Chance me for Berkeley!

Colleges & Universities University of California - Berkeley
1

Demographics: Male, Asian, upper-middle class, OOS-student, I attend a top 30 public school in the nation, both parents are college educated, I have a learning disability/ADHD

Intended Major: Interdisciplinary Legal Studies

UW GPA:2.87
UC GPA UW:3.66
UC GPA W:3.93

Academics: Took AP BIO, AP PSYCH, AP COMP GOV, and AP ENV SCI. I also took mostly honors courses in school, and considering my school’s rigor, it may count for something. I am currently taking AP EURO, CALC, LIT, ECON.

ACT: 32 (28E, 33M, 35R, 34S), 8 essay

SAT: 1420 - (R/W:710 M:710)

Awards: Honor roll, county recognition for outstanding performance, 2 state competition awards, and robotics MVP

Extracurriculars: Tutor, german club, school leadership, robotics, and outside community service

Personal In-sight: two were pretty stellar

Please chance me! Also, I didn’t do justice to my extra-curricular and awards here but I promise they’re pretty special!

2

Test scores within range but UC GPA is way below the 25th percentile for UCB. Did you address your learning disability in your personal insight essays? Your test scores indicate you are a capable applicant and although UCB tends to more “holistic’ than other UC’s, you still need to meet an academic threshold for serious consideration. Being OOS will hurt your chances since OOS/International applicants have been capped.

UCB is a Reach for most qualified applicants.

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79: UCB: 2%

Did you receive an email to submit LOR’s?

  • Berkeley

  • Very important: Academic GPA, Application essay, Rigor of secondary school record, Standardized test scores
  • Important: Extracurricular activities, Volunteer work, Work experience
  • Considered: Character/personal qualities, First generation college student, State residency
  • Note: Thorough review of academic performance; likely contribution to intellectual and cultural vitality of the campus; diversity in personal background and experience; demonstrated qualities in leadership, motivation, concern for others and community; non-academic achievement in the performing arts, athletics or employment; demonstrated interest in major.
  • LOR's by invitation only as of 2017
3

@Gumbymom I was oddly not asked to submit LOR’s - which is weird because I thought my situation would be one that REALLY qualifies for a more in-depth analysis. I tried my best to emphasize my learning disability and family problems that occurred, but never made it the focal point of my application. Do you think I’ve been put on the chopping block?

4

@Gumbymom Would you want a look at my app? No important details of course, but just to see where I stand and what the admissions office would be viewing?

5

As a CC poster and not an admissions officer, I can only quote statistics based on your academics.

UCB is a tough admit overall for any applicant, so I would consider it a Reach for most qualified students. Essays and EC’s are difficult to assess especially if I do not have firsthand knowledge of UCB’s admission process. What may resonate with me as a poster/reader, may not resonate with an experienced Ad Com.

I would not make any assumptions about not receiving an LOR since maybe you addressed your learning issues well and admissions felt they needed no further information.

You are welcome to send me your essays but again my opinion will not hold any weight when it comes to admission decisions. I am sure that your app was appropriately critiqued prior to submission and it is moot since there is nothing you can do at this point.

Hopefully you have some solid Match and Safety schools on your list that will not break the bank if you attend.

Best of luck and prove to be the exception to the stats quoted.

6

@Gumbymom So, if you were to give a completely honest opinion, would you say I have a moderate chance at Berkeley? If not, I also applied for UCSB, UCI, and UCLA. Do I have a strong chance for any of those schools?

7

First thing I ask all OOS applicants that apply to the UC’s, can you afford to pay full fees at $60K+/year to attend? There is little to no financial aid available for OOS students.

Again, since you have a good reason for your lower than average GPA, I think your chances can be slightly higher than the average applicant with a similar GPA. Your test scores are well within range for all these schools which is in your favor. What is not in your favor is being OOS since all UC’s have been capped on the # of OOS applicants they can accept.

I can only quote stats so based on your UC GPA, these are the admit rates for all the UC’s (not major specific and does not take into account test scores). Essays and EC’s can bump up your chances but what makes these school so special that you are willing to spend $240,000 for Undergrad? If grad school/law school etc… are in your future plans, your money can be better spent on schools in your home state or schools where you could get decent FA/Merit aid.

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79:

UCB: 2%
UCLA: 3%
UCSD: 6%
UCD: 15%
UCSB: 14%
UCI: 13%
UCSC: 59%
UCR: 78%
UCM: 92%

25th - 75th percentiles for SAT:

UCB: 1280-1490

UCLA: 1280-1500
UCSD: 1250-1470
UCSB: 1210- 1450
UCD: 1190-1430
UCI: 1190-1420
UCSC: 1170-1380
UCR: 1090-1310
UCM: 1020-1230

Intended major(s) at UCI/UCSB/UCLA?

