Please feel free to post any questions regarding the admission process and while you wait for your decisions.
Best of luck to everyone.
Dope! thanks for making this
For those of you who have applied, good luck! The acceptance notification for most of the freshman applicants will be in the last week of March.
Anyone’s heart skip a beat when they received an email from Berkeley Admissions today with a subject line of “Update on Applicant Portal”?
LMAO exactly me when I opened the email
hi! did anyone get an email saying “After initial review of your application we would like to invite you to submit letters of recommendation to add to your admission application.” from UCB? Does this mean anything? Thank you
@alxlam: Here are some possible reasons why you received a request for an LOR. Make the best of this opportunity and show them why you are a great fit for UCB.
- Evidence of focus on an area of special talent which may have limited a student’s time to participate in a broader range of activities.
- Evidence of character traits that imply a strong likelihood of making a significant contribution to campus life.
- Evidence of significant academic achievement or the potential for academic achievement at the University in spite of extraordinary or compound disadvantage or learning difference, or physical disability or other unusual circumstances.
- Evidence of significant improvement in the academic record accompanied by one or both of the following: (1) reasons for the initial poor performance; and (2) sustained and in-depth participation in educational outreach programs, which demonstrate the applicant’s commitment to succeed academically within a challenging environment.
- Evidence of relative lack of access to, counseling about, or support to take college preparatory, honors, Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) classes or required college entrance examinations.
@lkg4answers @cjd114
I got the “Update on Application Portal” email, too.
But what does that email mean? I don’t get it.?? Someone help explain
@bnm123 The dates for when decisions will be released was changed on the portal. If you didn’t log in before or didn’t note the dates then don’t worry about it.
Does anyone know what benefits being in the top 9% of California High School students have for kids applying to UCLA, Berkeley, SB, etc?
@AmTand:
Check out # 5 of the 14 areas of UC application review criteria:
- Academic grade point average in all completed A-G courses, including additional points for completed UC-certified honors courses.
2)Scores on the following tests: ACT with Writing or the SAT with Essay. - Number of, content of and performance in academic courses beyond the minimum A-G requirements.
- Number of and performance in UC-approved honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate Higher Level and transferable college courses.
***5) Identification by UC as being ranked in the top 9 percent of your high school class at the end of your junior year (Eligible in the Local Context, or ELC). - Quality of your senior-year program as measured by the type and number of academic courses in progress or planned.
- Quality of your academic performance relative to the educational opportunities available in your high school.
- Outstanding performance in one or more specific subject areas.
- Outstanding work in one or more special projects in any academic field of study.
- Recent, marked improvement in academic performance as demonstrated by academic GPA and the quality of coursework completed or in progress.
- Special talents, achievements and awards in a particular field, such as visual and performing arts, communication or athletic endeavors; special skills, such as demonstrated written and oral proficiency in other languages; special interests, such as intensive study and exploration of other cultures; experiences that demonstrate unusual promise for leadership, such as significant community service or significant participation in student government; or other significant experiences or achievements that demonstrate the student’s promise for contributing to the intellectual vitality of a campus.
- Completion of special projects undertaken in the context of your high school curriculum or in conjunction with special school events, projects or programs.
- Academic accomplishments in light of your life experiences and special circumstances, including but not limited to: disabilities, low family income, first generation to attend college, need to work, disadvantaged social or educational environment, difficult personal and family situations or circumstances, refugee status or veteran status.
- Location of your secondary school and residence.
Thank you! Just really nervous because I feel as if my GPA is really low, however, am happy with my ACT and Essay scores.
What I have going for me is a sharp jump in GPA from sophomore year to junior year.
Maybe that helps?
@AmTand: an upward grade will help along with your overall application. Although UC’s tend to be GPA focused, UCB has a more holistic review than some of the other UC campuses.
by low GPA I mean around 3.95W
and I also heard that UCs don’t really look at ECs. Is that true? I feel like ECs can really help boost an applicant’s profile
From what I understand, Berkeley values leadership and giving back to the community/volunteering activities, probably a bit more than the other UCs.
@ProfessorPlum168 interesting because when you attend UCB programs for prospective students and compare to similar programs at other UCs, Cal doesn’t emphasis community service as much.
In addition to grades and test scores, this is what is listed on their website
@lkg4answers back about 5 years ago when I was first researching the process and odds of getting into Berkeley, I had a long talk with an admissions officer who broke down pretty much how applications were scored. Capped weighted is obviously the bucket with the most number of points and then test scores. Essays, rigor, and ECs had their own bucket of points, as well as other things such as being in a single parent household. It was emphasized to me that leadership (being an officer in a prominent organization for example) and volunteering in the community (hospital volunteer, helping the poor, etc) had a fair number of points. Things may have changed now, the scoring allocations possibly changes from year to year, but that was what was explained to me back then.
With my kid, he didn’t have a particularly great GPA (weighted capped of 4.05) but was good everywhere else, including leadership and volunteering. He didn’t get into UCLA (or Stanford or Vanderbilt or Northwestern or USC), and got waitlisted to UCI and UCSD, but got into Berkeley. As such, I do feel Berkeley is a bit more holistic than a lot of the other schools, based on experience with my kid.
How do I notify about a new national award that I received worth mentioning to the UC admissions after I submitted the application? Is there any way?
Berkeley doesn’t allow for any additions to your applications after its submission. You may mention this if you are waitlisted or if you want to appeal if you get rejected.
the UC system accepted my verification! I dont have to email my boss now for a letter!