Admissions Bulletin for Counselors (Archive)

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November 23, 2020

Dear Colleague,

We hope you are holding up well during this busy college application season. Your determination to support your students as best as possible during unprecedented circumstances is truly admirable. Thank you for all of the work that you do!

We are very excited to already be seeing some applications from many of your students. While submitting an application early does not provide any additional benefit to an admission decision, we highly encourage your students to avoid waiting until the last minute so there are no issues meeting the deadline. We look forward to seeing your students’ applications by November 30 at 11:59 pm Pacific time.

Application Resources

As you are working with your students during this submission period, we want to turn your attention to several resources on our website to help you assist your students who are completing the application.

As always, if your questions are not answered online, we encourage you to contact our office.

UC Application Center

As a reminder, the UC Application Center will be open during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with select hours. Please direct your students to the application center for any technical or logistical assistance related to filling out the application.

UC Application Center
ucinfo@applyucsupport.net
(800) 207-1710 (within the U.S.)
(925) 298-6856 (outside the U.S.)

UC Berkeley Admissions Support

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions will have limited hours during the upcoming holiday week. Our phone lines will be open on Monday (11/23) @ 10am-4pm and the following Monday (11/30) @ 10am-4pm.

Letters of Recommendation (Freshman)

As we have done in the past few years, up to 15% of our freshman applicants will be asked to submit up to two letters of recommendation to be included in their application. If a student is asked, it is not required, but a letter from a teacher, a counselor, or another education professional can be very helpful in our review, as it can add context to the application. Not every student will be prompted to submit a letter of recommendation, and being offered the opportunity to submit a letter should not be used as a predictor of admission. Below, we are providing additional information and previous statistics about how the letters of recommendation played out in our review process.

For more information on this process, please review our Freshman Policy page and a memo on outcomes from the Letters of Recommendation process last cycle.

Encourage your colleagues to sign up to receive future issues of this bulletin.
Missed a bulletin? Check out our Admissions Bulletin for Counselors archive.

September 30, 2020

Dear Colleague,

We hope the start of the school year is going well for you and your students. As we make our final preparations for our application review process, we continue to seek as much context about your school as possible. If you haven’t already done so, we invite you to fill out this brief survey to tell us a little more about your school. This information will be used to provide context during our review process to help us have a more complete understanding of your students in their personal and school circumstances.

Additionally, we are grateful to report that the beginning of our semester has gone relatively well, given the current pandemic. With classes all remote this fall, we welcomed just under 2,000 students to campus housing and have proceeded through the first couple of weeks with very few COVID-19 cases. The campus is doing everything to ensure that students remain safe and are still able to thrive under these unprecedented conditions.

Virtual Open House - October 17th

UC Berkeley’s first annual Fall Open House will take place virtually on Saturday, October 17th from 9am-4pm. Sessions include:

Freshman, Transfer, and International admissions overviews
Student life & support services
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Cal Parents Introductions (in English and Spanish)

Please encourage your students to sign up to receive more information about Berkeley and an invitation to the Virtual Open House.

Grading Options for Berkeley Applicants

Due to the impact COVID-19 had on students earlier this year, we announced that students were given the option to take their courses for Pass/Credit instead of a letter grade. We wanted to remind you that this policy was in place for Winter 2020 and Spring 2020. For students taking courses during the 2020-21 academic year, Berkeley prefers that a letter grade be taken over a Pass/Credit option. If your school is only offering courses with Pass/Credit grades, we ask that the student explain that in the Additional Comments of their application so we have that context.

Announcement on Spring Instruction

This week, Chancellor Carol Christ announced earlier that classes during the spring 2021 semester will be remote. Review the full announcement here.

The Discover Berkeley Series Continues

Our virtual sessions continue throughout the next several weeks as we invite prospective applicants to learn about the opportunities at Berkeley through the Discover Berkeley Series. The admissions office and many other Berkeley campus departments will be hosting many presentations, workshops, and student panels for prospective applicants to engage with us virtually. Prospective freshman and transfer applicants are welcome!

ASSIST Updated for Berkeley

We are pleased to report that Berkeley is able to offer up-to-date information on ASSIST.org. Berkeley’s major agreements have been updated through the 2020-21 school year. All course information is now available on the new ASSIST.org website, making it unnecessary to use the temporary course transferability guide.

Encourage your colleagues to sign up to receive future issues of this bulletin.
Missed a bulletin? Check out our Admissions Bulletin for Counselors archive.

August 31, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

A lot has happened since the last time we’ve reached out to you. The University of California endorsed the repeal of Proposition 209 and selected a new UC President. Our virtual semester began last week with around 2,000 students in the campus residence halls (compared to 8,000 in a typical semester). And Berkeley is currently reviewing our application review process following up on the UC Regents’ decision in May to suspend the exam requirement.

Before we jump in, we have some exciting news to report. UC Berkeley has admitted its most diverse class in over 2 decades. We are extremely excited about this feat and are thrilled to welcome our incoming class of students. We know we have more work to do to reach our goal of becoming an Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and increasing African American and Native American enrollment, but we do want to celebrate this historic milestone after two years of hard work. More information about the incoming class is available at Berkeley News.

Testing Policy Update for UC Berkeley

This past May, the UC Regents’ voted to give campuses the option to use SAT/ACT test scores in the review process, effectively making the exams optional for students. Starting this application cycle with freshman students applying for Fall 2021 admissions, UC Berkeley will not use SAT/ACT test scores in any part of our application process, including evaluation, selection, or scholarship processes.

Berkeley has always used, and will continue to use, holistic review, which means there is no one sole factor in the application that will determine a student’s admission status. SAT/ACT test scores were not the only academic indicators available on the application to assess students. Other academic indicators will continue to be assessed in the review process, including grades, the rigor of a student's courses, other non-required tests (SAT subject test, AP tests, IB test, etc.), and a student’s individual academic context.

While Berkeley is choosing not to consider SAT/ACT exams in the admission process, students should check with other UC campuses to understand how they may or may not be using test scores. View our Freshman Policy Changes page for additional information and updates.

Updates to Admission Territories

As we start our outreach season, we wanted to share some slight adjustments to our territory assignments. Although outreach activities will look quite different this coming cycle, we are looking forward to engaging with you and your students very soon. Next week, we will be adding some virtual events on our website as a part of our Discover Berkeley Series, including application workshops and introductions to the campus academic opportunities, resources, and student life. Stay tuned for more information.

UC Berkeley International Dual Degree Programs for Incoming First-Year Students

Dual Degree Programs provide students the opportunity to pursue degrees from a choice of two different universities: UC Berkeley and either Sciences Po in France or The University of Hong Kong. Each program awards two degrees, one from each university, in four years and offers students a unique, global undergraduate experience. All instruction is offered in English. To apply, students must submit a UC and supplemental application. For more information, please see dualdegree.berkeley.edu.

Campus Life Resources for Fall 2020

In June, Chancellor Christ made the announcement about what the Fall 2020 semester will look like. We want to make sure you have the resources to guide and support your students in their transition to UC Berkeley. Even though classes have started, we know that a transition to college takes more than a few days. In fact, some students may feel like they’re in a transition period until well after they’re able to physically arrive and get settled in on campus, and we’re proud of Berkeley’s response to COVID-19 and the resources the University is providing students this semester.

A Berkeley Life Resources page connects students with information about resources, services, and updates regarding classes, housing, financial aid, orientation, etc. We also have a Berkeley Life Instagram with similar resources for students who get their information via social media. Finally, as Berkeley is offering most of our courses online, we continue to consider how to perfect the remote instruction experience for students. Here’s a reflection on the Spring semester, Online Classes: What Worked.

Requesting School Information (School Profiles)

Given the recent decisions from the UC Regents to remove the testing requirement, our office is considering how our admissions process may change. While we don’t anticipate major changes given that we already use a holistic approach to our application review, we are very interested in trying to find ways to get more context from you about your school. We hope that you will take a few minutes to provide us with information that will be used in our admissions process.

Please fill out this brief counselor survey about your school.

