*** UC Berkeley Class of 2021 Results Thread ****

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

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2370
[] SAT II: 800 Math, 800 Chem
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), Chem (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calc, AP Physics, AP Computer Science, AP Chinese
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AIME, USACO Gold, Some science olympiad medals

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science club (officer), Varsity sport, Research internship at an Ivy League school, Math club
[] Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring
[li] Personal Statement: Pretty good I think.[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[li]** Intended Major **: Computer Science (L&S)[/li][] School Type: Public
[] Location: Out of State
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: $250k+

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: good extracurriculars, good test scores
[] Weaknesses: Weak courseload, not many APs (I only took 2 from 9th-11th grade, when a lot of kids were taking 10 AP classes), started a lot of my activities in junior year so that shows lack of commitment I guess
[] Schools were you accepted to? UMich, Dartmouth, Berkeley
[] Schools you were rejected/waitlisted by? MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Cornell, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern
[/ul]General Comments:
I got way too overconfident and applied to almost exclusively schools with <20% acceptance rate. I saw rejection after rejection after rejection after rejection etc and I was losing faith in getting in anywhere. I am ecstatic I get to study CS at one of the best schools in the country after not really trying too hard in high school until my junior year.

42

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

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (800m 790w 720r)
[ *] ACT: n/a
[ *] SAT II: 800 chem 750 math2
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75
[ *] UC GPA: something like 3.9, think I calculated incorrectly but cbf
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
[ *] ELC?: idk what this is
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): self studied ap psych 5
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): HL Predic: Chem 7 Econ 7 Langlit 5, SL Predic: Physics 7 Mandarin 6 Math 7
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: ^
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): no competition opportunity in Indonesia.

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Track&Field 4 years, competed internationally one year, student council 3 years president twice vp once
[ *] Job/Work Experience: nothing notable
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Several hundred hours at an orphanage
[ *] Personal Statement: Super risky essay on chem, but hella fun to write it.

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: no
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: ChemE
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): n/a
[ *] Country (if international applicant): Indonesia
[ *] School Type: Private
[ *] Ethnicity: White (middle eastern)
[ *] Gender: male
[ *] Income Bracket: +300k
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): nothing special tbh

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: good standardized testing, ECs pretty solid
[ *] Weaknesses: terrible GPA
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Boston College, LMU, UCLA, UCD, UCSD, Babson,
[ *] Schools you were rejected from? Tufts, Columbia, UCB, Northwestern, NYU, USC
[ *] Schools you are waiting for? Stan

43

[size=+2][color=green]**Decision: Accepted to College of Engineering, Bioengineering[ /b][ /color][ /size]

**Objective:[ /b][ list]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 1530 (770 math, 760 english)
[] ACT: 34 (33E, 35M, 32R, 34S)
[] SAT II: 800M2, 770BE, 770CH
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83
[] UC GPA: 4.44
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9
[] ELC?: IDK
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 (Physics 1, Calc A/B, Psych, English Lang) 4 (Bio) 3 (World HIstory)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: Kinda light, kinda heavy
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AcDec medalsnshit[/li]
[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): STEM related clubs
[] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[] Volunteer/Community service: Hospital
[] Personal Statement: Pretty dope

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yap
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Bioengineering[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CALI
[ ] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Brown Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Kinda high
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Nothing really, maybe top 6 in nation for AcDec

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[] Strengths: Test scores
[] Weaknesses: GPA (I had a C in junior year in English… so I had to retake it)
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted to UCSD (as undeclared) and Cal Poly (to major)
[] Schools you were rejected from? Rejected to: Caltech, MIT, Rice, HMC, Duke, Johns Hopkins, USC, UCLA
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Stanford…[/li][ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] Did not think I’d get in with that C, but hey it worked. L17

