scores. UC Berkeley looks at more than just numbers. Good luck!

[lunagotit]

SAT I (breakdown): CR 730 M 760 W 790
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Math 2 800, US History 780, Lit 780, World History 730, Spanish 710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.62 (at the end of Junior year, 3.66 right now)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not submitted but probably top 40%
AP (place score in parenthesis): USH 5, LANG 5, WH 4, ENVI SCI 4, LIT 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Spanish, English Honors, AP Studio Art, AP Psychology, AP Physics 1,
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Strengths:l
Weaknesses: GPA
Are you going to UC Berkeley?: No
If not, where are you going?: Cornell University

[Mysonsdad]

Doing this for my son and wanted to wait until he SIR’d somewhere. I figured I spent the last few years looking at these so if someone ever followed me they can see where it all ended.

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2250 (one sitting) 770M, 700CR, 780W
[] SAT II 800 Math 2, 800 BioE, 740 USH
[] ACT: Didn’t take
[] UC GPA: 4.71W, 4.0UW Valedictorian (1 out of 165)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro, USH, CalcAB,BC, English Comp, (all 4’s), Physics (3)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] College courses? If so, list them.: Spanish 102 taken in second semester of senior year
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Stats, AP English Lit, AP Gov, AP Econ, Honors Micro, Orchestra, Senior transition
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: They were good, but hard to tell
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: 10/10 both teachers said he was one of the best students they ever had and he had made more of an impact on campus than any other student ever had
[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]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Business
[] Entering as a Freshman
[] EOP?: Nope
[] NCAA?: Nope
[] Are you from California? Yes, If so, what county (city)?: The IE in So Cal
[] School Type: Parent choice, public.
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] LGBTQ?: No
[] Citizen?: Yes
[] Served in military? No
[] Married?: No
[] Orphan?: No
[] Income Bracket: >$140,000
[] # of Family Members: 4
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Doctorate
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None
[] Living on-campus? He will be, but not at Cal

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Grades, SAT scores, EC’s
[] Weaknesses: White, straight male although UC’s aren’t supposed to look at race
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: No,
[] If not, where are you going?: UCLA, Regents Scholar, otherwise he would attend Cal
[li] Accepted to UCLA with Regents Scholarship (will attend and graduate debt free, yeah), Cal, UCSB, USC, Boston College, UVA, Northeastern, Cal State San Bernardino (PACE Scholarship)[/li]Wait listed: Notre Dame, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Georgetown
Rejected: Stanford, Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
This didn’t ask about EC’s so here goes, my son played golf all 4 years and was named to league and All Valley Team every year, interned for a Congressman 3 years during the summer, did HOBY and Boy’s State, received an award from our city for feeding the homeless, held a candidates forum for candidates running for our local state assembly district, started a chapter of a student organization and grew it to one of the largest in the country, elected to a statewide office for that organization as well as various cabinet positions. Over 200 volunteer hours tutoring kids.

As my son went through high school I had always hoped he would go to an Ivy. Once he received the Regents from UCLA he spent a few days there and told me he had “found a home.” By the time the Ivy decisions came out we didn’t care anymore…we were Bruins.

[BuzzBannana]

Can we hear about that interesting backstory?

[annshbh]

Been waiting to do one of these since the beginning of time. I know tons of nervous kids read this to feel better I was one of em.

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

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I: 2130
[ *] ACT: 33
[ *] GPA: 3.8/4.0 ( not UC)
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): None ( did HS outside the states)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): None
[ *] College courses? If so, list them.: Nop
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology, and English Lit
[ *] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: 8/10, 7/10, 8/10
[ *] 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.

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Biology
[ *] 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)?: No.
[ *] If International, from what country?: I’m from India
[ *] School Type: CBSE
[ *] Ethnicity: Indian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] LGBTQ?: No
[ *] Citizen?: No
[ *] Served in military? No
[ *] Married?: No
[ *] Orphan?: No
[ *] Income Bracket: Very High
[ *] # of Family Members: 4
[ *] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: Post Grad
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Nop
[ *] Living on-campus? Yes

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: I am a published author, with a huge house. So that helped add diversity in my app i think. Personal Statements were good.
[ *] Weaknesses: Test Scores
[ *] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: No
[ *] If not, where are you going?: UCSD <3

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

[yskim980423]

Decision: ACCEPTED

Objective:
SAT I: 2230 One sitting W770(10) R740 M720
SAT 2: Math 2c(770), US History(780)
ACT: N/A
UC GPA: Not sure… Something around 3.7
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History(5), Calc AB(5), AP US History (4), English Language and Comp (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
College courses? If so, list them: Summer course at the University of Illinois at Chicago (Criminology, Law, and Justice 101; A+)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp Gov, AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Biology, Journalism, Yearbook, Korean
How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: Both 9s; felt content with both essays
Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: One from English teacher, other from Stats teacher.
Did you get into Cal during the month of February (you were one of the 2,000 applicants who received an early acceptance)?: Nah
Other
Intended Major : Political 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)?: No
If International, from what country?: South Korea
School Type: Private, Christian, 35ish in my class
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
LGBTQ?: No
Citizen?: No
Served in military? No
Married?: No
Orphan?: No
Income Bracket: $200,000

of Family Members: 4

Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: College/Professional School
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Nah
Living on-campus? Yes
Reflection
Strengths: Essays, reading and writing scores on SATs, Recs?
Weaknesses: GPA, intl applicant, interest in school
Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Yas
If not, where are you going?: n/a
Other Acceptances: USC, Rochester, Irvine, UCSD
Waiting to hear back from: Vanderbilt
Rejections: Georgetown, Northwestern, Duke, etc

