Posting for DD, waving hi to anA44u in same program!
Decision: Accepted
Campus: Santa Cruz
Cluster: 1: Number Theory and Discrete Math (First Choice)
GPA (UW): 4.00
Grade Level: 10
Honors/AP/DE Courses + Grades: AP Stats, Honors Chem, Precalc, Honors English, AP Euro, all As
Extracurriculars: not sure what she put? robotics, mock trial, water polo,
Not sure about her essays either, only saw one and it was funny and well written, made me laugh out loud so I was worried that it wasn’t serious enough but it really showed her passion for math and her great sense of humor.
Recs from Honors Chem and AP Stats teachers who like her so they were probably very good.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think they liked her funny essays and she is ranked 1st in her large class despite being the youngest.
She is very excited and absolutely going to attend.
@topaz1116 Messaged you about summer internship stuff!
@sn12345 You mean a Facebook group for Davis, or just Cosmos in general?
For people who’ve not yet heard anything: what campus and to which clusters did you apply?
I havent heard back from UCI yet so im assuming i have been rejected. So far i have been looking into colleges like UCLA, berkeley, and stanford, but based on the fact that i got rejected from cosmos are those still good target schools or am i shooting too high
Stanford is always, always a reach. Why do you think you were rejected from COSMOS?
@onemanshow - It’s so easy to get discouraged. If your GPA and test scores are in the ballpark for those schools then you’re not shooting too high. Use the experience of applying to COSMOS as a ‘dry run’ for the college application process and think about what you might do differently. Did you get people outside your family to critique your essays? Did you talk to your teachers about why you valued their recommendations? Do you wish you’d spent more time working on the application?
Sometimes reading these boards, you get the feeling that the only people who get into good colleges are student body presidents who were captains of their swim teams while organizing hunger relief volunteer programs. The kids I know who got into Berkeley and UCLA weren’t ‘student leaders’ or athletes or Mother Theresa wannabes. They were just kids who took challenging classes, got top grades, and had good test scores. Yes, they had other interests but they weren’t getting written up in the local paper. I assume that they worked super hard on their applications and essays.
Which clusters did you apply for?
From what I can tell, all the Stanford/MIT/Ivy League acceptants have been exactly what you described: student leaders, athletes, and Mother Theresa wannabes. Many people whom I have met who are studious, take challenging classes, and have high test scores have in fact been rejected. There are so many kids who take challenging classes, receive high test scores, and are high academically; few are club leaders, hunger relief volutunteers, etc.
So has anyone heard from UCI? I still have not gotten anything…
Decision: Accepted
Campus: Santa Cruz
Cluster: 1: Number Theory and Discrete Math (First Choice)
GPA (UW): 4
GPA (W): 4+
Grade Level: 9
Honors/AP: Pre-Cal, CompSci AP
Extracurriculars: math, speech&debate, science club, piano etc…
General essay: 8
General Essay (1-10 Scale): 8
Cluster Essay (1-10 Scale): 9
Teacher Rec #1 (1-10 Scale): 9
Teacher Rec #2 (1-10 Scale): 9
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: math and science activities, may not attend due to other travel plan.
@Otterma I do agree with some of your points, but @Wolferx is right in that colleges do favor leaders, athletes, and super community service members (community service not so much unless you’re really passionate about it) You mentioned how Berkeley admits just had top grades and good test scores, but Berkeley is famously known to care mostly about good scores and tests compared to most colleges. However, there is definitely hope for those who aren’t natural leaders, and as long as you’re really passionate about what you’re interested in and work hard on your essays, you’ll definitely be considered highly.
-From someone who has experienced way too much of the college admission process.
@twzelle I will most likely attend COSMOS @ UCSC.
@twzelle I think there should be groups for individual campuses, that’s what people did in previous years.
@onemanshow There are several kids I know who got rejected from COSMOS but now got into schools like Berkeley, LA, JHU, and UChicago. If you get good grades/do well on SAT/ACTs, but most importantly, write a good essay, you should be good to go for at least UCLA/Berkeley, if not better.
Hi I was wondering if any alums on this could help me with my question? I’m really nervous!!! http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/1767895-cosmos-ucsc-past-experience.html#latest
By the way I was accepted to cluster 4 at UCSC!
Decision: Accepted
Campus: UCSD
Cluster (also, first choice or second choice?): Cluster 6 (Biodiesel from Renewable Sources) *first choice
GPA (UW): 4.0
Grade Level: (current): 11
Honors/AP/DE Courses + Grades: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, English 3 honors, chamber orchestra, French 4 honors, Pre-Calc cp, U.S. History AP
Extracurriculars: SEAL research
General Essay (1-10 Scale): 9
Cluster Essay (1-10 Scale): 7 (too general and cliche?)
Teacher Rec #1 (1-10 Scale): 9
Teacher Rec #2 (1-10 Scale): 9
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: teacher recs., extracurricular, general essay
Decision: Waitlisted
Campus: UCSD
Cluster: 9: Sound and Music Technology
GPA (UW): 3.85
GPA (W): Unsure
Grade Level: 10
Honors/AP: Chemistry, Algebra II, English 10
Extracurriculars: Science Olympiad, Team America Rocketry Challenge, Violin
General essay: 8
General Essay (1-10 Scale): 8
Cluster Essay (1-10 Scale): 9
Teacher Rec #1 (1-10 Scale): 7
Teacher Rec #2 (1-10 Scale): 7
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Grades were not good enough.
Did anyone else apply for this cluster? 
Decision: Accepted
Campus: UC Davis
Cluster: 7: Biomedical Sciences
GPA (UW): 3.87
GPA (W): 4.45
Grade Level: 11
Honors/AP: Lots… in every subject but history
Extracurriculars: Leadership in Dance, Math/Science Tutor, Vet Shadow
General Essay: 9
Teacher Rec #1: 9 (My chem teacher who I’ve had the past two years)
Teacher Rec #2: 8 (Head of math dept)
Why do you think you were accepted: Essays and Letters of rec
TO THOSE WHO WERE ACCEPTED: is there a facebook page or something?(especially for UCD) like for admitted students to communicate w each other?
I know there is a link to one for UCSC on the UCSC accepted students page.
So I guess they gave preference to higher grade level before GPA, extracurriculars, or anything else
still havent heard anything from UCI