44

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

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[ *] ACT: 29 (31 English, 26 Math, 33 Reading, 25 Science, 9/12 Writing)
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] UC GPA: 4.5
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
[ *] ELC?: N/A
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), Bio (3), Gov and Politics (5), World History (5), Lang (3), and Lit (3)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, Newspaper, Organic Chemistry, AP Statistics
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (Service Project Coordinator), Girl Up (Vice President), Students for a Healthy America (Vice President), Diversity Club (Vice President), Student Council, Quizbowl (Captain), Cross Country (Captain), and Track
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Worked at TJ Maxx from July, 2016 to February, 2017
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: I volunteered at two different elementary schools for math and reading, i also helped out with a lot of local things
[ *] Personal Statement: I wrote about creativity, social studies, cross country, and my mom passing away. I think my favorite essay was the one i wrote about social studies.

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yeah
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Global Studies
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): MI
[ *] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[ *] School Type: Public, Rural
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *] Income Bracket: 150,000
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): N/A

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: GPA, Extracurriculars, Essays, I also had to submit two letters of reccomendation so that might have helped?
[ *] Weaknesses: Test Scores
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted: University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), Michigan State University, Alma College, Ohio State University, Albion College
Waitlisted: UCLA
[ *] Schools you were rejected from? Georgetown and Tulane ¯_(ツ)_/¯
[ *] Schools you are waiting for? N/A
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] I actually didn’t expect to get into UCB after being waitlisted at UCLA, I’m definitely pleasantly surprised and if Berkeley gives me a good scholarship, I might head to California! Also I definitely think the letters of recommendation helped :slight_smile:

45

I’m a current junior, feel free to PM me with questions about the school to help you make your decision!

46

Did anyone here get into the College of Chemistry?

47

Decision: Accepted

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): None
[ *] ACT: 33 (32 English, 33 Math, 33 Science, 33 Reading)
[ *] SAT II: 800 Molecular Biology, 800 US History
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] UC GPA: Capped 4.33, Uncapped 4.4
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10%
[ *] ELC?: I don’t know what this is
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), Bio (4), English Lang (4), European History (5), Chemistry (2), Human Geography (4)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): My school does not have IB
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Psych, Band, AP Art History, Calculus 150-151 and PoliSci 101-102 through local community college
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of Music Stuff: Orchestra (At school and district honors), Marching Band and Indoor Drumline (Tenor Captain), Wind Ensemble, College Wind Ensemble (1st Chair). Quiz bowl Academic League (Captain)
[ *] Job/Work Experience: None
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: None
[ *] Personal Statement: Very good essays. Creativity essay was about how I made a boat out of duct tape and how I learned about failure from this, Talent was a about learning to play a new instrument, Personal struggle was about anxiety and hypochondria, Community was about how I organized Christmas celebrations with my marching band

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Political Science
[ *] Asked for rec letters?: Yes
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[ *] School Type: Top Ranking CA Public School
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: My mother is self employed, so it varies
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: Solid test scores, great GPA, good essays, good rec letters, pretty well rounded application
[ *] Weaknesses: No volunteer hours or work experience, my extracurriculars were a little to music based
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCSB, Cal Poly, UC Davis, Berkeley
[ *] Schools you were rejected from? UCLA, Princeton, Columbia
[ *] Schools you are waiting for? Stanford (but that’s not going to happen)

[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] Is it just me or does it seem like UCLA is harder to get into than Berkeley? At my high school in particular it is common to have 5-10 Berkeley admits a year and only 1-2 UCLA. This has been a pattern in past years, not just this one.

48

@WafflePeak idk if it’s harder to get in to UCLA over Berkeley since both look at different criteria? Berkeley has been known for its holistic review as stated by many other users and Berkeley themselves. Perhaps UCLA looks more at test scores and academics. Berkeley’s holistic review could be the reason for more admits from your school. My school has the same trend. Around 11 people were accepted to UCLA and around 17 people were accepted to UCB from my school.

