<p>So one of my friends got into brown but not Berkeley. Was it up with that? Brown has a 13.7% acceptance rate and Berkeley has a 21.6% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>What was his major? Engineering majors are incredibly competitive at Berkeley.</p>
<p>Your numbers appear to be old (Brown's rate is in single digits, so chances are the Berkeley number is high too).</p>
<p>If I had to hazard a guess, I'd assume that UC Berkeley has a higher in state accept rate than out of state, meaning it's more competitive than the numbers indicate. Another possibility is that Berkeley was looking for something different. Just because a student is a fit in one constructed class doesn't mean they're a fit for all of them.</p>
<p>He was in state in CA. It's one of those weird cases. He also got in UCLA and rejected by Berkeley while her sister got in Berkeley and rejected by UCLA. Kind of screwed up that they had to be separated.</p>
<p>Did he have any unusual talents? An athlete?
URM?</p>
<p>He is Hispanic and comes from a poor immigrant family</p>
<p>My girlfriend got into brown but didn't get into berkeley.. she got into UCLA..</p>
<p>I met someone at Brown who was rejected by UCSD and UC Davis, as an in-state applicant. And I don't think he had any hooks.</p>
<p>Also: "He also got in UCLA and rejected by Berkeley while her sister got in Berkeley and rejected by UCLA. Kind of screwed up that they had to be separated." That's not that bizarre. Tons of kids get into UCLA or Berkeley but not both.</p>
<p>At my school everyone beyond a combination of a certain GPA + SAT/ACT gets into UCB, UCLA, UCSB, etc. If any of you guys use naviance, check out the scattergrams. At my school everyone w/ 3.8/4.0 (unweighted) w/ a 2150+ gets in Berkeley, of course there is exceptions. The Brown scattergram is all over the place, just shows there is no winning combination to get into an Ivy League school. Obviously hooks, high GPA, and high test scores, etc will increase your odds.</p>
<p>Keep in mind UC schools is more about statistics not so much as the person as a whole. It is rare someone who didn't get into Berkley gets into Brown, but definitely in the realm of conceivability.</p>
<p>I expect that Brown does not get too many poor hispanic applicants from California.
If the student looks like he can succeed at Brown I understand why Brown might take him even if Berkeley does not. For such a candidate overall admit rates are irrelevant.</p>
<p>I am surprised by the rejection from UC Davis. This sounds like someone who did not meet the level where admission to a UC school is guaranteed. For Brown to take such a student there must be a really strong reason. Major recruit for athletics? Major donor?
It still seems a little strange.</p>
<p>for lack of better words,</p>
<p>life's a [beach], and then you die.</p>
<p>move on. Life is random, and the college admittance process is of no exception</p>