This is a copy of the actual rejection letter UC Berkeley posted for us, what we were supposed to see:
March 25, 2010
Dear ____________,
Thank you for applying to UC Berkeley. After careful consideration, I am sorry to inform you that UC Berkeley is unable to offer you admission for the Fall 2010.
The Admissions decisions were very difficult this year, as competition for fall admission was exceptionally rigorous. Berkeley was able to admit less than a quarter of the 50,000-plus applicants, all of whom were very well qualified. I regret that many very talented and promising students will not be included in the freshman class as a result of this high level of selectivity. I have prepared the answers to some frequently asked questions which provide additional information about the selection process and, I hope, address your concerns.
Given your academic qualifications, I know that you will receive other attractive college offers. I wish you every success in achieving your educational goals.
Sincerely,
(some scribbles here)
Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Here's a copy of what I saw on the computer screen as I read:
March 25, 2010
Dear Loser,
Thank you for the free money you sent our way. After careful consideration, I am sorry to inform you that the pizza was very tasty.
The Admissions decisions were very difficult this year, as it required more matches than before to light them on fire this year. Given this rigorous work we were required to do, we used your $60 application fee to order some pineapple pizzas to munch on during the massive application bonfire. However, due to an overwhelming number of applicants, Berkeley was still unable to burn more than a quarter of the 50,000-plus applications, all of which made very good tinder. I regret that we were unable to burn all the applications by the March 25 notification deadline, because now we must actually admit some students. We were fortunate enough, however, that your application was among the thousands that were burned. Please refer to the frequently asked questions page if you have any additional concerns about how we ignored your outstanding qualifications this year.
I hope that you will have the luck that your applications survived the application burning process at other colleges. I’m sure they will be happy to take our rejects. I wish you success in achieving your goals even though we just trampled on your future. Please feel free to send us additional pizza money any time.
Sincerely,
(some scribbles here)
Assistant King and Tyrant, Destroyer of Lives and Dreams
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
sky, sky, sky.
ReplyDeletei know it's hard, but here's one thing i've learned watching my brother go through this.
there is no one school that is perfect for anyone.
your colleges experience depends more on you than the college.
ahaha, I've learned that too. And I think I'd be happy with the other colleges too. I just meant this more to be funny than serious. College rejections are an easy thing to poke fun at this time of year though, thats all. :)
ReplyDeleteAww, Squirrelly :(
ReplyDeleteEr, I'd have some words of advice from when my sister was applying, but I was barely four, so I really don't remember. Sorry, mate! Sucks for you!
Will hugz make it better? *hugz*
On a lighter note, I have extra pineapple pizza I fished out of the dumpsters! Lame dictators don't even eat the crust...
oh yeah.
ReplyDeleteHUGS.
sorry sky- there are other colleges!
ReplyDeleteahahah, thanks Kevin! though I'm not sure I want half-eaten leftover pizza...but I'll take the hugz!
ReplyDeleteand thanks gummy too!
and yeah, that's true scadoosh (nice name!) but everyone's taking this so seriously! I meant it as a bit of fun! :D:D:D:D
i knmew it was for fun.
ReplyDeletei just felt like getting counslorly.
i cant spell that.
So forget California schools. GERMANY's where it's at, man! Westphalia University, here we come!
ReplyDeleteum...Germany?? Is that where you're planning on going Scott?
ReplyDeletexD *dies laughing* Now I'm wondering how Stanford used my 90 bucks. Sheesh, they probably papered their economics department in $5 bills. Oh squirrely, just forget about Berkeley, they didn't recognize our talent, although tons of other awesome schools did. Just think- if they rejected 4.5 GPA, 31 act (=2100 SAT) and hundreds of hours of figure skating and volunteer work, who the heck did they admit? Probably ALIENS, my friend, perfect, mind-controlling, little green ALIENS! So I wouldn't go to Berkeley now, even if you paid me. O_o
ReplyDeleteOh and Sky you also mentioned you wanted to know all about UCSD and what I saw when I visited! I'm certainly leaning towards there now, it was awesome! Well, I could tell you more if I had an email to work with or something, but basically:
-I am in Revelle. They have average food but it doesn't matter as you can eat anywhere.