UC Berkeley Global Edge Program for Incoming First-Year Students

The UC Berkeley Global Edge Program provides students the opportunity to begin their freshman year in an extraordinary way. Students spend their summer at Berkeley taking eight weeks of summer courses, then their fall semester studying abroad in London taking Berkeley courses at the UC London Study Center. Participants benefit from a strong focus on cohort building, a unique global perspective, and completion of many Berkeley undergraduate requirements. For more information, please visit globaledge.berkeley.edu.

Encourage your colleagues to sign up to receive future issues of this bulletin.
Missed a bulletin? Check out our Admissions Bulletin for Counselors archive.

May 29, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

As the 2019-20 academic year comes to a close, we want to thank you for all of the work that you do to support students. Your work has been crucial during this challenging year and we rely on your partnership to help us share important information and updates, including how COVID-19 and the UC Regents’ recent decision on testing requirements affects students. While we don’t quite know what the Fall 2020 term will look like, we plan on updating you as soon as we receive that information.

Below, we have included a few updates that we felt were important to share now, and we will continue to share updates from the Berkeley campus and University of California system throughout the summer.

Changes to Exam Requirement for Fall 2021 Applications and beyond

In April, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on high school students around the world, the University of California made the decision to go test-optional and suspend the exam requirement for those applying for Fall 2021. Since then, the UC Regents made a landmark decision to suspend the exam requirement for the next four years.

We know that this decision has prompted a lot of questions, most of which we are still working through ourselves. As a campus, we will be sure to let you know how Berkeley plans to incorporate this policy change into our reading process. We remain confident in our ability to conduct a thorough and fair review of an application using holistic review. The holistic review process allows us to use all aspects of the application to make a recommendation for admission. Our selection has never been about a single aspect and the removal of the exam requirement will not change that fact.

We encourage you to review the information about the UC Regents decision and how it will affect students applying to the University of California in upcoming years.

Virtual Admissions Presentations

In late April, we started piloting a virtual admissions presentation in the absence of our on-campus presentations. Our goal is to remain as accessible as possible and we have posted a regular schedule of presentations for prospective students and families who are interested in earning more about the UC Berkeley campus.

For our first-year population, we have admissions presentations in both English and Spanish, as well as a “special topics” presentation where admissions partners with offices, such as financial aid, to provide information beyond the admissions process. For students interested in the transfer process, we have transfer specific presentations on Tuesdays.

To see the schedule and to sign up for our virtual presentations, please have students go to apply.berkeley.edu/portal/presentation.

Transfer Transition Program

The Transfer Transition Program (TTP), a six-week program for incoming first-generation transfer students, facilitates students’ successful transition to UC Berkeley through coursework, advising, and other support throughout the summer. Applications for the program are due Monday, June 8th. We encourage you to forward the application to students who might benefit.

Biology+Business Program for Incoming Berkeley First-Year Students

The Biology+Business Program prepares students to be leaders and innovators in biotech and healthcare. Students will earn a Bachelor of Arts degree Molecular and Cell Biology and Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Admission to the program is only open to students entering UC Berkeley as first-year students. Students interested in the program should apply to UC Berkeley through the standard admissions process, and will apply to the Program during their sophomore year.

Update on Receiving Transcripts to Finalize Admissions

For those of your students who have committed to attending Berkeley, we need to receive all official documents to verify what we saw on the UC Application. The deadline for official transcripts is July 1st and the deadline for other documents, such as AP/IB exams and IGETC certifications for transfer admits, is July 15th.

Be sure to review and share our Transcripts page, which includes information on the best way to send documents to our office (electronically or paper) and an update on how COVID-19 has impacted our ability to receive documents.

Please encourage your students to communicate with their assigned admissions officer (available to them on their portal) if they have documents that will be delayed. Incoming transfers already have an assigned admissions officer, while incoming first-year students will be assigned one in the next week or two.

School Profiles

During our application review, we have access to a plethora of information about many of your schools that allows us to review students in context of their school environment. We receive this information from a variety of sources, including the UC Office of the President, the state and federal Departments of Education, and from school profiles that you provide us. We recognize that COVID-19 has impacted your schools in many ways and has affected classroom learning, grading policies, and available resources for students. Thinking ahead to the next academic year, we are very interested in understanding the context of the Spring 2020 term and we are working on a process to receive updated information from you to understand that context in our upcoming application review process. We will reach out with more details.

Introducing the Rausser College of Natural Resources

The College of Natural Resources is now Rausser College, thanks to a landmark $50 million gift from Agriculture and Resource Economics Professor Emeritus Gordon Rausser. At this time, we do not anticipate any large changes to Rausser College academic programming and services. The name change will be reflected in future admissions publications as well as the UC Application, which will be available in August.

Learn more information on Rausser College’s landmark gift.

UC Education Abroad Program Suspended

Study Abroad programs for Fall 2020 and the 2020-21 academic year have been suspended. This includes the Global Edge Program (GEP), which was one of the First Year Pathways options for newly admitted students in the College of Letters and Science and the Rausser College of Natural Resources. Students who selected GEP as their option have been notified and are being offered a seat in another pathway. Students should rest assured that they will have a space at Berkeley, and we hope to be able to offer study abroad options soon.

Encourage your colleagues to sign up to receive future issues of this bulletin.
Missed a bulletin? Check out our Admissions Bulletin for Counselors archive.

April 17, 2020

Dear Colleague,

We hope that things are going well for you and your students during this difficult time. Transfer decisions are going out later today, and we want to share some important information regarding the decision release and provide some updates stemming from COVID-19.

CalWeek Starts Saturday!

We are so excited to welcome your newly admitted students to Berkeley during our virtual open house, CalWeek. CalWeek begins this Saturday, April 18th and will continue through Friday, April 24th. Berkeley will be offering over 150 virtual events that include information sessions, student panels, faculty talks, and even virtual arts sessions. Though we are unable to invite students to campus, we still hope to showcase the amazing academic programs, support and enrichment resources, and talent that exists at UC Berkeley. Both freshman and transfer admits are encouraged to join us to learn about the outstanding opportunities at Berkeley.

More information can be found on the new student admit site.

Updates to Admissions Policies Due to COVID-19

We recognize that the global COVID-19 pandemic is creating challenges for both admitted and prospective students around the world, and we will be as flexible as possible to accommodate any hardships in their path to UC Berkeley. The University of California Office of the President continues to update UC’s response on admissions to COVID-19. Many of your and your students’ questions will be answered there. We’d like to highlight a few key topics, however.

Requirements & Deadlines for Admitted Students:

We will consider a student’s circumstances on an individual student basis rather than apply a one-size-fits all approach. We will be as flexible as possible for students who communicate with us that they are struggling to submit the $250 enrollment fee deposit by May 1 or June 1, for admitted freshmen and admitted transfers, respectively, iust as in prior years, we will accept requests for students to defer their admission after they accept their offer of admission.

All requirements can be satisfied with Pass or Credit grades for students who can no longer take their courses for letter grades. We will also be as flexible as possible for students struggling to meet a document deadline or a condition of admission due to a circumstance resulting from COVID-19.

For admitted transfer students, all colleges and all majors will accept Pass and Credit grades for major preparation requirements. We are still requiring a full UC IGETC, full reciprocity, or full general education requirements by the end of Spring 2020, as well as any conditions of admission outlined on the student’s admission letter. Students who will not be able to meet these requirements must submit an Admissions Update form, located in their Conditions of Admission, to notify their admission officer.

Transcript Submission:

Newly admitted students still have to request their transcripts to be sent to us following the step provided on Submitting Transcripts to UC Berkeley. If your school will be unable to meet the transcript postmark deadline, please contact Esperanza Bernal at ebernal25@berkeley.edu.

Testing Requirements for Future Applicants:

We have temporarily suspending the requirement of the SAT/ACT for fall 2021 admission only. AT this time, this modification is meant to accommodate students who are unable to take the SAT or ACT due to the current circumstances and is not intended to be an admissions policy shift. We are currently working on adjusting our application review processes to ensure that a lack of a standardized test score will not be a detriment to a student’s admission.

Decision Resources for Counselors

We would like to share two resources that we think will be useful as you work to support your students with their next steps. The first resource is the Counselor Decision Release Guide for Transfers and the second is the Transfer Frequently Asked Questions. Both documents have information for students who were either admitted to Berkeley, offered a space on the waitlist, or not offered admission. If you received this information in previous years, please refresh your records as we have made several updates.

