UC Berkeley Letters of Recommendation: What to Do When Berkeley Emails You

You open your e-mail inbox and suddenly see a message from admissions@berkeley.edu. Your pulse jumps.

Then you read the subject line: "Your UC Berkeley Application"

What happened? Did I miss something? Is this good news? Bad news? A glitch?

You frantically click to open it.

They want a letter of recommendation. Wait... They want two letters?

And your mind goes into overdrive: Why me? What does this mean? What am I supposed to do now?

This moment surprises almost every applicant because UC’s don't allow recommendation letters in the application application. But Berkeley, often marching to the beat of its own drum, has reached out during the regular application cycle and invites a limited group of students to submit up to two letters as part of a structured process called Augmented Review.

Don't 'stress! This guide explains exactly what the invitation for a UC Berkeley Letter of Recommendation submission means, why it happens, and how to respond.

(Note: Going forward, we will be using LOR to stand for “letter of recommendation.”)

What a Berkeley Letter of Recommendation request looks like

A Brief History of Letters of Recommendation at UC Berkeley

For many years, the University of California system did not accept letters of recommendation for freshman admissions. The goal was to keep the process equitable, predictable, and accessible for all students regardless of school resources, writing support, or counselor availability. Considering how large the school is and how many applicants it receives, it just made sense to not burden tens of thousands of teachers and counselors to write a letter when it wasn’t crucial to admissions review.

However, as applications grew in volume and complexity, Berkeley recognized that some students’ circumstances were not fully captured through grades, course titles, activities, and PIQs alone. 

To address this, UC Berkeley introduced an Augmented Review process for the Fall 2015 application cycle. This allowed the campus to request supplemental materials, including up to two Letters of Recommendation, from a limited portion of applicants. 

The shift toward Augmented Review was partly influenced by the campus mission to understand students in relation to their environments, particularly those facing structural barriers, educational disruptions, or unique personal circumstances.

By fall 2017, this system had become formalized. Starting around this period, Berkeley began issuing automated emails during the reading cycle to invite selected applicants to submit letters. 

What Is UC Berkeley’s Augmented Review?

Augmented Review is a formal UC policy permitting Berkeley to request extra information from a small percentage of applicants during the regular reading cycle. The goal is to provide additional academic or personal context when the standard UC application does not fully capture a student’s circumstances or potential.

Under university policy, no more than 15 percent of applicants may be reviewed with supplemental materials. Students cannot volunteer letters; Berkeley must initiate the request.

Specifically from the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS), this is the wording they use to state which students are identified: “Students invited to submit a letter of recommendation may come from the following populations: first-generation college students, students qualifying for an application fee waiver, and students participating in early academic outreach programs.”

If you are staring at Berkeley’s email and thinking “why me out of all people?!” – take a breath.

There is a reason, and it has nothing to do with you doing something wrong.

According to UC’s admissions guidelines, Berkeley bots will do an initial review to identify potential students whose backgrounds might not be fully explained through the regular application. 

Who may be identified?

• Students who have designated that they would be the first in their family to go to college 

• Students who qualify for a UC application fee waiver

• Students involved in college access or academic outreach programs

• Students who attend an LCFF+ (under-resourced) school

• Students who attend a Fiat Lux partner school
  

If you are in any of these groups, Berkeley might simply want a little more context about your experiences. That does not mean you messed something up or that your application is weak. It also does not guarantee anything about your chances. It just means Berkeley wants to make sure they are seeing the full picture of who you are and what you have achieved.

Even if none of these categories apply to you, you could still get a request. Anecdotally speaking, we’ve seen high achieving students from around California the request as well, particularly those applying for a selective major -- EECS and MET anyone?

A few thoughts I want you to dispel (because I’m sure you’re wondering out loud in your head):

• The request is not a signal of admission likelihood. 

• No, it’s not a good thing. No, nothing is “wrong” with the application. No, your application is not borderline. 

• Stop doom scrolling on Reddit, take a deep breath, and treat this as a neutral extra step in the process.

• This process is routine and often automated before a human reader gets to it, so it isn’t as if Susan in admissions decided she wanted more information for you and manually tagged your application.
  

Treat it the way Berkeley puts it: simply one of Berkeley’s ways of gathering additional context when a file would benefit from more information. We’ll break down some more stats below.

What the Augmented Review Admit Pool Looked Like the Past 4 Years

If you're a data fiend like me, I'm sure you want some numbers for context. Let's look at te last 4 years of data!

