Hello, this is a long post so I GREATLY APPRECIATE anyone willing to read through. So I just started going to Foothill CC (Top CC in California) and UCLA is my one choice school unless I have to fall back on UC Davis (I’m literally 100% guaranteed to get in due to my TAG) or I somehow get into an insane enough private school like Stanford good enough to justify its expense. Anyway I want nothing more than to go to UCLA and I was hoping for thoughts and advice on my plans so I have a better chance at a successful future.
For my GPA I think in the best case scenario I’ll get it to 3.95, it’s definitely doable, but I haven’t taken enough classes to know how difficult the classes can really get. The absolute worst I can see myself getting is a 3.75, but hopefully it won’t come to that. I’ll definitely be taking extra courses to boost my GPA though as well (related to my fields of interest of course). Average admitted GPA for CSE at UCLA is 3.9+.
So the first big thing I causing me questions is for UCLA is I’ll in a sense be sending “two” applications. My normal one will be for CSE, what I want to major in (I also am considering getting a second major or minor in economics if possible). But as a backup I’ll also be participating in UCLA’s TAP program which I get to do after completing my first 7 honors courses. It has a 70%-98% admittance rate compared to the usual 14%-20%. Issue is it’s only for the College Of Letters And Science, so I’d have to do Physics. Then I’d either have to attempt to switch majors, get a second major, or get some minors in Computer Science Engineering which is what I’m actually interested in. Or even just cross my fingers I can get a job in one of those since Physics is close enough maybe. Would that be worth it to go to UCLA under TAP or would I just be better off going to UC Davis in the exact majors I want?
Second thing is so there are many reasons I want UCLA over UCB, but a big reason is YouTube Space LA is near by the campus that I was hoping to hang out at all the time. I’m considering being a YouTuber as a possible side career and the YouTube Space is just the most amazing resource to anyone interested in that. It’s massive and as luxurious as any Google campus. By bus or by bike it’s around a 50 minute ride both ways. Would that be worth it? Like I don’t know how cheap or expensive using the bus in LA is. I was thinking I could just do schoolwork on the bus or if I bike, just do that and cut down my usual workout routines to a minimum. Is the commute doable?
Thirdly is in addition to non-grades related stuff like working on getting scholarships or doing more community service, there were three unique aspects I was hoping to to work on that could help me really stand out for colleges and a Google Internship I have a fair shot at getting (I have two references by significant Google employees I’ll use when I apply). They were:
- The YouTube channel thing. I've casually used it but very recently got serious about it. If I spend around 2 hours a day making videos, I should be able to hit well over 100,000 subscribers (also causing Google to award me the Silver Play Button Award) and I'd be making like $1000 a month. Nothing too insane, but growth on Youtube is an exponential curve and that'd be after just two years. I'm wondering if the two hours a day time investment is worth it and would be worth noting since it is similar to running a business.
- I have a website/business idea (I'm DEEPLY surprised no one has done it yet but can't give any details due to how easy it would be for someone knowledgeable in computer science to steal it and execute it) that I'd really like to start up, but am having problems figuring out how to go about it plus haven't taken any programming courses yet (excluding learning Java from Computer Science AP in high school). Also PHP (the language I want for the site) isn't offered anywhere near me so I was wondering if there are any places online I can learn it or any books I can read? I think the idea definitely has potential, but it could entail hundreds of hours of work. Would it be worth it for the creation (even if unsuccessful) that I could show off to colleges and companies?
- I'm currently writing a fantasy/sci-fi fiction novel, the first of many in a series. So far opinions have been very positive, but once again it's something that would take countless hours to finish. Granted it wouldn't take as much time as the business idea, but it also doesn't pertain to my major. Also having a novel actually sell well is very rare (although I'm possibly baking on using the internet age to promote it and sell it).
I’m so sorry for the long post, but any help on any of the questions or topics would be appreciated so much as well as any additional advice you could offer for getting into UCLA and top tier schools, thank you!