49

From my school, people who are accepted into both LA and Berk are rare. However, those who are accepted into both get a regents invitation from LA or Berk (or both). Therefore, I can heavily speculate that both LA and Berk coordinate admissions to some extent unless BOTH schools want you (like receiving a regents or chancellors invite). For example, I have four friends who got into Berk early this year with regents invite; on the day of UCLA decision release day, UCLA called them and asked them how likely they were to attend. For our high school, we prefer Berk to LA: even if we get regents at LA and don’t get regents at Berk, we go to Berk.

50

@16to17journey Yeah I feel like there may be some coordination going on too. I only know one person who got into both UCLA and UC Berkeley, but she didn’t get regents from either

51

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 1510 (M - 790, R/W - 720, Essay - 21)
[] ACT: 34 (R - 31, M - 36, E - 35, S - 35, W - 19 (oh no…))
[] SAT II: Math II - 790, Physics - 800, Biology M - 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
[] UC GPA: 4.35 (Capped and Uncapped)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/300 at time of application, 5/300 now
[] ELC?: Yes
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4), Biology (5), English Language (5), Calculus AB (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Computer Science, AP Literature, Gov/Econ, Statistics, Biotech, Photography
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): FIRST Tech Challenge (Founder, President, Lead Programmer of school team), Relay For Life (Captain), Science Bowl (Captain), Interact (Secretary, VP), Key Club (Treasurer), Leos, Cross Country, Basketball, Summer Engineering Seminar at Santa Clara University
[] Job/Work Experience: Bayer LifeScience iHUB (innovation team in Silicon Valley) Summer Intern
[] Volunteer/Community service: ~200 hrs at the service clubs listed above
[] Personal Statement: 5/10 Honestly, I thought they were bland but I got in… ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
[li]** Intended Major **: L&S CS[/li][] Asked for rec letters?: Yes
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Poor Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian - Chinese
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: <$20,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): [/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Nothing in particular… Pretty solid all around.
[] Weaknesses: ACT Essay score, Asian Male in CS
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Cal, UCLA, UCSD, UCD, UCSB (regents), Cal Poly SLO, SJSU, Santa Clara
[] Schools you were rejected from? Cornell (ED), USC, Yale
[li] Schools you are waiting for? [/li][/ul]General Comments: Long time lurker here. Thank you to this wonderful community that has helped me along this journey. Good luck to future classes!

52

D Accepted
College of Chemistry - Chemical Engineering
ACT: 29, SAT: 1320
SAT II: 730 Chem, 720 Math II
GPA: 3.91 UW, 4.30 UC GPA, 4.53 W
Course rigor (8 AP and DE courses plus many Honors)
ECs: Church youth group leader 3 years, JV/V sports 4 years, Calculus tutor, Charitable toy drive 7 years, child care provider, soccer ref, Eucharistic minister, misc volunteering and helping others
White Female
ELC: Y
Class Rank: est 25/500 (top 5%)
Accepted: U Minnesota, Purdue, UW-Madison, Cal Poly SLO (BMED), UC Davis, Berkeley (LOR: yes)
Waitlist: Georgia Tech
Rejected: UCLA
Strengths - GPA, course rigor, volunteering/ECs, interesting essays about how will contribute to college community and motivational/personal statement. Female in STEM.
Weaknesses - ACT/SAT
Summary - all stats don’t have to be perfect. start contributing to community early. be unique

53

UCB vs Cornell for Poli Sci?

54

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

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]

[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 2350 ( M-800, CR- 750, W-800)
[ *] ACT: -
[ *] SAT II: Math 2 - 800 ; Physics - 800
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): -
[ *] UC GPA: -
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): -
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):-
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): Mathematics HL, Economics HL, Physics HL, Spanish ab initio SL, English L&L SL, Chemistry SL. (42 predicted)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: IB (Nuff said)
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nope. Some local awards but nothing spectacular.