Connect with your Territory Manager

Like most of you, Undergraduate Admissions had to make a dramatic shift in our operations at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we're still adjusting to this new reality, there's one thing we know for sure: we are here for you and your students. Though exploring options for college may be far from your students’ minds during this challenging time for many families, if you have students who are eager to learn about Berkeley or the college admission process in general, we want to support them. We've been rethinking our outreach activities and will be rolling out a series of counselor and student-focused programs throughout the summer. In the meantime, we encourage you to reach out to your Territory Manager with any questions you might have, to set up a meeting, or with suggestions about how we might be of service to your students. You might also hear from your Territory Manager directly in the coming weeks as we start to roll out virtual engagement opportunities.

Until then, wishing you all good health.

Virtual Admissions Presentations

We have recently launched our daily virtual information sessions for prospective students. Students can sign up now on our website. Through the end of April, our presentations will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:00am Pacific Time and on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:00pm Pacific Time. Presentations in May will be scheduled soon.

Upcoming Admission Dates

Here is a reminder of upcoming dates and deadlines, including some new information.

April 17: Transfer Decision Release Day
April 18-24: CalWeek Virtual Engagement
May 1: Deadline for Freshman admits to accept their offer of admission
May 15: Deadline for Transfer students to "opt-in" to the wait list
June 1: Deadline for Transfer admits to accept their offer of admission
July 1: Transcript deadline for all incoming students
July 15: Deadline for other documents (IGETC, exam scores, etc.)

Encourage your colleagues to sign up to receive future issues of this bulletin.
Missed a bulletin? Check out our Admissions Bulletin for Counselors archive.

March 26, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Since we last connected with you, a lot has happened with developments stemming from COVID-19. We hope that you and your students are staying safe, and able to navigate through these unprecedented challenges that we face in the world of education. With our freshman decisions going out today, we want to share some important updates including changes to programs impacted by COVID-19, as well as some information regarding our decision release for freshman applicants.

Note on COVID-19 Effects on Berkeley

For the remainder of the semester, current Berkeley students will be finishing their classes online. Unfortunately, large public events have been cancelled and this includes our new admit receptions and our open house events, Cal Day and Transfer Day.

Rest assured, we are not giving up on your students! The students we admit this week belong at Berkeley and while we know many of them have other options, we want them to learn as much as they can about our campus. We are dedicated to engaging with them virtually and showcasing the opportunities available to them should they choose Berkeley. Our newly admitted student website will soon be updated on ways that students can engage with us online, including our week-long virtual open house, CalWeek (April 18-24).

Decision Resources for Counselors

We would like to share two resources that we think will be useful as you work to support your students with their next steps. The first resource is the Counselor Decision Release Guide for Freshmen and the second is the Freshman Frequently Asked Questions. Both documents will have information for students who were either admitted to Berkeley, offered a space on the waitlist, or not offered admission. If you received this information in previous years, please refresh your records as we have made several updates.

Spring Outreach - Virtually

While most of us are consumed with the fallout of a dramatic shift in teaching modalities and school closures, it’s clear that students have not given up on the college search. During a time when campus tours have been canceled and travel has been put on an indefinite hiatus, we want you to know that we’re still available for discussions with prospective student groups via Zoom.

In the next week or so, we will be launching daily virtual information sessions so students can learn more about Berkeley from anywhere in the world. More information will be posted on our website soon.

We would also welcome the opportunity to speak to your students as a group on a variety of topics. If you have school groups or programs that are looking for college or university engagement, even from a distance, reach out to your territory manager. If you’re not sure who your Territory Manager is, feel free to submit a Contact Us form and we’ll make sure your request gets to the right person.

Admitted Student Concerns

We have already heard from students admitted during the February Early Release expressing concerns about transcripts, and test score submissions. Please know that UC Berkeley will be as flexible as possible to support our newly admitted students! Each freshman student is assigned an Admissions Officer (AO) after the acceptance deadline. The AOs will evaluate admitted student records as we are able, and take into account students’ experiences when such changes have resulted from school closures, needing to complete their diplomas through online platforms, and finding alternative forms of education. A student's mode of instruction during this unprecedented time in our world history will not be a detriment to their admission status. We will work with educational professionals, such as yourself, schools and districts to receive any required documentation. This situation seems to change daily, and continues to evolve. We can only get through this together. Our staff will work to find a balance between upholding UC admission requirements and having compassion towards our admitted class.

Status of Summer Programs

We have made no decision as to the status of admissions-sponsored summer programs, such as the Berkeley Summer Experience & the Berkeley Admissions Experience for Counselors, which typically occur in the months of June and July. As the campus makes decisions about university-sponsored events past the end of May, we’ll provide an update. We hope to be able to welcome you and some of your students to campus in the not-too-distant future.

Upcoming Admission Dates

Here is a reminder of upcoming dates and deadlines, including some new information.

March 26: Freshman Decision Release Day
April 15: Deadline for Freshman students on the wait list to "opt-in"
April 17: Transfer Decision Release Day
April 18-24: Cal Week Virtual Engagement
May 1: Deadline for Freshman admits to accept their offer of admission
May 15 - Deadline for Transfer students on the wait list to "opt-in"
June 1 - Deadline for Transfer admits to accept their offer of admission
July 1 - Transcript deadline for all incoming students
July 15 - Deadline for other documents (IGETC, exams, etc.)

Encourage your colleagues to sign up to receive future issues of this bulletin.
Missed a bulletin? Check out our Admissions Bulletin for Counselors archive.

January 31, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year! We hope that you had a restful break and that your year is off to a great start. We have some exciting announcements about special events and programs happening on the UC Berkeley campus in the coming months.

Admissions Release Dates

Late next week, a small number of freshman applicants will be notified that they have been admitted to UC Berkeley. Last year, roughly 8 percent of our fall 2019 freshman admits were notified of their admission decision in February, the majority of whom were candidates for our Regents’ & Chancellor’s scholarship. The vast majority of freshman applicants will receive an admission decision on March 26, 2020.

If you know of students who have been admitted via Early Decision at another university and are happily committed, please encourage them to withdraw their application to UC Berkeley prior to March 1 so we can confirm the withdrawal before our March decision release. The withdrawal form is live in their MAP@Berkeley portal.

We will be releasing decisions for Transfer applicants on Friday, April 17th, 2020.

Cal Day 2020

Mark you calendars for UC Berkeley’s annual open house, which takes place this year on April 18th. Cal Day is a great opportunity for admitted and prospective students to visit campus, engage with students, staff, and faculty, and enjoy any of the hundreds of events taking place on that day. We encourage all admitted students to join us to experience the UC Berkeley community and ask any questions about being a Golden Bear.

For more information on Cal Day, please visit calday.berkeley.edu.

150 Years of Women at Berkeley

This year marks the 150th anniversary of women being admitted to the University of California. Under the leadership of Chancellor Carol Christ, the first woman to take that role, UC Berkeley will be celebrating 150 years of women at Berkeley through a series of events and marking the anniversary in a variety of methods.

For more information on what is planned, please visit the 150W website 150w.berkeley.edu.

Staffing Updates

Trey Moore joined UC Berkeley in December as the new Associate Director for Diversity & Inclusion in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Trey joins us from the University of Oklahoma where he worked for 17 years, most recently as Associate Director for Diversity Enrichment Programs. Trey will lead our office in inclusive partnerships on campus and across the state & nation.

Stefan Montouth joins our leadership team as the new Associate Director for Marketing, Yield, and Communications. Stefan has been a part of the Berkeley admissions team since 2012, most recently as the Senior Assistant Director of Special Projects and Communications. Stefan will continue his work leading our marketing efforts to align our messaging with the strategic goals of the admissions office and our campus, as well as revamping the in-person and virtual visitor experience for prospective students, families, and counselors.

Transfer Day 2020

Transfer Day takes place on Saturday, May 2, 2020. Transfer Day is a campus wide event dedicated to the celebration and welcoming of newly admitted transfer students. Admitted transfers will have the opportunity to engage with academic advisors, learn about the services on campus dedicated to transfer success, and meet amazing staff, faculty, and students.

