Application Tips and Advice

Applying Early

Although we do not have a rolling admissions cycle, applying early is always a good idea. The earlier you apply, the earlier you and we can spot problems like missing transcripts, test scores, etc. The closer to the deadline we get, the more emails and mail we get, making it harder for you to 1) get in contact with us, and 2) check your application status. We receive about 2500 applications every year which come with thousands of packages and email messages, the bulk of them arriving in December.

Also, it's a good idea to take your GRE and, if applicable, your TOEFL as early as possible. ETS can take up to a month to get the scores to us and are absolutely notorious for messing up names (especially if you have more than two), making it hard for our system to connect the reports to your application. Do not wait until early January to have the scores sent to us simply because our review process starts in mid-January and your application should be complete by then.

Online Application Advice

• Check all email addresses twice before you submit the application, including your own. If you mistype any addresses, it can make difficult to contact you and your recommenders.
• Do not transpose your name (type your last name as your first name and vice-versa). It can slow down processing.
• Make sure that packages are sent to the right address:

  EECS Graduate Admissions
  UC Berkeley
  205 Cory Hall, MC #1770
  Berkeley, CA 94720-1770

Regarding Your Application Package

It is always best to just send us what we ask for (i.e. less is more). Sending extraneous material can slow down the process. The only hardcopy materials we should be receiving from you are official transcripts (one per school). Letters of recommendation are also acceptable if your recommender cannot/will not submit his/her letter through our online system. Please do not send us the following:

• Financial documents of any kind
• Notebooks or diaries
• Overly long publications (if 15+ pages, please send the abstract only and put the document up on the web, if you are able).
• Your Statement of Purpose (we will already have what you submitted online)
• Your Personal History Statement (we will already have what you submitted online)

In addition, it's best not to bind your documents in any way because it makes them harder for us to scan on our machines.

Once You Apply

If it is December or early January, you can count on us being busy with applications. Please keep in mind the following advice: administrative processing is the bureaucratic equivalent of quicksand. The more you thrash around, send letters, make phone calls, the deeper you sink because the people who are supposed to be processing your file spend all their time responding to your inquiries. It's not that it's a bad idea to contact us if you feel there is something wrong; by all means, please do so. But please be patient…towards the end of the year, our office is covered with piles and piles of mail and it can take us some time to respond.

Application review begins around the 10th of January. If your application materials are not in by the 9th, we are under no obligation to review them as part of your application. You are solely responsible for getting your materials in on time (preferably early) and you can check your application status at https://willow.coe.berkeley.edu/gradmits/gradapp?dept=eecs&loginid= with the login and password the department provides a few days after you apply online.

All changes to the application should be made by the 10th and should be sent to (i.e. directly to the department). Changes made to the online application will not be reflected anywhere. There is no guarantee that changes made after this time will be reviewed.

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Please see our Career Center's webpages on applying to graduate school.

On writing your Statement of Purpose.

Questions? Please contact EECS Graduate Admissions.