Admissions Cycle	Applicants Invited	Percent of Total Applicants	Submitted LORs	Admitted	Admit Rate*
Fall 2024	18,754	15%	7,495	1,487	8%
Fall 2023	18,888	15%	8,794	2,159	24.55%
Fall 2022	16,783	13.09%	8,443	1,899	22.49%
Fall 2021	16,783	12.42%	4,937	2,854	58%

*Note: Admit Rate is calculated from all invited applicants regardless of if they submitted letters. Data is not disaggregated to include the admit rate of only those who submitted letters.

Are Letters of Recommendation Required?

No. The letters are entirely optional.

A student who chooses not to submit any letters is not at a disadvantage. Berkeley evaluates every application comprehensively, with or without supplemental information.

For context, it is important to understand why the letters are optional. Not all high schools offer the same level of support. Some schools have dedicated counseling offices, college advising periods, or teachers accustomed to writing recommendations. Other schools may have large student-counselor ratios, limited resources, or staff who simply do not have the time or training to write detailed letters.

Berkeley is aware of this landscape:

• Some students attend schools where teachers are overwhelmed and cannot take on extra writing

• Some students come from environments where recommendations are not common or culturally expected

• Some students may not have long term relationships with teachers due to school moves, transfers, or staffing changes

• Some students may only be applying to Cal States and UCs and thus don’t have a LOR in their back pocket ready to go

Because access varies so widely, Berkeley does not require LORs. The goal is to keep the admissions process fair for students at every type of school, whether they attend a well resourced private school or a public school with limited advising capacity.

The purpose of Augmented Review is not just to reward students who can gather strong letters; it is also meant to ensure that students who need additional context have a pathway to provide it, without disadvantaging those who simply do not have the same opportunities or infrastructure.

To repeat for those of you who weren’t paying attention: the absence of a letter will never reflect negatively on a student, and if you did a thorough job filling out your UC application, theoretically, you would get the same outcome regardless of a letter of recommendation. Thousands of students get accepted to Berkeley without a LOR!

Whom Should You Ask to Write Berkeley’s LORs?

Berkeley recommends the following:

Letter 1

An academic instructor, ideally in a core or advanced subject.

Letter 2 

Someone who knows the student well:

• Another teacher

• Counselor or  club advisor

• Coach

• Employer

• Mentor

• Community leader

The strongest letters come from people who can offer depth, specificity, and firsthand insight into the student’s character, growth, or impact.

And a little real talk. Getting two teacher letters may not be as effective as you think it might be. When you’re a weary reader on your 50th application of the day, reading two versions of the same “Johnny is a joy to have in class” won’t tell Berkeley anything new. 

If you have someone who can say something meaningful about you that isn’t already in your application, that’s the better move. A coach who watched you lead, a supervisor who saw you handle tough moments to eventually find success, a mentor who knows your growth story… those letters bring new angles that admissions readers actually appreciate.

One more thing: Do not ask random “Important Adults” for letters just because they have fancy titles. A senator who met you once at a fundraiser is not writing anything Berkeley needs. If the person couldn’t pick you out of a lineup, they shouldn’t be writing your LOR.

Authenticity > Prestige

What Should LORs Focus On?

Berkeley encourages recommenders to comment on a student’s qualities in areas that support holistic review. Berkeley has publicly stated that these are their key traits that they look for in a student: 

• Academic performance and potential in context

• Curiosity and love of learning

• Leadership at school, at home, or in the community

• Persistence in the face of challenges

• Cross cultural engagement

• Creativity or originality

• Concern for others

Recommenders do not need to address everything. Insightful detail on one or two areas is often more helpful than broad generalities.

How Do Students Submit Recommender Information?

Berkeley’s process is straightforward:

1. The university emails the student with a personalized link to an online form.

2. The student enters the recommender’s name and contact information.

3. Berkeley emails the recommender directly with upload instructions.

4. Recommenders submit their letters electronically.

Students should not mail letters or submit them through the UC Application Center. All letters go directly to Berkeley and are visible only to Berkeley admissions readers.

What Is the Deadline?

All letters must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PST on January 10, 2026

If a recommender submits late, the student is not penalized. The invitation is optional, and Berkeley never disadvantages applicants whose recommenders miss the deadline. Just know that your application may be reviewed without those LORs – and that’s ok!

Best Practices and Final Takeaways

Here’s some advice from both Berkeley and the Perfect Score Tutor:

• Ask recommenders who know them well

• Give recommenders plenty of notice

• Share recent accomplishments or context to support the writing process – particularly those in which you feel like you did the best or the most.

• Review the list of criteria with your recommender to make sure they can address those in your letter

Final Takeaways for Families

• Receiving Berkeley’s email is not an indicator of admission or rejection.

• LORs are optional and can only help by adding context.

• Missing, late, or neutral letters do not harm the applicant.

• And if you did not get a LOR request, you are fine! At least 85% of students do not receive them and they still get admitted.