UC Berkeley Class of 2020 Results Thread

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

Hey everyone! I think it would be more useful for future applicants if we posted our stats and admission results here instead of in the applicant discussion thread–both the 2000 students accepted early today and those who will receive their decisions in a few weeks! Results only, please!

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

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

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

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

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

2

Decision: Accepted, College of Chemistry

Objective:[ul]

SAT I: 790 reading, 760 math, 720 writing; 2270
ACT: 34
SAT II: 800 Molecular Biology, 770 Math II, 770 World History, 760 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
UC GPA: 4.44
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
ELC: yes
AP: 5’s in World History, Biology, Language and Composition; currently enrolled in Microeconomics, Lit., Calc. AB, and Government; have/or will have taken all AP’s offered at my school.
IB: N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc. AB, AP Lit., Band II, Physics, Honors Earth Sciences, AP Microeconomics, AP Government
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): I wish!!! National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar, AMC School Winner and some other awards from my school

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]

Extracurriculars: Science Club (president), Science Bowl (Team Captain), Math Club (vice president), CSF (tutor), Interact Club (vice president), Link Crew Leader, School Site Council (President), Band/Marching Band, played piano for 13 years
Job/Work Experience: Lots of babysitting!
Volunteer/Community service: Through school clubs (CSF, Interact) and also volunteer with women’s refuge–one of the founders of a student-led group that supports its program for young children
Personal Statement: I poured my soul into my essays, and I honestly think they are the only reason I got in–especially early with Regents invite. I was initially pretty nervous about them, because I went a more creative route despite what I’ve heard about how the UC’s want a more straightforward personal statement. So maybe if you have an unusual idea that you’re passionate about, go for the risk and be creative…?

[/ul]Other[ul]

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Chemical Engineering
State: CA
School Type: Public (in a more rural area)
Ethnicity: white
Gender: Female
Hooks: first generation
LOR: yes

[/ul]Reflection[ul]

Strengths: Creative essays? Decent scores?
Weaknesses: Not-that-extraordinary-by-Berkeley-standards scores?
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?: Other decisions haven’t come out :slight_smile:
Schools you were rejected from?: Stanford :wink:
[/ul]General Comments: Congrats to everyone else who got accepted today! From what I’ve seen on the threads, you are all incredibly talented, and I’m honored (and shocked) to be among you! To everyone still waiting, hang in there, only a few weeks left! From what I’ve seen, there are a ton of immensely qualified applicants who weren’t accepted today–I’m sure the decision was a difficult one for admissions to make. No matter the outcome, we should be immensely proud of ourselves and our achievements!

I copied the format from last year’s thread, which didn’t have anything about the LOR’s on it…We should probably indicate whether we were invited to or not. My bad!!! :"> !

3

Guys I am really sorry that this is not a results comment, but i thought results start coming out on March 26th?

4

@rfaamsia 24th actually, but Berkeley released acceptances for 2000 students yesterday.

5

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 800 CR/760 M/750 W (8 essay) for composite 2310
[] ACT: 35 E/35 M/35 R/34 S for composite 35
[] SAT II: 800 on Math II and Chinese w/ Listening, 790 on Chemistry
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.974
[] UC GPA: about 4.4 - 4.5
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/400
[] ELC?: I don’t live in California
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5), English Literature (5), Chinese (5), Calculus BC (4), Calculus AB subscore (5), Chemistry (4), Statistics (4). All of these were self-studied.
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): None
[] Senior Year Course Load: IB English, IB Astronomy, IB Computer Science, IB Biology, Linear Algebra at university, U.S. History, Publications
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Scholastic Art and Writing Silver Medal for writing, published in The Best Teen Writing (an anthology of about 70 works chosen from the 500 National-Medal-winning pieces), 1st place in the Sierra Nevada Review High School Writing Contest (another national writing contest), two-time AIME qualifier, qualified for Math Prize for Girls at MIT (competition for top 300 girls nationally) and got a score that placed me in the top half there
[] Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): 9 Gold Keys, 6 Silver Keys and 6 Honorable Mentions from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards regionally, published in a bunch of literary magazines, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Semifinalist, a bunch of other smaller city/school-level awards in math and writing, school champion for Chemistry Olympiad, small city/state-level awards for badminton

