Note: Since I still have my upcoming junior year and fall of senior year, this is my predicted/goal stats for my whole application! My main goal is to get into a UC and I prefer not to go to a CSU school which is why a lot of my stats below are catered toward the UC application system! This is also an updated version to the one I previously posted which had a lot of responses.
Demographics
- US citizen (born and raised)
- State/Location of residency: Orange County, California
- Type of high school (current college for transfers): Highly competitive high school with varying student strengths, a lot of alumni (at school and in district) have gotten into competitive universities from Harvard to UCI
- Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): Female/Asian/Vietnamese
- Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.): First generation, aerial and circus arts athlete
Intended Major(s) Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Note from the previous post: I had time to explore computer science this summer and although I partially enjoyed it, I feel more geared towards engineering and plan to pursue that instead!
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
- Unweighted HS GPA: 3.68 (including cc classes)
- Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.12 (including cc classes), UC Capped is 3.91
- College GPA (for transfers): N/A
- Class Rank: N/A
- ACT/SAT Scores: N/A
Note: I heavily struggled with depression in early middle school and the beginning years of high school so my GPA is relatively low (I plan to put in additional info as of right now, not any essays or personal insight questions). Iâm hoping the upward trend and progress in my grades give me an advantage in my application.
Coursework
I am currently in my schoolâs engineering pathway (Principles of Engineering and Aerospace Engineering). I got an A in both semesters for Principles of Engineering and hope to do the same for Aerospace.
10th: Honors American History, Honors Chemistry
11th: Honors English, AP Physics 1 AP Computer Science Principles, AP Statistics
CC: Chinese 1 (required for language creds), I plan to take more (expected total of 4 classes) but will need to decide on which ones still and finish the dual enrollment process! I will probably take digital media classes and business classes!
Awards
High School Mascot P.R.I.D.E Award (Recognized for continuous efforts, demonstrated personal growth, and overall representing my school values) Award is given to 1 student every semester (2 each school year) and all teachers will nominate 1 student!
High School Recognition Award (Recognized for continuous efforts and having a school represented value, drive) Award is given to every 1 nominated student every semester (2 each school year) and all teachers will nominate 1 student!
Presidential Volunteer Service Award Young Adults Gold from The Discovery Cube (250+ hours with this organization)
AP Scholar with Honor (Scored 3 or higher on 3 or more AP exams with an average of 3.25 on all AP exam scores)
Extracurriculars (general desc.)
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
- Key Club
Most involved in and had multiple leadership roles. Became lieutenant governor (hopefully!!) of my division and president of my club. Was also the division communication liaison. - Discovery Cube Volunteer
Had 250+ volunteer hours, teaching science concepts to children and managing learning areas. Led fun activities and got to interact with children and their parents - CAD and Marketing Subteam Member, Robotics Team
Contributed to brand development of team (member of marketing team) and occasionally helped with building the robots. Also contributed to computer aid design for blueprint designs of our robot for competitions - Founder of Asian Pacific Islander Student Union
Founded and was president of for two years of a popular cultural club on campus. Gave students opportunities to represent their ethnic group and contribute to school events. Also fundraised and volunteered for AAPI-related causes with members of the club - Ewgis Research Program from Girls in Stem
Hope to do it next year and hope to explore eco-friendly infrastructure - Staff Writer for the School Newspaper
Hoping to get an editor position in my senior year but am currently a staff writer in the club section and I write and manage any articles specifically for Academic Decathlon. I contribute to article ideas/writing for other sections of our paper as well - Sales Employee at Momâs Company
Helped with shipments and organization of products before shipment. Also did product development and contributed ideas that went well for the company. Usually, I do manual work at the office or home to help my mom - Aerial Artist
Was an apprentice for 4+ years and trained extensively in aerial apparatuses like silks and circus arts like stilts. Got to perform at multiple venues and volunteered with my school for social media needs. - Non-profit founder under local foundation
Will be applying but hope to start a non-profit under a local foundation that helps high schoolers with a community need. My initiative idea will be called âBuild for Beyondâ and I hope to help my local communities, specifically elementary schoolers, build small airplanes and teach them physics concepts behind it! Using what Iâve learned from my AP Physics class and Aerospace Engineering, I hope to be successful in this initiative! (If I do not get accepted under the foundation, I will organize doing it myself!)
Also hoping to do research with a UC Berkeley Graduate that I will be reaching out to in the next year (he specializes in structural engineering)!
Hoping to find a local job at a boba place when I figure out my junior year study schedule and when I get my license!
Essays/LORs/Other (general desc.)
UC PIQ Prompts: (I still havenât thought of CSU or USC yet)
- Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time. Helped organize a large boba fundraiser for our spirit rallies, not only using our raised funds for our key club initiatives but also giving over 50+ key club members in our division a treat for their hard work.
- What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? Aerial Arts, I was extremely determined in this activity and my love for aerial arts helped me find other interests like dance and colorguard (did both for one year). I had to work a lot harder to gain my flexibility and back strength as I M diagnosed with scoliosis (getting surgery next summer and will unfortunately have to take a break from aerial arts for 4+ months)
- What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? Will be talking about Build for Beyond or Asian Pacific Islander Student Union
- Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. Will be talking about my love for design and how it led me to do community service with design and became a CAD team member for robotics. Or I will talk about my creative writing/journalism!
Cost Constraints / Budget
My parents and I will pay for any school (50% and 50% if tuition is under $20,000 not including student housing, 25% and 75% for anything over)! Since I am staying in-state, almost all the colleges are affordable and I will be contributing to the tuition. USC is probably the only school out of our budget which will result in me probably needing a student loan and extra jobs but I am willing to do that!
Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)
- Safety (certain admission and affordability) CSUN, SFSU, Community College (IVC, SMC, etc.)
- Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable) CSUF, CSULB
- Match UC Riverside, UC Davis, Cal Poly Pomona
- Reach UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Southern California, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, San Diego State, Cal Poly Slo
Out of all of these schools, I want to go to UCI and San Diego State the most!