Low GPA -- can I get in?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
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<p>I have a really crappy GPA and I heard that UCLA really cares about GPA... Am I screwed? </p>

<p>HS: Top 10 public in the state. Sends ~10 kids to Ivies every year and tons more to top schools.
GPA: ~3.3-3.4 UW (horrible I know T_T) 4.0 UC weighted capped, 4.09 UC weighted uncapped</p>

<p>Sophomore year: 5 Bs 1 A
Junior year: 3 As 3 Bs (1 of the classes, AP English, was pretty much IMPOSSIBLE to get an A in)</p>

<p>Rank: HS doesn't do rank
SAT: 2250/1510 single sitting, 2290/1540 superscore
SAT II: 800s on chem and math iic
AP: 5s on chem, calc ab, english lang&comp, bio, and music theory
College courses: A in Intro to Business during jr year
Senior sched: 4 APs (econ, stat, calc bc, lit)
Total APs: 8 including sr year</p>

<p>ECs/volunteer/other crap:
-Piano 9 years. I play competitively and I won a bunch of competitions (internationally too) and awards. I played in Carnegie Hall multiple times. I have also tutored kids since 9th grade, and I perform for a nearby senior center.
-Violin 7 years. Played in school orchestra since 4th grade and started playing in the HS's chamber orchestra since 10th grade
-Vice president of academic league 3 years. We have been undefeated for the past 6 years or so whoohoo
-Breakdance 2 years. Started at the end of sophomore year. I performed a couple of times at school events. Also did performances in China during the summer and got invited to several middle schools to perform and teach dance to the kids.
-Interned at Credit Suisse for several weeks summer before senior year. Traded stock on my own (made some moneyz yay), and learned a lot of stuff from my mentor, a proprietary trader.
-Did research in a Rutgers bio lab for 2 years, 4 weeks each
-50+ hours of volunteer at an environmental center
-~100 hours at Chinese school
-20 hours helping dem. candidates run for election for our township committee</p>

<p>Essays: Probably the strongest part of my app. Got them read by all of my teachers (one of them is an alum interviewer for HYP and another is an English professor at Princeton) and they said that my essays are excellent.</p>

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<p>Is this a school in CA, or is it in NJ? Just wondering since you worked at Rutgers and have a teacher that’s a Princeton professor.</p>

<p>Anyway, you probably have a decent shot. Your GPA will be a problem, but it seems that you would otherwise be in pretty easily, so it could be a wash. It will be hard for anyone on here to actually know.</p>

<p>If your HS is in CA it presumably sends a lot of students to UCLA each year. It may be worth trying to find out about how many get in and whether you’re generally in that range in your year.</p>

<p>Also, if you’re an accomplished musician it may be worth just applying as a music major then switching out when you get to UCLA. You don’t have to be as strong academically to get in to the music school. The catch is that if you’re not a good enough musician than none of the other stuff would save your application.</p>

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<p>Make sure to write in your essay that your parents will sell you to a slave market, if you don’t get in.</p>