Chance me!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

<p>If you could please take a look at my stats and let me know what my chances are of getting into UCLA, I would really appreciate it!</p>

<p>SAT: 2120 (2140 SuperScore)</p>

<p>ACT: 33</p>

<p>GPA: 3.9 unweighted; 4.4 weighted (~4.2 weighted UC GPA)</p>

<p>Top 10% of Class</p>

<p>9th Grade:</p>

<p>Honors English 1/2 (A,A)
Honors Spanish 3/4 (A,A)
Honors Biology (A,A)
Honors World History (A,A)
Geometry (A,A)
Service Elective (A,A)</p>

<p>10th Grade:</p>

<p>Honors English 3/4 (A,A)
Honors Physiology (A,A)
Honors Spanish 5/6 (A,A)
Advanced Algebra/Trig (A,A)
Service Elective (A,A)</p>

<p>11th Grade:</p>

<p>AP English Language (A,A)
AP Biology (B,A)
AP Comparative Govt (A,A)
Honors Precalculus (A,B)
Honors Spanish 7/8 (A,A)
Service Elective (A,A)</p>

<p>12th Grade (classes I'm taking):</p>

<p>AP English Lit
AP Physics
AP Calculus AB
AP US Govt
Service Elective</p>

<p>AP Test Scores:
Biology (5)
English Language (4)
Comparative Govt (4)</p>

<p>SAT Subject Tests:
Biology - 750
Math Level 2 - 680
Spanish - 650</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculurs:</p>

<p>Teen Volunteer at Hospital (9,10, including summers) (150+ community service hours)</p>

<p>Advisory Board Member (11, 12)
11 & 12 - Secretary</p>

<p>Model UN Club (9,10,11,12)
10 - Secretary
11 & 12 - President</p>

<p>School-Wide Action Committee (9,10,11,12)
10 - Assistant Secretary
11 - Secretary
12 - Vice-Chairman</p>

<p>Science Club (9, 10, 11, 12)
11 - Treasurer
12 - Secretary
*Won Medals at Two Annual Science Olympiad Competitions</p>

<p>Youth Group Member (Since I was a kid)</p>

<p>Achievements:</p>

<p>Principal's Honor Roll (9,10,11,12)</p>

<p>California Scholars Federation (9,10,11,12)</p>

<p>National Honor Society Member</p>

<p>National Spanish Exam Winner (10,11) (Bronze, Silver)</p>

<p>President's Volunteer Service Award (10,11) (Gold, Bronze)</p>

2

<p>In/good chance</p>

3

<p>And yes, I’m an in-state resident.</p>

4

<p>Either way, good chance.</p>

5

<p>why is this a question haha</p>

6

<p>You have good stats. I don’t know which major you want to get in. If possible, increase your SAT2 Math score in October’s test. You will also have another award: AP Scholar award.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the advice, @UCLAParent. I’m planning on majoring in Biology (on the pre-med path). Does that make a difference in admissions? Because I know it’s one of the most popular majors at UCLA.</p>

<p>And what’s the AP Scholar Award?</p>

8

<p>^^^From what I’ve seen from other “Chance Me” threads, I think it is an award high school students get for completing a certain amount of AP courses…It would be counted as one of your Achievements.</p>

9

<p>Oh, I see. I just looked it up and got more info on it. Thanks for the input, @brosiedon. Do you have any idea how or when we’re notified by the College Board as to when we’ve won the award?..</p>

10

<p>I have no idea haha I’m a Sophomore in college and I only took 3 AP classes in High School </p>

<p>Let me give you some of my input on the application process though…
I got a 2000 on the SAT and ~700 on both of my SAT 2’s
I got a 29 on the ACT
I had a 4.3 weight GPA and 4.0 unweighted
I had a couple of EC’s nothing compared to what most of you guys had…my highlights were volunteering, NYLF, and soccer
BUT I wrote two killer essays…so that goes to show you that your essays can also get you in</p>

<p>Both of my roommates had average SAT’s and ~3.5-4.0 GPA’s, but they sold themselves in their essays</p>

<p>So yes a lot of the time its a number games, but sometimes it can also be how you sell yourself to the admissions committee…Keep that in mind as you begin your apps</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

11

<p>Oh I did a quick google search and the college board website says: Final volumes for 2011 AP Scholar Awards will be available in September 2011. So you should keep your eye out throughout September to see whether or not you got the award</p>

12

<p>Thank you so much for all the info! It really helps a lot. I might retake one of my subject tests (Math 2) in October, and I’m going to work hard on writing my essays this summer.</p>

<p>As a student at UCLA, do you personally feel pressured and stressed out by all the budget cuts affecting your school over the past few years? Are most people entering the college in the next few years at a major disadvantage? Just trying to get the opinions of as many people I can…</p>

<p>And do you mind me asking what your major is? If I’m planning on majoring in Biology (one of the most popular majors), will that impact my chances of getting in? Should I mark my indicated major on my app, or leave it undecided, as I’ve heard many people do now?</p>

13

<p>Well for me, my family’s income is very low between $20,000-30,000 a year so the school covers my tuition completely. I believe students whose parents make less than $120,000 do not have to pay the extra fees for tuition. So the budget cuts that affect tuition have not had much of an impact on me. If they cut classes on the other hand, that will have a major impact for those considering UCLA in the upcoming years. Lower Div classes are always filled to the limit and some people have a hard time getting in; although, with the amount of AP units you will have, you shouldn’t have a problem :p. You should definitely do some research in how the budget cuts are affect the availability of classes. I haven’t had too much of a problem so far.</p>

