Here at PenningPapers, we typically get flooded with requests and inquiries on how to write the UC Berkeley Appeal letter in the spring.

We won’t sugarcoat it: most Berkeley appeal letters we’ve read weren’t strong. Many students with near-perfect marks, fantastic extracurriculars, and glowing work experiences had below-average appeal letters. In fact, most of them didn’t even have a valid “new or extenuating circumstance” to write about!

It’s a tale as old as time.

So, what does this mean? It means that although the chances of getting accepted from UC Berkeley’s appeal process are slim, you’ll be competing against many low-quality letters.

But, don’t forget: if the average appeal letter is poorly-written, that can be yours too! Just because you passed AP Lit and Lang does not guarantee that you’ll be able to write a good appeal letter that stands out. (Yeah, I know… weird right?!)

Therefore, if you want to change the fate of your rejection from Cal, it is absolutely crucial to know how to write the UC Berkeley appeal letter well and better than the rest of the competition.

So, how do we do this?

There are 2 elements. Keep these in mind when formulating the letter.

1. Formulating your Berkeley appeal letter to appeal to admissions officers differently from the average applicant.
2. Creating a new activity (or using an existing one) to write about within the deadline.

Because the appeal process has such a slim chance of acceptance, it’s absolutely crucial that you do not skimp out on any of these 2 elements in your letter. UC Berkeley seldom if ever accepts anyone from the appeal list. You can also check that out in their statement in the official pdf link here. I’ve pasted it below.

“… any applicant who is denied admission may submit an appeal. (Note: Appeals from students on the wait list will not be considered.) We strongly discourage an appeal unless you can provide significant new information for us to consider. Our freshman selection process involves a careful, individual reading of each application, and it is very unlikely that we will choose to reverse our original decision. If you do have significant new information to present and decide to appeal our admissions decision, all Appeal requests are due by May 1, 2022. Appeals completed by May 1 will be considered on time and will receive a response by August 2022. In the appeal letter, you must provide significant new information (i.e., semester grades, additional achievements) for us to consider. Advise us of any change in your email address in case we need to contact you during the appeal process. Even if you choose to appeal, we recommend that you do not delay in accepting an admission offer fromanother college or university…”

UC Berkeley Official Website, Appeals section.

Thus, we understand Berkeley is mostly grounded in its previous decisions; however, they will still consider unique and outstanding applicants from the appeal list. You’ll need to have a very compelling and unique appeal letter as well as a stellar new additional achievement since your application to talk about. This will maximize your chances of acceptance from the appeal.

Yeah, we know. It’s a lot of work. That means carefully constructing an essay and getting it edited. That means making an entirely new achievement to have before May 1. Is it worth it? Yes. Yes, it is.

Therefore, without further ado, let’s cover how to incorporate these two elements and maximize our chances of writing a strong UC Berkeley appeal essay.

Table of Contents

1. Writing a Strong, Unique UC Berkeley Appeal Essay.
   1. Why are you a strong candidate?
   2. Is rejecting you a net negative? (The capitalism method)
2. Additional Achievements for the UC Berkeley Appeal Essay.
3. Don’t Forget the Deadline for UC Berkeley’s Appeal Process (Plus Some Rules)

Writing a Strong, Unique UC Berkeley Appeal Essay.

We’ve segregated our guide to the UC Berkeley appeal essay into 2 parts.

Firstly, you must write your essay to show you’re still a qualified candidate, Next, you need to consider how rejecting you would be a net negative for the university.

These are not easy to implement altogether. You’ll find that during the appeal letter writing process, writing and rewriting will be common. Getting accepted into the top public school in the world demands that. Be patient. Seriously!

So, let’s cover how to implement these factors when writing your UC Berkeley appeal letter.

Why are you a strong candidate?

There are many reasons someone may be a great candidate for UC Berkeley. But, remember: the admissions office takes a comprehensive review of every individual applicant’s grades, extracurriculars, essays, etc. So, convincing the admissions office that you’re a suitable candidate for Cal is an uphill battle.

Visualize it like this. Imagine yourself in the admissions officer’s shoes.

For months you process generic college applications that have little variance between them. 4.0 GPA. Varsity captain of the tennis team. President of FBLA club. Over, and over, and over again. But, the admissions process doesn’t end there. Then there are the appeals!

Oh boy. Here comes once again another student who waddles in with their appeal form to tell you, in the wake of your careful consideration for every individual application in the regular decision process, that you are in fact wrong. They do deserve a spot at Berkely!

Yeah, okay; from this analogy we understand that the appeal process is quite the uphill battle. We’re essentially telling the admissions officers who worked so hard to process every application with the care that they’re wrong and that you deserve a spot.

So, the first step of demonstrating you’re a strong candidate is this: be polite. Yup, don’t skip this. You’re treading dangerous waters here; so, act like it! You want to thank the admissions officers briefly. Don’t forget the 500-word limit. So, don’t let gratuitous boot-licking eat up your word count.

