How to Get Accepted Into UC Berkeley

by
UC Berkeley

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about how to get accepted into UC Berkeley. It’s certainly not easy, but let’s get a few things out of the way.

We’ll be putting this article into three different parts: how hard it is to get in, what it takes to get in, and how to answer the UCB PIQ questions. We’ve also provided extra essay examples and guides below in part 3 for you too see!

If you want an accurate estimate of your chances of getting accepted into UC Berkeley (or need guidance on how to get in), simply contact us here. We’ll get back to you with our expert advising ASAP!

Table of Contents

Part 1: How Hard is it to Get Into UC Berkeley?

Part 2: What Does it Take to Get Into UC Berkeley? 

Part 3: How to Answer the UC Berkeley PIQs

Part 1: How Hard is it to Get Into UC Berkeley?

  1. UCB Stats
  2. What GPA and SAT/ACT Do I Need To Get Into UC Berkeley
  3. Applying to UC Berkeley as an Asian American

For those who want to know how to get accepted into UC Berkeley, they may want to keep a few things in mind. In this article, we will cover exactly those things to consider. Here’s everything you need to know to get accepted into UC Berkeley, but first, let’s cover some statistics about the school. 

Introduction

As the paragon of both social activism, scientific innovation, and entrepreneurship, UCB is without a doubt a very appealing school. That is why 112,820 students applied to UCB for the 2021 fall season, which is a significant increase from its 80,000+ applicants from the years before it. Applying to Berkeley is intense, and it is only going to get more competitive with every year to come. This is especially true for Asian American applicants, as UCB is taking its affirmative action initiative more seriously. 

With that said, let’s cover Berkeley’s stats, the GPA and SAT/ACT needed to get in, and what it means to apply as a white or Asian American student. 

UCB Stats

  1. US News & World Report: Rank 22
  2. Undergraduates enrolled: 31,780
  3. Acceptance Rate: 16.25%
  4. Transfer Rate: 22.49%
  5. 98% were at the top 10% of their class
  6.  Avg. High School GPA: 3.86 / 4.0
  7. SAT: 1330-1350
  8. ACT: 31-35

What GPA and SAT/ACT Do I Need To Get Into UC Berkeley

Does this mean you MUST meet these GPA and Test Scores in order to have a chance at acceptance? No. Your chances will be significantly lower if you do not meet the average, but you should also consider that your extracurriculars and PIQ essays make up roughly 50% of the rest of your admissions decision. Take a look at HAAS.

Also, consider what they mean by average. This can sound threatening, but you really need to consider the numbers before throwing in the towel and giving up. Just because the average is high does not mean that a good handful of people below the average marks don’t get accepted. Take Thought Co’s chart for instance. 

This shows you just how the numbers for the average Berkeley student are made. There are plenty of applicants with lower test scores and GPAs that can get accepted and there are many who are above the average. When these numbers are crunched in, we get the average which looks high, and it is! Know that it is still possible to get accepted with GPAs like 3.5 and 3.6; just make sure you write the highest quality set of UC PIQ essays as possible. 

In addition, you may also want to consider a few other important factors of your academic transcript. UC Berkeley –and every other UC school for that matter– pays special attention to the following: 

  • Your GPA trends: have you maintained a consistent GPA? Did your grades drop or rise over time? In what classes did your grades drop or rise? Were they in academic courses related to your major in the future? 
  • How many AP –or IB– classes have you completed? Have you taken any college prep courses? Did you take summer classes to put in extra effort?

Okay, now let’s talk about the affirmative action side of Berkeley’s application. 

Applying to UC Berkeley as a White or Asian American Student

If you are applying to UC Berkeley as a White or Asian American student, you may be aware of the difficulties that lie ahead. The question therefore becomes “how to get accepted into UC Berkeley as a White or Asian American student”. 

Let’s get one question out of the way: “How much more difficult is it to get accepted into UC Berkeley if I am White or Asian?” The answer is this –no one knows. 

We do not have a specific number or formula –and one is surely not going to come any time soon– that can calculate just exactly how much higher one’s GPA or SAT/ACT needs to be to get accepted depending on race. Remember: the idea of bringing in equity in the admissions process has always been here, but with every passing year the racial equity becomes more actualized. This means that things will only get progressively harder every year for White and Asian American students applying to UCB. 

So, how do you get accepted into UCB or any UC school for that matter as a White or Asian American Student? 

We would actually highly recommend putting a lot of emphasis on your application essays and the extracurriculars surrounding it. Consider that universities now need to take on a social justice and diversity initiative. You somehow need to be a net positive for Berkeley’s vision of equity and inclusion despite benign White or Asian American. 

If you do not know how to write that in your essays or you have no extracurriculars related to diversity and inclusion whatsoever, please contact our experts as soon as possible. This problem has become widespread for many of our applicants and there are ways of approaching this issue correctly even if you do not have any clubs or activities related to diversity or inclusion. 

Professional College Application Help.

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Part 2: What Does it Take to Get Into UC Berkeley? 

