Email from UCB admissions about Mar 27 decions? - Page 6

jabbawockeez · 03-22-2008, 07:31 PM

yeah, concretejungle is right.
a rejection isn't really worth the wait.
i mean, they are trying to be being succinct and lowkey about this but it's totally a "we're accepting you" kinda thang.

Castel · 03-22-2008, 07:35 PM

@jabbawockeez: LONG LIVE KABA MODERN!

seniormom99 · 03-22-2008, 07:40 PM

It would be really low and mean to tell worried seniors that CAL is worth the wait only to open the myadmission page and say Dear____ Thank you, but no thank you

salamander · 03-22-2008, 07:41 PM

I could be wrong, but I don't think it means certain acceptance. My stats aren't that great for Berkeley (4.08 UCGPA, 2180 SATs, OOS), so I'm anticipating rejection, and I still got the e-mail. As much as I'd like it to mean "we're accepting you," I really think it's just a bulk e-mail they send to everyone (or try to).

hopefullybright · 03-22-2008, 07:42 PM

I logged into the app status page and it was posted there (as someone previously stated).

Letter to 2008 Applicants
Dear Applicants,
We know you may be hearing from various colleges about admissions decisions and that you might be anxious to hear from us, so here is an update on the status of our process:
We will provide you with an admission decision next Thursday, March 27 (April 30 for transfers).
All decisions will be announced on the myBerkeleyApplication portal. Please be sure you sign in now, so you will be certain to gain access to decisions just as soon as they are posted.
Thank you for your patience: We're worth the wait!
Sincerely,
Walter A. Robinson
Director of Office of Undergraduate Admissions

No idea what that means, but perhaps getting it in e-mail form is a likely and for the rest of us they simply place it on the site. Who knows at this point?

dmission · 03-22-2008, 07:42 PM

I suppose other than actually contacting them, the best way to find out would be to see if indeed everyone is getting them as some here say. I personally know a few people that applied and haven't gotten them, but it appears they are going out at different times. Not sure.

seniormom99 · 03-22-2008, 07:44 PM

salamander--agreed it may be a bulk email. but then they should not lead kids along this late in the game--also not everyne got it

concretejungle · 03-22-2008, 07:47 PM

It does seem like an unusually large number of people have gotten them, but it's still weird (and mean) to tell a rejected applicant that it's worth the wait.

jabbawockeez · 03-22-2008, 07:52 PM

hey. well heres how i see it.
i got the questionairee from berkeley not too long ago. and i filled it out, and had a recommendation from my teacher.
and now i get this email.
i mean, i was "borderline" first, and if i got this email, theres no way they can tell a "borderline" applicant hes rejected. u get waht i mean?
and besides that, my logic is that. ive already gotten into ucla, ucsd, and ucsb
i've also been likely lettered by columbia/brown/nyu.
so please dont take this as a sign of me being overly confident/cocky, but i would like to think that berkeley would accept me after the questionaire.
also most students in my school did not get the email, and if it is in alphabetically order, they should receive it before I did.
just what i think.

seniormom99 · 03-22-2008, 07:56 PM

well what do u make of many ppeople with lower stats gettin it?

dmission · 03-22-2008, 08:12 PM

I'd be interested as to how many with way below UCB's average stats got it, but I've seen lots of low stats get into UCLA, etc. I'll try to contact UCB to find out.

whosthat1234 · 03-22-2008, 08:31 PM

@jabbawockeez

It's not in alphabetical order. I'm a the top of the alphabet and I got it yesterday, yet my friend who's at the bottom of the alphabet got it a couple weeks ago.

Bottom line: This email means nothing.

lextalionis · 03-22-2008, 08:32 PM

I think all of this is oddly fascinating. There are thousands upon thousands of anxious students still waiting to hear from Cal, Stanford, Duke, and the Ivies (and a few others). Those students and parents have all heard of the record number of applicants and everyone knows full well that very well-qualified applicants are going to be rejected by many, if not all, of these top schools.

So, psychologically speaking, the so-called "safety school" starts looking better and better, especially to us parents. Not only has my S been told, "Yes!" you are wanted at UCLA, we just received additional materials in the mail today that look pretty slick. Not only that, they intriguingly address some of the "huge" school concerns by stressing small seminars and other "private school"-ish features.

So the Ivies haven't "blinked" yet, but CAL sure has. First, there's the general plea on the web site thanking everyone for their patience and then adding: "We're worth the wait!"

Second, there are the personalized e-mails. Now, I know CAL is smart enough to figure out how to send out these more specific e-mails in bulk using each applicants' first name, but is that in fact what they've done?

When you do a textual comparison of the e-mail versus the general statement on the web page, I lean toward the idea that the recipients of this e-mail have been granted admission to CAL. Why is that?

The following language is key to me:

"We know you're hearing from other University of California campuses, BUT BEFORE YOU GIVE THEM YOUR REPLY [caps added for emphasis], please wait to hear from UC Berkeley: we're worth the wait!

The e-mail then proceeds to give very detailed instructions on how to obtain your 7-digit UC application ID number.

The e-mail ends with: "Good luck and go Bears!"

The web site does not provide any such detailed instructions, it does not tell everyone to "wait to give [other UCs] your reply," and it doesn't say "Good luck and go Bears!".

Now . . . if everyone has received the personalized e-mail, then obviously I'm wrong and CAL would have perpetrated a rather psychologically cruel joke by telling people not to reply to other UCs until they hear from CAL.

As far as "low score" people receiving the e-mail, don't forget that all of the stats are AVERAGES so, of course, students with "lower scores" will be admitted. Otherwise, the SAT "average" would be 2300 and the GPA "average" would be 4.6. Those aren't the averages, but plenty of students with those scores will be admitted, as will students with far lower scores who have other things going for them.

If this e-mail turns out to be a "mass" e-mail to everyone, included the thousands of students who are about to be rejected on March 27, I intend to contact my alma mater and express my extreme disappointment in the Office of Admission. I personally don't believe I'll be making that contact.

hopefullybright · 03-22-2008, 08:37 PM

Lextalionis, as truthful as your statement is, you are now and forever in the big book of rational people I despise! Just kidding. Thanks for the input, and I second it. I'm assuming that the people who received the e-mail are admitted, simply because of all of the things you pointed out as well as the qualifications of those who HAVE received the e-mail. Poor me, alas, UCLA is a great school...

symphonyofs0und · 03-22-2008, 08:47 PM

this really gives me hope now! i thought for sure Cal was a no after i got rejected by LA, but after getting this email i'm starting to think that maybe its not over after all =)