Next, consider all the possible deficiencies in your application.

Admissions officers often use a multi-variable analysis to determine the constellation of factors they should not accept you into their school. So, you were most probably rejected for a set of reasons rather than just one single factor. Did you have a hiccup in your academic performance between the Fall and Winter quarters of your junior year? Maybe you had a lot of clubs in your application but not a lot of explanation of what you’ve specifically done in them. Perhaps there were parts of your essay that could be misinterpreted as red flags.

Comb through your application with a fine-tooth comb. Then, consider where exactly it was that could have possibly led to your rejection.

From there, you should provide new information on how you could compensate for said insufficiencies. These should be reasonable and logical explanations and not just arbitrary statements meant to appease the officers. Look for true solutions to your insufficiencies and demonstrate that you’re improving.

Okay, here’s an example. Let’s say we had straight As in Sophomore year to some Bs in Junior year. This leads to a downward academic trend.

So, how do we show we’re still a suitable candidate for the admissions office? We can provide updates on our academic performance if we’re doing well. Show how your grades have improved over time in areas that you were falling in. Also, more importantly, show WHY your grades have improved. If you just say your grades have improved over time and nothing else, they may assume its because of easier classes or more lenient teachers. You need to demonstrate that you’ve improved through your own grit and determination to perform at the highest level, whether that be through honing your study skills or exercising your work habits.

Is rejecting you a net negative? (The capitalism method)

The next element is demonstrating to Berkely that rejecting you is a net negative.

When people think of how to write the UC Berkeley appeal letter, they often don’t think of what the university must be considering. They may think of how the school would benefit their career, but not how their presence would be a net positive to the Berkeley community.

Think of the university as a capitalist system (hint: it is).

How would a capitalistic machine consider the application process when accepting its next generation of students? It would take in whoever could provide the most value to the school!

For example, even the pursuit of knowledge and higher learning has a capitalistic perspective in it. If you are a strong and fast learner who is quick on your feet, you would fit with the research-focused culture of the institution; thus, you’d be a great addition to Cal for raking in more grants!

So, imagine yourself as an asset. You’re a student. So, that inexorably makes you a potential asset to the school. How would you sell yourself if you were a marketer?

Also, consider the word count of the essay. You need to keep your appeal letter below 500 words; so, when marketing yourself as a net positive to Berkeley’s capitalist system, don’t dedicate entire paragraphs to it. Instead, weave it into the subtext of your appeal letter.

Additional Achievements for the UC Berkeley Appeal Essay.

This one is crucial to the application process. Those who want to write a strong UC Berkeley appeal letter should truly consider taking this advice. Have something strong and new to add as an additional achievement in your essay.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have any achievements at the moment. If you’re a few weeks before the May 1 deadline, conduct a project which you can talk about in the appeal letter. It’s absolutely crucial that you have new information to discuss in the Berkeley appeal essay.

If you are days away from the deadline and you still do not have any new information or additional achievements or experiences to talk about in the essay, we strongly encourage you to schedule a free consultation with us to get help with that ASAP. Set up a date and time and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours to help.

One of the best ways of doing this is thinking of the interdisciplinary paths your current intended major could take. Find that, and start a project on it. This shows that you have both a creative manner of thinking and a useful mindset that could provide a lot of value to the school.

Here’s an example.

Let’s say you’re applying for computer science at UC Berkeley’s EECS but were rejected. As you construct the appeal letter, you can talk about how you plan to combine your existing knowledge of computer science and programming with business and marketing. You may be new to business and marketing, but you’ve taken courses in the past few months to create a site that would market and raise awareness of your future software products to future small businesses.

This experience in your appeal letter would show that your updates are not just simple updates on your everyday work. It would demonstrate that you are continually growing and that UC Berkeley has every reason to accept someone like you as a net positive to the community.

Remember: writing your UC Berkeley appeal letter is about standing out amongst the rest by having strong experiences that would demonstrate your worth even after the original application season. It’s also about presenting yourself through your words in a manner that stands out from the rest of the writing.

UC Berkeley Appeal Deadlines and Rules

Note: the deadline for UCB’s appeal of admissions is…

1. Freshman Deadline: April 15 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.
2. Transfer Deadline: May 15 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

Haas School of Business, College of Engineering, and College of Chemistry do not accept appeals.

In addition, the UCB appeal process is only available to those who were denied admission in the first application. So, waitlisted students cannot appeal their decisions if they are later denied.

This goes for all UC schools.

Fulfilling both is hard. Writing and editing are hard enough; but, having a project constructed days before the May 1 deadline is even more so. Fortunately, at PenningPapers, we can help you with both. Simply schedule a free consultation with us, and we will get back to you ASAP to collaborate with you on your Berkeley appeal letter and maximize your acceptance rate.