<p>Hello, as I'm sure you've read in the title, I was recently deferred from Santa Clara University Early Action. Now, based on the positive feedback I got from a thread I made a little while ago asking about my chances at much tougher schools, I thought Santa Clara would be a shoe-in. Maybe's I got deferred because comp sci is a very competitive, maybe it's because of the new early decision they implemented, who knows.</p>
<p>If you don't mind then, can you please chance me for UCSD? I don't think I have much of a shot at either UCB or UCLA given I got deferred from SCU, so UCSD would make the most sense as my highest expectation I figure.</p>
<p>Any and all feedback is appreciated, I can chance you back too. Thanks! </p>
<p>UCSD: Comp Sci (impacted major <em>gulp</em>)</p>
<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2000
ACT: N/A
SAT II: Regrettably taken at the last second, so I didn't do well. 670 math II and 650 english. I didn't include these at all on my UC app, how do you think this affects my chances?
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): UC 3.86 (and that's UC weighed, so maybe 3.7 UC unweighed if they take that into consideration?)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn't rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (4), English Lang (4), APES (4), World History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp Sci, AP English Lit, History 4 Honors, Calculus, Physics, Intermediate Dance
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, a few honors awards at school, 1st place large group hip hop in national dance competition (non-academic)</p>
<p>Coursework Other Than A-G:
(I'm very uncertain as to how much value they will place on this section.)
*Persian school for 9 years. Fluent and literate in Farsi.<br>
*Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 1
Online course offered by Stanford University through Coursera, from July 1 August 12 2013.
*Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 2
Online course offered by Stanford University through Coursera, from September 2 October 14 2013
*Introduction to Logic
Online course offered by Stanford University through Coursera, from September 30 November 25.
*Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship
University of Maryland, College Park, via Coursera, Sept 30 Nov 10. </p>
<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): </p>
<p>*Competitive studio dancer, many hours a week, along with competitions. Throughout all of high school
*Founder of Guy's Dance Crew at school, goal is to promote male participation in dance
*Co-Founder of Persian Cultural Club
*Co-Leader of Civic Leadership Council, school government group that manages community service activities
(Am I really stupid for not including programming apps and a personal website as my fifth extracurricular? I thought my internships and coursework other than A-G were enough to explain my programming experience, but I now that I think about it I shouldn't have left the fifth spot blank here.)</p>
<p>Job/Work Experience: </p>
<p>*Legacy Fndn paid internship
Designed, programmed, tested, and installed 3 custom built solar water heaters onto homes in Madre Salve, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
*NextBio Software Dev Intern
Part of a 5 person team tasked with implementing company's database onto iOS platform using Xcode SDK and knowledge of ObjectiveC computer language.
* Local dry cleaner, shop worker
My job consisted of scanning clothing, organizing route deliveries, sweeping floors, etc.</p>
<p>Volunteer/Community service:</p>
<p>*Food Not Bombs
Serving food to underserved people on the streets of San Francisco.
*Pledge To Humanity
I am a student ambassador. Manage and promote both local and international scale projects for the nonprofit.<br>
*St. Anthony Padua Dining Hall
Volunteer, Cleaning, preparing, and serving meals to underserved community members.
*Second Harvest Food Bank
Volunteer, organizing food products.<br>
*Peru Immersion Program
Attended high school immersion service trip to Peru. Built homes, worked at an all girls orphanage, ran a food drive for the Mission we stayed at.</p>
<p>Summer Activities: Internships and jobs listed above</p>
<p>Essays:
*For the second prompt I wrote about my Tourette Syndrome, essentially metaphorically referring to it as the bull within me, has been destructive, but ultimately drives me to push past my comfort zone and take on challenges and opportunities I wouldn't have been able to achieve without it. Teachers and counselor liked it, so I guess 9/10
*First prompt I wrote about how people search their whole lives for goals and ideal life with socioeconomic status, but are really just chasing a mirage. How I realize my life is really a mirage, although many people would stive to have my life, and how I pursuit an oasis/truth through social justice and using code to do this. Also a lot of metaphor, but apparently didn't talk enough about the things I've done. 6/10 or 7/10
Teacher Recommendation: N/A for UCs since they don't consider them.
Counselor Rec: Again, N/A
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A</p>
<p>Other</p>
<p>State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Small, competitive private
Ethnicity: Iranian. Although it goes under White.
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None that I know of</p>
<p>Reflection:</p>
<p>My only hope is that they find my app unique. Male dancer, are impressed my experience with computer science and internships, having Tourette Syndrome, leadership positions. Other than that, my grades and test scores will kill my chances.</p>
<p>Strengths: Coursework other than A-G (if they even value this), Extracurriculars, essays, internships/jobs
Weaknesses: GPA and test scores are the bane of my application. For a top UC, they just aren't at that level</p>
<p>Thank you in advance!</p>