So I’m currently a community college student and I’m majoring in Economics. I’m a freshman and I’m going to be applying to get into the fall 2019 quarter. So far I have a 4.0, and I’m taking some hard math classes so it may or may not change.
My top schools are
UCLA
UC Berkeley
UC Santa Barbara
UC Davis
My extracurricular activities are interning at a shipping company last fall for a couple of months, and then this semester I’m volunteering to teach art to students at my old highschool. My passion is art so I feel like that might be a good thing to mention on my apps. I’m also doing TAP/Honors Program at my school.
I feel like the only thing that’s missing is volunteer work for charites, but my counselor told me that doing volunteer work is really typical and universities can tell if you"re trying to just load up on EC’s to look impressive. She told me to just make a really good personal statement. Is there anything else I can possibly do to look impressive or stand out? Or should I just volunteer anyway?
Sounds like you’re off to a good start! However, you’ll definitely want to add some more to beef up your application. I’ve heard Econ is very competitive/impacted (15% acceptance rate at UCLA) so you need to make yourself stand out in a sea full of straight A students.
I think the art idea is great! It shows that you have interests in things other than just school. The top UCs want well rounded individuals that are passionate about the things they get involved in.
At the same time, I would recommend that you involve yourself in activities that relate to your major. This will show the adcoms that you’re serious and committed to your intended field of study.
As far as volunteering goes, one of the things they look for in an applicant is empathy and a desire to make the world better. It would be in your best interest to spend some time volunteering with an organization that you feel passionate about. Don’t just volunteer because you feel like you’re supposed to volunteer, do something that YOU connect with. Besides, more often than not, people benefit and become better people when they donate their time to worthy causes.
Also, CC counselors suck (at least at my school, everyone complains about them). I’ve trusted several who have ommitted important information, or simply didn’t know what they were talking about. Conduct your own research on what these schools are looking for, watch their admissions videos on YouTube, browse their admissions pages, etc.