@Banker1 Appreciate it, thanks a lot!
@gavarno88 I am just guessing, but I think that even though the essay is “optional”, it really isn’t. It is one of the ways they can determine whether someone is really motivated and willing to put forth extra effort. Even if you think your essay is just ordinary, the fact that you did the hard work of writing it would work in your favor.
What are we suppose to write for the personal statement?? It doesn’t say much guys. Im stressing outtttt. It took m2 two months to do the essayssss. Make sure not to rush through them guys 
But for real, Are we suppose to write like an actually personal statement or like why we qualify to go to berkley??
I applied to Bio
ACT-34
SAT-1500
Unweighted GPA- 3.97
UC GPA-4.4
Subject tests:
Math 2-790
Chemistry-770
USH-590 (not my finest moment)
Essays were kinda bland but they answered the questions directly as the Berkeley admissions officers told me to in their application workshop.
No LOR request
ECs (limited mainly because I devoted a lot of time to ballet): pre-professional ballet, cello (stopped sophomore year for ballet), foreign exchange to Russia, several different summer ballet programs, volunteered with Boys and Girls Club Summer Dance Camp
Accepted: UCSB, UCSD, UC Davis, UCLA, Brown, King’s College NYC, King’s College London
Waitlisted: Berkeley, UChicago
Denied: WashU, USC, Northwestern, Georgetown, all the other Ivys (besides Cornell bc I didn’t apply)
Waitlisted for CS 
More than half of ppl who accept waitlist get in so I’m hoping for good news in about month or so…
Objective:
SAT I, new (breakdown): 1500 (770 Math) (730 English)
SAT II: 760 Math, 740 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.8
UC GPA: idk? somewhere around my regular GPA
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Physics 1 (5), AP Calc AB (5), AP Spanish Lang (4), AP English Lang (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, Economics, AP Comp sci, AP English Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing major
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): publications photography (assistant leader last year, leader this year), robotics (leadership board member for 3, serve as publicity manager), math club, mechanical engineering research last summer, varsity lacrosse for four years
Job/Work Experience: school paid me to photograph some stuff a lil while back
Volunteer/Community service: 500+ hours volunteering at Orthopaedic Institute for Children
Personal Statement: I thought they were pretty good, they got me into two out of the three UCs I applied to and I felt really good about all of the essays (I’d rate maybe 8 or 9/10)
Letters of rec: got asked for them and submitted both, my comp sci teacher really likes me and gave me a perfect score on every project so far (probs an 9 or 10/10) and my counselor is a cool guy (idk maybe 8 out of 10?)
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major : CS
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Mixed (Asian/White)
Gender: Female
Accepted: USC, UCSD, Purdue, UIUC, Case, UVA, UCI
Waitlisted: WashU, CMU (priority waitlist, whatever that means lol), and now berk
Denied: Stanford (cries real tears), JHU
Is it possible to hear back before June 1? Dont know if I can handle another 2 months haha
what are you guys going to write for the personal essay
If you upload the unofficial transcript, does that mean it’s not necessary to fill out the boxes for the course names and grades for fall, winter and spring?
@woakley5 they said we’ll hear back by June 1 so yeah we’ll be hearing back before then, I find it kinda funny that they say to sign up by April 18 if they won’t congregate till may 1… I’m thinking that maybe "If space is available after May 1, all confirmed wait-list candidates will be reviewed as a group" means that it’s possible that they’ll admit before on a case-by-case basis?
also @blinkblink17 probably yes because colleges generally have you do that in case they can’t read your transcript or your school’s transcript is too confusing to interpret; I don’t know for sure but it’s not much extra effort to do just in case
Waitlisted for neurobiology. I was actually crying until this other person in a thread talking about how 66% actually get off the list. My friends called me from last year, telling me how they know many people who got waitlisted and actually got in. There is a high chance getting in. Some people who got accepted to berkley got into IVYs, hopefully they hit that decline button, loooool. There’s hope guys!! I really want to go to Berkley, however, I am clueless what to say especially when I did the optional 500 words on the UC application thing. What are we suppose to say? Is it suppose to be like a direct thing? Letter like? MAnnnnnnn, too stressed out for this
GPA- 4.4 weighted
NEW SAT: 1120 (I KNOW I KNOW)
People say you can’t say you’re essays are good. My counselor and college advisers actually teared up and said it was really goood.
A lot of E.C
two internships
involved in a charity work
ASL and Arabic translator in hospitals
@nervous17yearold man you got accepted to brown!!! that’s a good ass collegeeeeee.
@woakley5 That’s a good question. My friend who is class of 2020 actually got waitlisted, and like she heard back 2 days after may 1 so I guess this year same thing will happen?
Do you guys think I should still submit my grades if I got 3 A’s and 2 C’s last semester? (All AP’s)
@MarmaladeSky I recommend you to ask your teachers to bump your two C’s to at least a B. Tell them you are in a waitlist and you can’t risk it. Just do the essay though and make sure it’s good.
@tamano thanks for the response!
@Lifeissohard will do man, thanks
Who got this email early February??
Hello -----
We know it can feel like we are being very quiet on our end while you wait for a decision. We wanted to break the silence and send a note to let you know that we continue to thoughtfully and thoroughly review each application. While this may only be an informational message, you can expect to hear from us with a decision on or before March 30, 2017.
As you wait (and we work), we’d like to suggest that you explore our First Year Pathways. If you are admitted to Berkeley, you will need to choose your preferred path as a freshman. We hope you’ll take some time to click through these exciting pages to explore the many unique ways students learn, live, and thrive at Berkeley.
I can’t believe this email was a hint that I’m waitlisted lol.
@BunnyBlue good point actually
@Lifeissohard pretty sure they send those emails out to all applicants… the only ones they don’t send to everyone are LoR request