How to Get Into UC Berkeley

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parts

1Building a Strong Body of Work in High School

2Navigating the Application Process

3Writing Great Essays

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Tips and Warnings

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References

UC Berkeley receives far more applicants than it can admit. Only 15.1% of students who applied to be a part of its 2018 freshman class were accepted. However, if your heart is set on this large, vibrant, and competitive university, don’t be discouraged. If you challenge yourself in high school, plan ahead with your professional and academic goals in mind, and put together an outstanding application, you will give yourself a good chance of getting in.

Steps

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Building a Strong Body of Work in High School

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   Take rigorous classes in multiple subject areas. Admissions officers at UC Berkeley consider the number, breadth, and difficulty of the courses you take in high school. If your school offers them, enroll in as many IB, AP, or honors classes you can to demonstrate your academic initiative and motivation.

   • Admissions officers will consider your weighted GPA, which assigns more value to grades given in advanced classes. The more advanced classes you take and succeed in, the higher your weighted GPA will be.
   • If you are not a California resident, note that grades in classes designated as “honors” by your school will not be weighted. For out-of-state candidates, only grades in AP and IB are weighted in GPA calculation. If you live outside of California, consider taking as many of these kinds of courses as possible.
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   Aim for excellent grades to ensure that you'll be considered. The University of California System has minimum GPA requirements for admission, but since UC Berkeley is a highly competitive campus, you should aim much, much higher! Admissions readers value persistence, so even if you initially struggle in some of your more difficult courses, keep working as hard as you can.

   • The minimum weighted GPA for admission into any school in the University of California System is 3.0 for residents and 3.4 for non-residents.
   • The average weighted GPA among 2018 admits was 4.45, and the average unweighted GPA was 3.92.
   • Admissions officers pay special attention to grades earned during your sophomore and junior year of high school. Even if you struggled during your first year of high school, working hard and demonstrating improvement during these two years can improve your chances.
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   Pursue and excel in activities outside of academics. UC Berkeley evaluates applicants holistically, which means that no single accomplishment or attribute of an individual candidate will be held at a higher value than another. In other words, your performance in and dedication to extracurricular activities is just as important as your work in the classroom.

   • Admissions officers take note of consistent and impressive accomplishments in sports, performing arts, volunteering, community and school leadership, and employment. If you are interested in an activity in any of these categories, pick one early on and work hard at it throughout your time in high school.
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   Get good test scores. The ACT or SAT is required for admission to UC Berkeley, and most admitted students earn exemplary scores. Be sure to take one or both of these tests by December of your senior year in high school.

   • In 2018, 75 percent of Berkeley admits earned a score higher than 29 on the ACT or 1340 on the SAT.Aim to exceed these scores if you want to be seriously considered for admission.
   • SAT subject tests are no longer required for admission. However, the Math level II SAT subject test and the SAT science subject test in the discipline related to your intended major are highly recommended if you’re planning to apply to the College of Engineering or the College of Chemistry.
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   Identify possible majors and professional interests. UC Berkeley has five separate undergraduate colleges, each with different available majors and pre-professional paths. Before applying, think about what you plan to study in the future, as well as what you may want to do for a living. This will help you determine which of the five colleges you can apply to.

   • If you can, take classes or pursue extracurricular opportunities related to your future plans. Research, internships, and volunteering are excellent ways to gain experience and demonstrate an existing interest in your intended academic and career path.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Navigating the Application Process

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   Take your tests well before the application deadline. Be sure to take the ACT or SAT– and/or any additional standardized tests recommended by the college you’re applying to– far in advance of November 30, when your application will be due. This will ensure that you receive your scores in time to submit them along with the rest of your application.
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   Demonstrate English proficiency, if necessary. All UC schools consider a solid command of English crucial to any student’s success. If your school instruction was given in a language other than English (and if you've taken less than three years of English language classes), you must prove your capability through testing.

   • Proficiency can be demonstrated by earning a minimum score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
   • Proficiency can also be demonstrated by earning minimum scores on the ACT Writing section, the SAT Writing section, English AP tests, or IB English Language examinations.
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   Skip submitting recommendations from teachers or guidance counselors. Though many undergraduate institutions require letters of recommendation, UC Berkeley does not weigh recs when considering admission candidates. When applying to Berkeley, focus your energies on producing an application that best represents your strengths and your personal story, rather than securing recommendations from your favorite teacher or college advisor.
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   Begin your application online. Since Berkeley is part of the UC system, prospective students apply through the UC admissions portal instead of the common application. Visit https://admissions.universityofcalifornia.edu/applicant/login.htm to create an account and begin your application.

   • If you’re applying for admission in the fall semester, you can begin working on your online application as early as August 1st of the preceding year.
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   Select your campus, college, and intended major. After you select UC Berkeley from among the 9 total UC campuses, you will be shown a list of the 5 undergraduate colleges: the College of Chemistry, the College of Engineering, the College of Letters and Science, the College of Environmental Design, and the College of Natural Resources.

   • Mouse over each college to see a drop-down menu of the majors that each college offers to incoming freshmen.
   • If you’re truly unsure of what you wish to major in, you can select “undecided/undeclared”. Some colleges, like the College of Letters and Sciences, will have broader options that will allow you to spend more time considering your major, such as “Intended Major in Arts and Humanities.”
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   Secure a copy of your unofficial high school transcript. The UC application requires that you list all the high schools you’ve attended, the dates you attended, and each course you’ve taken throughout, including summer classes. Have this information on hand so you can enter it manually after selecting your college and major– the UC application portal will not allow you to simply upload your transcript.

