Berkley High vs El Cerrito High - Acceptance in UCB

You can actually get definitive statistics on this. El Cerrito had a 22% acceptance rate for its applicants to UC Berkeley, while Berkeley High had a 14% acceptance rate. https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2024/uc-admissions-acceptance-rate…

There are some exact statistics (check SF Chronicle, which does an article annually) but all that past data goes out the window now that it has been made illegal to consider race. College admissions were chaotic this year according to all the college prep podcasts I listen to, and it's going to take a couple of years for it to settle down and have reasonable trends to actually factor into college planning. 

What really struck me about your post was that you have an 8th grader at the very beginning of 8th grade, and you seem stressed about college already. I (wizened parent of 9th & 11th graders) would really encourage you to support your child this year as they navigate a very big transition, and encourage them to enjoy their last year of middle school without any talk of college - in fact, try to minimize incessant talk about high school. College is a really long way away and it's impossible to know now what your student will want or need in his/her college experience. Choose a high school based on the environment that will be most fun and supportive for your student, a convenient commute for your family, with challenge opportunities in the upper years, and lots of activities of interest to them. Activities are critical for making friends, especially entering from a non-feeder middle school. Ask your student what their interests are, and together look at the school websites to see if they exist on those campuses. Attend an event or two at both schools you're considering to assess their vibes.  Most of all, enjoy having a middle schooler! It's a much easier parenting stage than high school, I promise!

Cal takes a holistic approach to admissions - they also really look to diversify their student body through first gen, low income kids. It also depends on what your kid might want to study. Computer science had an acceptance rate of 1% for freshman last year. But I think changing the mindset here is probably your best bet. Send your child to the high school that will be the best fit overall. Your child can be successful without a UC Berkeley degree. 

- signed a parent of a college student who does not attend Cal and a senior at BHS. 

One of the responders provided a link to UC admission statistics on the SF Chronicle website. The SF Chronicle website is great, but I just wanted to add that there is also an official UC admission numbers by high school website, which can be found here: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/admissions-source-school

To see exact numbers, select the UC campus, the source school, and the year. 

I also wanted to comment on the second responder's statement that "past data goes out the window now that it has been made illegal to consider race". This is simply not true. California universities have not been allowed to consider race since 1996, when Proposition 209 banned the consideration of race in admissions. The acceptance rates to UC Berkeley from Berkeley High and El Cerrito High have been quite stable from year to year, and will likely be similar in the next few years. 

Best of luck to you and your child!

I just have to correct the incorrect information in the reply from Anonymous on Sept 7 ... The Univ of California stopped considering race in admissions 28 years ago!  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_California_Proposition_209.  So there's no need to 'take a couple of years for it settle down"... at least, not for UC Berkeley, for which you are asking about.

Also, I find nothing in your post that suggested you are "stressed."  You're asking about admissions to UC Berkeley because you think that's a criteria for selecting a high school since you're child is in 8th grade.  Seems like you are doing your due diligence on picking a high school as a parent of an 8th grader, so congratulations for thinking ahead!

Now, regarding your questions... some schools keep statistics on admissions from their high school students, such as the GPA, AP course count, SAT scores of students which were accepted, waitlisted, rejected, from each college.  Maybe you can reach out to those high schools to get that information.  

From my experience, college generally compare students only from the same high school.  They aren't allowed to compare across high schools because each school has different courses available and different grading policies and AP policies.  So, one thing to consider is how would you kid compare to the top students in Berkeley High and El Cerrito High?  If most kids getting into UC Berkeley are taking 10 APs, then your kid would need to do similarly in order to be a competitive applicant.  Look more at how many kids get into UC Berkeley and what the background, stats, qualifications of those kids that get in and see which one might better match your kid.

If you aren’t zoned for El Cerrito High, it will be difficult to get in, and may even be difficult if you are zoned and haven’t been there for k-8.  Although there is supposed to be a spot for you if you are zoned, and there is no room, they can divert you elsewhere. Anyway, the posters are correct. The data is available on the UC website and SF Chronicle has run several articles about admit rates across California

El Cerrito consistently does very well in regard to UC admissions. It is not a school without challenges, but both of my kids went there and had a great time and came out well educated. Band and dance programs are great, there’s a great IT academy, plenty of clubs and sports, and is more diverse racially and economically than Berkeley High.There’s good parent support. Both of my kids got into top UCs and got exposure to and made friends with all sorts of different people. We feel really lucky that was available to them.

For the person who said schools now have to contend with being race-blind….the UC’s have been race blind since Prop 209 passed in 1996. It had an immediate negative effect across many different indicators. Those results are on the UC website as well. Google, “Research and Analyses on the impact of Prop 209 in CA.”

UC itself provides soooo many statistics on acceptance here: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/admissions-source-school. That said, while my child was UC-eligible, she was not interested in any UC campus and chose, completely on her own, a small, private, women's college, where she was excited to be there every day and did really well. Now, applying to graduate schools, she still is looking for the personal environment of a small campus. I agree with the previous poster to let your kid be a kid and enjoy school where they are with activities, clubs, and classes that interest them and not all about focus on one particular college years into the future. Good luck!

Another source for definitive statistics is UC Admissions by source school: 

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/admi…;

However, it does not provide information on the specific majors or fields applicants applied to, which makes a huge difference in admissions.

I have a 10th grader at BHS. If your student wants to get into AC or BIHS, there is probably a high chance of getting it, but nothing is guaranteed at BHS, the Small Learning Community(SLC), the classes your student might want to take, etc. Your student put down what they want to take, but no guarantees.

Regarding drugs and violence, it hasn't been a problem for my student.  It depends on your student, the type of friends he might seek out, etc.

Thanks everyone for sharing your insights, totally appreciate it. The admission stats link you've provided is very helpful!! Please note that I'm not stressed out, my kid wants to go to BHS  and we're collecting data points to see which school is a better fit for him. Thanks again!