<p>During my high school years, I enrolled at a local community college to take some extra classes outside of high school. As a 15 year old, I did not fully understand the competitiveness of university-level classes, and performed poorly. In particular, the calculus class which I took during fall 2007 was extremely stressful due to the fact that it occurred right after our high school football practice. I understand that my GPA from De Anza College is significantly lower than at UCSD and UCLA, but given my age and lack of perspective at the time I do not believe that those scores are indicative of my current work ethic.</p>
<p>Since that time, I have worked hard to keep up with the rigorous pace of college. At the University of California, San Diego I received Provosts Honors for 5 out of 6 quarters and was accepted into the Thurgood Marshall Honors Program. At the University of California, Los Angeles I received Deans Honors and was accepted into the College Honors Program. My current GPA ranks me in the top 20 percent of all UCLA students in the College of Letters and Science. I feel as though I have made significant strides since graduating from high school and my upward trend in GPA reflects the importance I place on my education</p>