More information is coming soon, but mark your calendars for Saturday, May 2nd.

Biology + Business Program for Incoming Freshmen

Do you have students passionate about the intersection of scientific inquiry and commercialization? Are your students interested in biotech and healthcare? UC Berkeley's Biology+Business Program prepares students to be leaders and innovators in these fields. Students study an integrated curriculum in Molecular and Cell Biology and Business Administration, earning 2 bachelor's degrees in as few as 4 years. Admission to the program is open to students entering UC Berkeley as freshmen.

For more information, visit biologybusiness.berkeley.edu or email biologybusiness@berkeley.edu.

Encourage your colleagues to sign up to receive future issues of this bulletin.
Missed a bulletin? Check out our Admissions Bulletin for Counselors archive.

December 18, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

As we approach the holiday break, we want to thank you for your unyielding support of your students. We rely heavily on your work as you help guide students towards their educational goals, and hope you take the holiday break to get some much deserved rest and time with your family and friends.

Please find additional admissions and campus updates below. Happy Holidays and Go Bears!

Office of Undergraduate Admissions Availability

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions will be closed beginning Monday, December 23, 2019. The office will reopen in a limited capacity beginning Tuesday, January 7, 2020. During the break, we will be responding to applicant inquiries on a limited basis.

During the months of January and February, on-campus daily admission presentations will be limited as our staff focus on freshman and transfer application review. Presentation and office availability is expected to return to normal in March. Thank you for your patience.

Letters of Recommendation Reminders (Freshman)

Invitations for students to submit letters of recommendation went out earlier this month. Not all students received this invitation and unfortunately we do not have the capacity to accept unsolicited letters or materials. If you have agreed to be a Recommender for a student who received an invitation, but you have not yet received the official instructions on how to submit through our portal, please have your students complete the process in their MAP@Berkeley portal. NOTE: We do not accept letters of recommendation through Naviance. The deadline to submit letters of recommendation on behalf of your students is January 15, 2020.

Encourage your colleagues to sign up to receive future issues of this bulletin.
Missed a bulletin? Check out our Admissions Bulletin for Counselors archive.

November 18, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

We are over halfway through the 2020 UC application filing period, which began on November 1 and we are already getting applications from many of your students. While submitting an application early does not provide any additional benefit to an admission decision, we highly encourage your students to avoid waiting until the last minute so there are no issues meeting the deadline. We look forward to seeing your students applications by November 30 at 11:59 pm Pacific time. We thank you for your crucial support of your students.

Please find additional admissions and campus updates below. Go Bears!

Freshman Requirements
Freshman Applicant Checklist
Transfer Requirements
Transfer Applicant Checklist
Application Tips
Application FAQs
Facebook Live Q&A (Answers Freshman & Transfer questions)

As always, if your questions are not answered online, we encourage you to contact our office.

Course Articulation Resources for
Transfer Applicants

As we mentioned in an earlier bulletin, the new ASSIST is now live. However, we have found that it is currently only displaying department information. Unfortunately, the major articulation and General Education functions are not working for the current academic year. In the interim, we encourage you to have students refer to our Berkeley Course Transferability Guide for more details and for campus updates. Please note, if there is not a 2019-20 articulation agreement on either source, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will honor the 2016-17 academic year.

Letters of Recommendation (Freshman)

As we have done in the past few years, some freshman applicants will be asked to submit up to two letters of recommendation to be included in their application. If a student is asked, it is not required, but a letter from a teacher, a counselor, or other education professionals can be very helpful in our review, as it can add context to the application. Not every student will be asked for a letter of recommendation and getting the opportunity to submit one (or not) does not necessarily mean we are leaning towards admitting the student. Below, we are providing additional information and previous statistics about how the letters of recommendation played out in our review process.

For more information on this process, please review our Letters of Recommendation webpage and a memo on outcomes from the Letters of Recommendation process last cycle.

Encourage your colleagues to sign up to receive future issues of this bulletin.
Missed a bulletin? Check out our Admissions Bulletin for Counselors archive.

October 22, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

Outreach season is starting to wrap up and it won’t be long before we settle in to read the more than 100,000 freshman and transfer applications we expect to receive this year. While we’ve enjoyed meeting you and your students across the state, country and world, we’re looking forward to learning even more about the students and their hopes, dreams and aspirations. Below we’ve included some important reminders about upcoming deadlines and programs of which you and your students should be aware.

Application Filing Period Begins Nov. 1

The University of California application submission period is November 1-30. Students can access the application now and begin filling out all of the sections in preparation for the filing period in November. We encourage students to get a head start by logging on to the UC Application website and creating their account.

Transfer Pre-Admission Advising

For years, UC Berkeley provided on-campus advising services for students who were looking to transfer from a college that was not a California Community College (CCC). Unfortunately, we will be discontinuing this service, effective immediately. Due to the large volume of applicants we receive each year, we can only provide course-by-course evaluation during the application review process, for students who are actual applicants.

For prospective students wondering if their coursework will transfer for units or satisfy certain requirements, we ask that they use the following resources:

ASSIST is a tool primarily for CCC students; however, it can be useful to students with non-CCC coursework. Non-CCC students can use ASSIST to determine the requirements necessary for transfer.
Berkeley Academic Guide is the official UC Berkeley catalog. Students can go to the course list and compare the descriptions to courses they may have taken.
Please refer to the Berkeley Transfer Requirements page for more information.

As always, our office is available to answer general transfer questions at (510) 642-3175.

New Deputy Director

UC Berkeley is pleased to announce the appointment of our new deputy director, Abby Jones. Abby joins us most recently from Stanford University, where she was Associate Director of Admission for Diversity Outreach and External Relations. We are excited to have Abby on board at UC Berkeley, where she will oversee our application review, yield and communications teams.

Choosing a Major

The Berkeley Academic Guide, UC Berkeley’s 2019-20 campus general catalog, is now available online. The Guide is a resource to help students decide which major to choose, and is especially helpful for those who are unfamiliar with the academic structure of a university, or feel overwhelmed by the size of our campus.

The Guide provides a fun and intuitive way for students to discover what UC Berkeley has to offer through one comprehensive and easy-to-navigate website that makes it easy to explore degrees and classes. This is an excellent resource for both prospective freshmen and transfer students.

Outreach To Your Younger Students

Although the fall outreach season is wrapping up, the work never ends. We’ll be back on the road in the spring, looking forward to meeting with sophomores and juniors, and community college students early in their academic careers.

Don’t let your students miss an update from UC Berkeley! Encourage them to sign up now to receive information from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, including invitations to special events in the spring and summer, tailored to their interests.

Materials Science and Engineering Event

The Materials Science and Engineering department at the Berkeley is hosting an information/outreach session on Saturday, October 26th from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We would like to take this opportunity to invite juniors and seniors interested in science and engineering and their parents/guardians to this outreach event. This session will introduce students to Materials Science and Engineering, including presentations by faculty on the different areas of MSE, and research, internship and career opportunities.

The event is limited in size so everyone will have access to the faculty and students to get their questions answered. The event will include lunch at which the faculty and current students will be available to answer questions. Please see the attached flyer for more details and sign up now.

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September 18, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

We hope had a wonderful summer and that your school year has gotten off to a great start. We’re so excited to be able to reconnect with you all and share some exciting updates from the office of undergraduate admissions. This past summer, we have been vigorously planning for our outreach season where we engage with you and your students throughout the fall.

Our work has been driven by our new director of admissions, Olufemi Ogundele, and his vision along with the new campus goals for diversity brought about by Chancellor Carol Christ. In conjunction with these new initiatives, we have rebranded all of our admissions materials. This includes our admissions website, which now includes a Berkeley En Español section. It also resulted in a refresh of all of our admissions publications. Additionally, our territory allocations have been restructured for the purpose of providing you with a single point of contact in our office that you can engage with.

Our goal with these changes are to show you and your students the possibilities at Berkeley, to remind each student that we see them and their individual experiences, and to not be afraid to have Berkeley as an option. We hope you find these changes useful in your quest to advise your students accordingly.

