Ok so from looking at the sample from this thread, it seems it is a lot more common for people with slightly-above average to lower stats to get a request. However, people with very high stats (2300+ an high GPA/Rank) rarely get requests.
Of course this is just from people on this thread. Pretty small sample and it really doesn’t say much.
In fact, none of us can really say if it’s a good or bad thing, just gotta wait till March, and hope for the best.
Everyone applying as a freshman is getting a LOR request. Everyone starting fall 2015- you bunch. Here: http://admissions.berkeley.edu/freshmanpolicy
Ah, fucked up. Well, more people are getting them than last year (my application year) to help with the holistic review. could be that they’ll start requesting from everyone in a few years.
REQUESTED:
I was very, very surprised when I got the email.
UC GPA: 3.8
ACT: 30 (33 Reading 32 English)
A lot of extra curricular activities, but I come from a very competitive and well known school. So I don’t think its based off of high GPA and low SAT (or vise versa).
LoR Requested (oos)
Major: Architecture
GPA: 3.74/4 UW
4.54/4.8 W
(not sure what my UC GPA but I took all honors/AP classes + competitive public high)
ACT: 30
5 APs (5 APWH, 5 APUSH, 5 AP Psych, 4 AP Lang, 3 AP Chem)
760 USH, 720 WH, 640 Math 2
requested
UW: 3.56
UC GPA: 4.05
ACT:33
lol i hope this is a good sign, I just applied to berkeley for the heck of it.
Requested
Out of State
UW GPA: 4.0
ACT:28 single sitting
EECS: Student body president, over 4,000 students. Executive producer and anchor of school news and President of TV Club. Soccer team 2nd in state. Internship in video editing-touring country, started social media department at major company at 16. National Solar Car Racing Team. Spanish/French Club
Requested
Out of State (International applicant)
GPA: N/A (I took A Levels)
SAT: 2300 single try
EEFCs: Dance captain, lots of Volunteering with a few internships
I applied to pre-commerce.
Honestly I think it can’t be a bad thing since no one would bother getting letters of recommendation from students who are definitely to be rejected. Not sure about the top 20% vs borderline admit theory though. As for those saying that they won’t look at applications before the RD deadline, there are some schools who do review applications as they come in, if only to avoid the massive amount of applications coming in at the last minute before deadline. Anyway, best of luck guys! 
Ask Ms. Sun has gone password protected, but has a post from yesterday with recommendations about what the recommendation letters should contain.
Requested
Out of State
Full IB, UW GPA: 3.689, UC GPA: 4.27
ACT: 34 single sitting
EECS: 3rd in State as soloist musician, 4 years- participation All-State/All-NW, part-time employment through senior year, many regional awards for music performance, many leadership positions in community/professional orchestras and theatres. ~400 hours community service for local children’s theatres.
Applied to Bioengineering
Requested
out of state
UW GPA: 4.0, idk my UC GPA I should probably figure this out but I’m in IB DP
ACT: 36 one sitting
SAT: 2270 highest score from 1 sitting
ECs: exec director of local nonprofit, piano, vocalist/keyboardist/co-leader of church praise team, VP of multicultural club, secretary of Mu Alpha Theta, figure skating for 1 year, studied abroad in Korea over the summer on a full scholarship government program
applied for Asian Studies (originally intended biology/math/something but I requested a major change, they haven’t gotten back to me yet)
Requested
OOS
UW GPA: 3.98
ACT: 35
SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Bio E
Engineering (EECS)
1 Like
GPA weighted: 4.2
unweighted: 4.0
ACT: 29
In-state, Bay Area, Female
My first essay was about how I volunteered at a zoo for a few years and the other was about what I learned from having a sister with cancer. I just got a letter of rec request today.
Also, I only submitted one of my test scores, the second ACT I took. I took an SAT last year without studying and I did pretty badly on the math because my teacher had just been fired for not teaching us anything. My first ACT was a little better but not very good, and then on my second ACT I improved in every single category. Do I still need to send my first ACT and my SAT to all colleges?
Requested
Out of State
ACT: 32
SAT II: 780 Math 2, 700 Physics
ECs: Varsity quiz bowl, member of a special needs volunteer school club, National Honor Society, Science Olympiad, Robotics Team, charity walk team leader, local Special Olympics escort
Major: EECS
Uc requires you send all of those sat/act scores. Check the website. You could be rescinded if accepted without sending all scores.
wait that’s not true right?
Has anyone with ALL of the following stats gotten a request for LOR?
– in-state with the ELC qualification
– perfect 4.0 unweighted (ie. not a single B)
– perfect SAT/ACT (2400/36 or maybe even as low as 2340/35)
– 8-10 or more APs with all 5’s taken in the junior year or earlier (or the IB equivalent) with a comparably rigorous senior year
If not, then I’m suspecting that the above is close to a “certain accept” and that the 20% is the middle ground where it’s not a “certain accept” or a “certain deny” that get the LOR requests. Others below a certain undefined threshold constitute the “certain deny” and they also don’t receive the LOR requests.
Although others have stated that candidates with “high stats” were also asked for the LOR, I don’t think that I saw any on this thread with this level of “high stats” that stated that they received a request for one. (Some posters didn’t specify their unweighted gpa or # of AP/IB classes, so it was hard to tell.) The UC gpa tops out after a few honors/AP classes, but I’m pretty sure that UCB/UCLA will still look at ALL of the AP/IB courses taken, as well as the grades and test scores received in those AP classes.
And if the candidate is OOS or INTL, then even with stats near the above, they may also be asked for a LOR too.
Just my speculation…but is there anyone who can negate my hypothesis (ie. anyone with the above scores who received a request for a LOR)?
Oh, I forgot – also different standards based on how competitive the school/major that you’re applying to (eg. EECS vs. Arts & Sciences).
@CalBearsMom Not sure if it was this thread or another, but there are definitely some with stats similar to what you listed. They didn’t necessarily have perfect SAT/ACT or that number of APs, but I definitely saw a good amount that had 2200+/34+, 4.0 unweighted, and nearly perfect SAT II scores and AP scores.
When adding a recommender, are we supposed to waive our access or no?