Okay, let’s talk a little bit about what UC Berkeley expects out of us. What are the requirements to get accepted? Please keep in mind that you need to meet all of these requirements; not meeting these may make you unable to attend UC Berkeley. 

Note: If you attend a high school in California, your school will most probably fit your academic courses to fulfill all of the A-G requirements.

UC Berkeley’s A-G Class Requirements

  1. History / Social Science: two years required    
  • One year of world history, cultures or historical geography
  • One year of U.S. history; or one-half year of U.S. history and one-half year of civics or American government.
  1. English: 4 years required 
  2. Mathematics: 3 years required; 4 years strongly recommended 
  • Including or integrating topics covered in: elementary algebra, two-and three-dimensional geometry, advanced algebra. 
  • Also acceptable are courses that address the above content areas, and include or integrate: probability, statistics or trigonometry.
  1. Science: 2 years required; 3 years recommended   
  • Two years of college-preparatory science, including two of the three subjects: biology, chemistry, or physics. 
  • One year of approved interdisciplinary or earth and space sciences coursework can meet one year of the requirement. 
  • Computer Science, Engineering and Applied Science courses can be used in area D as an additional science (i.e., third year and beyond).
  1. Second Language (Other Than English): 2 years required; 3 years recommended
  • Language levels = number of years of high school instruction (e.g., LOTE 1= 1 year; LOTE 2 = 2 years, etc.).
  1. Visual & Performing Arts: 1 year required. 
  • It must be from one of the following disciplines: dance, music, theater, visual arts (e.g., painting, web/graphic design, film/video, inter/multimedia arts), or interdisciplinary arts.
  1. College-Preparatory Electives 1 year required
  • Choose from the following: courses approved specifically in the elective (G) subject area, or courses approved in the A-F subject areas beyond those used to satisfy the requirements of the A-F subjects.
  • Includes economics, speech or debate, computer science, psychology, etc. 

All UC Berkeley applicants must receive a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the A-G classes. However, applicants should also consider that a 3.0 is not enough to guarantee acceptance, and much higher marks are expected. 

UC Berkeley’s SAT/ACT and other Standardized Test Requirements

Check the University of California standardized testing requirements. Every applicant for the University of California from the class of Fall 2022 and onwards will make standardized testing optional. Students will have the choice of submitting their SAT or ACT scores. For the students who choose not to submit their test scores, they will still receive full consideration for admission. 

More importantly, admission to UC schools in Fall 2023 and 2024 will follow a “test-blind” policy. This only applies for students in California, however. Test scores will not be taken into account when reviewing the application; so, whether you take the SAT or ACT would not matter at all. For applicants outside California, the University of California will create a testing policy to replace the SAT/ACT. 

UC Berkeley Extracurricular Requirements

When thinking about you or your extracurricular activities for your application to UCB, consider that they implement holistic admissions. This means that more consideration will be taken on both your essays and your extracurricular activities. With that in mind, most applicants who want to know how to get accepted into UC Berkeley should take the essay section and extracurriculars quite seriously. With the number of smart and high-GPA students applying, you will need everything you can get your hands on to stand out amongst the crowd. 

Please keep in mind that you should not give yourself or your child random extracurriculars just to game the system. The holistic admissions process that UC Berkeley uses will also keep in mind just exactly what kind of extracurriculars make sense in your application. For instance, if you are trying to get into mechanical engineering and you completed many projects with your robotics team, how does being in tennis and badminton play a role in that future? Does it make sense, or is it something that you simply put in the application to beef it up before submission. These are important questions, and signs that you are trying to take every extracurricular just for the advantageous edge in admissions would be looked at poorly. 

Part 3: How to Answer the UC Berkeley PIQs

The UCB personal insight questions are the same throughout the UC process; that means you submit the same essay as you would with every other UC school you apply to. This can be quite inconvenient, as we actually advise people apply to all UC schools as a safety net in case of an unexpected deferral or waitlist. What this means is that you cannot cater your PIQ essays to fit UC Berkeley only. You cannot say “This is why UCB is the right fit for me” without offending every other school you’ve applied to. Therefore, when answering the PIQs, the question transforms from “How to get accepted into UC Berkeley” to “How to get accepted into every UC school”. By figuring out how to write the personal insight questions, you are inexorably trying to find out how to get accepted into all of the UC schools. 

We’ve provided links to all of our UC PIQ guides below. These are all of the resources we have thus far; once we’ve updated it with more information, we will provide new links below as well. 

We get asked all the time about how to get accepted into UC Berkeley, especially how to get in as someone with low test scores or a low GPA. This can be quite difficult, and with the essays becoming more important to their success now than ever before, it is critical that students truly craft their essays in a manner that helps them stand out amongst the rest of the applicants. To not do so would mean placing one’s future career opportunities at risk. That is why we take our clients and their application essays very seriously. If you are struggling to write your UCB PIQ essays, please contact us for a free consultation. We will discuss the best ways my team and I can help you with your UC PIQ essays. 

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