<p>I’m a biochemistry major, when I applied I chose biochemistry. I had been told that Biology was a very popular major and given my stats I did not want to risk choosing biology and getting denied because of the popularity of the major. That being said, I love chemistry and I love biology so I feel that biochem gives me the best of both worlds. I have definitely heard talk about people not getting accepted because they chose biology. I would take this with a grain of salt because when people get denied they always try to find reasons for why the didn’t get in, so it could be that they spread around the story that they didn’t get in because of the popularity of the biology major. You can choose undecided life science major if you don’t want to take the risk. But like I said whether or not the risk is really there, I do not know for sure.</p>

14

<p>If I choose, for example, Life Sciences as my major (but I really want to study Biology) - will that impact the classes I’m able to take my first year? Will I be able to change my major when I’m accepted to the college - or is it difficult to do so?</p>

<p>And many people have told me not to use my AP credits in college and, instead retake the same classes I took in high school again to boost my college GPA. Does this sound like something many people do? Is it a wise thing to do? Or would you recommend actually using those AP credits to skip ahead to higher-level courses?</p>

<p>And does UCLA accept my AP’s as fulfilling my General Education Requirements - or not? Do the credits only factor in as elective credit? Or can they really take the place of classes I want to take for my major (i.e. Intro to Bio)?</p>

<p>Do you know what the maximum income is for having UCLA cover your entire tuition? Is there a website I can go to that will give me an accurate picture of how much financial aid I’ll be getting for my family’s specific income?</p>

<p>I’ve also read about the Blue and Gold Opportunity online and how it can cover students’ tuition costs - but I have no idea how it works, and if it applies to all students. Do you have any experience with this program, or have any information on it?</p>

<p>Thanks so much for the advice - really appreciate it. :)</p>

15

<p>Ok let me start from the bottom and work up…As far as having your full tuition covered, I believe it is for students whose family income is below $80,000. As far as your other financial questions, I am not sure, but I’m sure if you spend some time on google you will be able to find the answers for your questions</p>

<p>Life sciences itself is not a major…Life Science is a category of majors it includes Bio, Ecological and Evolutionary Biology, Marine Bio, Phy Sci, MIMG, MCDB, Neuroscience, and Psycho bio. You can apply as an undecided life sciences major and then later on choose which major you want to apply too. When you enter UCLA you choose a major, but you don’t apply to that major until you finish your lower div requirements, so you can change your major whenever you want. You can take whatever classes you want too.</p>

16

<p>I see. That makes more sense. So, would you say applying as an Undecided Life Science would be better than putting down Biology?</p>

17

<p>Also - this is a question I’ve been trying to figure out for a long time - which Life Science Major do you think is the best for pre-med students? In terms of getting into med school AND doing well on the MCAT? Which of the above majors would be the most beneficial to take as an undergrad? Which are the easiest and most difficult? Or rather most worthwhile? If that makes sense…</p>

<p>And do you have any advice on whether or not to take advantage of AP credit? (as I mentioned in one of my above posts ^^)</p>

<p>Thanks. :)</p>

18

<p>Ok, as far as AP credit goes, for Math if you get a 5 on the AP test I believe you have to go to the next Math class. if you get a 5 on the ap lit and lang tests you get out of Eng Comp 3, I took advantage of this because it would be pointless to take comp 3 if i didn’t have to. In my opinion, for some classes like math and physics and chemistry it wouldn’t be beneficial to use your ap credit because most med/pharm/dentistry schools don’t accept AP credit. Plus it would be good to take these classes again because the topics will be covered on the MCAT (calculus won’t be directly tested but UCLA physics is calc based)</p>

<p>There is no major that is better for pre-meds. Do whatever you are interested in. If you chose a life science major, they will all have the same lower div requirements so you will be prepared for the MCAT no matter which ls major you chose. Just chose a major that interests you. A lot of your above questions are very subjective. There is no major that would be beneficial to take as an undergrad, there is no easy and difficult major, there is no more worthwhile major. The majors are what you make of them. That’s why you have to chose one that you are interested in. I can list of all of the easy majors at UCLA but that doesn’t mean you will fly by with a 4.0. What judges how easy it is, how worthwhile it is, how beneficial it is, is you. YOU have to be interested in the topic and YOU have to put in the work. </p>

<p>I think you should do some more research because a lot of your questions may be answered from google searches or through searching these forums.</p>

<p>Right now, do not worry about which major is easier and which would be more beneficial. Just worry about getting in. Once you get in, start doing your research on each school.</p>

19

<p>That sounds great. You answered most of my questions - and took a load off my shoulders. Thanks for all the great feedback on college admissions and apps. I guess I’m going to have to see what schools I get into this year - and take the rest from there.</p>

<p>Thanks again for all the help, @brosiedon! :)</p>

20

<p>Yea just see what schools you get into, then visit the schools and start doing your research into the schools. For now, if you really don’t know which science interests you but you are leaning towards life science just go undeclared life science. But you could even go history or english and still be premed, so it really doesn’t matter which major you chose right now. If you were thinking about engineering on the other hand, it would be a little bit different. It’s relatively easy to change majors in the College of Letters and Sciences rather than in between Letters and Sciences and HSSEAS. If that confuses you don’t worry about it right now. Just focus on your apps right now, then once you get in start figuring out the details like those. The college application process is stressful enough, so don’t stress yourself out with all of the fine details.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>