Can anybody tell me what's wrong with me?

Applying to College
1

<p>I am a California resident and I also have a green card.
So far, I got accepted to UC Irvine, rejected from UCLA and UCSD (which came out today.. -.-)
I kinda don't understand why I got rejected from UCLA and UCSD (definitely UCSD)
Here are my stats:</p>

<p>UC GPA: 4.0 took hardest classes (all honors and hard APs such as Chem, Calculus BC) and my school is a very competitive CA public high school</p>

<p>SAT1: CR 680 M 770 W 700 total 2150
SAT2s: 800, 790, 710 (Korean, Math2C Chemistry in that order)
APs: Chemstry, Calc BC Psychology 5 Computer Science 3 (this one i screwed up although I got As in class T_T)</p>

<p>Asian (Korean) Female (Which might have worked against me but still -0-)</p>

<p>EC: BUNCH of community service hours and leadership positions, most of the clubs are noteworthy (National Honor Societies) + Internship I think my ECs are at least above average. National Merit Commended. Moved to the US 2 years ago (umm.. this is not EC but I just wrote it here xP)</p>

<p>Essays: I think they were good. took a long time to write them. several people read them and said the first one was very unique and well explained.</p>

<p>I can't belive I got rejected from SD and LA (well, maybe LA was a reach school) but all of my ASIAN friends who had lower stats than me and who weren't involved in ECs than me got all accepted.. I am happy for them, but I really don't understand why I am not qualified for UCLA and UCSD. this brought my confidence down so much. I considered UCSD as my safety school.</p>

<p>So what I'm thinking is that my essays were bad? Can anybody read my essays and judge them please? Even though it's all over, I am so curious (in a bad way) what people in CC think about my essays.</p>

<p>Now I have to wait for Berkeley (at this point, I don't even expect getting in -.-), a LOT of prestigious private schools (again, at this point, I don't expect getting in T_T)</p>

2

<p>Well, if you want a straight forward answer, then the fact is: “UCs dropped a lot of good people this year.” Perhaps because you applied for very popular majors?</p>

<p>If you want a complicated answer, then here it is:
First, if your UC GPA is not higher than 4.2, then you are automatically thrown to a “less likely” pool; since over 70% of the people admitted to SD, LA, and Cal has a 4.2+ UC GPA.
Secondly, I’ve noticed that having a lot of APs does help your chance (APs won’t help is a LIE, although they are self-reported), I have 10 APs with all fives, and that helps me to beat a lot of people with more impressive SATs and ECs.
Thirdly, UCs, (sadly) don’t value ECs as much as other good schools (Ivy leagues or other private), it could be a tie breaker, but not going to “make” you into anywhere unless you are like Intel Finalist, USB president for 3yrs, multiple Science Olympiads winners, etc.</p>

<p>Conclusively, they value a lot on GPA, and rather careless about ECs; testing score is important to get you into certain tiers of “pool”, but what really gets one in depends on GPA and luck.</p>

3

<p>I know how you feel, trust me. im in a similar situation. All my friends from my school who had lower grades than me got in to UCSD and UCLA too. In fact i was the person with the highest GPA and SAT score to not get in UCLA at my school. </p>

<p>UC GPA: 3.92 (9 APs, competitive public HS in cali) AP Euro/Calc AB: 5 AP English/Chem/USH:4 AP Physics: 3
Unweighted: 3.67 (yikes)
Rank: Top 10%
SAT I: 630 CR 800 M 790 W
SAT II: Math IIC: 800 Physics: 720 Japanese: 710 US history: 730 </p>

<p>Chinese male (thats probably why)</p>

<p>EC: im very wellrounded and am a very active musician at my school, since im in both choir and band (both in which i hold leadership positions). over 300 hours of community service at UCLA hospital. national merit semifinalist too. Got ELC.</p>

<p>Essays: probably really generic, but really straight forward as i was talking about immigration and band</p>

<p>Cal is my dream school since 7th grade, but now i know im just not gonna get in… I guess my GPA is way too low to stay competitive. I got waitlisted for UCSD though. I just wanna say that you’re not the only one and we just have to hang in there! it takes comfort to find people who are like you!</p>

4

<p>thank you guys… seriously, I want to get accepted to UCB so badly but now, I don’t think I have any chance.</p>

<p>And since all decisions are now released, I will just post one of my UC essays here.
Please judge my chance for UCB (I know it is meaningless but I am just curious O_O yes I have no life right now.)</p>

<p>As I grew up, I often witnessed my parents’ arguing over religion. My mom, a passionate Christian, always tried to persuade my dad to come to church with her. Unfortunately, my dad, who is from a Buddhist family, firmly resisted going to church or believing in God. This difference of opinion often led to big and small arguments about the existence of God in the family, especially on Sundays. Seeing my parents fight over some intangible figure, I, a curious yet naive child, always pondered about the same matter: does God actually exist? Why can’t we see or feel him? This abstruse question kept bothering me and eventually weakened my faith in Christianity for a while.
In order to block out the irksome thoughts, I shifted my concerns to science and math. When one studies science and math, one can actually prove various phenomena or obtain an exact answer, which is impossible with religion. My interests in science, mainly chemistry and biology, became more complex as I entered high school. I was fascinated with the wonderful world of elements and compounds, each of which could be mixed to form new compounds, and I thought that scientists could perfectly prove what humans are composed of. I scoffed at Christians, who believed God created humans from soil, instead of carbon, water, and other chemical compounds. But soon, my arrogance brought me a rude awakening.
In AP psychology class, I was introduced to a small chapter about human happiness. According to Professor Clark from the Paris School of Economics, people who believe in religion tend to be happier than people who don’t. At first, I wondered why, since religion, the main culprit of constant conflict in my family, had not made my life happier. However, as I reflected on my past, I discovered the explanation: my parents frequently argued about religion because they loved each other. Both sides truly believed that their faiths were the sources of their happiness and wanted each other to share in the same peace. Indeed, religion had brought me happiness, in the form of a family that deeply cared for its members.
Older and more mature, I now understand the conflict between religion and science. Religion answers why we do something; science answers how. For example, science can tell me necessary nutrients to keep me alive, but cannot tell me why I live. Religion, on the other hand, explains why I live, but doesn’t discuss amino acids or DNA sequences. Because of my unique background, I was given a chance to contemplate the correlation between science and religion at an early age.
Does God exist? We may never know for sure. However, as intellectual creatures, we can enjoy the process of pursuing truth through the balance of science and religion. They are complementary, not contradictory. When I go to college, I want to pursue science, yet ponder philosophy and faith. After all, Einstein once stated “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.”</p>

5

<p>A thoughtful essay. It presents a very positive view of you.
I’d say it’s UCLA’s and UCSD’s loss. If I was an adcom, you’d be in.</p>

6

<p>If dodosteve’s information is correct, that’s probably the most likely reason you’ve been rejected.</p>

<p>As for your essay, the only problem I see arising from that is if you happened to offend one of the admissions officers with your discussion of religion. While that <em>shouldn’t</em> affect the decision, and while that probably isn’t the case, it can affect someone’s opinion of your application.</p>

<p>I’d lean towards your GPA being the issue, as that seems to be the most plausible explanation.</p>