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Started a creative writing mentorship program to help kids, youth poet ambassador for my city, poetry reviewer for submissions to a national literary magazine, on teen advisory board for community library, did math, played badminton, on student council for one year, founder and editor of school magazine, officer of math club
Job/Work Experience: Writing tutor for over 15+ kids weekly
[] Personal Statement: One was about a near-death experience that led me to realize life is too short and thus to take risks with my writing, which led to national awards and the mentorship program I started. The other was about how I got into slam poetry and realized writing isn’t just about expressing my own emotions, but also about social change.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No.
[li]** Intended Major **: English[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): Oregon
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Chinese-American
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 200k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Strong stats, good essays (in my opinion), and I think my passion for writing was evident throughout my application. Also, English isn’t as competitive as, say, EECS.
[] Weaknesses: I’m out of state. Also, UC Berkeley offered me the chance to send in recommendation letters and I didn’t take it.
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted at MIT early action, Trustee’s Scholarship finalist at University of Southern California, Stamps Scholarship finalist at University of Oregon
[] Schools you were rejected from? None yet
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Stanford, UPenn, Princeton, Harvard, University of Washington, UCLA[/li][/ul]General Comments:

TO FUTURE APPLICANTS: In high school, I didn’t do the things high-achieving kids were expected to do at my school. I didn’t participate in the full IB Diploma program, didn’t join our Constitution Team, didn’t join any community service clubs, didn’t join the International Study Center, didn’t join National Honor Society, didn’t even take that many IB classes my junior or senior years because I simply didn’t want to spend that much time and effort on a subject I wasn’t all that interested in. This meant I had a ton of free time that I got to spend on working on the things I loved–math and writing.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE. High school is about so much more than doing things to get into college. Pursue the things you’re interested in. That way, no matter the outcome, it would have been worth it. :slight_smile:

6

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 670 CR/600 M/710 W (1980 Composite)
ACT: 36 English/25 Math/36 Reading/27 Science/32 Writing Subject/35 ELA (31 Composite)
SAT II: 650 English Lit, 700 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
UC GPA: 4.275
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2 (at the time of application, now I am 3)
ELC?: Yes
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Psychology (5), AP English Language (4), AP US History (5), AP Statistics (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): None offered
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP English Literature, AP Government & AP Macroeconomics, Journalism, French 3
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, Questbridge National College Match Finalist (obvs not admitted), National Hispanic Recognition Program, Girls State First Alternate

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Red Cross (Secretary of school club), Environmental Club (Vice President), Interact Club, school newspaper (Editor-in-Chief and Features Editor-we’re very understaffed haha)
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Red Cross, Heal the Bay, a mentoring program at my school, Tree People project
Personal Statement: My 1st personal statement was about coming out as a lesbian, my 2nd personal statement was about a research opportunity at UC Santa Barbara

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, my EFC is 6000 I believe
Intended Major: Social Welfare
State (if domestic applicant): Caaaaalifornia love
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public, ~1400 students
Ethnicity: Mexican-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Less than $40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Is LGBT a hook? Have no idea.

Reflection
Strengths: Humanities, low income and part of multiple minorities so brownie points perhaps
Weaknesses: LOOK AT MY SAT AND ACT SCORES. I SUCK AT MATH AND SCIENCE.
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?: Only have gotten acceptances from CSULB and SF State (and of course Cal) as of now
Schools you were rejected from?: None yet but I can see Stanford and Northwestern rejection letters with my name on them already. Who cares!
Schools you are waiting for?: UC San Diego and Mills College
General Comments: Look at the people above me. They are so much more awesome compared to me. I am literally surprised I was admitted early at all since I am average based on Berkeley’s standards, especially when you look at my complete failure to pass Math and Science parts of exams hahahaha but luckily I got into Letters and Science and will be having some fun working towards either social welfare, social work, or public policy. I also did not get a Regents invite but it’s no big deal to me since I will be applying to other scholarships and my EFC is manageable. Basically, I say pour your heart out into your essays - my essay about coming out was very emotional to write and I really hope they enjoyed reading it - and DO NOT STRESS ABOUT EXAMS. I got in with a SAT 1980 and ACT 31, and I saw someone with way higher scores who did not get in yesterday. It’s all about the final package.