  • IRVINE:::
  • Very important: Academic GPA, Application essay, Extracurricular activities, Level of applicant's interest, Rigor of secondary school record, Standardized test scores, Talent/ability, Volunteer work, Work experience
  • Important: Character/personal qualities, Class rank
  • Considered: First generation college student, Geographical residence, State residency
  • Note: Demonstrated record of academic preparation, educational engagement, talent and skills important.

  • UCLA::::
  • Very important: Academic GPA, Application essay, Rigor of secondary school record, Standardized test scores
  • Important: Character/personal qualities, Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Volunteer work, Work experience
  • Considered: First generation college student, Geographical residence
  • Note: GPA, test scores, course work, number of and performance in honors and AP courses most important. Essay considered. Strong senior program important. Extracurricular activities, honors and awards also reviewed.
  • SANTA BARBARA:::
  •   Very important: Academic GPA, Application essay, Rigor of secondary school record, Standardized test scores

  •   Considered: Character/personal qualities, Class rank, Extracurricular activities, First generation college student, Level of applicant's interest, State residency, Talent/ability, Volunteer work, Work experience

  •   Note: Eligibility established by high school GPA, course requirement, and SAT scores. Special consideration for disadvantaged students.

I see none of the UC’s as a solid Match based on stats, but that is my opinion alone.

8

@Gumbymom Got it! Thank you for the honest response. However, the only thing that confuses me is, shouldn’t I be using the 3.93 as the gpa since it is the uncapped/weighted UC GPA? It says most of the campuses use the weighted gpa for admissions evaluation. Also, I am currently in a situation where I can pay whatever they ask without a problem.

9

Sorry, I read the GPA’s wrong. Actually UCLA/UCB are the only UC’s which state they use the uncapped fully weighted while the rest use the capped weighted. The stats posted are based on the capped weighted for all campuses.

So what is your capped weighted (8 semesters of AP/IB or DE courses) during 10-11th grades?
Here is data for the next UC GPA range:

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19:

UCB: 14%
UCLA: 14%
UCSD: 44%
UCSB: 54%
UCD: 58%
UCI: 65%
UCSC: 85%
UCR: 94%
UCM: 96%

If your UC GPA capped weighted is 3.93 then, UCI and UCSB look like Match-High Match schools.

10

@Gumbymom Yeah, it says on the roger hub calculator that my weighted and capped gpa is 3.93, does this mean I’m in a safer position? Also, what is the uncapped weighted gpa?

11

The RogerHub calculator gives you the following GPA’s:
UW UC GPA
Weighted UC GPA (Uncapped Fully weighted)= unlimited # of semesters of AP/IB or DE courses taken 10-11th grade
Weighted Capped UC GPA= 8 semesters of AP/IB or DE courses taken 10-11th grade

If your UC capped weighted GPA is 3.93, then yes it puts you in a better position but still consider UCB/UCLA Reach schools due to low acceptance rate, competitiveness of applicants and the large # of applications.

12

@Gumbymom Yeah, I really don’t think I will get into either UCB or UCLA. I’m really hoping on being able to bank on UCSB though. On a side note, could you link me to where you are obtaining the numbers in regards to freshman admit rate percentages? The freshman profiles i’m looking at for fall 2017 don’t seem to match. And last question, isn’t a 3.93 on the bottom 25% of UCSB’s GPA range? I’m still kind of paranoid I might be a weak applicant D:. Thanks for helping me thus far, you have relieved some built up anxiety LOL.

13

Yes, 3.93 is slightly below UCSB’s GPA range, but your SAT score is close to the 75th percentile which helps you.
Also UCSB puts a greater emphasis on essays and EC’s as opposed to UCI.

The #’s quoted for the admit rates are from 2016 since 2017 data is not available and it does not distinguish between in-state vs OOS applicants.
The data is in graph form and I have just taken the info and listed in table form.

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary

14

@Gumbymom isn’t this page more accurate? It shows the fall 2017 class and provides a pdf on the right side of the page in regards to acceptance brackets. http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/santa-barbara/freshman-profile/ - what do you think about my chances after looking at that? Also, isn’t my ACT better than SAT?

15

ACT is still just below the 75th percentile for UCSB but both SAT and ACT are competitive.

25th - 75th percentiles for ACT:
UCB: 30-34
UCLA: 30-34
UCSD: 29-34
UCSB: 28-33
UCD: 26-32
UCI: 26-32
UCSC: 26-31
UCR: 23-30
UCM: 20-27

The data on the UC Freshman profile page is current for 2017, but it does not list admit rates for applicants based on their UC GPA which the link does show. Also if you compare 2016 Freshman profiles vs. 2017, the UC GPA ranges are slightly higher for 2017.

16

@Gumbymom got it! Thank you for all your help. I now believe my chances for UCLA and UCB are basically non-existent, so please accept me santa barbara LOL