Berkeley c/o 2016 Applicants (2012-2013 cycle) Forum

[RSterling]

Got the call yesterday evening. Stats are in profile, but both are well above median. Submitted ~9/25 and went complete 10/24.

[WhiteyCakes]

Got the call yesterday evening. Stats are in profile, but both are well above median. Submitted ~9/25 and went complete 10/24.

Congrats! With that GPA, there is no surprise

[tyler.durden]

Got the call yesterday evening. Stats are in profile, but both are well above median. Submitted ~9/25 and went complete 10/24.

Congrats! That's awesome!

[twinkletoes16]

submitted last night, 11/28! I WANT THIS SO BAD. Berk is my #1 for sure.

only sent in 1 LOR but will send more as more come in. wish my LOR's weren't so damn slow.

[prssrnt17]

My GPA and LSAT are both above 75th percentiles for Boalt and I went under review the end of October but I have yet to hear back. Is this bad news? Berkeley is definitely my #1 and I would die to get in!

P.S. My status tracker hasn't been updated since my application went complete in the middle of October. Should I email them about this?

[danitt]

My GPA and LSAT are both above 75th percentiles for Boalt and I went under review the end of October but I have yet to hear back. Is this bad news? Berkeley is definitely my #1 and I would die to get in!

P.S. My status tracker hasn't been updated since my application went complete in the middle of October. Should I email them about this?

No. Don't. They're making decisions, let them do it.

[mtrrw]

Hey to those of you who have been accepted via phone call, have you received any additional contact. I remember that during the call I was told that we would get a packet in the mail in December, but I was just checking to see if anyone else has received some sort of written confirmation.

Thanks!

[clouded.memory]

Hey to those of you who have been accepted via phone call, have you received any additional contact. I remember that during the call I was told that we would get a packet in the mail in December, but I was just checking to see if anyone else has received some sort of written confirmation.

Thanks!

I was accepted via phone call right before Thanksgiving, and I've yet to receive any confirmation, either.

[venus]

Hey to those of you who have been accepted via phone call, have you received any additional contact. I remember that during the call I was told that we would get a packet in the mail in December, but I was just checking to see if anyone else has received some sort of written confirmation.

Thanks!

I was accepted via phone call right before Thanksgiving, and I've yet to receive any confirmation, either.

+1

[mtrrw]

Hey to those of you who have been accepted via phone call, have you received any additional contact. I remember that during the call I was told that we would get a packet in the mail in December, but I was just checking to see if anyone else has received some sort of written confirmation.

Thanks!

I was accepted via phone call right before Thanksgiving, and I've yet to receive any confirmation, either.

+1

Awesome...thanks for confirming. Possibly scholarship info in that December packet???

[20141023]

.

[Ramius]

First, here is a quote from another thread:

Very few applicants to HYS get all three. The adcoms at those schools talk, and rumor has it that, on rare occasion, they even swap students before finally sending out admission letters. With those three schools it's like the NFL draft on draft day. The very top draft picks get into all three, and that's maybe 5-10 students. A larger group gets into two of the three, and an even larger group gets into one of the three. Mind you, there are only a few students they discuss, but it happens. It's one of the worst kept admissions secrets. To get into all three you have to be truly exceptional. The schools are so different but the best applicants tend to apply to all three.

Having cited that, it is now time for the question... Does getting into UCLA hurt one's chances at UC Berkeley, or vice versa? I know that they are different schools, but since they are all in the same UC public school system, do they communicate with each other at all (in order to protect yield), or is it okay to assume that decisions are wholly independently of each other?

While entirely anecdotal, I sincerely doubt UCB cares to any great degree what UCLA does with their acceptances. Coming from the East Coast (and already accepted to UCLA), I'd have a hard time believing UCB is the least bit concerned about "competing" with UCLA for candidates. From what I can tell in the current job market, SoCal is completely different from NorCal, both of which UCB places more favorably in. While it might take an "exceptional" student to get into all of the top CA schools, I don't think there is quite the mix of performance in the various markets that you might believe.

[CO2016YEAH]

First, here is a quote from another thread:

Very few applicants to HYS get all three. The adcoms at those schools talk, and rumor has it that, on rare occasion, they even swap students before finally sending out admission letters. With those three schools it's like the NFL draft on draft day. The very top draft picks get into all three, and that's maybe 5-10 students. A larger group gets into two of the three, and an even larger group gets into one of the three. Mind you, there are only a few students they discuss, but it happens. It's one of the worst kept admissions secrets. To get into all three you have to be truly exceptional. The schools are so different but the best applicants tend to apply to all three.

Having cited that, it is now time for the question... Does getting into UCLA hurt one's chances at UC Berkeley, or vice versa? I know that they are different schools, but since they are all in the same UC public school system, do they communicate with each other at all (in order to protect yield), or is it okay to assume that decisions are made wholly independently of each other?

The selectivity of the YSH and the law of averages by themselves can explain the dynamic described by PDaddy; I'm not necessarily arguing these discussions don't happen, as I have absolutely no way of knowing whether they do or not, but I did feel it necessary to point out the obvious.

