<p>berkeley tends to like the “improvement” stories. like I had a friend who was all over the map in her freshman/soph years (partying, boozing, high, etc.), and then junior and senior years she suddenly got her act together. Her grades boosted a lot, and she became one of the borderline applicants…the ones who get the supplement. She got in.</p>
<p>I have other friends too who overcame hardships and improved their grades and got into berkeley. UCLA doesn’t have that much room to accept in the improvement kids b/c there’s some few extra thousand applicants’ worth to compete with. Berkeley, though, as the flagship and an environment of really hard-working people, does have room. I know some people who didn’t get into any of the other UCs, but got into Cal. I think it’s kind of another reason why berkeley releases decisions last–'cause it gives those who got served by the numerical admissions in all the other UCs and the competitive holistic admissions in LA a chance.</p>