When does UC Berkeley normally ask for recommendation letters?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

I know UC Berkeley often asks students to submit recommendation letters if they feel like they’re kind of on the border. My friend got a request a couple days after submitting hers but that’s probably because some algorithm did it automatically. I’m just curious when UC Berkeley normally asks students to send a supplemental recommendation letter? I thought it would be sometime in January but I haven’t received anything yet.

2

UCB is only asking about 15% of applicants for LOR’s this year instead of the 30% for the past 2 years. Mostly likely if you have not received an LOR request by now, you will probably not receive one.

3

My daughter has not received a request from any of the UC’s and was worried this is a bad sign. I think she’s a solid candidate but very hard to tell as things change year to year.

Stats:
4.26 weighted GPA
4.13 weighted and capped GPA
SAT: 1450

Any thoughts? Thx!

4

Not a bad sign since only 15% of the applicants are being targeted. Admissions probably has all the information they need to make their decision.

5

Only unusual circumstances usually get the LORs. They do not necessarily help applicants.

6

@pennyDoo I don’t know which UC’s your D has applied to, but it means they don’t need LOR’s because a) she is not strong enough to be in the “maybe” pile (UCB or UCLA, for instance, because they are both very difficult to get into), or b) she is such a strong candidate that she is already in the “yes” pile (possibly UCB/UCLA, and certainly the mid/upper tier). You can stress and read too much into the lack of LOR requests, or recognize that the selection process is not particularly predictable and it could mean that your D has gotten into every UC she applied to. No news really is good news at this juncture.

My D was part of the experimental 2015 Cal LOR requests, so everyone at her school who applied there was given the option to submit them. She did, and was admitted. Also got into the other 2 UC’s she applied to (UCLA and UC Santa Barbara - no LOR’s needed for those as they hadn’t start doing them yet). Did the LOR’s help her get into UCB? No idea.

7

I am a current 1st year regents scholar at UCB and was not asked for letters of rec. I have friends who were asked and are now attending and some that were rejected after submitting LOR. My point is don’t read too much into LOR requests as they’re somewhat random.