-In dorms get a double, the triples are the same size as the doubles but they squeeze three people in the tiny rooms.
-The beach is BEAUTIFUL and #1 surf team in the country. WOOT!
-Socially dead my foot. It's about as socially dead as you make it. I was attacked by two sorority girls, and they plastered me in flyers. Probably won't join though. And clubs (field hockey, religious studies, food corps, etc) are rampant there, SD makes up for lack of sports teams with TONS of intramural sports. Everyone was really enthusiastic
-owning a car is near impossible, buses can take you places, and parking is HORRENDOUS and really expensive. $600 a year for driving around praying for a parking spot each morning. Darn on that one.
-Engineering and sciences rule. None of the departments are really bad though.
-Basically I asked all the Qs I could think of (there were TONS of people to answer questions) everything from what majors were impacted (meaning you can't really get in) to which cafeterias served ice cream. ^_^
-There were free Popsicles and pens and stuff. I didn't get any because I spent my time ogling over the science labs.
-very few people accepted this year (something like 3500 out of 43000 or something) and 7th ranking public school in the nation.
Well, I won't post more or I'll write a comment longer than your original post. :3
I'm sorry, my comment WAS longer than the original post. *fail*
ReplyDeleteOops. :3
no no feathers, long is good! I need all that info!!! I really should have gone!
ReplyDeleteSD is starting to sound more and more appealing to me. I have a friend who got into both Berkeley and LA (so he must be an alien :D) but he's actually picking SD over Berkeley and LA because the life is better down there. (so maybe he's not an alien.) (He says the research facilities are better at SD too...) So I guess that's why you were hanging out in the science labs!
And Stanford? Or all the other colleges too, with all the money they have, they probably use $20 bills as wallpaper, $50 bills as kindling for their central heating system, and $100 bills as executive toilet paper. *screams:* RIGHT?
oh, and I probably can't go to Davis either...so I can't tell you anything about it :(:(:( I have a lot of homework this week. (And plus I've already pretty much decided on SD now, even though I haven't been to SD yet. *pfft*)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're leaning a lot towards SD too? It's mid-April now, so I guess decision time is soon...what a scary, lifechanging decision...I guess I'll see you at SD in September then? :)
Aw that's too bad you can't visit places. But yeah SD is great, they spend more money for research per faculty member than any other UC. I think it's because they don't waste money on football teams and such. xD Your friend has a point, life is slightly more laid back and friendly in SD than in LA, I don't know about Berkeley.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, decision time! D: So scary! I feel like I'm playing that game candyland right now; most of life is random and chosen by which card you draw, but there are occasional forks in the road where you choose. :D
Just remember, make an informed decision, based on research, how good the department you plan on entering is, opinions from many different sources, and a bit of finger crossing. xD But yeah, Davis and SD are both good choices so you'll be fine anywhere. Davis is prettier, but SD has a better rep and a beach.
I'm 95% sure about SD now. :)
Gosh, I hate scary life changing decisions. D:
PS. If the admissions offices at ivy leagues use $100 bills of rejected students as toilet paper, I hope they get a rash or something. *evil giggle*
Well, I applied for an engineering major, and by ranking schools on engineering specifically, SD is like 7 or something like that while Davis is down in the 30s. Or 40s if I remember? All I remember is that in the sciences, SD was better than Davis by far.
ReplyDeleteLife would probably be about the same at Davis or SD...except no beach at Davis. :D Life at Berkeley is intimidating. All the buildings are HUGE and make you feel really small. The people there ignore you; you are just one of thousands and thousands of people, it's very impersonal.
But whatever. We're past that because we can't go to Berkeley anyways. :) I've never played Canyland before, but I can imagine...but yes, life is a lot about luck. Our lives 50 years from now will be totally different if we went to Davis over SD or vice versa...the friends we make, the people we'll meet, the stuff we'll do, the place we'll live, the major we pick, which will affect the jobs we get...etc etc etc.
If you really get down to technicalities, there's no such thing as "life-changing" because it's all just a course of life, moving in a straight line as time moves on...(but that still doesn't make it any more comforting, huh?)
My parents always told me how dirty money was because so many people touch it and it circulates all over and such. Can you imagine what it would be like getting a rash because of the toilet paper you use? actually, forget I asked that. :)