During this academic school year, through this bulletin, we will keep you apprised of any additional changes in our office. In the coming weeks, we’ll have updates of many new staff that will be joining our team - some being filled vacancies, and others being brand new positions designed to meet our new strategic initiatives.

In the meantime, below are a few announcements for upcoming programs/events.

Good luck with the school year and GO BEARS!

UC Application Is Open

Your students now have the ability to start their application for fall 2019, including entering personal information, courses, grades, and test scores, and drafting their Personal Insight Questions (PIQs). The application submission period begins on November 1 and the deadline is November 30.

Encourage your students to get a head start now by logging on to My UC Application.

Global Management Program Webinar

Join us for our "Get to Know GMP" informational webinar .

Are you interested in applying to the Berkeley Haas Global Management Program but have questions about the program? Join us for an informational webinar on October 9, 5:00 PM PST - 6:00 PM PST where we discuss the program from a student experience perspective and answer students most commonly asked questions.

Students can register for the webinar here:

Registration Link

Interested students are also encouraged to visit our Outreach & Admission Events website for more information.

Envision Haas Transfer Outreach Program

Envision Haas is an admissions outreach program under the direction of the Haas Undergraduate Program Office and in partnership with the Haas Business Student Association (HBSA).The program aims to provide admissions information to our growing number of California Community College transfer applicants. Each Envision Haas session includes a Haas tour, admissions info session and transfer student led panel.

Join us for our virtual webinar on September 27th from 5-6pm Pacific time. Learn More & Register.

M.E.T. Program Webinar

The M.E.T. program allows students to earn a B.S. in Business AND a B.S. in Engineering in 4 years – at the Haas School of Business and College of Engineering. Please note: M.E.T. only accepts students applying as freshmen.

Register for a webinar to learn more: October 3 / 3:00 - 4:00pm PDT or October 15 / 12:00-1:00pm PDT

College Access Symposium
October 1

There's still time to register for the UC Berkeley CEP-OUA College Access Symposium, on Tuesday, October 1, 8:00 am to 3:15 pm at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Berkeley Marina. Registration fee of $35 includes a breakfast and lunch (vegetarian/vegan options included).

Meet the new Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of Admissions Olufemi "Femi" Ogundele who will share Berkeley admission outcomes and updates. Gain insights on Berkeley's Diversity Initiative. Discover the different support and services your high school seniors experience when they enroll in Berkeley. For more information on the CEP-OUA Symposium and check out workshops offered, please visit our event page.

Questions and comments can be sent to edpartnerships@berkeley.edu. See you on October 1st!

What's New At Berkeley?

As we begin another academic year, we provide our annual update to new and excited programs and initiatives on campus. Learn more about new majors, including Biology + Business and an expanded Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology (M.E.T.) program. Learn about special programs, including Dual Degree programs of Hong Kong University and Sciences Po. And learn more about expanding housing options for students.

Check out these updates here.

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June 12, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

As we wrap up the school year and finalize our UC Berkeley incoming class, we just wanted to take the time to thank you for another great year. Your support of students is greatly appreciated and we look forward to continue working with you. This will be the last bulletin of the school year and we will resume in August. Here are a few last announcements.

Freshman & Transfer Class Complete

We are very close to finalizing our UC Berkeley class. As of today, our freshman class is officially complete, including admits from the wait list and the appeals process. Our transfer class is not officially closed, but we hope to finalize the transfer class soon and will send notifications to students soon thereafter. Updates on the student profile page will be completed in August.

Please remind your incoming students to continue checking both their Berkeley email and their email from the UC Application. The admissions office, and other campus departments, will be reaching out to all students throughout the summer to ensure they have completed everything they need before the Fall semester begins. If students have any updates to their conditions of admission or their spring course schedule, they should immediately submit an Undergraduate Admissions Update Form through the MAP@Berkeley portal.

Redesigned UC Application

The University of California application has been newly redesigned. When the application becomes available in August, students will have improved functionality and a smoother user experience when they apply to any of the UC campuses. One of the new features include the ability for students to search majors by category (as a default view). This will help students identify majors that they may be interested in, versus relying on knowing the college in which a particular major resides.

For more information on the application redesign, please refer to the Freshman Application User Guide and the Transfer Application User Guide.

The New ASSIST has been Launched

The redesigned articulation website, ASSIST, has been launched with an improved experience for searching for major and general education requirements. While the site has been launched, we will still be adding more articulation agreements over the coming months. During this transition, Berkeley’s Course Transferability Guide is still available to serve students.

New Biology+Business Program for Incoming Berkeley Freshmen

The Biology+Business Program prepares students to be leaders and innovators by bridging scientific inquiry and research with entrepreneurship and commercial application. Students study Molecular and Cell Biology and Business Administration, earning two bachelor’s degrees in as few as four years. Admission to the program is only open to students entering UC Berkeley as freshmen. High schoolers who are interested in the program should apply to UC Berkeley through the standard admissions process and students will apply to the program during their sophomore year.

For more information, visit biologybusiness.berkeley.edu or email biologybusiness@berkeley.edu.

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April 17, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

We are two days from our Transfer decision release, happening this Friday, April 19th. We want to provide you with a few details regarding what students can expect. We hope that this information will be useful to you as your students may have questions about their admissions decision

Transfer Decision Resources for Counselors

Two resources are available for your reference when working with transfer students - the Decision Release Guide for Transfers and the Transfer Frequently Asked Questions. Both documents will have information for students who were either admitted to Berkeley, offered a space on the wait list, or not offered admission. If you received this information in previous years, please refresh your records as we have made several updates.

New Admit Site

Last month, we announced the launch of our brand new site for newly admitted students. We released this in time for our freshman decision release. Now that we are turning our attention to transfer decision release, the admit site has been refreshed with transfer information. Relevant information for freshman admits will still be available. However, the online space will now be shared between freshman and transfer admits.

Upcoming Admissions Dates

Here is a reminder of upcoming dates and deadlines, including some new information.

April 19: Transfer Decision Release Day
May 1: Deadline for Freshman admits to accept their offer of admission
May 4: Transfer Day
May 7-9: New Transfer Student Receptions in Southern California
May 15: Deadline for Transfer students to "opt-in" to the wait list
June 1: Deadline for Transfer admits to accept their offer of admission
July 1: Transcript deadline for all incoming students
July 15: Deadline for other documents (IGETC, exams, etc.)

Updated Transfer New Flash

Our latest edition of the Berkeley Transfer Counselor News Flash is available on our website. This is the last news flash produced by our very own Southern California Transfer Specialist, Ana Rafferty, who after 22 years of service to UC Berkeley will be retiring. We want to thank Ana for her years of service and her dedication to transfer students.

Topics include:

Transfer New Student Receptions
Meeting Conditions of Admissions
Prospective Student Programming
Staffing Updates

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April 10, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

In this edition of the Admission Bulletin for Counselors, learn more about Cal Day, our transfer decision release and Transfer Day, and deferral requests for admitted freshman students.

Cal Day VIP

Taking place this Saturday, April 13, Cal Day is UC Berkeley’s annual open house. We invite all admitted and prospective freshman and transfer students to create their own path as they join the next generation of engaged thinkers. Students can take a campus tour, hear from award winning faculty, explore housing, and learn what they need to do next to be #BerkeleyBound.

Admitted students should join us for the Chancellor’s New Student Reception in their honor at Memorial Stadium at 8 a.m. and pick up their VIP pass which will get them special access to certain events, tours, and much more.

Students should go to the Cal Day website now to sign up for their VIP experience.

Berkeley M.E.T. Info Session at Cal Day

UC Berkeley has an exciting new program that’s just perfect for students who are interested in both Business and Engineering. In the Management, Entrepreneurship, & Technology program, undergraduates will earn two full bachelor’s degrees -- in engineering and in business -- in four years.

We encourage you and your students to learn more about M.E.T. at our upcoming info session during Cal Day:

11 - 12 p.m, Banatao Auditorium, Sutardja-Dai Hal

First Year Pathway Info Sessions

In addition to their participation at Cal Day’s Marketplace, each of the First Year Pathway programs will be doing information sessions during Cal Day. Many of your students will have the opportunity to select a pathway that presents a unique way to start their first year experience, including smaller class sizes, a global experience, and/or Berkeley (or transferable) courses. View the times and locations for the information sessions.