7

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t send
ACT: 35 E/32 M/35 R/33 S for composite 34
SAT II: 690 Lit, 700 Bio, 710 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
UC GPA: Don’t quite remember but pretty high. Lots of weighted classes.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/537
ELC?: I don’t live in California
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5), English Literature (4), Biology (4), US History (5), World History (5), Art History (5), Psych (5), Human Geography (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Anthropology (6)
Senior Year Course Load: IB HL: English, Biology, Anthropology SL: Spanish, Calculus, Economics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Merit, National AP Scholar, Pathfinders Political Science Nominee

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Intern on political Campaigns, Girls State, Congressional Youth Cabinet, captain of 2 varsity sports, President of Rho Kappa Honors Society, President of Eagles for Israel, many AIPAC lobbying trips, NHS, Safe School Ambassador, organized a book drive and sailed the books to an underfunded middle school in the bahamas, receptionist at an art museum
Personal Statement: Wrote about personal things that actually were important to me, not just things that sounded good. Be real with it, admissions will appreciate the honesty!
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No.
Intended Major : Public Policy and (hopefully) business
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None
Reflection
Strengths: ACT, GPA, Personal Statements, EC
Weaknesses: Subject tests, pretty common areas of interest, OOS
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted to: UNC, UVA, Boston College, UF. Deferred from Georgetown.
Schools you were rejected from? None yet
Schools you are waiting for? Stanford, Harvard, Vandy, Emory, UCLA, Georgetown
General Comments: So beyond blessed and excited! I will have a tough time making decisions but that is a great position to be in. GO BEARS! Can’t wait to meet you guys!

8

Hi I got accepted early as well! I just wanted to say that my SAT and ACT scores were far from great so for anyone waiting to hear about their acceptance in March, don’t stress too much if your test scores weren’t great!

9

Decision: Accepted, Letters and Sciences

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2270 (one sitting): 740CR 760M 770W
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: 790 Math2 770 English Lit. 760 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.8 (but 4.0 for UCB bc they count A- as A)
[] UC GPA: idk
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] ELC?:N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5) English Lit. (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None (Natl Merit Commendation)

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student government, mock trial captain, model UN, school newspaper (editor), few other things (semester abroad)
[] Job/Work Experience: Supervising children
[] Volunteer/Community service: Not much, one week volunteering at a pre-school
[] Personal Statement: One about changing my religious identity, one about learning the importance of empathy in political organizing. Both showed self-awareness and independence.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Not yet but will
[li]** Intended Major **: Political Economy[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): New England
[] School Type: Small religious private
[] Race: White
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: Middle class
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, recs, very rigorous course load, GPA
[] Weaknesses: OOS, no relationship between my school and UCB, not much volunteering (or other involvement) outside school community
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?
[] Schools you were rejected from?
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Too many[/li][/ul]General Comments:
Don’t base your interests off getting in to college. Just try to excel within your interests and pursue whatever you’re passionate about. Also don’t forget to enjoy high school. It’s perfectly possible to have a lot of fun and party in high school and still learn a lot and get in to great schools.

10

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2330 Superscore (CR 760 M 800 WS 700) 2290 One sitting (M 760)
[] ACT: Not taken
[] SAT II: Math 2 800 Physics 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not calculated (International applicant), but ICSE Class 10: 97.4%, Class 11: 94.4%, Class 12 97.2% Predicted
[] UC GPA: Not calculated in this way
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/70
[] ELC?: ?
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Not taken
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Not taken
[] Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous available to me
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National debate winner, Tennis awards, Academic and debate awards (No major awards though)[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debating (Debate Club Founder and Debate Head), MUN, Soccer (School team captain), Tennis (School head), Harmonium, School Head Boy
[] Job/Work Experience:Founder CEO of a art startup, Co Owner at a web design company, Founder President of an independent MUN Conference, Assistant Director for an MUN (Largest in city), Internship at software company
[] Volunteer/Community service: Founder President of an NGO, taught underprivileged children soft skills
[] Personal Statement: Both my personal statements were really strong

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li]** Intended Major **: Pre Business/ Econ[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): NA
[] Country (if international applicant): India
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Indian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: xx
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Entrepreneurial focus, extremely strong academics, essays, rounded application
[] Weaknesses: Applicant from India so naturally super tough competition, nothing WOW in my application
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?: UMich, UCB
[] Schools you were rejected from? None
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Stanford Harvard Yale Penn Brown Cornell Duke Northwestern UVa Babson UCLA Fordham[/li][/ul]General Comments: One thing I learnt was that even though you might not be the BEST applicant, you always have a chance. Good Luck!!

