Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and very interested in seeing everyone’s thought about these college questions. I am wondering about what tips should I know about UC Application. For example, what I mean by this is one of the questions (on the UC Application) says “What is this parent’s highest level of education?” and there is a drop box for “no high school, some high school, high school graduate, etc…” that if you put no high school, UC will view you as a first generation college student (which is beneficial). (Clarification: I put the no high school because my dad went to an institute and did not go to college and was instructed by my college counselor to do so, I did not lie). I want to know if anyone here knows these sort of tips. Thank you everyone and good luck on your UC Application!
Application tip #1: BE HONEST, BE HONEST, BE HONEST.
You are electronically signing that your information is honest and true to the best of your ability when you sign that application.
So, if your college counselor tells you to jump off of a cliff because it’s a new way to fly, would you do that too?
If your father received an “education” at an “institute”, then he did receive an upper elementary education. Your college counselor should know better than to tell you that your father only received an “elementary education” simply because the name of the school did not say “high school”. You should know better than to blame it on the counselor. If you can’t get in on your own merit, what’s that say to the universities?
The “first generation” question deals with whether or not your parent attended a college or university.
If your academic record and activities don’t speak strongly for you to attend a UC, and you need other methods to get admitted, then how will you be able to keep up your academics in a fast, quarter system?
TIP# 2: Learn good study habits from tutors at your current school.
i agree, you gotta be honest on your ap. There are so many ways it can come back to bite you later AND, more importantly, it is the right thing to do.
As far as your dad’s education, I am not sure what you mean by institute. Can you elaborate?
Yes, please elaborate on what is meant by “institute”. Did he receive a Post HS degree? Was his education in another country other than US?
Being a 1st generation college applicant can help your chances, but it cannot make up for an overall non-competitive application to any of the UC’s.
There are no “tips” in filling out the application other than being honest about all the information you submit.
You have until Nov 1 before you can submit your UC application and plenty of time to make any corrections if needed.
Thank you for replying, but I want to say first of all that I am not blatantly listening to my counselor. As I have said before, he went to an institute. The dropboxes say “No High School, Some High School, High School Graduate, Some College and University, Two Year University/College, and Four Year University/College, and Postgraduate Study.” Now, it is obvious that it is not two or four year university and not Postgraduate Study. He graduated from high school so it is definitely not “No High School or Some High School” now that leaves me to “Some College and University”. HE DID NOT GO TO COLLEGE. It is clear that “Some College and University” is implying that he got accepted into college but dropped out or did not complete WHICH MY DAD DID NOT DO. To blatantly accuse me of blindly blaming my teacher is just not true and I recommend you to watch what you say if you want to continue being active on this forum. I can acknowledge if in the post, it seems like I am trying to cheat my way of getting into college, but that is just not true because the fact is that he DID NOT get into or graduate college.
@Gumbymom, thank you for replying to my post. I think he (dad) said that it was not a college, but an institute. Sorry, I am not sure exactly, but according to him, it isn’t even around anymore.
Can you please specify what you mean by non-competitive application? I have a 3.86 unweighted GPA and take community college classes around my local area.
I will definitely remember what you say about being honest, and I have no intentions on lying, but my dad did not go to “Some college/University” because he never applied or got in or dropped, and from “Some college/University” (it’s one of the dropbox answers) seems to be implying that he dropped out or never finished which he never did because he never got in. (I put a response on top that more thoroughly explains if you want to read).
I will definitely keep this conversation in my mind and continue to change as necessary.
Thank you again for replying to my question!
@NCalRent, thank you for responding to my question. I will most certainly be honest on the application, my intention was not to lie despite the way I asked my initial thread. I wish I can edit it because rereading it does make it seem like it is implying I want to. As far as I know about the institute (which is what he calls it) it does not even exist anymore. (Shut down maybe or something of that nature). That is all I know about the school. When I was speaking about it with my counselor today, she also called it a trade school. So I think it is something similar to those if they ring a bell. Thank you for replying
@“aunt bea”
It sounds like it might have been a trade school. What type of work did he do?
As far as other tips, I would read the details about what each UC is looking for in applicants. The UCs each have their own way to evaluate applications and they are looking for different attributes in students. Spend some time on their websites so you get a feel of what each school is looking for.
Another tip is to work on your activity section early and write, review, rewrite just like you do with your PIQ.
then. . . .
hence
TIPS TO GET INTO THE UC’S (there are no real tricks):
Get strong grades.
Fill out the application.
Reread it and EDIT for accuracy.
Be as honest as possible.
The drop down-menus are not hard to figure out. It wont give you too much of an advantage, overall, to indicate that your parent did not go to a university setting. It doesn’t matter what the school is called, nor whether or not it currently exists. So it’s not a “tip”.
Re-read all of your posts here and note the progression because when that application cycle closes, you wont be able to edit what you’ve written.
@BlueLightPocky: What I meant about my statement about non-competitive is that some applicants believe that being a First generation college student can overcome deficiencies in other parts of their application. Being First generation is only a small part of the admission process and if you are not academically competitive for the UC’s (appears you are competitive) then being First generation probably will not tip the scales.