Why Was I Rejected With a 4.0?

Hi everyone,

I appreciate any help offered on this in advance. I just got rejected from UC Berkeley today, and I would be lying if I said that I was not shocked. Here are my stats…

Here are my stats…

major: environmental science
Units: 23.8 from APs, 7 taken while in high school, 9 in Summer '19, 19 in Fall '19, and currently in 24 Spring '20.
GPA: 4.0
Part of honors program, will have all major prerequisites done by the Spring.
extracurriculars: started a tutoring company for economically disadvantaged kids taking the SAT, religious school teacher, volunteer at hospital, work as a scribe, in the process of collecting data for 2 research papers. others but will take too long to list lol.
Essays:8/10, solid overall

I got regents at UC Davis yesterday, so I had high hopes for Berkeley, but I am really not sure what happened. I am completing some of my pre-req classes this semester (about 4 of them) but I did have a 4.0 and Environmental Science is not impacted at Cal, so I figured that would be a non-issue. Does anyone have any words of wisdom of why I was not admitted? I had solid essays and I really thought I was a lock. I am asking not to lament, but because I plan on appealing and want to know if it is even worth appealing. It will take a lot of effort on my part to write an appeal and wait a couple months for a response, and I definitely do not want to go through that if the chances are going ot be slim. Thanks again.

@fearthfihr I am sorry, admissions are very odd sometimes, I am not as knowledgable as other but I believe you can appeal your decision.

Well, admissions are really not guaranteed even if you have everything set up. It’s a real issue with the college admission process. What other appeal forums advise is to write about any extraordinary new information that is not already in your original application so they will reconsider you, but if you don’t it probably wouldn’t be worth the effort. You have another great university to choose, so either way, you still have a place for the coming academic year. Wish you the best of luck!

If you wish to appeal, no one is stopping you. But, it is very difficult to get admitted by appeal unless there are extenuating circumstances. If nothing has changed since you originally applied then appealing will likely not be worth your time, though you can do as you please.

Admission to a tippy top holistc is not just about stats. Listing stats and some ECs is like the bare bones of a resume. A skeleton. More needs to come through about you as a thinker and doer.

How you think, the challenges you take on, and more is quite a defining point. Get an idea what does matter, what more they look for, and how you show that ("Show not just tell,) before appealing.

That’s true. Among CS applicants, most of them have a perfect GPA and many EC. But most of them will be rejected as well. It is what you want to express that matters instead of what you accomplished.

I really can’t say why Berkeley made the decision they did. But they may have done you a favor.

Enviro Science is excellent at Davis, and Regents is a great opportunity - congratulations!! You get priority registration, which is a huge perk at any UC. You get faculty mentorship opportunities just for Regents Scholars, and you’ll always be able to cite this distinction, as well as your Honors degree. You’ll have all the benefits of the University Honors Program. The extra privileges and individual attention will be huge in helping you to hit the ground running and get the most out of your last two years of college. Personally I think this could well have been worth choosing over Berkeley, but you probably wouldn’t have if you’d had the choice. (Also, you’ll find much nicer housing in Davis, much more easily… and there’s the scholarship money!)

You can pursue this with UCB if you want to, but honestly it’s their loss and your gain. The Regents offer is terrific and IMHO you should go for it and not look back.

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What did you write about in your essays? Also, how many units in total do you have, excluding APs?

@tomatocultivator Excluding APs, I had 35 units done, and was taking 24. I think this was the major problem, because maybe too many of my classes were in progress for them to take me. I really thought they would let it slide because I have seen others get in with a lot of major prep in progress like me.But, I really do not know how big of a factor it is. As for as the essays go, I really thought they were each solid. I talked about my major and why I wanted to do it, my free tutoring company I started, some things about my personality, and what made me a unique applicant. When I appeal, I can expand on why I chose my major and my grades this semester but other than that, I really can not think of anything.

@aquapt Thanks for your kind words. I will appeal but I guess if it doesn’t work out, there is no need to hang my head. I will start researching more on Davis and seeing if it is a good fit for me. Thanks again for chiming in!

@lookingforward well, UC Berkeley evaluates transfers through comprehensive review, which means academics is the main priority when looking at applicants. But, I see what you are saying. I need to provide new information about my extracurriculars and then update my Spring grades. I will hope for the best then! thank you

Your Berkeley rejection could have been a space issue rather than a shortcoming in your app. It seems state flagships are the colleges of choice this year, as they balance cost and reputation in a tanking economy still closed to travel. Berkeley could have been conservative in its transfer acceptances, given their freshman yield could very well be higher than usual this year.

Appeal if you want, but you have an excellent offer on the table from a similarly excellent school, and for that you should be proud.

@fearthfihr:

My son attended UCD for Environmental Science and Resource Management major and had a great academic and social experience at Davis. Their Environmental program is diverse with so many speciality options and with your Regent scholarship perks, having direct access to your professor’s and research is huge for this field.

Also UCD used to be the Farm college for UCB and many professors will teach at both campuses. They even have a shuttle between campuses for use by students and faculty.

Another option to look at is the UCEAP Reciprocity Exchange were you can take classes at another UC in your major discipline so you could attend UCB for a semester if interested.

https://reciprocity.uceap.universityofcalifornia.edu/plan-your-studies/uc-courses

@aquapt has given you some good reasons to consider UCD so best of luck.

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@fearthfihr,
I’ve never related so much to a post before. It just feels extremely disheartening when UCB was one of my top choices. My GPA is a 3.87 majoring in Political Science had multiple extracurriculars like club VP and Secretary, multiple research conferences, two part-time jobs through the course of CC, and lobbied in Sacramento. I feel like I had solid essays, and I also got regents at UC Davis, and I’m also in the honors program and have TAP for UCLA as well as H2H for UCI. I want to try to appeal UCB, but I’m not really sure what to say. I had about 18 units from AP’s from high school and I’m currently at 70 units total to transfer

“talked about my major and why I wanted to do it, my free tutoring company I started, some things about my personality, and what made me a unique applicant.”

Not what the essays are usually meant for, unless a prompt specifically asks. And “show not tell” means what you write makes it clear to the reader what traits you offer, one’s critical to THEM. That’s in the narrative you choose and what attributes you show in telling your tale. Not that you “tell” them why you’re unique.

It’s holistic. That’s the word. Academics are just one factor. Once you have academics nailed, the hard part begins.

@lookingforward well first off, holistic review is for freshmen, transfers are evaluated under comprehensive review, which is slightly different. That was the point I was trying to make. You’re right, essays should not just reciprocate what was said in the activities section. If you read the transfer essays, then they are pretty specific, so I answered them jut like everybody else did. I knew they were not the problem, though, because I received regents to 2 different UC schools, so I knew it was something else.

I got in touch with my Berkeley advisor after I posted this and he said the only reason I was rejected was because I had too much major prep in progress and they could not accept me without knowing how I would definitively perform in those classes. He said if i appeal and keep my 4.0 for this semester, then there is a good chance of me getting accepted, so long that they are able to take appeals. He said it all depends on how many people SIR, and then waitlist/appeals are looked at together afterwards. Hope this helps anyone else who is in my same situation