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): MUN (4 years) ; Football (soccer- 4 years, school team captain)
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Interned at a startup company that I was studying for my Extended Essay.
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Maybe like 40 hours at a cancer hospital. Nothing special.
[ *] Personal Statement: I felt my essays were pretty good but not amazing lol. Maybe a 7 or 8/10. Wrote about a MUNing experience involving aliens, my favorite subject (math), how MUNs have made me less introverted and how amazingly creative I am.

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Applied Math
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): US citizen living in India
[ *] Country (if international applicant): -
[ *] School Type: Private
[ *] Ethnicity: Indian American
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket:
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: My SAT scores, IB scores, maybe a couple of essays?
[ *] Weaknesses:Extra-curriculars were pathetic. No major hooks either.
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCB, UCLA, UCSD, UCD, UCSB, CMU, UMich, UIUC, USC.
[ *] Schools you were rejected from? MIT, Stanford, Harvard, UChicago (EA deferred then rejected), Princeton.
[ *] Schools you are waitlisted at? Cornell
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] I’m pretty happy with the way it’s turned out for me. Have a hard decision ahead of me choosing between Berkeley and CMU but I’m leaning Berkeley. Boy am I glad this ridiculous college app process is finally over! Good Luck to all future applicants!!

55

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): Did not send
[ *] ACT:30
[ *] SAT II: Math 750
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.361
[ *] UC GPA: I have no ida
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):2/622
[ *] ELC?:
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo, Spanish Lang, English Lang, Government, World History (4s and 5s)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): Environmental (5)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AB Calc, IB History of the Americas, IB Math Methods, IB Spanish 5, IB English, IB ITGS, IB TOK, AP Macro Economics
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

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

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?:Fafsa
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]:Business
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):Texas
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:Public
[ *] Ethnicity:Asian
[ *] Gender:Female
[ *] Income Bracket:150,000+
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: Lol my extracurriculars, grades (GPA/Rank for sure), took hardest classes at my school
[ *] Weaknesses:ACT score for sure
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted to UCSD, UCLA, UC Irvine, USC, UT Austin, Washu
[ *] Schools you were rejected from?Cornell
[ *] Schools you are waiting for?
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] Good Luck!! Honestly UC schools have always been my dream. My ACT score is straight trash but I put a lot of effort into my personal statements, grades, and extracurriculars. These schools really do judge you holistically. Good luck everyone! So excited to attend Berkeley this fall.

56

Decision: Accepted

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):
[ *] ACT: 33 (36, 36, 28, 30)
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] UC GPA:
[ *]
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): full IB but don’t know score yet

[ *] Senior Year Course Load:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS VP; ballet 13 years

[ *] Job/Work Experience: nanny

[ *] Volunteer/Community service: medical mission to Haiti; NHS

[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: no
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: physics
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): Oregon

[ *] School Type: public
[ *] Ethnicity: white
[ *] Gender: female
[ *] Income Bracket: 300k +
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): none

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: ACT, EC, GPA
[ *] Weaknesses: essays maybe
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCB, UCLA, UCDavis, NYU, Vassar, Oxy, Purdue, Pitzer, Seton Hall, Alabama honors, northeastern, WL northwestern Barnard rice
[ *] Schools you were rejected from? Columbia
[ *] Schools you are waiting for?
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] Good Luck!! Probably going to Berkeley.

57

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
ACT: N/A
SAT: 1530 (NEW SAT: Reading 780, Math 750)
SAT II: 770 Math II, 780 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
UC GPA: ~4.2 capped, ~4.7 uncapped
ELC?: yes
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on AP World, APUSH; 4s on Drawing, Chem
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc, AP Psych, Honors Physics, AP Art (Design), English, Honors Gov/Econ
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none (well, “AP Scholar”, but no one cares)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): classical ballet, drawing, “DIYing”
Job/Work Experience: no
Volunteer/Community service: tutoring
Essays: Pretty good, but not major specific in any way

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major : Mechanical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: public
Ethnicity: asian
Gender: female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): none

