How to get into UC Berkeley | Programs, Fees, Eligibility criteria, & more!

‘What is the university rank?’, ‘Does it have the program I need?’ and most importantly, ‘Am I eligible to apply to this university?’, are some of the most common questions students have before applying abroad. Well, if you’re thinking of applying to UC Berkeley, you’ve come to the right place for answers. I plan on giving you all the information about how to get into UC Berkeley!

Consistently regarded as one of the top universities in USA, especially for its arts and science programs, UC Berkeley is ranked high on every list for almost all of its programs. In this blog, I’ve tried to list down everything you need to know before you apply to the University of California, Berkeley. Take a look!

1) Ranking and Acceptance

The University of California, Berkeley, is a highly renowned and popular institution ranks 28th and thus, among the Top 30 universities in the world. While there are many who ask, ‘How to get into UC Berkeley?’, there are other students who also ask us, ‘How hard is it to get into UC Berkeley?’

 

Given its reputation and caliber, admissions at UC Berkeley are very competitive with an exclusive acceptance rate of 15%.  You know what’s really nice though? While assessing applications, UC Berkeley reviews each application in its entirety, word by word, page by page. ‘We literally hug your application!’, says their admissions page. How cute is that?

2) Admission requirements

Now, for the big question- Are you eligible to get into the University of California, Berkeley? Let’s find out! Here are some of the most important parameters that students need to check before they apply. The parameters that apply to you will depend upon the program you choose.

GPA– The approximate GPA required for undergraduate programs is 3.89/4.00 and that for postgraduate programs is approximately 3.0/ 4.0

GRE– While the university doesn’t have any specific minimum GRE or GMAT requirements, the average GRE score acceptance for UC Berkeley is 332/340.

TOEFL– As for the English proficiency tests, the TOEFL exam needs 570 on the paper-based test (PBT), 230 on the computer-based test (CBT), and 90 on the Internet-Based Test (iBT).

IELTS– The minimum score for the IELTS is an overall band score of 7 out of 9 and there are no minimum scores for the individual bands.

GMAT– Just like UC Berkeley’s GRE requirements, there are no minimum GMAT requirements for the Management and MBA programs at the Haas School of Business. However, the average GMAT score for UC Berkeley is 726/800. Keep in mind that UCB is especially interested in students’ GMAT quantitative scores.

SAT/ACT– To apply for undergraduate programs, students need SAT scores of 1350-1540/1600 and ACT scores of 30-35/ 36. 

3) Programs at UC Berkeley

Did you know that over 90% of programs at UC Berkeley rank among the top 10 worldwide? While all programs at UC Berkeley are exceptional, it is famous for its programs in Social sciences, Engineering, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, and more. UCB also has an amazing teaching faculty of over 1500 with 8 of them being Nobel-prize winners.

4) Tuition fees and other expenses

This question is what it comes down to. Before you start researching how to get into UC Berkeley, its important to ask, ‘How much does it cost to study at UC Berkeley?’. Well, I’ve tried to list down all the costs of studying at UC Berkeley. It all starts with:

Application fees– Every international student needs to pay a certain application fee when they apply to universities abroad. For UCB, the students applying for undergraduate programs have to pay US$80 while those applying for postgraduate programs need to pay US$140.

Tuition fees-Given the diverse programs offered at Berkeley, the tuition fees for each program vary greatly. Not only that, the tuition fees for Undergraduate and Graduate students are also vastly different. The UC Berkeley tuition fees are as follows:

• Undergraduate programs- Approx. US$ 23,646.25/ semester
• Graduate programs-US$ 17,264 – US$ 34,946/semester

Scholarships and Financial aid– While UCB does not provide financial aid to international students, it strongly encourages its students to research scholarships and grants within their own countries as well as the USA.

5) UCB’s return on investment

Fact: 80% of students at the University of California, Berkeley graduate with either a job offer or acceptance for further education. Isn’t that fabulous? Not only is it easy to get a job after a degree from UC Berkeley, but numbers show that students also get higher salaries and ROI than most of their peers from other universities.

For example, according to UCB’s statistics from 2017, there were several students who came into UC Berkeley’s MBA program with an average salary of $73,072 per annum and got salaries of more than $125,572 after their MBA programs. If that’s not a good ROI, I don’t know what is!

6) Social life at UCB

Sports, art, music, drama, food, dance and more; you name it, UC Berkeley has it. There is never a time when UC Berkeley’s campus is ever boring. There’s always something for you to participate in. UCB is home to over 35,000 students from all over the world and hence, has cultural diversity unlike any other. The UC Berkeley campus also celebrates several cultural festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Annual Chinese New Year, etc. just to name a few.

7) What are your chances of making it to UC Berkeley?

Be honest, this is the question you all want an answer to. After reading everything mentioned above, we all understand that getting into UCB is easier said than done. Take note that apart from your school scores, your statement of purpose, letter of recommendation, essays, portfolios, and correctly filled admission forms are a prerequisite to have your name see the light of the day at UC Berkeley.

So what are you waiting for? Apply to the University of California at Berkeley right away! To know more about other Universities, you can also check out our other blogs such as the ones on New York University, Boston University, MIT and Harvard. We keep filling in details about different universities on our blog site, and if there is something that’s still unanswered you can reach out to us on our website or call us on+91 22 62863000.

We at iSchoolConnect are always glad to help students with any higher education-related questions.