What is UC Berkeley Known For?
What is UC Berkeley known for? Founded in 1868, it was the first university in the University of California System (UC System), and it is the second-oldest institution of higher education in California. Today, UC Berkeley is one of the most prestigious schools in both the UC System and the country. Here are some other standout aspects of UC Berkeley that you should know. Location: Berkeley, CA Undergraduate Enrollment: 33,469 Acceptance Rate: 9% Middle 50% SAT: N/A Middle 50% ACT: N/A There are highly specific academic prerequisites for admittance into any UC school, Berkeley included. The majority of students who attend public high school should meet those requirements, however, students from private schools or who are homeschooled will need to plan more carefully. For example, STEM-focused students sometimes neglect the required one year of coursework in the visual or performing arts. Admission to STEM programs at UC Berkeley is extremely competitive—its academic requirements rival those found at lower-ranked Ivy League schools. Students with research experience will have an advantage in the admissions process. UC Berkeley highly values its application essays—students must answer four of eight personal insight questions, each requiring a 350-word essay. To gain admission, an applicant will need four distinct, moving stories. With a fantastic location near San Francisco and the Silicon Valley, a history of producing stars in fields ranging from science to the silver screen, and a gorgeous campus in one of the country’s most interesting cities, there are a lot of factors that set UC Berkeley apart from other schools. What is UC Berkeley known for academically? A little bit of everything. The school has graduated famous scientists like David Bromm, tech giants like Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple), award-winning actors like Gregory Peck, and notable cartoonists such as Rube Goldberg and Scott Adams. UC Berkeley offers roughly 130 different undergraduate majors and minors—from Architecture to Scandinavian—through its six colleges and one school. Berkeley’s six colleges and one school are: Keep in mind that several majors are competitive and have capped enrollment, such as Business Administration, Computer Science, Psychology, and others. Requirements vary by major, but most students apply during their freshman year and must meet minimum GPA thresholds or earn specific grades in required courses. While all of UC Berkeley’s programs are known for their prestige and academic rigor, one program stands out: the College of Engineering. UC Berkeley is sixth on our list of best colleges for engineering and is the best public program on the list. Berkeley’s College of Engineering breaks its undergraduate programs into ten departments: Graduating students within four years is a point of pride for Berkeley’s College of Engineering—96% of undergraduates in the school earn a degree in six years or less. But engineering isn’t the only STEM field that UC Berkeley is known for. The school’s science department is renowned. Former faculty members at the college include J. R. Oppenheimer (who developed the atomic bomb) and Ernest Lawrence (inventor of the cyclotron, which played a key role in the discovery and creation of 16 elements at the Berkeley Lab). In fact, UC Berkeley has set an incredibly high standard in seemingly every field. Berkeley faculty includes 22 Nobel laureates, 32 MacArthur Fellows (sometimes known as the “Genius Grant”), 77 Fulbright Scholars, 357 Guggenheim Fellows, 125 Sloan Fellows, and 4 Pulitzer Prize winners. In fact, over the course of UC Berkeley’s history, 63 faculty and alumni have won Nobel Prizes! Famous UC Berkeley faculty include: Along with a reputation for outstanding academics, UC Berkeley is also known for its athletics. Berkeley alumni are among the most decorated Olympians in history, having earned a total of 246 Olympic medals, including 126 gold. In addition to exceptional amateur athletics, many UC Berkeley alumni have gone on to have successful careers in professional sports. Recognizable UC Berkeley athletes include: Not exactly an extracurricular activity, but UC Berkeley has sent more volunteers to the Peace Corps than any other college. By 2024, 2,862 Berkeley graduates had volunteered since the program’s inception in 1961. UC Berkeley’s campus is home to more than 1,000 student groups recognized by Student Organizations, Leadership, and Engagement (SOLE), nearly guaranteeing that a student finds a group that matches their interest. One favorite extracurricular program is the university’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Californian, which covers both the university’s campus and the city of Berkeley. One of the oldest newspapers on the West Coast, The Daily Californian was established in 1871 and is entirely run by current and recently graduated UC Berkeley students. [amp-cta id="9459"] One of the oldest and best-known UC Berkeley traditions is the “Stanford Axe,” which has been awarded to the winner of the annual football game between UC Berkeley and Stanford (known as the “Big Game”) since 1933. The history of the “Stanford Axe” is more nefarious—it made its first appearance at a Stanford pep rally in 1899 and was stolen shortly thereafter by Berkeley students, who possessed it for the next 31 years, until a group of Stanford students known as the “Immortal 21” recaptured it. A newer UC Berkeley tradition is to rub the stone sphere in front of the Campanile before taking an exam for good luck—leading to students calling the monument the “4.0 ball.” UC Berkeley is commonly thought to have one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. Its 307-foot-tall Campanile (Sather Tower) is the world’s second-largest bell and clock tower and arguably the most recognizable landmark in the East Bay. Overall, 96% of freshmen and about a third of transfer students live in university housing. As a public school, the cost and admissions standards of UC Berkeley vary for everyone, from in-state students to out-of-state students to international students. One thing that remains constant is the value of UC Berkeley. One notable financial aid program is the University of California Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, which allows eligible California students from families with annual incomes below $100,000 to pay no tuition at all after grants and scholarships. Berkeley is one of the 14 founding members of the Association of American Universities, an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Some of the world’s most well-known research institutes are found on Berkeley’s campus, including: When students escape the classroom or lab, they can enjoy UC Berkeley’s botanical garden. Its 34 acres feature nine regions of naturalistic planting and one of the globe’s most diverse landscapes with over 10,000 types of plants, many of which are rare and endangered. There are seemingly limitless career opportunities for Berkeley students, thanks in part to its location near Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Silicon Valley is home to the densest concentration of tech companies in the world, while San Francisco is home to a variety of industries ranging from high-tech to tourism. While the university and surrounding area are known for technology and innovation, the city of Berkeley itself offers an artsy, progressive, and quirky atmosphere. It has had a long-standing reputation for activism–Abbey Hoffman attended UC Berkeley and the Black Panthers have roots in both Oakland and Berkeley. You’ll also find no shortage of the arts with the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and Aurora Theatre Company. Admission to UC Berkeley is extremely competitive, even more so for out-of-state students. For example, the acceptance rate for in-state students during the 2024-2025 admissions cycle was 15%, compared to 10% for out-of-state students. Regardless of your geographic location, students hoping to gain admission to this stellar school will need an excellent academic profile, superb standardized test scores, exceptional extracurricular activities, and an ability to compose compelling essays. If you’re interested in learning your odds of admission to UC Berkeley, or at over 1,600 other colleges and universities, CollegeVine can help. Our free chancing engine uses a variety of factors—from grades to extracurricular activities—to estimate the chance of you getting into your dream school. In addition, CollegeVine’s chancing calculator offers insight into how to improve your application, helping boost your odds of acceptance. What’s Covered:
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What are Your Chances of Acceptance at UC Berkeley?