11

Decision: Accepted (Biology)

Objective:
SAT I: Didn’t send
ACT: 35
SAT II: Math 2 790 Chinese 780 Chemistry 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
UC GPA: Not calculated but ~4.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): unavailable but at least top 10%
ELC: ?
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chem (4), APUSH (4), AP Calc BC (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Not taken
Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Government, AP Economy, Chamber Orchestra, AP Spanish, AP English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Some state Science Olympiad stuff, nothing much
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Music (lots of international and state competitions for piano and violin), NHS (treasurer), some other club leadership, Orchestra concertmaster, Trio outside school, Volunteering
Job/Work Experience: None
Personal Statement: Both my personal statements were relatively strong?

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major : Bio
State (if domestic applicant): Yes
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Low enough for decent financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Some research over the summer with a BU faculty

Reflection
Strengths: Strong academics, music
Weaknesses: Nothing super strong for major
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?: None
Schools you were rejected from? None
Schools you are waiting for? Stanford UPenn Brown JHU Pomona Northwestern UCLA (and some other UCs) Tufts USC Scripps Brandeis
General Comments: Congrats to everyone accepted!

12

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2250 superscore (740CR 710M 800W), 2240 one sitting (700M)
-I don’t quite know what’s with me and the SAT math section, because, by far, mathematics is one of my strongest academic subjects, if not the strongest. Perhaps, it would be higher if I actually got tutoring ¯_(ツ)/¯
ACT: 34 superscore (35E 34M 33R 32S 36W), 33 one sitting (31S) (Yet again, science is another one of my strongest academic subjects)
SAT II: 790 Math 2, 650 Chemistry
-LOL let’s not talk about the Chem. score. I had only taken two months of AP Chemistry, and regular Chemistry does not teach you enough, so this was merely due to a lack of knowledge. I got an A first semester, and I am doing fine in AP Chem. right now with an A+ after two tests and several quizzes. And no, my teacher isn’t easy.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
UC GPA: who knows? However, from 10th grade (so while at my current high school), my weighted GPA for my school is a 4.40
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 52/551 (W), 14/551 (UW)
-I take several music classes at school (marching band, Studio A jazz band, wind ensemble), so these weigh down my GPA a lot, especially compared to most kids at our school who take CC courses which heavily inflate their GPAs.
ELC?: Yes.
AP (place score in parenthesis): Four 5s (AP Calculus BC (AB subscore, 5), AP English Language, AP US History, AP Human Geography (self-studied)) and one 4 (AP European History)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none offered at my school
Senior Year Course Load:
First semester:
-Studio A Jazz Band
-Wind Ensemble
-AP Chemistry
-AP Physics 1 (they did not let me skip to AP Physics C, smh --)
-AP US Government and Politics
-English
-Marching band
-Spanish III (no honors available)

Second semester:
-Studio A Jazz Band
-Wind Ensemble
-AP Chemistry
-AP Physics 1
-AP Macroeconomics
-English
-Spanish III
-English 103 (winter intersession community-college course)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction (if it counts??), National Young Composer’s Challenge (winner 2013, finalist 2015), MathCON (qualified, but our school couldn’t go due to a lack of funding), some minor AMC awards, All-Southern wind ensemble 1st chair oboe, performed at Carnegie Hall

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Colburn School wind ensemble, various youth orchestras from 7th-11th grade, Key Club (secretary), Interact Club (secretary), Harmony Club (president; a music performance-based community service club), marching band (saxophone section leader; our band has won numerous state-level awards), district honor band and honor jazz band, various ensembles (I play piano, oboe, E. horn, alto saxophone)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: various Key Club events, Help the Children (a local food pantry), various performances around Santa Clarita Valley with Harmony Club, in Interact Club (we have had an ongoing food drive for sending books to schools in India)
Personal Statement: both were very strong. One was about my dad’s growing up poor in a second-world country and struggling to make it to the United States, and the second was about my extracurricular activities at school and how I impacted my community.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No, and probably can’t.
Intended Major: Applied Mathematics (College of L & S)
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Biracial (Asian/European)
Gender: M
Income Bracket: >$150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): first generation

