A bit about me: I graduated from a private high school in LA in 2014 with a 3.73 UW, 4.07 W GPA. I then transferred to McGill University in Montreal for math/CS and dropped out in my second year with a low ~2.5 GPA. I went through grief counseling, rehab for addiction, and plenty therapy for a year then resumed my studies at Santa Monica Community College in Fall 2017.
Demographics: White male, low income, CC
Intended Major(s): Electrical Engineering (TAP for UCLA second choice Applied Math)
ACT/SAT/SAT II: 770 math / 600 crit reading / 770 math 2. (scores from highschool 6 years ago)
UW/W GPA and Rank: 3.94 UC UW GPA (3.95 if 1 unit “independent study” w/ professor on Complex Analysis is counted.) My only B was from the first semester 3 years ago.
Coursework: 60+ transferable units, Completed IGETC, All Major Reqs, and the 1 unit Independent study on complex analysis with a prof. No strongly recommended courses were offered at my CC.
Awards: Dean’s Honor List, 2 degrees (AS-T Math, AA General Sciences), completed scholars program
Extracurriculars: I tutor math as a student employee at my college, and I was an embedded tutor (like a TA) for a Statistics class last semester. I also held two part time jobs at a cafe and a bakery.
Essays/LORs/Other: Essays overcoming mental health struggles between schools, working as a tutor at my schools, interests in puzzles like rubik’s cube, arduinos, UCLA EE workshops, other engineering workshops from an MIT graduate / Raytheon employee
Schools: Transferring from Santa Monica College to UCSB (TAG), UCI, UCLA, and UCB. Conflicted if I should try applying to anywhere else (possibly UPenn for applied math, sister(undergrad+PhD) and father went there. Other considerations: MIT, Stanford, Purdue, Duke, Rice)