Get More Information at Cal Day

Fall Program for Freshman - 1pm-2pm @ 2050 Valley Life Sciences Building
The University of Hong Kong Dual Degree - 2pm-3pm @ 83 Dwinelle Hal
Global Edge London - 3pm-4pm @ 102 Wheeler Hall

Transfer Decision Release

Transfer admission decisions will be released on Friday, April 19th, a week earlier than in previous years. This gives our students additional time to consider their options and discover the campus. Next week we’ll send a bulletin with transfer FAQs and other guides for your reference as you assist your students through their next steps.

Transfer Day - May 4th

We are very excited to be hosting our Transfer Day on Saturday, May 4th for newly admitted Transfer students. Similar to Cal Day, the UC Berkeley campus will host a welcome reception, hold a resource fair, offer advising services, and conduct information sessions. When transfer students are admitted, they will receive details for this very special event.

Requesting Deferment

We know that every year there is a small number of students that wish to defer their admission to Berkeley. This year in our FAQs, we initially indicated that the request form will become available on April 15th for freshman students. This has now been changed to May 1st. Students must accept their offer of admission before submitting a request for deferral.

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March 27, 2019

Dear Colleague,

As we get closer to our Freshman decision release tomorrow, March 28th, we wanted to provide you with a few details regarding what students can expect. We hope that this information will be useful to you as your students may have questions about their admissions decision. We’ll send out similar information next month when we release Transfer decisions, on Friday, April 19th.

Decision Resources for Counselors

We would like to share two resources that we think will be useful as you work to support your students with their next steps. The first resource is the Counselor Decision Release Guide for Freshmen and the second is the Freshman Frequently Asked Questions. Both documents will have information for students who were either admitted to Berkeley, offered a space on the wait list, or not offered admission. If you received this information in previous years, please refresh your records as we have made several updates.

New Admit Site

This week we will be launching our brand new site for newly admitted students. With this new site, students will now have a resource that will supplement their student portal. This site will have information on welcome receptions for students, next steps, frequently asked questions, resources, and a section for parents and families.

This resource is for both Freshman and Transfer admitted students. After Cal Day, more Transfer information will be included as we prepare for the April 19th transfer decision release. Once it is available, the link will be admit.berkeley.edu.

Upcoming Admissions Dates

Here is a reminder of upcoming dates and deadlines, including some new information.

March 28 - Freshman Decision Release Day
April 13 - Cal Day
April 15 - Deadline for Freshman students on the wait list to "opt-in"
April 19 - Transfer Decision Release Day
May 1 - Deadline for Freshman admits to accept their offer of admission
May 4 - Transfer Day
May 15 - Deadline for Transfer students on the wait list to "opt-in"
June 1 - Deadline for Transfer admits to accept their offer of admission
July 1 - Transcript deadline for all incoming students
July 15 - Deadline for other documents (IGETC, exams, etc.)

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February 6, 2019

Dear Colleague,

In the January edition of the Admissions Bulletin for Counselors, we asked you to provide your recommendations for communications and recruitment efforts. We can’t thank you enough for your honest feedback. We’ve heard your thoughts and have already begun to implement some of those recommendations. One of your ideas was to create an archive of these bulletins to be able to refer to at a later date, and we’ve done just that. You can now find the new Admissions Bulletin for Counselors archive on our website. We’ll include the link in future bulletins, but feel free to bookmark for reference.

With that, we have a few updates below, and a word from our new director of admissions, Femi Ogundele.

Message from the Director of Admissions

Greetings!

As the newest member of the UC Berkeley Undergraduate Admissions team, I want to thank you for your dedication to advising, guiding and mentoring prospective students to the University of California. Four weeks ago, I started my tenure at the Berkeley Campus and am continually impressed by the range of talent found in our students, faculty and staff. Thank you for your work helping students find UC Berkeley.

Over the next few months, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will explore ways to strengthen the bond between our campus and the counseling community, recognizing the important role you play in your students’ pathway to college. Mechanisms like this bulletin allow us to share important information directly with you, but we want to make this a two-way conversation. Be on the lookout for increased counselor programming starting as early as this summer.

I am thrilled to join such an amazing team and to lead the Berkeley admissions office. The last four weeks have been a whirlwind, but I am increasingly excited about the challenge ahead as I continue to see the many opportunities and resources that the Berkeley campus has to offer students. I am eager to learn more about the students who apply to our campus and I look forward to engaging with you to help us identify the talent that makes UC Berkeley one of the most highly regarded universities in the world.

Once again, thank you for the incredible work that you do and GO BEARS!

Olufemi Ogundele
Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director,
Office of Undergraduate Admissions

Freshman Early Release of Decision

In the next week or so, a small number of freshman applicants will be notified that they have been admitted to Berkeley. Students who do not receive a decision at that time will hear from us on March 28, 2019. Last year, only 13% of our total Fall 2018 admits were notified of their admission in February 2018, the majority of whom were candidates for our Regents’ & Chancellor’s scholarship.

As we get closer to our decision release period, we tend to see an uptick in application withdrawal requests. If you know of students who have been admitted via Early Decision at another university and are happily committed, please encourage them to withdraw their application to UC Berkeley prior to March 1 so that we can confirm the withdrawal before decision release. The withdrawal form is live in their MAP@Berkeley portal at this time.

Transfer Applicant Reminders

Now that we have all of our transfer applicants’ full application, including their supplemental forms, we are just about to begin the review process. In an effort to answer some common questions and avoid potential cancellation of admitted students, we hope you can help us relay the following message. Students who are fulfilling general education requirements with IGETC must have a Full UC IGETC certification. This document, or indication on the official transcript, is completed by the community college - usually the records office or the counseling office. The certification must be obtained and dated by the end of the student’s Spring 2019 term.

Completing the requirements and the spring courses the students indicated on their application is extremely important. We will provide all admitted students the opportunity to update us about any changes or concerns about meeting their conditions of admission.

First Year Pathways

Many of the first year students that will be admitted will be asked to select a pathway, which will determine how they begin their journey at Berkeley. These pathways, including Fall Program for Freshman, Global Edge, or the Hong Kong University Dual Degree Program, offer high caliber Berkeley (or transferable) courses, housing, and student activities while offering a unique experience and a small cohort when students begin at Berkeley. Students can also select the traditional fall pathway.

For more information about these pathways, including program descriptions and eligibility, please direct your students to our First Year Pathways page.

Envision Haas Transfer Info Sessions & Tour

Envision Haas is an admissions outreach program under the direction of the Berkeley Haas Undergraduate Office and in partnership with the Haas Business School Association (HBSA). Envision Haas’s mission is to actively conduct outreach and provide direct admissions information to the growing transfer applicant pool across the state of California. In collaboration with HBSA and current Haas Transfer Students, Envision Haas aims to focus on transition, navigation, community building, engagement and ultimately: student success. Envision Haas sessions are held (1) Friday a month from 4:30 - 6:30 pm. Please note that space is limited, so you are advised to sign up as soon as possible. Multiple sessions are discouraged in order to allow space for others to attend.

Have your students sign up at: bit.ly/envisionhaasspring19

Upcoming Admissions Dates

March 28 - Freshman Decision Release Day
April 13 - Cal Day
April 19 - Transfer Decision Release Day
May 1 - Deadline for Freshman admits to accept their offer of admission
June 1 - Deadline for Transfer admits to accept their offer of admission
July 1 - Transcript deadline for all incoming students
July 15 - Deadline for other documents (IGETC, exams, etc.)

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January 8, 2019

Dear Colleague,

Happy New Year! We hope that you had a wonderful holiday break. Please join us in officially welcoming our new Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director, Olufemi “Femi” Ogundele to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Berkeley. We are excited about what the new year holds and look forward to working with you in 2019.

One of our main goals in this new year is to reevaluate our outreach strategies and materials, and consider how we can better reach students in the future. As the experts working on the frontlines, we would love to hear from you about this and receive your feedback.

Below, you will find a link to a quick counselor survey along with a few announcements for our colleagues who work with transfer students, including an important notice about a change to the transfer decision release day.

