<p>Hey there. I am an incoming freshman at UCLA in political science. I just wanted to write this and let anybody know who has a low GPA (and is still in high school/applying to UCLA) that it IS POSSIBLE to get in if you have less than a 3.7 unweighted. I was told countless times that I could not get in because of my GPA. Here are my stats:</p>
<p>GPA: ~3.5 GPA UW, ~4.1 W
SAT: -- didn't take
ACT: 32
hooks: on the lower end of the income, not a minority though, LOTS of community service (450+ hrs)
APs/weighted classes: freshman year (2 honors), sophomore year (4 honors), junior year (3 honors, 1 AP), senior year (3 APs)
essays: honestly amazing (I think this is what got me in)</p>
<p>Word of advice from someone who "shouldn't have gotten in based on their stats": WRITE (A) KILLER ESSAY/ESSAYS!! Stand out, be unique. They read a million essays of the same thing! Make sure that they can see who YOU are. And also, make sure they are completely proof read ;) you'd be surprised how many typos my friends had in their essays. </p>
<p>Anyway, never give up hope. I also got into NYU, UCSB, among others and chose UCLA. I hope you are as lucky as I am. The average GPA for this year's admissions was something like a 3.85 UW! So make sure if your GPA is lackluster you stick out in other ways.</p>
<p>If you have any questions feel free to post them here :) I'll be happy to answer</p>
<p>Wouldn’t say 3.5 UW is low. Always thought people that said if you get a 4.0+ weighted/UC gpa you got a chance as UW GPA doesn’t really matter as much. If you had a 3.5 weighted/uc gpa and got in that would be a amazing feat. With that said, UCLA goes through a holistic approach and GPA isn’t a direct factor of admission so anyone even with a low GPA has a chance.</p>
<p>I actually heard the opposite, that if your GPA is below a 3.7ish it is pretty much all down to chance. That’s just my personal experience. The counselor at my school told a girl with a 4.5 that she MIGHT get in so maybe it’s just my perspective. Anyway, 3.5 is definitely low for UCLA in particular if you look at their overall stats. I am not saying that’s a “bad” GPA per se, but definitely on the lower side for the school. Also, I know they take a holistic approach, hence the reason I said to make sure to stick out in essays/community outreach/etc. Sometimes people forget it is not entirely a numbers game…</p>
<p>Same here I am an incoming freshman at UCLA (currently pre-psych. switching to pre-psychobiology). </p>
<p>GPA: ~3.45 UW, ~3.95 W uc gpa.
SAT: 2110 (760 W, 730 R, 620 M)
ACT: N/A
Hooks: URM (UC’s aren’t supposed to consider race tho), low-income/disadvantaged
APS/Honors: ~8
Essays: Everyone thought they were amazing, one made people cry</p>
<p>I second polisci’s advice. The essays are MUCH more important to admission than people give them credit for. Make your essays MEMORABLE! Secondly, spend some time on the extracurricular section. Being very involved can also help offset a lower GPA. Good luck! :D</p>
I am an incoming freshman at UCLA (currently pre-psych. switching to pre-psychobiology). </p>