Founded back in 1868, the University of California Berkeley is one of the most prestigious universities in the US. Ranked 30th by QS World Rankings 2021, UCB is not just a front-runner in terms of academics; the university promotes sports excellence, scientific innovations, and self-development. UCB’s diversity, impressive alumni network, history of student activism, and excellent research institutes make it one of the most sought-after colleges. In this blog, we are going to cover everything about the UCB acceptance rate.
This Blog Includes:
- UCB Acceptance Rate
- UC Berkeley Transfer Acceptance Rate
- UC Berkeley Out-of-State Acceptance Rate
- UC Berkeley Important Dates
- UC Berkeley Academic Profile
- How University of California Berkeley chooses Students
- UC Berkeley Basic Admission Requirements
- UCB Selection Process
- Popular Programs Available in UC Berkeley
- FAQs
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UCB Acceptance Rate
UCB is amongst the most prestigious public universities in the US; it is extremely competitive; therefore, it can be said that the UCB acceptance rate is low. A majority of the students admitted at UCB are from California. The university is extremely forthcoming and transparent about its selection process and admittance rate. For the year 2020, the college saw 88,066 applications and admitted 15,461 applicants. This means that the acceptance rate is 17.6%, a significant jump from 2019’s acceptance rate, which was 16.8%.
Year | Applicants | Admits | Acceptance Rate |
2021 | Not Declared Yet | Not Declared Yet | Not Declared Yet |
2020 | 88,066 | 15,461 | 17.6% |
2019 | 87,389 | 13,558 | 16.8% |
UC Berkeley Transfer Acceptance Rate
If you already have taken admission in school and are planning to transfer to UC Berkeley, you should check out the Transfer Acceptance Rate. The Acceptance Rate of UCB has been uniform for the past two years as 25.3%. So, let’s check out the important details on Transfer Acceptance Rate of UCB:
College GPA | 3.71-4.0 |
Acceptance Rate 2020 | 25.3% |
Acceptance Rate 2019 | 25.3% |
CCCs | 95.1% |
Veterans | 3% |
Re-entry | 14.3% |
UC Berkeley Out-of-State Acceptance Rate
International students must know the acceptance rate of students applying out of state. So, here are the details:
Average GPA | 3.90-4.00 (unweighted) |
Average ACT | 32-35 |
Average SAT | 1450-1530 |
Number of Countries | 74 |
Admitted Students | 1,552 |
Admit Rate | 9.14% |
UC Berkeley Important Dates
Applicants can start applying to UC Berkeley from October onwards. UCB starts the application submission process on November first every year. There is no option of early admission available. Here are some important dates that you should check out if you want to apply to UCB and make it through the UCB acceptance rate:
Application Availability | 1 August |
Apply for financial aid | 1 October |
Application forms are out | 1st November |
Last date for submission | 30th November |
Receipt of Application notification | December |
Transfer Application Update Deadline | 31st January |
Mandatory Forms deadline | 31st January |
Freshman Decisions Declared | End of March |
Transfer Decisions Declared | End of April |
Freshman Deadline to accept the offer | 1st May |
Transfer Deadline to accept the offer | 1st June |
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UC Berkeley Academic Profile
If you have reached here, we are sure you are looking forward to joining your classmates at University of California Berkeley, and the best way to know what you should prepare for is by knowing about your predecessors. So, let’s check out the UCB Academic Profile of Freshman of Batch 2020:
How University of California Berkeley chooses Students
By now you must know that UCB has a stringent acceptance policy with a very low acceptance rate. UCB is very selective with its students. So, let’s check out how UCB chooses students:
- Review of Student Application and Transfer Students
- At Least 3.0 GPA
- Interview
- Statement of Purpose
- Letter of Recommendation
UC Berkeley Basic Admission Requirements
UCB has 184 academic departments and programs offering excellent undergraduate and graduate courses in a large set of specialisations like engineering, sciences, literature, social sciences, visual and performing arts etc. The entire application process is online and applicants have the freedom to apply to multiple UC campuses with just one application. Before looking at the UCB acceptance rate let us look at the basic admission requirements for international students:
- For admissions to UCB, all international applicants must graduate secondary school to be eligible, and the academic performance must be over 89% in senior secondary examinations.
- Applicants must appear for the SAT or ACT exam to be eligible. The winning range for SAT score is from 1330-1530, and ACT score is 31 to 35.
- English language proficiency is vital for admissions; all international students have to submit standardised language tests like TOEFL with a preferrable score of 100, IELTS with a minimum score of 6.5 and DET with a minimum score of 115.
- All international students must provide proof of financial resources and documentation for their course program’s entire duration. International students must have enough funds to cover semester fees, travel expenses, living expenses and return fare.
- Another important aspect of the UCB application is the personal insight questions to gauge the applicant’s personality, non-academic and extracurricular achievements.
- UCB reviews every application holistically by giving equal importance to academic and non-academic achievements. Thus an exceptional SOP plays a significant role in the selection process.
Interestingly, UCB does not ask for official transcripts, resume or letters of recommendation during the application process. They put the onus on applicants to truthfully relay their academic and non-academic achievements. All information is verified and any wrongful discrepancy can lead to cancellation.
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UCB Selection Process
UCB is highly competitive and receives over 90,000 applications every year from across the world. It uses a Holistic Review process to evaluate every application making the UCB acceptance rate difficult and selective for freshman admissions. The college considers academic performance and non-academic achievements in performing arts or sports or service, personal characteristics and most importantly, their ability to affect intellectual and creative change at the UCB campus. Each application is considered.
Popular Programs Available in UC Berkeley
Finding out about the UCB acceptance rate also means that you should know the popular course available here. UCB offers extremely coveted courses which are highly competitive. Some of the most academic programs are listed below:
- College of Engineering
- College of Environmental Design
- College of Haas School of Business
- College of Letters and Science
- College of Chemistry
FAQs
The acceptance rate for 2020 for UC Berkeley is 17.6%. A total of 88,066 applicants applied for a wide range of courses and only 15,461 were finally admitted making the college extremely competitive.
UC Berkeley uses a holistic process to consider applicants for their programmes, The process takes into account various parameters like test scores, extracurricular activities, personal traits before selecting the candidates.
UCB is currently in the process of phasing out standardised tests like SAT and ACT from their admission process.
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Hopefully, this blog on the UCB acceptance rate was insightful for considering UCB for higher education. If you are planning to apply at UCB, then get in touch with Leverage Edu and let our experts guide you and help you get into one of the best public colleges in the US. Sign up for a free session today!