Reflection
strengths: GPA, maybe uniqueness in extracurriculars?
weaknesses: Math SAT scores, no awards, no research, no major leadership roles, no engineering experience
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Vassar, Cal, UW, CalPoly
Schools you were rejected from? UMich, Princeton, Pomona, Swarthmore, Stanford
Schools you are waiting for? none

General comments:
I just posted this to give hope to all those prospective students, especially with a school as competitive as Berkeley Engineering. To be honest, I never thought I’d get in. (I was betting on Michigan and ironically, did not get in even though the acceptance rate is way bigger and the average GPA is lower.) I’m like that artsy kid with zero engineering experience, zero awards or research experience, and average test scores (especially for math) and some how got in. In my essays I wrote about ballet and tutoring, and refurbishing furniture. I literally completed the app within the two days before it was due and I didn’t even mention my interest in engineering despite being encouraged to on the UC app.

The point is, you never know what will happen these days, so expect the unexpected! I’m deciding between Vassar and Cal now, the first of which I applied ten days late to and the other of which I only applied to because I thought I might as well take advantage of my ELC status. I never expected to go to either. You will probably put in way more work than necessary and stress out about the most stupid of things. Just, at the end of the day, remember it will turn out okay. You will make it through and everything happens for a reason. Good luck! :slight_smile:

58

Go to Barnard College of Columbia University!! It’s an undergraduate college of Columbia U but still has that liberal arts vibe. Best of both worlds. Plus, it’s in NYC. So many internship opportunities. Acceptance rate is 14.8%, gets lower each year as more people find out about it. Such a unique school.

59

Hey guys!! I know this is super late, but hopefully my data can help out future applicants.

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

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] ACT: 32
[ *] SAT II: 1410, Bio Subject Test 780
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (3), APBio (5), Chinese (4), English Comp (5)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Choir, APES, AP CALC AB, AP Lit, Yearbook, Economics/Gov

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Ballet Company Dancer, Leadership Class, Drill Team (Captain), Junior Zoologist @ SF Zoo, CSF Club, Musicals/Drama Cast & Crew, Speech Competitions, Red Cross Club (VP)
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Beach Coalition, SF Zoo (over 7 years, 500-600 hours)

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Env Sci
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Chinese
[ *] Gender: F
[ *] Income Bracket: >60k
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First Generation

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: ECs
[ *] Weaknesses: Math Scores
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCI, UCD, UCSD, Cornell (1st Year Transfer Option)
[ *] Schools you were rejected from? UPenn, UT Austin, WashU, Vanderbilt, UCLA
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] Good Luck!! Focus on developing a specific voice in your essays and on unique Extracurriculars!! Based on myself and other UCB accepted students at my school, I’ve noticed a trend; UCB likes students with passion, ambition, (thing activism), and unique combinations/balances of interests and extracurriculars.

60

Decision: Accepted L&S CS

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 710 CR 740 Writing 780 Math
[ *] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Physics 800 Chemistry
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10%
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus BC (5), Chemistry (5), Physics: Electricity and Magnetism (5), Physics: Mechanics (5)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Competitive Math, Physics, Chemistry program in India
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Talent Search Scholar, 20th rank in the state to qualify for the National Math Olympiad, School awards for academic excellence

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of work in Sanskrit in school and outside for 8 years, inter-school trophys in Science Quiz and Basketball
[ *] Job/Work Experience: None
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: None
[ *] Personal Statement: Very good essays. Made them personal and creative.

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Computer Science
[ *] Asked for rec letters?: No
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): US citizen applying from India
[ *] School Type: Regular State Board School in India
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: 100-200K
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: Good test scores, great GPA, good essays
[ *] Weaknesses: No volunteer hours or work experience, my extracurriculars could have been better
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCLA, UCSD, UC Davis, U of Washington, Berkeley, UIUC (Waitlisted)
[ *] Schools you were rejected from? Stanford, USC
[ *] Schools you are waiting for? None

[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] Stats and personal essays seem to be important especially if your school is not well recognized.