Last minute application, not my best, any suggestions?

[inyourgenes]

So I decided to apply to Berkeley last minute and filled out the application and wrote the essays. I'm concerned that it wasn't my best work since it was so last minute, but I'm a great research fit and have focused a significant amount of my life on social justice, which Berkeley emphasizes. I had eliminated Berkeley as an option because I didn't think my stats are high enough, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to apply.

I've been in touch with professors already, but do you suggest I write something explaining the situation?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I would love to attend Berkeley and would like to do what I can to make it happen.

[Cookie]

Just wait and hope for the best. What are you going to write to those professors? "Sorry, I decided to join your institution last minute and wrote shitty essays" ???

[gliaful]

You were last-minute, but was it before the deadline?

I wouldn't try to "apologize" for any part of your application -- that doesn't make them view it through rose-colored glasses.

I agree with Cookie above. Contact profs if you would have done that otherwise (to ask about labs), but no need to apologize.

Does Berkeley have stated GPA averages on their program page?

[inyourgenes]

Pasteltomato, it was before the deadline, submitted yesterday on time. I already have contacted professors, and one of them seems pretty enthusiastic. I guess I imagined writing something about how I realized what a good fit the program is late in the game, and I know that I can present myself better than that. But I guess that does sound kind of self-sabotagey - highlighting the flaws of my application. 

Yes, it says minimum 3.0, but preferred 3.4 or higher graduate GPA. My GPA in grad-level courses is a 3.89, which I highlight in my SOP. 

[bsharpe269]

I agree with Cookie completely. Theres nothing you can do but hope for the best.