Reflection:
Strengths: test scores (some of them), ECs, essays
Weaknesses: course rigor, test scores, class rank, GPA
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCB, so far
Schools you were rejected from? None…Well, yet.
Schools you are waiting for? Every single other school. I was shocked to see that the UCB results had already come out for us few students.
General Comments: It never hurts to apply. Seriously. The admissions officers look for something different depending on the major, so it’s never so clear cut if you’ll be accepted or not. I was as truthful as possible on my application, because I wanted them to view me for who I really was, and that’s what they always want to see. Plus, think of it as a blessing in disguise; they’ll know if you, as a person and not just a set of test scores, will be a good fit for the school and have an enriching experience there. Good luck to the rest of you whose admissions results will be coming out in a few weeks!

13

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT: 32 composite + 36 writing
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
UC GPA: ~4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/50
ELC?: N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (4), Language (4), Biology (4), Calculus AB (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Advanced Calculus course at state college (Fall Semester), Applied Statistics at state college (Spring Semester), Dual Enrollment Physics at state college (Fall and Spring), AP Literature, H Political Science (Fall), H Economics (Spring), H Ecology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, local essay contest (won $1000), first place in State Science and Engineering Fair for Environmental Engineering

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): FCA, Varsity Football (Team Captain), Future Business Leaders of America, Key Club, Student Body Secretary, Youth Leadership Group
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered for Family Readiness Group, Army Community Service, Church
Personal Statement: Wrote about being from a military family and how it affected me; also wrote about medical issues prior to my senior year and how it affected my academics.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major [ /b]: Integrative Biology
State (if domestic applicant): Tennessee
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Letters and Science
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~120,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): N/A

Reflection
Strengths: Essays, ECs
Weaknesses: Course Rigor
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Purdue, Wisconsin
Schools you were rejected from? Deferred from Georgia Tech ED
Schools you are waiting for? Northwestern, UCLA
General Comments: Don’t be afraid to apply! I wasn’t confident that I was going to be accepted; anything can happen.

14

Decision: Accepted (L&S)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (770 Math)
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: 800 Chem, 800 Math II, 780 Bio M
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): School does not calculate GPA (Have 2 A-s, rest are As and A+s)
[] UC GPA: Not sure (OOS) (but I’ve received all As and taken 3 AP classes)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
[] ELC?: N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc BC (5), AP Chem (5), AP Spanish (5), AP USH (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Calc III and Vector Analysis (at local university), AP Bio, AP Micro/Macro Econ, AP Comp Sci, Honors Physics, Honors English
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AIME Qualifier, JSHS Semifinalist, received a research scholarship (funding my summer research), National Merit Finalist, smaller math and piano awards[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): School newspaper (Managing Editor), research during past two years, cancer fundraising club (president), Varsity Golf Team (Captain), prestigious music program
[] Job/Work Experience: Teaching piano
[] Volunteer/Community service: 200+ hours at hospital, tutoring students
[] Summer activities: Research for past few summers at top medical institution
[li] Personal Statement: Wrote about my family’s business and about my interest in pursuing biomedical research[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Biology
[] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Highly selective public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: 40K
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First-gen[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Transcript, test scores
[] Weaknesses: Could have improved my essays (I rushed to write them in last few days)
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?: UMich (EA), UVa (EA), Yale (likely letter), some state safeties
[] Schools you were rejected from?: Not any…yet
[li] Schools you are waiting for?: Harvard (deferred EA), Columbia, Penn, Duke, Williams, Amherst, WashU[/li][/ul]General Comments: Good luck!! I didn’t get the Regents invite, but I’m so excited that I got notified early!

