<p>K, I was rejected from Berkeley and UCLA, despite being a National Merit Finalist, having stellar stats, tons of ECs, etc, while kids at my school with 500s in some of their sat sections got in to both campuses. What the hell? I'm definitely appealing. anyone have advice. Do you think there was a mess up this year?</p>
<p>It was indeed quite random....I know a lot of people who got rejected by UCSD but accepted to either Berkeley or LA...</p>
<p>at my school it was fairly consistent. Good students got in not so good/unique students didn't</p>
<p>I felt some of their decisions were very odd indeed. Some people certainly slipped through the cracks while more qualified kids didn't, that's for sure.</p>
<p>Yeah, I got into UCLA and UCSD, but not Berkeley, but some people at my school with lower grades and SAT's got in cause they put undeclared major.</p>
<p>"I know a lot of people who got rejected by UCSD but accepted to either Berkeley or LA..."</p>
<p>I know a person who got accepted to UCB and UCLA but not UCSB. It's soo weird. They have a trend (as it seems to me) of picking lower SAT scores.</p>
<p>They were pretty constant for my school.</p>
<p>The top students at my school still ended up at all of the campuses, but the biggest shockers were at the level of the SD and Davis hopefuls. It will be interesting to see the acceptance rates for this year; I bet some will be far lower. People must be applying to more campuses, or else there are a lot of qualified graduating seniors.</p>
<p>i couldn't agree with you more.... they tore my heart out, chewed it up, and spit right out in front of me...</p>
<p>Well, I was more pleasantly surprised by them... got into Cal and UCLA and I wasn't expecting either. At my school it was fairly consistent, though - a few shockers (mostly kids who went for Engineering), but nothing entirely bizarre.</p>
<p>In the end though, it's all pretty much a crapshoot.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you no matter where you end up.</p>
<p>I cannot agree more.UC acceptances were crazy. I know this kid. No ECs, No talents, no awards, not in the top 5 % of his class, almost nothing ...he got into Berkeley, He did not get accepted to LA or SD, but he got into Davis. I do not know what happened. It is crazy. This uber math kid. ranked number 11 in the class did not get into Berkeley. Damn, they would accept anyone these days...sounds *****y but true.</p>
<p>UC acceptances vary from year to year and as all of you should know, grades and activities are only pieces to a puzzle. Speaking from experience of one who reads these applications, I can firmly say that it's more important to know how to present your qualifications, as opposed to just listing them.</p>
<p>I really hate it when people say the UC's are random random random.</p>
<p>Have you seen the accepted student's UC applications in person? Probably not. So you don't know what they put for their activities/EC's/services, or how well they have written their three essays. Give them a break, it's not so random because other factors, such as potential, work-ethic, and financial backgrounds are played into effect.</p>
<p>There is a reason that every student is accepted to a UC school, you just have to trust the ad-coms because they have been doing this for years and it's not just one person who accepts a student, it is usually 2 or more. Don't rain on their parade.</p>
<p>I really hate it when people say the UC's are random random random.</p>
<p>Have you seen the accepted student's UC applications in person? Probably not. So you don't know what they put for their activities/EC's/services, or how well they have written their three essays. Give them a break, it's not so random because other factors, such as potential, work-ethic, and financial backgrounds are played into effect.</p>
<h2>There is a reason that every student is accepted to a UC school, you just have to trust the ad-coms because they have been doing this for years and it's not just one person that accepts a student, it is usually 2 or more. So just accept it.</h2>
<p>Who isn't accepting it? It's not like we're denying they were admitted. We're simply a bit surprised/disappointed by the results. We <em>feel</em> that they were somewhat random. Obviously you disagree, but I digress.</p>
<p>I know this guy who got into UCB but not Irvine!</p>
<p>i know a chick who got into UCSD UCLA and UCB but not irvine and ironically, irvine is what she really wanted cus it was closest to home, so she ended up at ucsd. </p>
<p>i felt it was random my year too (im a freshmen) i got into UCLA and UCSD, didnt apply to berkly. I got rejected from Univ of San Diego though (private school) i didnt get it. that school isnt hard to get into!</p>
<p>however, i really believe it comes down to the essay. my sats sucked, 1560 outta 2400, and a 3.6 gpa. i had an amazing essay though and i think thats what it comes down too</p>
<p>You might also consider that the lower-ranked ones--Irvine, Santa Barbara, etc.--rejected the applicants in question because they thought they'd get into Berkeley/UCLA anyway and would go there instead.</p>
<p>In most cases, I'd agree, but I'm not sure if that's a criterion at public schools. Most of the UCs have pretty clear lists of what they consider.</p>
<p>yeah i figured that too...i kinda thought thats why USD rejected me, then again its a catholic school, i prolly just wasnt what they were looking for..its ok i didnt want to go there it just shocked me.</p>
<p>Also you have to look at major and college. For example, Berkeley's Engineering College is much more difficult to get into than College of Arts and Sciences. Furthermore, certain engineering majors at Berkeley are easier to get into than others.</p>