Am I basically doomed?

Applying to College
1

<p>I did very poorly my freshman year (3.2). My sophomore grades were better, but not good enough (3.56 first semester then 3.82 second semester.. yes... those are weighted). I took no advanced courses my freshman year, and only 1 AP course my sophomore year. I received a 4 on that exam. </p>

<p>4 months ago I realized that that carelessness was a detrimental mistake. I wish I could have taken more honors courses. I wish I would have tried harder last year. Yup.. oh, the regret.
Last Octotber I set my sights on my dream schools, UCLA and UCB. I was devastated to see that I was no where near their criteria. I knew that if I could go back in time now I would have received much, much, much better grades.
I just finished my 1st semester of Junior year. I took 1 AP and 1 Honors. I got straight A's and worked extremely hard to finish with a 4.28 W and 3.95 UW. To be perfectly honest, regular courses at my school aren't walks in the park. I go to a pretty competitive/high ranked school, which I'll touch on later. I think going to a private high school that's really competitive hurts my chances.. I'm also a CA resident. Next year I plan to be taking all the advanced courses I can.</p>

<p>I plan on pursuing Philosophy.. or Greek, as I find those subjects highly interesting. I plan on writing my essays on either of those. I'm taking the SAT this January, and am prepping every day. But anyways, am I doomed? Do I even stand a chance? Will my upward trend somewhat make up for the mistakes I've done in the past? I know SATII's aren't required, but should I still take them? What if I score low? Would I submit them anyway? Will UCLA and UCB even consider me? I go to a very competitive school where a very high amount of kids get into UC's. 1 or 2 get into Stanford or Harvard each year. Many go on to Cal. I believe 122 students from my school applied to UCLA last year and 22 got admitted. I'm Filipino, which is basically Asian on the UC App, which would basically hurt my chances even further.. My parents don't look Asian. My brother genuinely looks Mexican/Native American. lol, I'm just the only one that happened to look Asian. I might have Native American blood in me, although, I've always identified myself as a Filipino.</p>

<p>I would go crazy if I got into UCLA. It's honestly everything I want to be a part of. I'm sure many people feel this way about their dream schools /: I'm just really sad that I hurt my own chances...</p>

<p>Any advice will be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>You can’t even write a complete sentence without multiple gramatical errors. You then talk about how competitive your school is.</p>

<p>Ok.</p>

<p>You need to shorten up your post too and then I’ll give you feedback.</p>

3

<p>If your high school is really competitive, do kids who get into UCLA have GPAs similar to yours or much higher? The argument that your school is challenging only holds water if UCLA has previously admitted students with GPAs outside their usual range.</p>

4

<p>UCLA is a very hard school to get into, regardless of grades. It’s possible for you to get in, but it’s also possible that you won’t. But at this point, you can’t change much. Make sure to apply to backups, but I’ll cross my fingers for you</p>

5

<p>My school is easy, send 0 kids to UCLA. I have a near 4.0 unweighted. 4 AP classes (passed them all), sports, art, music, and more. To be honest, even if your school is harder, they probably won’t care. </p>

<ol>
<li>The UCs are race blind, they are unique in that way. That is why so many Asians dominate the UCs (like 50%!). If you don’t get in, it’s not because you are Asian. This is coming from an Asian who really did get scr*wed over by AA from a top school that hasn’t adopted prop. 109.</li>
</ol>

<p>2:STUDY FOR THE SAT NOW!!! YOU THINK I’M JOKING BUT THAT TEST WILL BE PROBABLY THE SOLE DETERMINANT IF YOU GET IN BECAUSE YOUR GPA IS NOOOOOT EVEN POSSIBLE. </p>

<p>3:Look at the other UCs too, not just LA and B.</p>

6

<p>If you don’t get in just go to a community college, get good grades and then transfer. This is like a second chance. The admittance rate for Philosophy last year was 59.17% with an average GPA of 3.56</p>

<p>[Profile</a> of Admitted Transfer Students by Major, Fall 2012 - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof12_mjr.htm]Profile”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof12_mjr.htm)</p>

<p>I didn’t get admitted from high school, but I went to SMC and did well and eventually transferred. I’m a senior now and let me tell you UCLA has been amazing, everything you think it is and more!</p>

7

<p>If you go to this highly ranked private school, then your parents are spending lots of money for you to be there and for the benefits it is supposed to provide. One of which is college counseling. Have you spoken with your GC about your chances and what you can do?</p>