I got LoR request and my major is NOT biology.
“Borderline” could be determined by calculated GPA and scores. It does not require “review” by humans to determine borderline based on scores/GPA. Computers can make this determination as applications are submitted.
I’m not saying that’s what happens. @PivotXD is the only report I’ve seen that Cal says this year’s LoR requests are not random as last year’s seemed to me.
I don’t think that Letter of Recommendation requests are sent to just “borderline” students.
There’s no way they have enough time to read everyone’s applications that fast to determine who’s borderline without just looking at test scores and GPA. And I’m sure it’s not based on test scores and GPA because I had a 1600/2370 SAT (above the 75th percentile), 3.96 UW GPA and two 800s on SAT subject tests, and I still got a letter of recommendation request.
@BlueSnail What’s your UC GPA?
@BlueSnail from what I’ve gathered after reading through countless threads both for this year and last year, I believe the “borderline” students are split into two groups: borderline high stat and borderline low stat.
I would interpret the high stat borderline students to be people who are (significantly ?) above the average, and are most likely to be accepted (?) but UCB would want to get a LOR just to know more about the student (ie someone can be amazing on paper, but not the best person irl).
Borderline low stat people are who we typically think of when we say “borderline students” so they are those who are generally below the average, and in a way the LOR would serve as a sort of augmented review. Overall, though, I think the selection is randomized amongst these two groups.
If anyone would like to correct me, please do so, as I’m not entirely sure; it’s just that this explanation seemed to make the most sense to me.
@guavayogurt The thing I dont understand is that I have pretty much exactly average stats for UCB, and I DIDNT apply to an engineering major, so i should be the DEFINITION of borderline and yet I still wasnt chosen. I submitted my app at the very start and received my portal over a week ago and I was never asked for LOR
I guess maybe my ECs / essays pushed me over the top? I think they were very good esp. the essays but how could they possibly review those items so fast?
@LeReddit I think maybe that’s why you didn’t get chosen; maybe I didn’t word my sentences correctly, but I meant to say that the people who DID get chosen were those who were borderline high/low stat. Those who were average have a lower chance (though I wouldn’t go so far as to say no chance) of getting asked for LOR’s.
In answer to your last question, I’d go with what others were saying and say that people were chosen via a computer algorithm. That’s pretty much the only way they could go through so many people, so fast. I doubt the actual EC’s and essays were looked into, but the scores and GPA could definitely be sorted using a computer.
Either way, UCB will continue sending requests until the third week of December, so I suppose we’ll have to wait and see !
@guavayogurt Oh I think I know what you’re saying. So for example, people below 30th percentile or above 80th percentile would get asked, and those in between 30 and 80 wouldn’t?
@LeReddit Yeah, basically. I think they would still send some requests to those in between the (hypothetical) 20-80 percentile, but those on the extremes would have a higher chance of getting a request 
@guavayogurt yeah i think that’s a good theory, it seems to fit all of the statistical data very well. so far practically all the people i’ve seen get asked for LORs were either well above UCB’s average in stats or well below the average.
@guavayogurt but can you call my UW 3.28 AND UC 3.6 a borderline reject? Or an outright reject?
@DaCheaPet Um, I’m not exactly an expert on the difference between borderline/outright reject, but according to this:
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/berkeley/freshman-profile/
Most admits had a high school UC GPA (I believe) of 4.12-4.30. In comparison, your 3.6 is rather low, but I do know that UCB has taken students with similar, if not lower scores,
In any case, I’d say that you have a fair chance of getting a request (if you haven’t already).
Hey guys I’m new! So I’ve found that recently some of my friends have been getting LoR requests. I saw you guys were speculating that the system may have done a quick sort of applicants based on stats and then sent out LoRs to “borderline” applicants. So far I have received nothing…should I be worried?
My stats:
Capped UC GPA: 4.05
Uncapped: 4.54 (took 10 AP’s in 10-11)
ELC
SAT: 2310
I know my capped is a bit below their range, but my uncapped is really high, and I had a really rigorous load, and I know they look at this. Also, my SAT is pretty good I think? I am just worried that my stats are so low that I have been automatically thrown out, and this is why I haven’t received a request. Do you guys think this is the case? I applied to L&S btw…
Basically I’m just scared that they looked at my numbers and were like “no point sending this one a LOR; they’re so bad anyway” 
something like that…i don’t think I am THAT uncompetitive though…what do you guys think?
@LeReddit I am from out of state, so I have no idea what my UC gpa would be. Also, I applied to L&S just like you. I have no idea why I received a letter of recommendation request and not you.
@BlueSnail use the UC GPA calculator link. As an OOS applicant, you only get the extra honors points for AP/IB or DE courses taken in 10-11th grade. Honors courses do not get the extra points.
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
UCB looks at UW UC GPA, Capped/Weighted UC GPA and Fully Weighted UC GPA.
@LeReddit
Not counting my current senior year grades (which I reported in the “extra information” section on my application), here are my stats:
Unweighted UC GPA: 3.88
Weighted UC GPA: 4.13
Weighted and Capped UC GPA: 4.13
Including my current senior year grades:
Unweighted UC GPA: 3.92
Weighted UC GPA: 4.42
Weighted and Capped UC GPA: 4.25
what about test scores? my gpa stuff is a bit higher than yours but pretty much on par. interesting.
P.S. senior grades dont affect uc admissions
UC GPA is 10-11 only
@LeReddit I mentioned my test scores on my initial post but
1600/2370 SAT
800 in Math II and Chemistry
What are yours?
@BlueSnail 2140/800M2
That could be what makes the difference. Although still, I think the net difference in our stats is minor when you take GPA into account.
Given the amount of variation and unreliability of these LOR requests based on pure statistics, I’m beginning to think that they do look at ECs/essays. I’m starting to see it as the only logical answer.