As for Boalt and UCLA, these schools aren't likely to be competing for the few 180's with 4.33's, so I think having secret discussions would be just too cumbersome. Conducting such an exchange or admitting students alternately would pretty much require a mutually accessible database; having such a database is plausible, but highly unlikely IMO.

Then again, maybe deans Schwartz and Tom play "need him, need him, got him, got him" over Skype in their spare time. Who knows?

[20141023]

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[joedf]

The selectivity of the YSH and the law of averages by themselves can explain the dynamic described by PDaddy; I'm not necessarily arguing these discussions don't happen, as I have absolutely no way of knowing whether they do or not, but I did feel it necessary to point out the obvious.

As for Boalt and UCLA, these schools aren't likely to be competing for the few 180's with 4.33's, so I think having secret discussions would be just too cumbersome. Conducting such an exchange or admitting students alternately would pretty much require a mutually accessible database; having such a database is plausible, but highly unlikely IMO.

Then again, maybe deans Schwartz and Tom play "need him, need him, got him, got him" over Skype in their spare time. Who knows?

Haha yeah. However, if such conversations did exist between UCB and UCLA, they probably wouldn't be about super-competitive applicants like in the reported HYS trade-offs. Instead, they would likely be about applicants who are borderline at UCB and "safe" at UCLA; it would almost be like UCB doing UCLA a "favor" by first denying borderline UCB applicants with similar stats who also applied to UCLA. Again, this is 150% pure speculation (or more just wondering than anything), but if the UC public schools are "friends" with each other I could definitely see the motivation to do such a thing.

Not at all.

If someone is competitive enough to be borderline at Berkeley, there's nothing that would indicate that UCLA is their second choice, and would choose it if rejected. Rather, if a student has the realistic possibility of acceptance at Berkeley, there's a lot of the rest of the T14 that they'd likely be a viable candidate for.

The only way your claim checks out is if there's a guaranteed payoff for the UC's, but there just isn't one. The student who barely strikes out at Berkeley is free and likely to choose something outside the UC system.

[20141023]

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[CO2016YEAH]

Not at all.

If someone is competitive enough to be borderline at Berkeley, there's nothing that would indicate that UCLA is their second choice, and would choose it if rejected. Rather, if a student has the realistic possibility of acceptance at Berkeley, there's a lot of the rest of the T14 that they'd likely be a viable candidate for.

The only way your claim checks out is if there's a guaranteed payoff for the UC's, but there just isn't one. The student who barely strikes out at Berkeley is free and likely to choose something outside the UC system.

Actually, someone who is truly borderline at Berkeley (let's say 25th percentile LSAT (163) and median GPA (3.81)) is hardly a viable candidate at any other T14 (unless they are a URM or something special). I am not sure why such an applicant wouldn't choose UCLA as their next option, because if they're out of the T14 it's the next best thing ("best" in a purely numerical sense as in it is #15 in the rankings).

Anyway, I also don't think such conversations really happen, but you never know...

According to LSP etc. Berkeley is LESS selective (as far as numbers) than UCLA. Berkeley also emphasizes their holistic admissions approach, and I believe this is reflected in their numbers as compared to other T14 schools. My perception of UCLA, on the other hand, is much more focus on numbers due to being a newer school trying to solidify their position amongst the other greats.

But, yeah, I think if they want us or think we'd be a good fit they'll go ahead and admit us, and leave the rest up to us.

[mushybrain]

I was admitted to both UCLA and Berkeley. Berkeley admitted me first and UCLA was soon thereafter. If you want to be in CA, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect UCLA to be your second choice, but it's far from a given if you're not set on CA.

[red8aron]

Dude, I left my phone at home today on accident and when I got home I saw it had a message and had been called by a restricted number. It was not Dean Tom....

[iMisto]

Dude, I left my phone at home today on accident and when I got home I saw it had a message and had been called by a restricted number. It was not Dean Tom....

I have to leave my phone in the car for work... and I'm always embarrassed to see no missed calls from Cali area codes (despite my high hopes). lol

[nyremy]

***

[digifly]

Got the call today!
Submitted 11/6, Received 11/7, File under review 11/21 and Admitted 12/3

Stats are 172, 3.8.

Good luck to everyone else waiting to hear back!

Way to go!

I submitted 11/8, received 11/9, but I went UR the same day

Needless to say, now I'm going to be glued to my phone all week. About what time did they call?

[Ramius]

Berkeley is so bizarre in admissions. While their medians are GPA heavy and LSAT light, given their stature, everyone I've seen on here has had outstanding credentials in both. I wouldn't think they had any shortage of options for high LSATs and high GPAs, yet their numbers tell the whole story.

The question is, when do those less fortunate folks (above median LSAT, below GPA) start seeing some attention?

[Spritzpiggy]

Accepted earlier today! Originally from the 510 so I didn't expect it to be Berkeley calling me. So stoked the law school is absolutely gorgeous

Edit: 160/174, 3.8, WE, submitted RD in early Nov.

[nyremy]

edit*