I received this email on Tuesday.I received the supplement regarding my “disability.” Does EVERYONE who lists any kind of disability receive this form? Is it significant? This was especially shocking to me because my stats are WAAAY below the UC Berkeley average. I would be happy to get into UC Santa Cruz or Riverside with this garbage:
around 3.4 UC GPA
2050 SAT I
No SAT IIs
3 APs - AP Stats junior year, Music Theory+Bio senior year
My course load was absolutely pathetic. I never took honors/AP math (besides AP Stats), one semester of honors science in my freshman year (dropped out my second semester because I did so atrociously bad). I got a “D” in precalculus last year and made it up over summer, and I probably had 3 C’s in my sophomore and junior year. I go to a competitive SoCal school, but I’m still a mediocre student. No one (including myself) has ever considered me to be UC Berkeley material. The only justification I can think of is that I applied as a Music major in Letters and Science, my essays were both about music (I’ve played flute for 10 years), and I have very good EC’s related to music (lots of leadership, was drum major in our marching band,etc.). I’m asking my band teacher to write my recommendation for the supplement as well.
To be fair, my disability did pretty much destroy my potential for success. But I didn’t think that Berkeley would even consider me. So did they just blindly send this supplement to me because I talked about my disability or do I actually stand a chance? And if I answered these questions super well and my teacher writes a fantastic recommendation, would it actually make a difference? If I actually got into Berkeley with these stats, I would be a MAJOR outlier on the lower end…
I would say, definitely do the supplement and give it a chance because UC Berkeley did see some potential in you that makes you a unique applicant and want to make your applicant profile stronger,so you can get accepted. This is your moment to take a chance by filling out the supplement with all your heart and getting a great letter of recommendation I definitely took advantage of the supplement last year and was accepted So, try your best and definitely submit the supplement I know some people who got the supplement,didn’t fill it out and did not get accepted. You got a chance with a great university,so take it and fill out the supplement as you’ll have no regrets later on as you tried your best to get accepted to UC Berkeley
You’ll find this is a great thing to get if you do a little research on cc. My son just got it, and we’re thrilled. A chance to be more holistically reviewed, give them more info AND send a letter of rec is a great thing!
Yep, I did a lot of research but there was a ton of conflicting information. Of course, these are pretty unusual, about 5% of applicants receive them. But some people said that if you have any sort of medical condition, you automatically get one, and it won’t make a difference unless you have a great GPA.
It definitely enhances your application, that’s for sure. I believe that if you receive one of these, there is a certain combination of words that you can put in your responses that will convince them to admit you, I just hope I answered them sufficiently. And I hope my teacher wrote a great recommendation. I would love to attend UC Berkeley, I just don’t feel like I deserve it and I feel like I wouldn’t be ready for the rigorous academics. Whatever… I’ll see what happens.
They wouldn’t send them and give themselves more material to review if they were just going to look at your GPA. Think about what you’re saying. They want to view your grades and everything else in context of your medical condition. This is an opportunity to show a great many things about your resolve and character in hard times.
@se1997 - jazzshreddermom is correct. My son’s school counselor told us that if you get this you have
higher chance of acceptance. So take this seriously.
I definitely took it seriously… I answered each question to the best of my ability and I know that my teacher did the same for the recommendation. I just don’t want to get my hopes high up and then check if I got admitted on results day to be let down. I applied to UCB on a whim and don’t expect to be accepted. If I get in, great, if I don’t, that’s alright, I have a lot of other options.
It’s always best not to count on a particular result. Just resolve to continue what you’re doing and celebrate a surprise if it occurs. The decision is really out of your hands now.
My daughter received the supplemental from UCB in early January for talent and sent it in with a letter of reco.
On the Berkeley website, she has 2 checked boxes saying they received both. However, her school just completed finals last week and they are still working on final grades so I imagine transcripts in 2 to 3 weeks (lame). Question is: do they really want these grades at that point? I am thinking that when her transcript is finally ready, it will be late February. OK, the real reason I don’t want her to send them in is because she received a C+ in AP History. Won’t that pretty much kill her? I would rather just not send it in. I have received advice like “Berkeley has so many applicants that trying to match up fall grades to the applicant may not even happen if it didn’t go in when they originally asked for it.” But, I have seen here where folks believe the app remains “open” w/o those grades so the applicant is decided against for not sending in grades. I know replies will support both but I want to know if someone knows or is just using their gut feel for the situation.
I also received the supplement in early-mid January, and my school also finished finals for first semester last week. They stated in the email that if first semester grades are available, then you should enter them, and if not, don’t worry. I too had some questionable grades (ahem C in AP Biology ahem) but if you have already submitted the supplement and the 10-day window has passed, don’t worry about it!
If she is accepted and commits to UCB, then you will have to send a transcript and they will see the grades at the end of the year, but one C will not change their decision. The only real problem is if you get below a 3.0 unweighted, if you get D’s and/or F’s, or there is an overall drastic decrease in academic performance in context of the student’s sophomore and junior year grades.
Just so you know every person who notes they have a disability gets the form regardless of GPA, etc. Obviously, having a compelling story can help offset some disadvantages in the application.
@lindyk8 - I realized this after getting rejected from Davis and San Diego in the same day. I give up on UCs. I’m joking myself if I expect to get Berkeley. These stupid forms got my hopes up for no reason.
Hi ! I have a UC gpa of 3.4 I am a transfer student and I applied to Berkeley under film studies. I was wondering if you know how impacted the major is and if I stand a chance ? Thanks
I also applied to Berkeley and have a disability… my weighted GPA is a 3.65 and my SAT score is 1580. Yeah, not “Berkeley Material”, I know.
However, my EC’s/course rigor/essays were simply OUTSTANDING. So I think that they may have looked at this (because they are a holistic school) and actually considered me, hence why I got the supplement. I think that they send out the disability thing to people who have a reasonable high school GPA- not always Berkeley Material- but like a 3.5 and above, maybe?
I definitely took advantage of the supplement last year and was accepted