[ultimatelotus]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: n/a
[] ACT: Highest composite: 33 Highest Sections: E-35 M-28 R-36 S-33 W-36
[] UC GPA: 4.8
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), Environmental Sci (5), Spanish Language (4), Euro History (4), English Lit (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] College courses? If so, list them.: n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: Physics, Calculus, AP spanish, AP euro, AP english, Economics, Health, Gym, Latin 4 honors (I wouldn’t have included gym but I actually got my worst grade this year in gym SMH)
[] How were your personal statements? Rate out of 10, including the additional comments section: My personal statements were very strong, I’d rate them 9/10. I worked very hard on them, and thinking about relating my answers back to cal and how I’ve made an impact in my community before I even graduated high school. Both my parents edited for grammar multiple times to ensure there were no mechanical errors.
[] Letters of Recommendation (supplemental)?: Yes. I sent 2 letter of recommendation although they were not requested. Therefore I don’t know if they were taken into consideration, however I can’t imagine they hurt me considering I was the only student admitted from my school out of 4 who applied.

[] 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][ b]Other**[ul]
[]** Intended Major **: Society and Environment (CNR)
[] Freshman, Transfer, Graduate/Professional or Returning?: Freshman
[] EOP?: n/a
[] NCAA?: n/a
[] Are you from California? If not, from what state & county (city)? If so, what county (city)?: Westchester, NY
[] If International, from what country?: n/a
[] School Type: small suburban public school
[] Ethnicity: caucasian
[] Gender: female
[] LGBTQ?: n/a
[] Citizen?: yes
[] Served in military? n/a
[] Married?: single
[] Orphan?: n/a
[] Income Bracket: 150,000
[] # of Family Members: 4 including me
[] Level of Education of Parents/Guardians: grad school
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): n/a
[li] Living on-campus? yes[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: GPA, letters of rec, STRONG extracurriculars, strong personal statements, ap scores and challenging courses
[] Weaknesses: I believe I could’ve gotten higher ACT scores if I had studied more and my a few of my senior year grades reflected my terrible case of senioritis however I pulled it together by second semester
[] Are you going to UC Berkeley?: Y E S it’s my dream school! Go Bears!
[] If not, where are you going?: lol

[/ul]General Comments/Additional Information:[list]
Good luck to those applying to Cal this year who are browsing this thread trying to determine their chances. Just work hard and make sure your app reflects that you really want to attend the school.
I was also accepted to: Binghamton, U of Michigan, UT Austin, UCLA, Oberlin, and Barnard
I was deferred and rejected by Columbia and Tulane (unfinished app)

[marble7]

Major: Physics

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):2280 in one sitting (730 R, 790 M, 760 W)
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
SAT II: 780 Math 2, 790 Bio E, 790 Chinese, 740 Physics, 790 Chinese
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): School doesn’t do unweighted GPA, but maybe around 3.7~3.8?
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology(4), AP Macroeconomics self-studied(5) AP Physics 1(4), AP Language and Composition(5), AP Chinese(5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Physics C Electromagnetism, AP Computer Science A, AP US Government and Politics, AP Literature and Composition
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Central Taiwan National Debate Championships 1st Place, WSC Taiwan Round debate champion, WSC Global Round debate champion

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Debate Club Captain- On the national WSDC debate team + Represented Taiwan at the NSDA National Round in Texas. Central Taiwan National Debate Championships- 1st Place, NIFTY Impromptu speaking-1st place, and some other debate awards not worth mentioning.
Swimming Team Captain- 200 meters Butterfly Hsinchu City-1st Place; Broke two Hsinchu County records for 50 meters and 100 meters Butterfly in November 2014, and a lot of other swimming awards not worth mentioning.
WSC Club Founder and President- WSC National Debate Champion; Global Round Final Debate (Represented Taiwan’s top debater at Dubai); Global Round (Dubai) Debate Champion…etc
Robotics Team Co-founder and Captain- International Student Software Competition (ISSC) 2015; TAIROS Industrial Robotics Convention… no major awards
World Cultures Club- Founder and President- Helped out at lantern festival, volunteering at migrant worker centers…etc
Every Child Counts Club- Vice President- Fundraisers, community service at orphanages…etc
Piano- Had a lot of regional awards, nothing major
MUN- Had around 6 best delegate awards and some chairing experience

Job/Work Experience: Had a biorobotics internship at NCTU in the summer of 2015 and wrote a research abstract on the matter.
Volunteer/Community service: Had around 70~100 total community service hours volunteering at the Hope Center for migrant workers, teaching children English/Chinese at the Honghua Orphanage…etc
Summer Activities:

• Had a biorobotics internship at NCTU. (Created a prototype for a rehabilitative robotic exoskeleton- I worked on the electromyography of the exoskeleton)
• Represented Taiwan’s national debate team at the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC)
• Was the champion qualifier team in Taiwan so we attended the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Round in Dallas, Texas.
  Essays (rating 1-10, details):
  UC Essays-(8/10)
  Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
  Counselor- Doesn’t really know me (6/10)
  AP Physics teacher- (8/10)
  AP Lit teacher- (7/10)

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Electrical Engineering
Country (if international applicant): Taiwan
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Taiwanese (Asian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 80,000~100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nopeeee

Reflection
Strengths: ECs, SATs
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted- Georgia Tech, Purdue, UIUC, Northwestern, UCSD , UT Austin, UCLA
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Happy that I got in!

[websensation]

@Mysonsdad I know your son got Regent’s at UCLA, but how is he attending for free? Regent’s scholarship is not that much. Surprised Ivy schools did not accept your kid.