Equal Access to Application Assistance Program

The student-led program Equal Access to Application Assistance (EAAA) is designed to ensure that all applicants to higher degree programs (MS/PhD) in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley have access to guidance on the application process for advanced degrees. A current (or recent) graduate of the EECS department will provide feedback on application materials, resume, CV, and other application materials each fall prior to the higher degree application deadlines. 

Applications for the 2024 edition of EAAA are now closed. Applications for the 2025 season will open in the fall of 2025.

Please note that we are a student volunteer organization, and we do not provide formal guidance about application requirements/deadlines, and can not provide application fee waivers.

• Applications open: September 9th, 2024

• Applications due: October 6th, 2024 11:59PM PST.

• The reviewer's feedback is targeted for November 6th, 2024.

We have curated feedback from last year's program into these guidelines on how to write your research and personal history statements!

We are also curating a list of external advice on the graduate application process. These do not represent an official endorsement from UC Berkeley.

• What MIT faculty members are looking for in a grad school application essay

• Shaily Bhatt's repository of links with advice related to grad school applications and more.

For a list of similar initiatives that took place in Fall 2023, click here. As we learn of similar programs and deadlines, we will update this section.

UC Berkeley is running a Graduate Diversity Admissions Fair in October (exact dates are TBD), find more info & register here.

I have a question about the admission's process to UC Berkeley EECS.

EAAA is a student-run program to help to review application materials such as research statements and CVs; Admissions requirements (including English proficiency requirements), as well as the official admissions process are outside our jurisdiction. You may want to redirect your question to the EECS Graduate Admission Office and ask their advice on how to proceed: gradadmissions@eecs.berkeley.edu. Admissions requirement questions, including questions about TOEFL and English requirements, will not be answered by the EAAA coordinators.

Can I receive feedback or have a question about my application answered before November 6th, 2024?

Unfortunately not; we do not prioritize any applications over others.

Is there any fee that needs to be paid for EAAA?

There is no fee. EAAA is a student-led program trying to promote a healthier academic community at UC Berkeley.

Can international applicants also receive feedback?

International students can sumbit their application for feedback, of course. Some international students at Berkeley also review applications.

Is there any particular format for submitting documents?

The form includes instructions for a plain text submission of the statement of purpose (SoP) and the personal history statement (PHS). At the start of the review phase, we will create a Google document for you to interact with your reviewer.

What degree program applications will EAAA give feedback for?

This program is intended to give feedback for Ph.D. or joint M.S/Ph.D applications only. The M.S. program within UC

Berkeley EECS is heavily intended for current UC Berkeley undergraduates, and the M.Eng. program is not specific to EECS.

• Fall 2020: Nathan Lambert, Erin Grant, and Giulia Guidi

• Fall 2021: Nathan Lambert, Erin Grant, and Giulia Guidi

• Fall 2022: Catherine Chen, Michael Dennis, Ameesh Shah, and Alok Tripathy

• Fall 2023: Catherine Chen, Ameesh Shah, Alok Tripathy, and Peter Wu

• Fall 2024: Ameesh Shah, Alok Tripathy, Peter Wu, and Jessica Lee