How hard is it to get into Berkeley from out of state?

SebmaFSX_53 · 08-22-2005, 07:59 PM

I was wondering wut kind of SATs one might need of anything else in particular. I noticed only about 10% are out of state.

collegehelp · 08-22-2005, 08:17 PM

Berkeley rejects some out-of staters with SATs in the 1450 range for engineering and great ECs. My impression is that UC-Berkeley shows a very strong preference for in-staters...more so than most flagship publics.

SebmaFSX_53 · 08-22-2005, 08:18 PM

What about economics?

ecnerwalc3321 · 08-22-2005, 10:27 PM

that's interesting. I applied to materials science in Berkeley and
UCLA. I got into both. My sat was 1420, but showed an aptitutde in math and science, so that might have helped.

SebmaFSX_53 · 08-22-2005, 10:32 PM

Showed an aptitude in math and sci??

I wanna know if I can transfer there easily if I change my mind about my 1st choice location.

fantosme · 08-23-2005, 12:25 AM

A friend of mine got in from OoS with a 3.3-ish GPA, only 1 EC (Newspaper), and a SAT around 1300. He had an amazing hook though.

GentlemanandScholar · 08-23-2005, 01:12 AM

^^^^Unless his hook was that he had an actual hook growing out of the side of his head that enabled him to see into the future, leap tall buildings, speak with animals, understand all of the dead languages, levitate, and eat fire, then I'm sorry but I don't believe you.

fantosme · 08-23-2005, 01:32 AM

His hook:

He was an Iranian-American and wrote about how after 9/11 he was nearly beaten to death by police for no reason at all. He was just walking home from school and the police said that he "looked suspicious" so the 2 cops just started beating him. He was also the victim of other verbal/physcial attacks and he talked about that too in his essay.

BTW, why would I lie about him getting into Cal with those stats? Do you think I just go around posting random scores at 1 in the morning?

GentlemanandScholar · 08-23-2005, 01:38 AM

So nobody ever lies on the internet? Hey, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you...never mind. Either way, obviously that's horrible what happend to your friend, but if that was his only hook than I think Cal made a mistake in letting him in. There are people all around the country and the world that have higher stats because they are A) harder workers or B) just plain smarter than your friend and they're turned down from Berkeley, and I really don't see how your friends experience makes him more deserving of one of those spots.

chowdy · 08-23-2005, 04:25 AM

It's not fair to allow anyone in over anyone else for any reason but academics / ECs. However, we don't live in a fair world and some institutions seem to take it upon themselves to try to iron out the rough spots of society... i'm from CA and got rejected from Cal with much better stats than your friend. Of course our income is nothing to write about (high enough to get *no* aid whatsoever) and nothing bad has happened to me (except getting rejected from Cal--zing!).

At least it boosts the UCs below Cal... lol

musaka06 · 08-23-2005, 06:36 AM

i agree that just because an american citizen got beat up "randomly" by two police officers... (has to be more to the story) he doesnt deserve to take the spot of someone who performed many extracurriculur activities, and volunteer service.

LakeWashington · 08-31-2005, 12:32 PM

Shame on you people who were disinclined to believe that the student with the 9/11 story got into Berkeley and then criticised Berkely for letting him in. He didn't "take the place of a more deserving applicant." When are you high- anxiety folks going to realize that getting in to college that has a high reputation and even a higher degree of competition in admissions is not soley a numbers, i.e. scores, game? I've worked in admissions and I can tell you that when the admissions committee votes on a group of high-achieving applicants whose "scores" differ, a higher SAT or GPA probably WILL NOT BE the factor that earns admission. The 9/11 student may have attended a high school that Berkeley favored. Or maybe he was the first student ever from his high school to apply/attend Berkely, etc. Or maybe his talents and personal presentation of himself just stood out. Don't be so quick to belittle someone who succeed over your own friends or family.

LakeWashington · 08-31-2005, 12:38 PM

I should note that my admissions experience was at a large private college. Therefore we were not confined to the dictates of a state legislature's edicts on the ratio of resident students. But I believe that when it comes to OSS, competitive public schools handle OSS admissions similarly (and there are few seats to hand out to OSS at UC-Berkeley, U Texas Austin, U of Washington, etc).

bluebayou · 08-31-2005, 02:33 PM

according to the Berkeley website, you'll note that OOS students are accepted at a 21.5% rate, whereas in-state is closer to 28%.

However, OOS applicants MIGHT have higher stats since they are motivated and willing to pay the $40k OOS price tag, whereas many in-staters with less than a 1% chance (statwise) apply to Berkeley and UCLA using the 'Calif common app,' hoping that their essay wins the UC lottery.

http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/freshmen.asp

carolyn · 08-31-2005, 03:30 PM

Sebma said:
<<I wanna know if I can transfer there easily if I change my mind about my 1st choice location.>>

Sebma, So far, everyone above has been talking about FRESHMAN admission. Transferring to UC Berkeley as an out of state student is an entirely different game. The UC system is contractually obligated to give first preference to students transferring from the California community college system. Next, they consider in-state transfers. Finally, they get to out of state transfers. Last year, UCB received 310 applications from out of state students at other 4-year schools. Only 64 of them were admitted, which puts chances for an out of state transfer at 20%.

In short, the answer to your question is: no, I wouldn't recommend counting on being able to transfer to UCB "easily" if you start off elsewhere and are an out of state student, although transferring to other UC schools like UCRiverside, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz is a little easier.

I'd suggest you focus on the transfer information at the site below - it includes details of requirements, etc. http://www.universityofcalifornia.ed.../transfer.html

Also check on UCB's transfer information, which gives some idea of admit rates and grades required to have a shot:
http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/transfer.asp