<p>Hey, guys. It's me again. Look, I've already sent in my application to the UC's, but I was wondering if you could take a look at it again. I know, it sounds stupid to ask someone to look at an application after it's already been sent it, but I'm neurotic like that. Anyway, I'll give you all the info I can. Please be honest in your responses. Don't sugarcoat anything. It's very long, so if you could look at it, it would mean a LOT.</p>
<h2>Majors chosen at schools</h2>
<p>-Berkeley - Undeclared in the College of Letters and Sciences
-UCLA - 1st choice=Electrical Engineering; 2nd choice=Undeclared Physical Sciences</p>
<h2>Weighted GPA's so far</h2>
<p>-Freshman year
-1st semeseter - 3.2 (I know, it's low, but I don't think it carries any weight, if at all.
-2nd semester - 4.0
-Sophomore Year
-1st semester - 3.833
-2nd semester - 3.833
-Junior Year
-1st semester - 4.167
-2nd semester - 4.143
-Senior Year (projected)
-1st semester - Anywhere from 3.8 to 4.4</p>
<h2>Testing</h2>
<p>-SAT I - 1430 (740 M, 690 V)
-SAT II Math IIC - 800
-SAT II Bio-E - 800
-SAT II Writing - 740
-SAT II Math IC - 780
-SAT II Physics - 720
-AP Calculus AB - 5
-AP French 4 - 3
-Will be taking AP exams in US Government, Calculus BC, Physics, and French 5</p>
<h2>Honors and Awards</h2>
<p>-Department Award for Outstanding Achievement in French 4 AP
-Induction into Foreign Language Honor Society (of which I am Secretary/ Treasurer) and National Honor Society
-High Honor Roll (GPA above 3.5) for all of Sophomore and Junior years and for the second semester of Freshman year
-Honor Roll (GPA above 3.0) for the first semester of Freshman year</p>
<h2>Extracurricular Activities</h2>
<p>-Digital Clubhouse Network (Detailed explanation in essay 2) - 5 hrs/wk; 40 wks/yr; Frosh, Soph, and Jr. years.
-Spring Musical - 25 hrs/wk; 4 wks in Jr year.
-Tutoring a second grader - 1 hr/wk for 10 wks in sohomore year.
-Yearbook club (Gofer) - 10 hrs/wk for 10 wks in sophomore year.</p>
<h2>Community Service</h2>
<p>-Agnews Developmental Center (work w/ the developmentally disabled) - 6 hrs total in frosh year.
-Digital Clubhouse Network (SEE Extracurricuar activities)
-Our Daily Bread - 6 hrs/yr in soph and jr years serving food to the homeless</p>
<h2>Essays (with prompts)</h2>
<p>1.) How have you taken advantage of the educational opportunities you have had to prepare for college?</p>
<p>-In middle school, I had fewer academic opportunities than many of my high school peers did, which left me intellectually unchallenged. While at Saint Francis, Ive fostered strong interests in Mathematics, the Sciences and French through many advanced courses, such as AP Calculus BC, AP Physics, and AP French Literature. </p>
<p>A passion for mathematics led me to persuade the teacher of Advanced Algebra 2/Trigonometry-X to let me into his class despite my having narrowly
missed its prerequisites. That course opened the door for me to a succession of higher-level math and science courses all of which I excelled at. My fascination with and devotion to mastery of the French language has led me to attain a fluent level in French, culminating in a Department Award for excellence in French 4AP.</p>
<p>In all of my classes, however, Ive taken advantage of more than the class material. From the intricacy of Calculus, Ive learned that shortcuts can be harmful in both math and in life. From French, Ive observed that people, worldide, are all really the same, despite linguistic or cultural barriers. Indeed, Ive taken away several important life lessons that I know will prove useful to me in college and beyond.</p>
<p>2.) Tell us about a talent, experience, contribution, or personal quality you will bring to the Univ. of California.</p>
<p>-Id like to consider myself an adept filmmaker as a result of experiences at the Digital Clubhouse Network. There, I participated in a nationwide project called the Veterans History Program, in which I collaborated with World War II veterans to create short digital autobiographies on their lives and experiences. Those films were then sent to the Library of Congress to be archived, thus preserving a piece of history that may otherwise have been lost forever. I spent dozens of hours meticulously synchronizing audio and video tracks on Adobe Premiere; readjusting volumes and transparencies, scouring the Internet and vast volumes of information for relevant images, and doing other tedious tasks that are crucial for the production of a fine piece of film. At the end of the process, I always looked upon my work with great pride, knowing that all those hours had been spent for a good cause. While at the University of California, I look forward to being an active member of any film clubs, perhaps founding one, taking film classes, and maybe even minoring in film. Specifically, Id like to use film as a means of showcasing students diversity for which I should have an abundance of material as a member of a culturally rich campus community</p>
<p>3.) Is there anything you would like us to know about you or your academic record that you have not had the opportunity to describe elsewhere in this application?</p>
<p>-After a middle school experience that was anything but memorable, I entered high school with a crippling social anxiety. It seemed to me that everyone I saw, even complete strangers, was out to hurt me. So, my first two years of high school were rather dull. I joined some clubs, but shied away from participation outside of my comfort zone. But, in the spring of my junior year, all that changed. </p>
<pre><code>Seeing the spring musical as a sophomore charmed me into participating in it as a junior. I opted to join the technical crew, as acting did not
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<p>interest me at that point. I remember the first day the crewmembers were called in to observe a rehearsal for the musical, 'Footloose'. As I entered the room, the sight of cast members donning costumes and vocalizing instilled in me a devastating sense of apprehension. Half an hour into the rehearsal, I wanted to quit. However, I chose to stay until the end, perhaps out of
determination or maybe even out of indifference. As the rehearsal progressed, I became increasingly comfortable with my surroundings, and actually
initiated conversations with many of the cast. By the end of the day, I was having too much fun to quit and had chosen to stay on.</p>
<pre><code>I began to enjoy and look forward to rehearsals, even those that, in some cases, lasted as long as twelve hours. During these hours, I found myslf
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<p>conversing with cast members, some of whom were complete strangers to me. As I reached out to them, they reached back, which came as a surprise
to me. Over the course of four weeks of rehearsals and shows, I was slowly recovering from the anxiety that had posed countless problems forme. </p>
<pre><code>The best examples of my transition to a more open personality are the two cast parties. The first party was a social get-together in the local park.
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<p>As I approached, the sight of the cast members spawned within me a paralyzing fear that led me to turn back home. However, on the way back the
thought of how much fun I had had during rehearsals made me go back to the park. For the first half hour I was very tense, but I reminded myself that these were the same people that I saw every day at rehearsal and that I had no reason to be afraid of them. For the rest of the party, anxiety gave me no problems at all. The culmination of this transition was the second cast
party, in which I was actually able to go to a cast members home, 30 miles away, and stay up all night with fellow cast members, talking, singing
show tunes that I had never heard of; just enjoying myself. This was all new territory for me.</p>
<pre><code>Looking back at those four weeks, I realize that my participation in the musical did a lot for me. It made me reflect on the way I looked at people and led me to see that it was I who was prejudging, not them. I learned to open myself to people and, as the classic Kenny Loggins song goes, cut loose. Since my involvement in the musical, Ive been able to participate much more
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<p>in the school community. Looking forward to life on a university campus and all it has to offer, I am determined to never let anxiety keep me from
participating again. I look forward to taking part in the drama program and as many productions as possible, being in the mainstream of events, and
participating in the Study Abroad program</p>