Please Take Our Quick Survey

As the education professionals that work directly with the students we hope apply to, and ultimately attend, Berkeley, we truly value your feedback about our outreach efforts. Your feedback is crucial to our continued success, and we want to hear your thoughts on this bulletin, our admissions materials, and how we are reaching out to your students. We invite all of our colleagues working directly with prospective students, both freshman and transfer, to fill out our quick Counselor Survey now

New Transfer Decision Release Date

We are excited to announce that we will be releasing transfer admissions decisions on Friday, April 19, 2019, a full week earlier than in previous years. This decision was made to ensure that students are making an informed decision when choosing Berkeley. The earlier date will provide newly admitted transfer students an opportunity to visit campus, to engage with current students, faculty, staff and alumni, and get many of their questions answered prior to accepting their offer of admission to Berkeley.

Please note that there are no current plans to change the Freshman admission decision release days

Starting Point Mentorship Program

The Starting Point Mentorship Program (SPMP) is a UC Berkeley program that has supported transfer students for over 15 years, connecting them with current Berkeley transfer students with similar majors, backgrounds, and/or community colleges. Mentors support prospective transfer students by helping them navigate the UC application process and imparting insight about the transfer experience at UC Berkeley.

SPMP offers many benefits to its mentees including but not limited to:

Advice and mentorship from a current Berkeley transfer student, remotely and/or in person
A chance to visit the campus with a mentor to understand the Berkeley student experience firsthand
SPMP is a recognized enrichment program that can be noted on the UC application.

Students must be enrolled at a California community college during the spring semester to be eligible.

Registration opens January 11, 2019 at 12pm. Please note that space is limited. Once the program has reached capacity, a waitlist will be generated. Students will be notified of their application status via email. Please encourage your students to Apply Now.

For any questions or more information, please contact startingpoint@berkeley.edu.

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November 28, 2018

Dear Colleague,

We hope you all had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving holiday. As we continue to receive your students’ applications throughout the month, we want to take this opportunity to share a few updates. Please review the information below, including a note from our interim director of admissions.

Lastly, please remember that the UC application is due on November 30 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time.

Application Extension for Those Affected by Wildfires

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UC Berkeley, along with the entire University of California system, has been carefully monitoring the effects of the recent wildfires in California. We want to express our heartfelt sympathy during this trying time, particularly to those who have lost loved ones or property.

We want you and your students to know that we are fully committed to ensuring any student who wishes to apply to the University of California has an opportunity to do so. Therefore, the University of California is offering application deadline extensions and fee waivers for those directly impacted by these devastating wildfires. In order to do so, please refer to the instructions to request an extension from the original deadline of November 30, to a new application deadline of December 15, 2018.

If your students need to exercise this option, please remind them to monitor their email closely for updates after submitting an extension request. Please note that individual campuses may also provide updated information regarding supplemental materials if an extension request is approved

A Note about Letter of Recommendations (Freshman)

As the review process at UC Berkeley begins, we are starting to send some students requests to submit letters of recommendation. As promised in the last bulletin, we wanted to share some statistics about last year’s letter of recommendation process.

Please review this letter from the director about the letter of recommendation process.

Changes to Transfer Supplemental Forms

Beginning with this application cycle, transfer students who apply to a major in the College of Letters and Science will no longer need to fill out the major preparation grids that we had required in previous application cycles. Eliminating the major preparation grids is an effort to streamline our process and relieve unnecessary pressure on students. Applicants should still check ASSIST or the Berkeley Academic Guide to determine if they have the requirements for their major. Applicants to the College of Letters and Science will still have to complete the general education form and complete the Transfer Academic Update through the UC application by January 31, 2019.

Please note - this change does not apply to applicants applying to majors in other colleges or the Haas School of Business. Students applying to these colleges will still do the Transfer Academic Update, the general education form, and the major preparation form.

Financial Aid Q&A Session - Facebook Live

On Wednesday, December 12 at 6:00 pm, the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office will be conducting a Q&A session covering a variety of financial aid topics, including how to fill out the FAFSA or DREAM Act Applications. This Facebook Live session will be hosted on the UC Berkeley Admissions page.

Invitations to applicants to UC Berkeley will be going out as early as this week via email and posted to our social media platforms. Please encourage your students to register in advance and submit a question.

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November 9, 2018

Dear Colleague,

As you probably already know, the application filing period began on November 1. Students applying for freshman or transfer admission are now able to submit their application to the University of California for the fall of 2019. While submitting an application early does not provide any additional benefit to an admission decision, we highly encourage your students to avoid waiting until the last minute so there are no issues meeting the deadline. We look forward to seeing your students applications by November 30 at 11:59 pm Pacific time.

Please find additional admissions and campus updates below. Go Bears!

Application Resources

Since the application filing period is in progress, we want to turn your attention to several resources on our website to help you assist your students who are completing the application.

Freshman Requirements
Freshman Applicant Checklist
Transfer Requirements
Transfer Applicant Checklist
Application Tips
Application FAQs
Facebook Live Q&A (Answers Freshman & Transfer questions)

As always, if your questions are not answered online, we encourage you to contact our office.

Letters of Recommendation (Freshman)

As we have done in the past few years, some freshman applicants will be asked to submit up to two letters of recommendation to be included in their application. If a student is asked, it is not required, but a letter from a teacher, a counselor, or other education professionals can be very helpful in our review, as it can add context to the application. Not every student will be asked for a letter of recommendation and getting the opportunity to submit one (or not) does not necessarily mean we are leaning towards admitting the student. Later this month, we’ll be sending more information and previous statistics about how the letters of recommendation played out in our review process.

For more information on this process, please review our Letters of Recommendation webpage.

Updated Fall 2019 UC Transfer Application Instructions

The UC Office of the President has released a letter with updated instructions for transfer applicants. This information is in response to some courses not being updated in ASSIST.org, and thus affecting the ability to automatically add courses. These instructions will guide transfer applicants on how to enter their courses in different circumstances.

View the full letter.

NEW Virtual Presentation! - How to Strengthen Your UC Application (Transfer)

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions has recorded a virtual presentation titled "How to Strengthen Your UC Application" for transfer applicants. The focus of this presentation is how students can effectively present themselves on the UC application, in particular the Activities, Awards & Additional Comments, and the Personal Insight Questions. Please share this resource with your students and the community! The link to the video can be found under "Learn More" on our Transfer Requirements webpage.

Please share the “How to Strengthen Your UC Application” video with your students.

REMINDER: Transfer Empowerment Day at UC Berkeley! Sat. Nov. 10th

The bridges Multicultural Resource Center is hosting its 1st Annual Transfer Empowerment Day (TED) on Saturday, November 10 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. TED is a one-day conference for community college students to receive information and advising on higher education and the process of making it through community college. The program will feature several workshops designed specifically for transfer students. We look forward to your attendance!

Contact transferbridges@gmail.com for more information.

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October 23, 2018

Dear Colleague,

We have a few exciting announcements that we wanted to share with you and we just couldn’t wait until our November bulletin. Last week, the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Stephen C. Sutton, announced the appointment of Olufemi “Femi” Ogundele as Berkeley’s new assistant vice chancellor and director of undergraduate admissions.

Please find more information about our new director and additional additional admissions and campus updates below. Go Bears!

New Director of Admissions

Femi Ogundele will lead the Berkeley admissions team starting January 1, 2019 as the next director. Femi adds significant experience in domestic and international admissions through his roles as Stanford’s Assistant Dean for Diversity Outreach and the Associate Director of Diversity and Recruitment for Cornell University’s College of Engineering. We are extremely excited to have him on board and look forward to his arrival. Read the full announcement here.

We are extremely grateful for the work that our current interim director, Silvia Marquez, has done to transition our office into the next phase of our work. Silvia will remain in the role until Femi’s arrival, at which point she will return to our position as associate director the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.

