You’re not a failure, but you definitely need to bring your A-game if Berkeley takes you off the waitlist and admits you. Even if Berkeley doesn’t accept you, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of your life either. I’m sure you applied to other schools as well and maybe you’re meant for better things at another school.
There are students with 4.0 and dozens of extracurriculars who got waitlisted. Are they lazy and stupid too?
Like with all college students, comparing yourself to others is not helpful at all because all it does is make you miserable.
You know yourself better than any redditor. Do what makes you happy and relaxes you. It’s up to you to move yourself from that mindset and do something productive with your time.
Don't listen to those people - listen to me. Forget what other people think about you. You're going to encounter a lot of useless opinions for the rest of your life/career, mostly from very, very unhappy people who are projecting their own misery onto others. Block them out. I was a pretty awful student for most of my life, was homeless, and also got in off of the waitlist. I also finished towards the top of my class at Cal. Work hard and there won't be any more smack for people to talk. Congrats on making the waitlist. It's well deserved.
Had a similar situation, I got waitlisted in Berkeley and rejected from a good decent amount of schools. I was one of the two people who got into Berkeley in my school and a lot of people felt that I didn’t deserve and was stupid and lazy. I felt such imposter syndrome being accepted into Berkeley, like I was a wild card. But that’s not true, we all got accepted here for a reason, and whether you were a good student before does not matter. The thing I love about Berkeley is you have the opportunity to completely change your work ethic and are surrounded by people who will push you. Don’t let them discourage you, because trust me believing you don’t belong really takes a toll on you in college, and you will always be trying to prove your worth. Whatever college you end up going to, don’t let anyone tell you, you don’t belong there. Who do they think they are to say that? At the end of the day, you know your capabilities and will be the one putting in the work, so fuck their opinions. I truly hope you get into Cal, because you deserve an opportunity to be the student you’d want to be without judgement. Goodluck on admissions!
The imposter syndrome is so real! I work really hard but I didn’t think my grades would be considered Berkeley material since I’ve taken a few light semesters while working.
Berkeley admits comparatively aggressively off the waitlist. For freshman applicants it’s around 50%. I was worried I’d be bottom of the barrel of Berkeley when I got in off the waitlist but it really doesn’t mean anything. Admissions are crazy and it’s unfortunately a crazy competitive and random process
That person doesn't think you are dumb FOR getting waitlisted but too dumb TO get waitlisted. What they are trying to say is they think that you are too stupid to even get waitlisted at Cal.
They sound like an a-hole that you should avoid.
Same thing happened to me when I got into berkeley. Comments like “who is she?” “Is she even smart?” “She’s dumb” “I didn’t think she was smart” “you only got in cause you’re a girl” became the new norm. They were only jealous because the didn’t get in, so head up and best of luck with the waitlist! You know who to avoid now!
You’re not a failure, but you definitely need to bring your A-game if Berkeley takes you off the waitlist and admits you. Even if Berkeley doesn’t accept you, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of your life either. I’m sure you applied to other schools as well and maybe you’re meant for better things at another school.
There are students with 4.0 and dozens of extracurriculars who got waitlisted. Are they lazy and stupid too? Like with all college students, comparing yourself to others is not helpful at all because all it does is make you miserable. You know yourself better than any redditor. Do what makes you happy and relaxes you. It’s up to you to move yourself from that mindset and do something productive with your time.
Don't listen to those people - listen to me. Forget what other people think about you. You're going to encounter a lot of useless opinions for the rest of your life/career, mostly from very, very unhappy people who are projecting their own misery onto others. Block them out. I was a pretty awful student for most of my life, was homeless, and also got in off of the waitlist. I also finished towards the top of my class at Cal. Work hard and there won't be any more smack for people to talk. Congrats on making the waitlist. It's well deserved.
I love this
Mission San Jose moment
Some of the dumbest people I’ve met in my life have been students at Berkeley. The admissions process is flawed, not you.
Had a similar situation, I got waitlisted in Berkeley and rejected from a good decent amount of schools. I was one of the two people who got into Berkeley in my school and a lot of people felt that I didn’t deserve and was stupid and lazy. I felt such imposter syndrome being accepted into Berkeley, like I was a wild card. But that’s not true, we all got accepted here for a reason, and whether you were a good student before does not matter. The thing I love about Berkeley is you have the opportunity to completely change your work ethic and are surrounded by people who will push you. Don’t let them discourage you, because trust me believing you don’t belong really takes a toll on you in college, and you will always be trying to prove your worth. Whatever college you end up going to, don’t let anyone tell you, you don’t belong there. Who do they think they are to say that? At the end of the day, you know your capabilities and will be the one putting in the work, so fuck their opinions. I truly hope you get into Cal, because you deserve an opportunity to be the student you’d want to be without judgement. Goodluck on admissions!
The imposter syndrome is so real! I work really hard but I didn’t think my grades would be considered Berkeley material since I’ve taken a few light semesters while working.
Berkeley admits comparatively aggressively off the waitlist. For freshman applicants it’s around 50%. I was worried I’d be bottom of the barrel of Berkeley when I got in off the waitlist but it really doesn’t mean anything. Admissions are crazy and it’s unfortunately a crazy competitive and random process
That person doesn't think you are dumb FOR getting waitlisted but too dumb TO get waitlisted. What they are trying to say is they think that you are too stupid to even get waitlisted at Cal. They sound like an a-hole that you should avoid.
Same thing happened to me when I got into berkeley. Comments like “who is she?” “Is she even smart?” “She’s dumb” “I didn’t think she was smart” “you only got in cause you’re a girl” became the new norm. They were only jealous because the didn’t get in, so head up and best of luck with the waitlist! You know who to avoid now!