Yes, I checked out the websites, and I literally memorized them. I’m just want to hear from some other people on their stories. What was your 10th-11th grade GPA, SAT or ACT, EC’s and what do you think really helped get you in?
Check the decision threads for both schools to seek the information you want.
Hi, I was accepted at Berkeley but won’t be attending since I got into Vanderbilt. I honestly don’t think it’s that hard to get into Cal or UCLA. I had multiple C’s in my Freshman year and one in my Sophomore year. Also, I only spent around 2-3 days on my UC essay.
I haven’t heard back from UCLA yet, but I got the supplemental questionnaire from them and I actually spent time on it so I feel like I’m likely to be accepted.
Decision: Accepted - Computer Science (A&S)
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2230 (740CR 720M 770W 11E) first sitting. 2310 (740CR 800M 770W 12E) superscored.
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math IIC, 770 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not sure, probably around a 3.55 or so after senior year. I believe my UC GPA was around a 4.1.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 4%
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar, MTAC Advanced Level
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Student Government Vice President (11) Student Government President (12). Founded a scholarship for community college students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Started an internship program with Kaiser Permanente and PG&E for students at my high school. Multiple Robotics awards, Robotics Club President, raised $500 for clubs activities (9-12), Varsity Swimming/Water Polo (9-12), USTA Tennis with multiple awards (10-12), California CM Advanced level Piano, Chess Club Founder (12). Church volunteer and youth group leader (9-12).
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: Founded a 501 c(3) non-profit organization that builds desktop computers for the needy, tutored ESL college students, and set up internships for students at my school. Raised over $2000 in donations and made it to local news. Total ~800 hours. Worked and set up computers for my school’s IT department.
Summer Activities: Interned at a local accounting firm for over 3 years. Volunteered at a care home for the mentally disabled.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Spent two days on them. Talked about the summers I spent in Taiwan as a child and my early experiences with computer hardware. 7 or 8?
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Cal asked me to send letters of rec. Both of the ones I sent were supposedly very good.
Interview: N/A
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Undeclared
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Competitive Public
Ethnicity: Asian/Pacific Islander
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Reflection
Strengths: Not sure. I didn’t have any hooks like first-gen or low-income.
Weaknesses: GPA was pretty bad, and I didn’t spend much time on my essays.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Not sure, but it definitely wasn’t my grades.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Deferred: Duke (ED)
Accepted: Florida Tech ($20,000 merit scholarship), UCI Honors, UC Berkeley, Vanderbilt (ED II)
Waiting on: USC, Northwestern, WashU, Cornell, UCLA, UCSD, UCD, UCSB, UCSC, Claremont McKenna, NYU, Tulane, Occidental, and Pepperdine. Will probably have to withdraw all of them though since I’m going to Vanderbilt.
@yinuos - yes, you should withdraw those RD applications ASAP since you’ve committed to attend Vandy. Congrats, btw!