UC Berkeley Freshman Selection Process
Evaluation (All Berkeley Colleges)
The purpose of the selection process is to identify applicants who are mostly likely to contribute to Berkeley’s intellectual and cultural community and, ultimately, to the State of California. Selection is based on a comprehensive review of all information—both academic and personal—presented in the application.
All applications are read in their entirety by professionally trained readers. After independently reading and analyzing a file, the reader determines a comprehensive score which is the basis upon which the student is ultimately admitted or denied. In addition, admissions managers conduct multiple checks for consistency and completeness throughout the reading process. While this evaluation process is based on human judgments rather than a system that quantifies factors and incorporates them into a numerical formula, the extensive reader training, comprehensive reading of a file, as well as other monitoring procedures, ensure that the process is highly reliable. Formal tests of reliability are conducted regularly.
The admission review reflects the readers’ thoughtful consideration of the full spectrum of the applicant’s qualifications, based on all evidence provided in the application, and viewed in the context of the applicant’s academic and personal circumstances and the overall strength of the Berkeley applicant pool. Using a broad concept of merit, readers employ the following criteria which carry no pre-assigned weights.
1. The applicant’s full record of achievement in college preparatory work in high school, including the number and rigor of courses taken and grades earned in those courses. Consideration will be given to completion of courses beyond the University’s A-G minimums; strength of the senior year course load; and performance in honors, college-level, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate Higher Level (IBHL) courses, to the extent that such courses are available to the applicant. In assessing achievement levels, consideration is given to individual grades earned, to the pattern of achievement over time, and to an applicant’s achievement relative to that of others in his or her high school, including whether he or she is among those identified as Eligible in the Local Context.
2. Personal qualities of the applicant, including leadership ability, character, motivation, tenacity, initiative, originality, intellectual independence, responsibility, insight, maturity, and demonstrated concern for others and for the community. Readers also consider whether the applicant has challenged himself or herself academically and in other activities, and the extent of success in meeting such challenges.
3. Likely contributions to the intellectual and cultural vitality of the campus. In addition to a broad range of intellectual interests and achievements, admission officers seek diversity in personal background and experience. To evaluate evidence of special talents an applicant may possess, the Admissions Office may seek the advice of Berkeley faculty members in relevant disciplines (e.g., music, art, drama, mathematics).
4. Performance on standardized tests, including two required SAT Subject Tests in different subject areas selected from history, literature, mathematics (Math Level 2 only), science or a language other than English and the SAT Reasoning Test (or ACT Assessment plus Writing Test). In addition, any Advanced Placement or IBHL examinations the applicant may have taken will be considered. Applicants who have not had the opportunity to take Advanced Placement or IBHL courses or who have chosen not to take the examinations for these courses are not disadvantaged. Test scores are evaluated in the context of all other academic information in the application and preference is given to tests that show a demonstrable relationship to curriculum. Documented imprecision and other known weaknesses of standardized tests will be taken into account. Under no circumstances does Berkeley employ minimum scores or “cut-offs” of any kind.
5. Achievement in academic enrichment programs, including but not limited to those sponsored by the University of California. This criterion is measured by time and depth of participation, by the academic progress made by the applicant during that participation, and by the intellectual rigor of the particular program.
6. Other evidence of achievement. This criterion recognizes exemplary, sustained achievement in any field of intellectual or creative endeavor; accomplishments in the performing arts and athletics; employment; leadership in school or community organizations or activities; and community service.
Race, ethnicity, gender, religion, military are excluded from the criteria. Preference is given to California residents in the selection process.
All achievements, both academic and non-academic, are considered in the context of the opportunities an applicant has had, and the reader’s assessment is based on how fully the applicant has taken advantages of those opportunities. For an applicant who has faced any hardships or unusual circumstances, readers consider the maturity, determination and insight with which he or she has responded to and/or overcome them. In evaluating the context in which academic accomplishments have taken place, readers consider the strength of the high school curriculum, including the availability of honors and Advanced Placement courses and the total number of college preparatory course available, among other indicators of the resources available within the school. When appropriate and feasible, they look comparatively at the achievements of applicants in the same pool who attended the same high school and therefore might be expected to have similar opportunities and challenges. They also consider other contextual factors that bear directly on the applicant’s achievement, including linguistic background, parental education level, and other indicators of support available in the home.
The review also recognizes a wide range of talent and creativity that is not necessarily reflected in traditional measures of academic achievement but which, in the judgment of the reader, is a positive indicator of the student’s ability to succeed at Berkeley and beyond; to contribute meaningfully and uniquely to intellectual and social interchanges with faculty and fellow students, both inside and outside the classroom; and to make a special contribution to our society and culture. In applying the criteria above, readers carefully consider evidence provided in the personal statement, as well as in the academic record and list of honors and achievements. For example, the essay may reveal a level of maturity and ability to reflect on one’s life experience in relation to the larger world that indicates a high potential to benefit from and contribute to the richness of the intellectual life of the campus. Or it may reveal special qualities of leadership and initiative that indicate unique potential to contribute to the intellectual, social and political life of the State and Nation.
Selection
UC Berkeley is among the most selective universities in the country, becoming more competitive for freshman applicants each year. Because of student demand, selectivity varies among Colleges, and -- in the College of Engineering -- among majors; for example, it is more difficult to gain admission to the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences major than to the Mechanical Engineering major.
For applications to the College of Letters and Science, Natural Resources and Environmental Design, no consideration is given to the indicated major in the review process. However, for the professional colleges of Chemistry and Engineering, demonstrated interest in the major is also taken into consideration. Furthermore, in the colleges of Chemistry and Engineering, Berkeley faculty in these disciplines have also asked that readers place added emphasis on sustained achievement in mathematics and science, and have indicated a preference that these applicants take the Math Level 2 SAT Subject Test and a science test (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) that is closely related to the applicant's intended major.
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