What does UC Berkeley look for in applicants?

We expect the reported grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, personal insight questions, and additional comments to give us the full picture of a student's experience and aspirations. This is why it is so important to answer each section of the application thoughtfully and thoroughly.

What students are UC Berkeley looking for?

How can I increase my chances of getting into UC Berkeley?

With a GPA of 3.9, UC Berkeley requires you to be at the top of your class. You'll need nearly straight A's in all your classes to compete with other applicants. Furthermore, you should be taking hard classes - AP or IB courses - to show that college-level academics is a breeze.

What type of students does UC Berkeley accept?

UC Berkeley seeks students from all over the world to be a part of our amazing community. First-year applicants are students who are currently in high school (with or without college coursework completed), or students who have graduated high school and have taken no college coursework post-high school.

What does UC Berkeley look for in essays?

Include interest in your intended major, explain the way in which your academic interests developed, and describe any related work or volunteer experience. Explain your reason for transferring if you are applying from a four-year institution or a community college outside of California.

WHAT UC BERKELEY ADMISSIONS READERS LOOK FOR when reviewing freshman college applications

What values does UC Berkeley look for?

What grades does Berkeley look at?

UC Berkeley looks at your classes and grades from all of high school, but does not count freshman grades in the UC GPA they use in admissions.

Is Berkeley the hardest UC to get into?

In 2022, UCLA received 139,489 applicants. It's also the most selective, with a 9% acceptance rate. Close runners-up include UC Berkeley, UCSD, and UCI.

Does UC Berkeley care about extracurriculars?

The UC Berkeley admissions team uses extracurricular activities as a way to measure a student's involvement beyond numbers. Your activities say more than your UC Berkeley SAT scores or the UC Berkeley GPA requirements.

What are 3 popular majors at UC Berkeley?

At the University of California-Berkeley, the three most popular college majors students pursue are Computer Science, Econometrics and Quantitative Economics, and Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology.

How do I guarantee admission to UC Berkeley?

No single attribute or characteristic guarantees the admission of any applicant to Berkeley. All UC Berkeley applicants must meet University of California admission requirements: First-year requirements and selection. Transfer requirements and selection.

Can you get into UC Berkeley with bad grades?

You will need a very high GPA and will likely be graduating in the top 10% of your class in order to get into UC Berkeley. If your GPA is lower than suggested at the time you apply, you may have to perform above average on your standardized tests.

What does UC Berkeley care about?

These principles of community for the University of California, Berkeley, are rooted in our mission of teaching, research and public service. They reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world.

Why is UC Berkeley so prestigious?

Berkeley is famed for the breadth, and depth of 120+ graduate programs in 15 schools and colleges, awarding more than 4,000 master's and professional degrees each year and close to 800 doctoral degrees each year. Berkeley graduate students go on to join an impressive collection of alumni.

Can an average student get into UC Berkeley?

The acceptance rate at UC Berkeley is 11.4%.

In other words, of 100 students who apply, only 11 are admitted. This means the school is very selective. Scores are vital to getting past their first round of filters. After that, you will need to impress them beyond just your academic scores.

What is the most popular degree at UC Berkeley?

Some of the most popular majors for Berkeley undergraduates have included electrical engineering and computer science; economics; political science; business administration; and psychology. Around a quarter of undergraduate students live on campus, including some 95 percent of freshmen.

Is 7 extracurriculars enough?

Though 5 – 6 is the most ideal amount, that's not to say that some students don't do well with fewer activities – sometimes significantly fewer!

Is UC Berkeley very selective?

UC Berkeley is among the more selective universities in the country, becoming more competitive each year. Due to student demand, selectivity varies among Colleges.

Is UCLA or UC Berkeley better?

Both universities are considered the best in terms of offering quality education and career opportunities, but is UC Berkeley better than UCLA? Talking about the UCLA vs UC Berkeley rankings, UC Berkeley has been ranked #10 in the QS World University Rankings, while UCLA ranks #29 in the QS World University Rankings.

Is Berkeley or UCLA harder?

Both the universities require students with high GPAs, SAT scores & ACT scores. UCLA is extremely selective and only enrols students who have a GPA of 3.9 or more. UC Berkeley requires a GPA of 3.89 from all its students.

Is UCLA as prestigious as Berkeley?

UCLA earned a tie with UC Berkeley for the number-one spot in the Top Public Schools in the 2024 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges in America list, it was reported Monday. UCLA and UC Berkeley also tied for No. 15 in the overall ranking of universities in the nation.

Does UC Berkeley look at senior year grades?

UCs do look at the courses you take in senior year and take the rigor into consideration when evaluating you for admission; but as long as you maintain satisfactory grades (typically an unweighted B average, with no non-passing grades, is sufficient), your performance in your senior year courses will NOT affect your ...

Does UC Berkeley require predicted grades?

If predicted IB scores are not available at the time you submit the application, you do not need to report them on the application, and you do not need to submit them at a later date (unless a campus requests that you do so). UC campuses do not use predicted scores as the only factor for admission.

Is UC Berkeley Ivy League?

While UC Berkeley is not part of the Ivy League, it does form part of the Public IVY League colleges.