<p>I was accepted to berkeley for the spring semester and I don't know why.
SAT: 2190
Subject tests: 740, 760, 720
Gpa: 3.9/4.5
Top 10% of class if not 5%
Extracurriculars: decent with leadership
White girl, private school, southern california</p>
<p>What makes me a spring admit? I don't understand what being a spring admit means regarding me as an applicant. My mother thinks they did it because I didn't ask for financial aid and the fpf is more expensive than berkeley but I think she is clinging to anything that explains the result without having to admit that maybe I just wasn't good enough for a fall admission. </p>
<p>Who is right?</p>
<p>maybe because you’re from a private small private high school?</p>
<p>As a spring admit last year, I think its because my statistics weren’t as competitive as the other applicants. I don’t think it has to do with any financial aid thing… considering spring admits can go to a community college (which is a lot cheaper) for a semester before entering Cal. but the bottom-line is that Cal recognized that you, and not a majority of the applicants, deserved a spot at Cal… whether as a spring or fall admit.</p>
<p>Hmm…you both could be right. I just don’t understand how other people at my school with lower gpas and scores who are otherwise similar to me would be accepted to the fall. We have so many similar factors and where we differ I am better.
Are people with borderline scores accepted to the spring?<br>
At berkeley is their some sense of inferiority with the spring admits?</p>
<p>to be honest, no one will know you’re a spring admit… unless you tell them. You can do just as well as fall admits, and sometimes even outperform them. So its pretty much about how motivated you are to succeed.</p>
<p>Thanks! I was just trying to figure out if I should be excited or not about being admitted for the spring semester. I have been waitlisted and deferred a lot and this felt similar but I guess its not…
Do most people do fpf? Do some people spend their first semester abroad?</p>
<p>First the most important answer - at Cal there is zero sense of inferiority (or in fact any difference) between peers who are spring vs fall admits. read through the various threads here on spring admissions to see this underscored by everyone. </p>
<p>Cal admissions are holistic, based on plenty of factors not simply stats, thus it is not uncommon to see rejections for people with higher ranking than students who were accepted with lower GPA and/or SATs. Could be lots of things - essay, ECs, personal situation, major, etc - but the decision to offer a spot is not fully predictable. </p>
<p>From among all the candidates, the admissions committee chooses enough to hit their target number of yes decisions for Fall. They then take the very next, perhaps a few that were evaluated in a difficult decision between two equally qualified candidates but the other was ultimately chosen for a fall slot. That might be very specific reasons such as the geographic mix desired from various counties, or a desire to increase diversity of skills or talents to enrich the entire incoming class that leads them to pick the piccolo player instead of the community leader. In other words, not a relative worth, except that the committee has a fixed number of slots and a variety of objectives to satisfy from the pool they select. So, although some other factor may have influenced the final choice for another person to be offered a fall slot, the similarly deserving applicant is given a choice of a spring admissions slot because that permits the school to accept additional candidates that just won’t fit on campus in Fall.</p>
<p>I did FPF because it would make the transition from HS to college a bit easier. I know some of my friends did community college as well but I’m not so sure about going abroad but you can look into that.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>agreed, i was a spring admit and people just don’t really care. berkeley is a good school, be proud you were accepted here.</p>
<p>I would recommend doing FPF over CC if the $ difference isn’t too important. Some people feel a bit left behind (more socially than anything else) if they come a semester late, and doing FPF helps bridge that gap. But… take my advice with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>honestly, it’s better not to think about why you’re into spring and not into fall. it’ll just give you a headache and it doesn’t even matter in the long run. if you decide to come to cal, i would recommend fpf. you take most of your classes about 2-3 blocks away from the actual campus and english classes are on campus. class sizes tend to be smaller (maybe 60 max) and you’re able to get more direct help because the instructors teach the discussions too (and not GSIs). also, it’s a nice transition to college. the only down side is the housing situation. apply for housing if you want, but there are a lot of other (cheaper) options </p>
<p>… but these are just my opinions. ultimately, you have to decide for yourself.</p>
<p>Being a spring admit means you were good enough to not get rejected, which itself should be a good thing. All that matters is that you got in.</p>