   • Once you finish your academic history, you will see an “additional comments” box. This is a good opportunity to explain why you earned certain low grades or why you repeated a course, or highlight a trend of improvement throughout high school.
   • If you’re applying from outside of California, you may want to include a description of your high school’s curriculum in the additional comments box. UC admissions officers have this information on file for California high schools, but not for others. Consult a college counselor or a trusted teacher on how to describe your school’s academic programming.
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   Record any extracurricular activities and awards in thorough detail. After you complete your academic history and write any additional comments, you’ll have a chance to record and comment on any honors you earned or extracurricular activities you participated in, including volunteer, leadership, and work experiences. From this information, admissions officers will infer more about your experiences and personal strengths.

   • It’s not enough to simply describe what you did– emphasize the growth and learning you experienced in your particular activity, and highlight any leadership positions you might have attained.
   • Provide context for any awards you might have earned. Note whether they were school-based, statewide, or national, as well as how many people applied to or received the award.
   • List all the jobs and internships you’ve had, both paid and unpaid.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Writing Great Essays

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   Select the questions that will best tell your story. The essay questions, formally known as Personal Insight Questions, are arguably the most important component of your UC Berkeley application. Selecting the right questions– and providing polished answers that convey your unique identity and experience– can set you apart from other applicants with very similar academic profiles.

   • You’ll be required to answer 4 of 8 possible questions. It doesn’t matter which ones you choose, as long as you feel that your answers will clearly convey your story and your authentic self. No question is considered more difficult or valuable than any of the others.
   • When choosing your questions, consider how your potential answers might provide evidence of qualities like initiative, motivation, leadership, persistence, service, potential, and experience with other cultures– all traits that admissions officers look for in candidates.
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   Give yourself time to outline and prepare your answers. For each question, think about the primary concepts and information you want to convey. Then, make a preliminary outline to plan how you will deliver your points in a coherent, logical, and concise manner.

   • Since the answers to each question are limited to 350 words, it helps to dive in with a plan, rather than writing freely until you run out of space to share the most important parts of your story.
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   Provide context for any weaknesses in your academic history. The “Additional Comments” box at the end of your application’s academic history section provides an opportunity to briefly explain why personal circumstances or hardships might have impacted your academic or extracurricular performance. However, Personal Insight Questions give you a chance to tell these stories in greater detail, and to describe how you grew while persevering through life’s obstacles.

   • Take note that having experienced difficulty is not a ticket to admission. In fact, Berkeley admissions readers have recounted feeling bombarded by sob stories as they review applicant essays.
   • If you wish to write about a difficult personal experience, it’s important to recount how you overcame your personal challenges, and what you learned or gained in the process, instead of simply describing the challenge itself.
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   Describe your opportunities, not just your obstacles. Admissions officers will assess your achievement while keeping in mind which opportunities were available to you (and also which ones were not).

   • Clearly express what opportunities you did have, and how you took advantage of them. This will help to convey your current strengths, as well as your potential to succeed in the future.
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   Discuss your academic experience and future plans if you're applying to a pre-professional college. If you're applying to colleges like the College of Chemistry or the College of Engineering, admissions officers will want to see demonstrated interest and experience in your chosen field.

   • Make sure to dedicate at least one answer to discussing your intended area of study, the specific major you have chosen, and any relevant academic or work experience you have that is relevant to your academic and professional interests.
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   Review your writing carefully when you’re done. Admissions officers don’t officially rate essays based on spelling and grammar. However, carefully composed, error-free answers can only help your cause– they enhance the overall quality and presentation of your application, and help to demonstrate your writing skill. Give yourself plenty of time to proofread, revise, and review your answers. It will likely be a multi-draft process.

   • The Personal Insight Questions are intended to help admissions officers get to know you as a person. Read over the answers, and imagine that you're someone that you've never met. If you feel that your essays would give this imaginary reader a detailed picture of who you are, you've done a great job.
   • Keep in mind that only personal identity information can be changed after you submit your application. Make sure that you have submitted the best possible writing you can produce, because there’s no going back! Enlist the help of your English teacher or mentors if needed.
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   Review and turn in your application by November 30. You can expect to hear confirmation that your application was received in January.

   • “Borderline” candidates, who are on the edge of possible acceptance, may be asked to answer a few supplemental written questions in late January or early February. If you receive additional questions at this time, be sure to answer them thoroughly and promptly.
   • You can expect to receive your results– hopefully good ones!– towards the end of March. Some applicants may hear back as early as late February, but if you don't, it doesn't mean your chances of getting in are any worse!
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Tips

• Many students wait until the week of Thanksgiving to do their applications. While you don't get any benefit for turning your application in early, it is wise to start earlier. Definitely make sure not to turn it in last minute or even the day before; many students do this and it's not impossible to have issues with submission due to the sheer number of last minute submissions.
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• As with any college, UC Berkeley is looking for what you can add to their campus. Namely, they want to see passion and dedication. You don't have to commit to one career or sport or subject, but make sure to be consistent. Picking up and dropping a new sport or research project every year without any showing of long-term commitment is not as good as steadily submitting poetry to contests and competitions, for example.
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