15

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (800 CR, 730 M, 780 W), combined 2380 (800 CR, 800 M, 780 W)
[] ACT: n/a
[] SAT II: Math II: 800 Chemistry: 790 USH: 790
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.76, 4.48 (really tough private)
[] UC GPA: Don’t remember
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
[] ELC?: Not sure what this is
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC, Physics B: 5 AP Chem, APUSH, AP Lang: 4
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: Honors Calc III, AP Physics C, AP Bio, AP Lit and Comp, AP Macro/Micro Econ, Honors Mandarin V, Jazz Band
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Closest would be National Merit Semifinalist… I’m rather unaccomplished[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): President of MUN (since 10th grade), Science Olympiad, Young Democrats, principal trumpet for major youth orchestra
[] Job/Work Experience: 2 summers of research in a lab (co-authored 1 paper and 1 other is pending)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Basic stuff
[] Personal Statement: Both really good. One talked about overcoming playing the trumpet with braces and what I learned from it, and the other was about how tutoring physics while also struggling in Physics B.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?:
[li][ b] Intended Major **: Undecided L&S (most likely applied math)[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Small Private
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: No fin aid
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Research? Not much

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Test scores are killer, and my essays were awesome.
[] Weaknesses: GPA 100%, though my courseload has been the most difficult of the graduating class since 9th grade
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Waitlisted at Harvard
[] Schools you were rejected from? None… Yet
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Columbia, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Duke, UPenn, Harvard (lol), Dartmouth. [/li][/ul]General Comments: I applied to other safeties, but now don’t have to worry about them because I’m into Berkeley!!! Tbh the most important part of the college process other than grades and test scores are your personal statements. Obviously for some it’s too late, but if you didn’t get in last Friday, rest assured that if you wrote good essays, they count for a lot in the process. Also, you definitely don’t need tutoring for the SAT, like 95% of my school. Just use the blue book, and learn from your mistakes, and save some cash for something else. Good luck!!!

16

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t submit
ACT: 30 composite- 33 writing, 31 reading, 28 science, 29 math
SAT II: did not take subject tests
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
UC GPA: 4.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%, probably tied for 1st
ELC?: ?
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World-4, AP Chem-3, AP US History-5, AP Statistics-4
IB (place score in parenthesis): IB Chem SL-4
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB (IB English HL 2, IB Bio HL 2, IB Math SL, AP Calculus (same class but nothing else to take), IB French 4 SL, IB Euro HL 2
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NCJSL Girls All-Star (lacrosse), nominee for several major scholarships that I’m waiting to hear back from

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): A TON.
4 years of varsity lacrosse (captain for 2 years)
3 years JV/Varsity Field Hockey (captain for 1 year)
1 year varsity cross country
1 year basketball
4 years CSF (VP)
1 year of Bernie Sanders Club (treasurer)
3 years of Mock Trial (captain)
Volunteer at Democratic Headquarters (only occurred during local elections)
500+ community service hours in different leadership positions for IB CAS work
AfriPeace- a one month peace and conflict trip to Ethiopia, spent 1 year fundraising $6000 and spent the month with 9 other students volunteering and attending gov’t meetings. I believe this was my biggest hook.
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Ugh, I involved this in my extracurriculars
Personal Statement: I believe I had a very unique personal statement. I used it for both the Common App and the UC app. If anyone would like to read it, feel free to message me. This paired with the second essay I wrote for the UC application sealed the deal.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, I guess. FAFSA stuff…
Intended Major: International Relations
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, 2000 students
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Divorced parents, if only mother $60,000 plus a lot of assets, if including father, $300,000 plus assets
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): No real hook. A lot of traveling and I was born with a weird mitochondrial disorder that I talked about in my application.

Reflection
Strengths: I had pretty good letters of recommendation, a creative essay and a strong second essay, and I have never received a B.
Weaknesses: Test scores
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UC Berkeley
Schools you were rejected from? Pomona College EDI, Claremont McKenna EDII
Schools you are waiting for? Barnard College, Reed College, Tufts, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, UCLA, UCSD, Scripps,
General Comments: UCB was honestly kind of a safety for me, but now that I’ve been accepted, I think I will attend since it’s so close to home. I really do believe Berkeley is trying to see applicants as more than just a number and the essays are critical. I definitely could have done better on my standardized tests and AP tests, but in the long run, they didn’t seem to matter!

