Rejected by UCLA, any chance at UC Berkeley?

Question

So far...
Rejected: UCLA (Engineering)
Accepted: OSU, UT Austin Cockrell School of Engineering, UC San Diego Engineering

I applied to the College of Letters and Science at Berkeley:

ACT: 32
SAT II: Math II - 780
GPA: 3.95 (unweighted) UC is probably around 4.2 - 4.3 (mostly weighted classes)
IB Tests: Physics SL - 6 (out of 7)
Courses: Took predominantly IB courses, senior year 100% IB

EC:
- several clubs (NHS, MUN, Key Club, Spanish Honors Society, etc.)
- paid software intern at Intel Corp. (Java coding, research, etc. -- work 10-15 hrs per week)
- freelance graphic designer (people hired me to design logos, fonts, etc.)
- worked with the Portland Haitian Foundation after the earthquake
- volunteer at library
- assisted the teacher of a Spanish class, helping out students with assignments, projects, etc.
- several regional/state art awards for graphic design, poster design, etc. (i.e. from Scholastic)


Essays: Thought they were pretty damn good, related to software (aspiring field of choice) and art (which I received several awards in)

Overall: Strong emphasis on art, software

Not to sound entitled but after comparison with a couple of my peers, I'm shocked at the type of people who were accepted -- ie, those who skipped class, had 3.5 GPAs, really terrible essays (I read them) and applied to the same major I did.

Truth be told, I wouldn't have gone to LA even if I were to have gotten accepted. But now, I feel that my rejection there is somehow indicative of the admission decision from Cal, which is my dream school. To say the least, I'm thoroughly disappointed with the admissions process.
Any chance left for me at Berkeley?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I'm in nearly the same position you are. I was wait-listed to UCLA despite having a 2300 SAT score, 4.0 unweighted GPA, and SAT subject test scores of 710, 760, and 720 for Math II, English Lit, and US history, respectively. I'm also an IB Diploma candidate, like you,and thought my essays and ECs were pretty strong. I can't really console you (I have trouble consoling myself on this!), but just know that I feel your pain and I hope these decisions to UCLA aren't indicative of either of our chances at Cal.



P.S. Cal decisions come out on 3/28, so there's no use in stressing about it now. Good luck!

Answer 2

To be quite honest, I am shocked that you got rejected from UCLA. Do you live in CA? If not, that could be why you were not accepted. UCLA puts a lot of emphasis on admitting CC students as well. My best friend got accepted to UCB and UCSD and she was rejected by UCLA. Berkeley really looks for diversity, and presuming that you are latin american off of your ec's you should have a good chance at getting accepted there. The only thing that could yield you from getting accepted there could be your essay. Did you just talk about the things you succeeded in or did you really display the passion you had for engineering? Berkeley will take your essay in more account than your grades and ec's. I know for my best friend the essay was what really got her in even though her SAT scores were really bad, albeit she had a great GPA (<1500 SAT).



I also have another friend who was much more esteemed academically that got denied from both UCLA and UCB. It was quite a shock. You never really know with these universities, they are so flip floppity even when you have great app.

Answer 3

You have a great chance of getting into Berkeley if UCLA has already admitted you; Good luck.