What does it take to get into UC Berkeley?

UnsureOnLife
Wed, 31 Jul 2013 14:01:43 +0000

I think the test scores are definitely more important than the personal statement, but a good personal statement is obviously necessary. Most importantly, I think they look heavily at how you performed relative to your school.

I know someone who had an abysmal SAT score (like…really abysmal) but a stellar high school GPA. He didn’t even know he had to re-take the SAT after he got his score, that’s how bad his school/environment was. He took a couple AP classes and didn’t get awesome scores.

And he got in, in my opinion because his school (in-state, by the way) set the bar so low.

The more resources/opportunities your school has, the more Berkeley wants to see you take advantage of them in your application.