Applying to Berkeley?
Prospective students get insider tips, online tools
| 07 November 2008
BERKELEY — Thinking of applying to UC Berkeley? Here's a hint: applying is not as hard as you might think. And, here's another: UC Berkeley wants to know what makes you a star in your world, not just what your grades and test scores are.
With high school and transfer students now in the process of applying for fall '09 admission, the campus has put together some new information that it hopes will be both helpful and informative, and even a little entertaining.
A new video, "Picture yourself at Berkeley: Mythbusting the application process," is an entertaining way to learn about what you need to do to make your application stand out.
The video was produced by UC Berkeley's admissions office and tackles a number of issues. For one, it makes it clear that admission to UC Berkeley is not based solely on grades and test scores. And, it assures applicants that their application will get a careful, personal review by admissions professionals. The video shows the application review process, current students offer tips and admissions officials tell students how to strengthen their application by providing a full picture of their lives and their strengths.
Another website helps students and their families plan for college costs by providing an online Cal-culator to estimate what aid they may be eligible for.
Prospective students also can gather key data about UC Berkeley at a new website that has been developed so that students and their parents can readily compare data from among many schools. The Berkeley Profile site (PDF) includes a wealth of detailed information, including data showing the success of UC Berkeley students in their progress toward graduation, student and faculty demographic information, details about class size, and opportunities for undergraduate research.