17

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I: 670 writing, 680 critical reading, 680 math (2030 composite)
ACT: 34 english, 30 math, 34 reading, 36 science, 32 English/writing, 9 writing, (34 composite)
SAT II: 610 Math II, 770 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2
AP: Chemistry (5), Biology (4), Statistics (4), currently taking AP Psychology, AP Calc, AP Government, and AP Literature
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP US Government, AVID Senior Seminar, AP English Literature, AP Calculus BC, AP Psychology, PE 2, Economics (Did not offer AP Economics)
Major Awards: AP Scholar, Principal’s Honor Award (13), Elemental Running 1st place half marathon, Academic all-league athlete for cross country and track and field, Scholar Athlete

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Cross Country (Varsity Captain), Track and Field varsity long distance runner, Key Club (4 years- KFH Liaison), CSF Club (president and blood drive chairperson), Marathon Club (Vice President), Link Crew Leader, Math Club (Treasurer)
Job/Work Experience: Kaiser Permanente Summer Youth Intern- Worked 8 weeks in a Kaiser hospital receiving hands on training in medical procedures- aiding with fine needle aspirations, processing biopsy samples, and staining slides.
Volunteer/Community service: Kiwanis Club of CH-Annual Kiwanis sponsored events; server at Kiwanis Crab Feed, carnival game manager at Kiwanis Easter Egg Hunt, and team leader at March in March walk-a-thon.

Marathon aid station helper
Mobile home clean-ups
Mercy General Hospital volunteer
Personal Statement: First was about my mom’s battle with cancer and second was the completion of a difficult half marathon.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Nutrition (pre-med)
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Filipino/white
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Under 40k

Reflection:
Strengths: Personal Statements (I think so), extracurricular activities

Weaknesses:Test scores (SAT especially)
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? SDSU, CSU Long Beach
Schools you were rejected from? None yet
Schools you are waiting for? Stanford, USC, UCSD, UCLA, Cal Poly SLO, UCD

Congrats to everyone accepted so far!

18

@ShaunakK98, Congrats. I know that international student does not qualify for financial aid. But you got in with scholarship? Thank you for any information!

19

@Anna2014 I didn’t get scholarship, but I am a US Citizen so technically not international

20

Decision: Accepted, College of Letters and Science

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (720 CR, 800 M, 780 W)
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: Physics (800), Math II (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Weighted GPA: 4.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics B (5), United States History (5), Chemistry (5), English Language and Composition(5), Calculus BC (5) [AB Subscore (5)], Spanish Language and Culture (5), Physics C: Mechanics (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Microeconomics, AP US Government, AP English Literature and Composition, AP French Language and Culture, Band, Jazz Band, Multivariable Calculus (at local community college)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QuestBridge Finalist and National College Match Recipient, AP Scholar with Distinction, Summer Science Program 2015, regional math competitions, school awards, honor bands, student of the month, etc.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching Band (Drum Major), Concert Band (Principal Bassoon), Jazz Band (Principal Bass), Astronomy Club (President), National Honor Society (Secretary), Math Club (President), Coding Club (Secretary), Varsity Track and Field, Varsity Cross-Country, California Scholarship Federation
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community service: Local Parades with marching band, math and astronomy outreach events to younger children, local elementary school office work.
Summer Activities: Summer Science Program, All-district marching band
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 Frankly, I think I was able to compile my ideas very well, and managed to get across a important points about my hopes goals as well as my general outlook on academics and extracurricular activities. Although I wrote a initial drafts, I didn’t put in an insane amount of time into them, but I tried to be as sincere and true to myself as possible.
Recommendations: None requested

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Of course!
Intended Major: Physics
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Large >2500, Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 30,000-40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first-generation, well-rounded, very motivated

Reflection:

Strengths: Essays, Recommendations, Extracurriculars, and I guess test scores help too
Weaknesses: Community Service, not too many major awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I just tried to show why I love to do everything I do and how a college education would help me improve as an individual and academic.
Where else were you accepted: Stanford
Where waitlisted: n/a
Where rejected:n/a

General Comments: Not necessarily posting this to brag or appear ostentatious, but I looked to College Confidential when deciding where to apply and found it as an excellent way for others to share their experiences. Hope this helps. Best of luck to you all.