<p>3.83 UC GPA
790 Math/ 740 Verbal/ 700 Writing
680 US History/ 740 Math IIC</p>
<p>4 years Varsity Lacrosse
Big brother/Big sister program
Orientation Leader
And I write up sports summaries for the school newspaper</p>
<p>the past few summers i've studied abroad in France, gone to lacrosse camps, and vacationed in Chile.</p>
<p>I'm an in-state applicant, but go to a well known private school.</p>
<p>AceRockolla:</p>
<p>UCLA: Slight Reach</p>
<p>3.83 UC GPA is on the low side (avg. UC GPA for admits is 4.1), but everything else looks good. perhaps it's cuz you go to a competitive private school that's the reason for the GPA. </p>
<p>UCLA: slight reach/match</p>
<p>UCLA seems to weight GPA a lot. Berkeley on the other hand seems to weight SATs. Most of the people from my school that got into LA only had 2 or 3 at the most B's.</p>
<p>what if you took a LOT of AP classes but didn't get A's in all of them?</p>
<p>will they still care if you dont have a 4.1+?</p>
<p>hmmm... well, if it makes you feel any better my UC GPA was around 3.9 and my SATs were terrible (as in under 1200 terrible) and i was accepted. i think you have to really show the admissions board that you have something special to offer to UCLA and that you're not just going to be someone who goes to class and studies all day long.</p>
<p>well actually, UCLA and UC Berkeley have roughly the same admitted GPA averages. i personally think UCLA weights extracurriculars and other personal attributes more!</p>
<p>You actually don't need extracurriculars to get into UCLA. I've heard they either accept you based on your "stats" (the SAT and GPA formula) or if you don't meet that standard, your extracurrics can give you the boost to get you in.</p>
<p>ckings86, could you tell me what you wrote as your contribution to the UCs on your UC essay?</p>
<p>me too, please.</p>
<p>Like everyone has said, there might be a formula for admissions based on numbers, but the admissions board definetly looks at all apects of the application. If you are strong in many places, but weak in numbers (GPA, SATs, etc) then they will defintely consider you. They look at the person as a whole first. The essays are just another way to complement your strengths. Your essay should stand out if you are dependinig on it as a major source of strength in your application. My SAT score was a 1260 and my SAT IIs werent so great at all either (Math IIC -670, US History-680, Writing - 680, Biology - 620, Chemistry - 630), but I had other strengths in the application. I gues the SAT IIs worked for me in shear volume...I just took a lot of em. You certaintly have a chance. </p>
<p>UCLA: slight reach/match</p>
<p>is the essay pretty much the only way to distinguish yourself and make yourself stand out? i guess its worth alot more than i expected. haha, i think i only have about a week or so then to work on them! nov 31 is coming fast!</p>
<p>Well, no, it isnt the only way. It is one way, I assure you, but not the only. This doesnt mean you should shy away from spending a good amount of time on them though. Just keeo in mind, essays are also 1 out of the many things the admissions board looks at. Good luck.</p>
<p>I talked to a UC counselor at a college fair and he said they dont even really take the essays into consideration because there are so many.</p>
<p>"I talked to a UC counselor at a college fair and he said they dont even really take the essays into consideration because there are so many."</p>
<p>BS. who told you that? was it a counselor from UCB or UCLA? because i've seen the video clip of the berkeley adcoms reviewing the apps, and they mention the essay during their evaluation. my education prof also used to read apps for UCLA, and he said that all essays get read. the reason for this is because there isn't a standing committee that reads through all of the apps. instead, apps are divided among smaller groups of adcoms that decide on each person, and because their workload is split up, they actually have time to read all the essays.</p>
<p>no im not saying they dont weight them Im just saying they arent a major factor and yes it was from UCLA</p>
<p>what is a UC GPA??????</p>
<p>(and by the way AceRockolla, i think you have a good chance. im from a private school too, and know how competitive they can be)</p>
<p>"is the essay pretty much the only way to distinguish yourself and make yourself stand out? i guess its worth alot more than i expected. haha, i think i only have about a week or so then to work on them! nov 31 is coming fast!"</p>
<p>There is no november 31st. don't wait until nov 30 because it will be too late.</p>
<p>what are the chances for out-of-state? Cause I'm from MA, but UCLA is one of my top choice schools... I know the standards are higher, but exactly how high?</p>