Haas Transfer Webinars Rescheduled

The Get to Know Berkeley Haas Webinar for Transfer Students has been rescheduled for 4pm on November 1st. To register for the webinar please click here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Thank you for your interest in our Berkeley Haas Undergraduate Program

Global Management Program

UC Berkeley's Haas Undergraduate Program will be hosting a webinar at 4pm on October 30th for students, parents and counselors interested in learning about the Global Management Program (GMP). The Berkeley Haas GMP is a program for freshmen interested in learning about business from a global perspective. It offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Global Management and is designed to be completed in four years. Graduates can pursue such careers as financial services, communications, social sector solutions, foreign affairs, management consulting and more.

To register for the webinar please use this updated registration link: Haas GMP Webinar

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October 10, 2018

Dear Colleague,

With our continued efforts to update our college advising and counselor colleagues, we present the second Admissions Bulletin for Counselors. We have a lot of great admissions and campus information below - both for prospective freshman and prospective transfer students.

Before we get started, we wanted to give a quick reminder that our application submission period is November 1-30. The application is available now for students to get started so please help us encourage your students to get a head start by logging on to My UC Application.

Please find additional admissions and campus updates below. Go Bears!

ASSIST Updates and Temporary Solution

ASSIST is a critical tool for students and counselors to determine transferability and articulation of California Community College (CCC) coursework and major prerequisites to UC. The launch of ASSIST Next Generation has been postponed resulting in the delayed publication of the 2017-18 and 2018-19 system wide articulation agreements on ASSIST.org.

We would like to update you on the development of our Transfer Guides for CCC Students website. The website provides a temporary solution while work is underway to launch the new ASSIST. We encourage you to review our Berkeley Course Transferability Guide for updates to specific majors from select community colleges. Please review the Update Summary as well. This document includes updates that pertain to most all CCC campus agreements that are not otherwise reflected in the 2016-17 agreements as posted on ASSIST.org. Please forward this link to students planning to transfer to UC Berkeley. Students should use this information in conjunction with ASSIST.org to determine how coursework is articulated from your school to UC Berkeley. Please note that if there are no updates listed for the major and campus you or your students are looking for, we will review the student’s coursework using the 2016-17 agreements currently posted on ASSIST.org.

Choosing a Major

The Berkeley Academic Guide, UC Berkeley’s 2018-19 campus general catalog, is now available online. Please share the Guide as a resource to help students who may be considering which major to choose, unfamiliar with the academic structure of a university, or feel overwhelmed by the size of our campus.

The Guide provides a fun and intuitive way for students to discover what UC Berkeley has to offer through one comprehensive and easy-to-navigate website that makes it easy to explore degrees and classes. This is an excellent resource for both prospective freshman and transfer students.

The Haas Business Degree with a Global Twist

Do you have a student who is interested in learning about business from a global perspective? The Global Management Program (GMP) might be an option. Through the Haas School of Business, GMP offers freshmen an exclusive opportunity to study business administration with a broad cultural understanding, preparing students for careers in financial services, communications, social sector solutions, foreign affairs, management consulting and more. Participation in Berkeley Global Edge (fall semester of freshman year spent in London) is mandatory and the program is limited to 30 new students per year.

More questions about GMP? We will be hosting a webinar on October 30th from 4:30 - 5:30 pm, you can sign up here.

What Students Say About The College of Natural Resources

The College of Natural Resources is dedicated to solving environmental, natural resource, and social justice problems. What do students love about CNR? Let them fill you in -- watch this new video about their classes, research projects, and leadership experiences as Berkeley students.

Watch CNR Student Perspectives and learn about our degree programs at nature.berkeley.edu/prospective.

Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering

The Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) department is hosting an information session on Saturday, October 20th at 10:30am. The department invites seniors interested in science and engineering and their parents/guardian to attend this event. The session is designed to introduce students to MSE, and how it relates to other engineering and science disciplines. You will learn about the areas of MSE, research, career/internship opportunities, and tour teaching & research laboratories along with a question and answer session.

Sign up now. For additional questions please contact Daisy Hernandez: daisyh@berkeley.edu.

Learn About Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Program

Join us for a discussion of how Asian Americans have been thought about and positioned in a multiracial United States. Elaine H. Kim will moderate a panel of illustrious alumni addressing how they have taken up and responded to the issues of our times in politics, law, medicine, and the arts. At a reception following the discussion, you’ll meet the panelists and network with faculty, staff, and students. Learn more about the speakers.

Invite your students to receive more information on the event, and join our program and the Asian Pacific American Student Development office on Facebook.

Transfer Empowerment Day at UC Berkeley! Sat. Nov. 10th

The bridges Multicultural Resource Center is hosting its 1st Annual Transfer Empowerment Day (TED) on Saturday, November 10 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. TED is a one-day conference for community college students to receive information and advising on higher education and the process of making it through community college. The program will feature several workshops designed specifically for transfer students. We look forward to your attendance!

Contact transferbridges@gmail.com for more information regarding the location and flyer PDF/JPG to distribute to your students. Please have your students register to attend Transfer Empowerment Day.

Management, Entrepreneurship, & Technology (M.E.T.) program – Fall 2019 webinar dates

In the M.E.T. program, students will earn a B.S. in Business AND a B.S. in Engineering in 4 years at the Haas School of Business and College of Engineering.

Please note: M.E.T. only accepts students applying as freshmen.

Register for a webinar to learn more: October 17 / 4:00-5:00pm PDT

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September 13, 2018

Dear Colleague,

Greetings from UC Berkeley's Office of Undergraduate Admissions. We hope the start of your school year is going well. We are pleased to share our inaugural issue of our brand new UC Berkeley Admissions Bulletin for Counselors. We are launching this new initiative as a way to share admissions and campus information with you on a regular basis. Our goal is to send new information at least once, monthly.

To start, we would like to give you an update on our admissions leadership. For those who may not already know, we are currently searching for a new director of admissions. Our previous Director, Amy Jarich, left UC Berkeley in July 2018 to pursue other opportunities. Since Amy's departure, Silvia Marquez, Associate Director in the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office, has been serving as the Interim Director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OUA). We will share updates once a new director has been named.

Please find additional admissions and campus updates below. Go Bears!

Admissions Events

It is outreach season for the OUA and our admissions staff are available as resources to you and your students. For information on visiting campus, or to see if an admissions officer will be in your area, we encourage you and your students to visit our Admissions Events page.

Be Berkeley Experience

We encourage all students to sign up for their personalized Be Berkeley experience. It is a great opportunity for students to learn more about the campus and to receive information, tips, and reminders about the UC Berkeley admissions process. During the month of October, students will receive application tips, information about the campus, and stories from Berkeley students via email.

Encourage your students to sign up at be.berkeley.edu.

New UC Berkeley Majors

This year, three new majors are available for freshman applicants.

Data Science (freshman only; expected to be available to transfers next year)
Bioengineering & Business Administration (new M.E.T. major; more about M.E.T. below)
Civil Engineering & Business Administration (new M.E.T. major; more about M.E.T. below)

Additionally, our Ecosystem Management and Forestry major now has two selectable options for both freshmen and transfers: Forestry and Natural Resource Management.

Management, Entrepreneurship, & Technology (M.E.T.) program – Fall 2019 webinar dates

The M.E.T. program allows students to earn a B.S. in Business AND a B.S. in Engineering in 4 years – at the Haas School of Business and College of Engineering.

Please note: M.E.T. only accepts students applying as freshmen.

Register for a webinar to learn more:

September 20 / 12:00-1:00pm PDT (for counselors only)
September 24 / 3:30-4:30pm PDT (for high school students and counselors)
October 17 / 4:00-5:00pm PDT (for high school students and counselors)

UC Berkeley Dual Degree: One Program. Four Years. Two Degrees.

Do you have high school students interested in majoring in the social sciences? Do they want to study abroad, immerse themselves in another culture, and learn another language? They can do both!

Students spend their first two years at Sciences Po in France. All instruction is in English. The last two years of the program are spent at UC Berkeley. Students earn two degrees. Admission to a grad program at Sciences Po is guaranteed after graduation.

More information can be found at sciencespo.berkeley.edu or emailing the Program Coordinator at amdillon@berkeley.edu

Have students thinking of transferring into the Business Major?

The Haas Undergraduate Program offers a variety of events to reach and provide admissions information to our rising number of transfer applicants.

Please take a moment to read about our new outreach efforts and transfer specific events here.

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