UC Berkeley's admission is extremely unfair. Isnt it?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>Hey guys, as an UC Berkeley's rejected student in last March, I want to write something about problem that UC Berkeley's admission has and has to fix..</p>

<p>UC Berkeley, like many of other public schools, require students to type in their own GPA into their system, rather than sending official transcript to them... I found this EXTREMELY unfair since my high school was international, and Berkeley probably does not know our school's gpa system that well. For example, I was in top 5% of my class but my GPA was 3.2 and full of 70s and 80s...but these were actually top grades in my classes, because we do not curve up any of IB exam raw score.... (I was taking IB)</p>

<p>Like for private universities, this grade deflation was explained through counselor recommendation letter, my class rank and my school profile which Berkeley does not require/use any of those 3 in their admission. I found it so unfair how Berkeley does not use any of the MOST IMPORTANT factors in admission..</p>

<p>Not to my surprise, I was rejected from Berkeley probably due to my GPA, despite 2330 SAT and 800 x 3 SAT2s.. Although I was accepted to UPenn, Dartmouth, Emory, Washu, my dream school was Berkeley... Im not saying that my rejection is solely based on my GPA, but I was hoping that Berkeley uses more appropriate method to put GPA into context rather than treat them as numbers.</p>

<p>I found Berkeley as top school in the nation, but I was extremely disappointed with their unfair admission.. Is anyone with me? lol..</p>

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<p>College admissions (especially among top institutions) is extremely complex and a crapshoot to an extent. Sure there is a correlation between grades/test scores, etc and admissions but there are considerations that should be taken into account that are not always done so. Honestly, I think it’s just the nature of the beast being that you have so many applicants and so few resources to properly evaluate them all. This is coming from a current UC Berkeley student. Move on and reapply for grad school if you’re really itching to attend here.</p>

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<p>Seems odd that someone would apply to Berkeley and Dartmouth, given how different the two schools are. Texas would have been a school more like Berkeley that uses a high school class rank centered admissions system to the exclusion of high school GPA.</p>

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<p>If you were oos, that might explain it. Some pretty stupid people from my school (with ~3.0 GPA) get into berkeley.</p>

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<p>In 2000, I applied to Berkeley along with other top privates. I am also international like you. I was denied at Berkeley but accepted to Columbia, Cornell, Harvey Mudd and 5 other schools. (I was also denied at MIT.) At that time, the admit rate for international students at Berkeley was hovering around 7%. </p>

<p>Berkeley has always been generally tougher to get into for International students like you and me, except a couple of years ago when they admitted close to 30%. This year, the admit rate for International students was something like 12% or pretty close to that. And, the GPA and SATs are generally higher than In-State admits. The enrollment yield rate has also been higher than both In-State and Out-of-State admits.</p>

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<p>That is not odd and uncommon to International students. Most international students that are interested in Berkeley are also interested in the Ivies, along with HYPSM+Caltech. And, many of those who would apply to Berkeley would also apply to Ivies, including Dartmouth and Brown. Our top one guy in HS (valedictorian) went to Dartmouth and majored in biology on a full scholar. He was denied admissions to Berkeley.</p>

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<p>If it is not that unusual to apply to Berkeley and Dartmouth for international students, what attracts international students to apply to both?</p>

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<p>I was applying for computer science. </p>

<p>In my case, I looked at league tables and saw Berkeley being highly ranked. But that was after my HS counselors and teachers (highly) recommended the school to me, and to all others who were eyeing to study in the US. </p>

<p>My first choice was MIT, and Berkeley was my 2nd choice. (I didn’t apply to Stanford; thought I wouldn’t like it there.) All the rest were my “fall back” schools. I was denied at both MIT and Berkeley and got in all the rest. Luckily, I was also admitted to Cambridge so I went there instead, where I had to finish a baccalaureate degree in only 3 years. It saves money!!! </p>

<p>The other students that I personally know of who applied to both schools were interested in biology (biological sciences), chemistry, mathematics, economics, English, philosophy and History. </p>

<p>Based on my personal observation, most of those who apply to Berkeley also apply to HYSPM, Caltech, UPenn, Columbia, Cornell, UCLA, Michigan, Georgetown, USC, JHU and Virginia. Those are the schools that Berkeley competes against, most of the time.</p>

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<p>I’d like to add CMU, Georgia Tech, CU Boulder and U of Washington in that list.</p>

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<p>Hey RML, </p>

<p>I’m applying to Cambridge and Berkeley like you, so I wanted to know which would be better if I get accepted to both. I’m going to apply for engineering, which is apparently for four years only? Can’t I just do it for three years because I really want to get my masters from MIT or Stanford, which wouldn’t be possible if I do the four years MEng. </p>

<p>Also, do you mind telling me what grades you got if they are A levels?</p>

<p>Do you have a good engineering American university in mind to which I should apply to. I’m going to do EECS btw.</p>

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<p>cmztreeter, I have not studied at Berkeley; it’s my wife who did. </p>

<p>Based on what I have gathered, the two universities are very different, although both are strong in physical sciences, technology and engineering. Their teaching approach are somewhat different. </p>

<p>At Cambridge, we don’t have a class that seats over a thousand students. Even large auditorium (which are often used for symposiums instead of lectures) don’t house a thousand students. </p>

<p>At Cambridge, we are part of a college which is also a part of a larger organization, which is the university. It’s somewhat complicated to Americans because US schools are not operated that way. </p>

<p>Cambridge is known for its tutorial system. We get a lot of one-to-one approaches, though I thought most Americans over-hype its importance. </p>

<p>I applied as an IB student; I haven’t taken the A-Levels because it wasn’t there during my time. I had to score 38 in the IB, the same requirements Berkeley and MIT have asked of me. </p>

<p>If you want to work in the US, I suggest Berkeley would be the better option, given you’ve been admitted to both unis. Otherwise, I’d pick Cambridge. </p>

<p>I don’t know if the top engineering PhD programs in the US would favor one over the other. I also do not know a lot of Cambridge grads who eventually took postgrad in a top US school, but Cambridge has special ties with MIT, and it’s not that hard for a Cambridge grad to pursue graduate studies in MIT. In my time, the majority of us went to work after graduation, and those who opted to pursue grad studies remained in the university, although a few of them went to Oxford or Imperial or at places where their favorite mentor is connected with. </p>

<p>If you’re interested in EECS, I’d say Berkeley is tops in this area, along with MIT and Stanford. Caltech and Princeton are worth considering too. My list couldn’t get better than that.</p>