***uc davis class of 2023 decision thread (stats only)***

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Davis
41

Decision: Admitted
Major: Statistics
Unweighted GPA: 3.86
UC Weighted: 4.5
SAT: 1480 (superscore, 800 Math, 680 English)
ELC: Top 9% of class

Male, Subcontinental Asian
Grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles

Extracurriculars: Student Government (11th and 12th), Baseball (JV 9th and 10th, Club 11th, Varsity 12th), Leadership in two clubs, co-founder of local astronomy organization, piano and saxophone, YYGS and UCLA Writing Program, volunteer at a unique organization.

Sophomore year class schedule was rigorous but not as rigorous as some of the other kids in my grade.
Junior year classes: AP Calc AB, AP Lang, AP US History, AP Physics, Spanish 5/6 Honors.
Senior year classes: AP Gov, AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Microecon (1st sem), AP Bio.

Essays were good/unique in my opinion.

Acceptances: Fordham
Rejections: None so far…

Hope this helps and congrats to those who were admitted!

42

I got in for Cog Sci too! :slight_smile:

43

Decision: Admitted

Merit scholarships awarded (if any): Provost Award

Major (and division if applicable) applied to CSE, CoE

Academic stats:
SAT I (breakdown): Not taken
ACT (breakdown):34(E-35, M-34, R-34, S-33)
SAT II: Math Level 2-800, Chem-800, Physics-800
Predicted Percentage - 98.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10
AP (place score in parenthesis): Not taken any
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: In a CBSE(National Government Board) school - course load almost equal to 4 AP courses(Phy, Chem, Math, CS)

Calculate your GPAs with https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
UC Unweighted GPA: 3.96
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 3.96
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 3.96
ELC eligibility (Top (9% HS):

Major Awards: Finished within top 50 ranks in General AI Challenge, Solving the AI Race Round; Competed in News-Wiz Quiz till pre-televised rounds; Finished 4th in the western round of JAIBC India Competition; Participated in NASA’s Cassini Scientist for a Day Competition

Subjective:

For the following, indicate the level of recognition or award (e.g. local, state, national, international) and/or leadership roles:
Extracurriculars:
I have published a Research Paper on Acta Astonautica Journal of Elsevier on GAGAN and future airports
2 projects on Data Science to be used in my school from the next academic year(LORs mention the same)
Zonal Level Table Tennis Player
Certified Scuba Diver
Working on creating an 8-bit computer using breadboards
Designed a Journal to enhance productivity for high-school students - working on releasing and selling copies on Amazon

Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Helped initiate Storytelling sessions for underprivileged students to teach elementary English with AASHA Foundation
Summer Activities: Completed various online courses on Data Science and Mathematics - Part of an online Data Science invite-only community

Essays (topics, details): I actually don’t remember the essays off the top of my head - I guess I wrote about my depression, passion for learning, and Table Tennis.
Letters of recommendation: None

Demographics

State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): India
High school type: Private

Gender: Male
Race/ethnicity: Indian

Applied for need-based financial aid?: Nope
Pell grant eligible?: Nope
Maximum Pell grant (FAFSA EFC = $0)?:

The highest level of parent education: Masters
Living with both, one, or no parents?: Both
Relation to alumni of college: Nope

Reflection

Strengths: I was happy with my essays - I thought they came out very well
Weaknesses: Probably my projects were a bit complex and almost whoever I spoke to about it never understood what I was doing, as a result, it might have not come out very well in writing
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essays and Stats
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I guess high inclination towards my majors

General Comments: I expected to get in - but seeing the caliber of students getting waitlisted and rejected is making me concerned for UCLA and UCB

44

Decision: Admitted

Merit scholarships awarded (if any): None

Major (and division if applicable) applied to: Undeclared - Humanities, plan on double majoring in economics and political science if I decide to attend

Academic stats:

Calculate your GPAs with https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
UC Unweighted GPA: 3.90
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 4.23
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 4.64
ELC eligibility (Top (9% HS): I don’t know

Rank, percentile rank, or percentile range (if available): school does not rank
Comments about course load (including senior year): all possible honors classes, AP Human Geography, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, AP Psychology, AP US History, AP American Government, AP Microeconomics, AP Physics 1, AP English Literature, AP Statistics
SAT (total and sections): 1540 (760 RW, 800 Math), 17 Essay (7/3/7)
ACT (total and sections): N/A
SAT Subject Tests (if any): 760 Math II, 710 US History, 700 Chemisty
AP exams (scores in parentheses): AP Human Geography (5), AP Chemistry (4), AP Calculus BC (4), AP Psychology (5), AP US History (5)
IB exams (score in parentheses): N/A
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Eagle Scout, Eagle Palm, National Merit Commended, AP Scholar with Distinction, won medals at multiple international taekwondo tournaments for sparring (58 kg)

Subjective:

For the following, indicate level of recognition or award (e.g. local, state, national, international) and/or leadership roles:
Extracurriculars: Senior Patrol Leader (Boy Scouts of America), Assistant Senior Patrol Leader (BSA), Taekwondo 2nd Degree Black Belt, Takewondo Sparring Competitor, Track and Field, Librarian (BSA)
Job/Work Experience: Private Tutor (2.5 hr/wk during school year), Taekwondo Instructor (2.5 hr/wk during summer)
Volunteer/Community service: Shadetree Partnership at UCI, Merit Badge Instructor (BSA), Orange County Public Library, Personal Finance Club Officer
Summer Activities: West Point Summer Leaders Experience, US Naval Academy Summer Seminar, COSMOS UCI, Taekwondo Instructor

Essays (topics, details): Eagle Scout Project (discussed my creative approach to the project, how I got inspiration from the McDonald’s menu board, and execution of the project), Tutoring (went over background of my tutoring business and how I made adjustments to manage time better), Overcoming learning disability (pretty self-explanatory, discussed need for tenacity to overcome obstacles), ROTC/Military (talked about my experiences at the service academy summer programs and how I realized that I want to pursue the military during college via ROTC or enlistment in a civilian school setting)
Letters of recommendation: N/A for UCs

Demographics

State (if domestic applicant): California, In-State
Country (if international applicant): N/A
High school type: highly competitive public school with graduating class of around 800 students

Gender: Male
Race/ethnicity: Asian; Chinese/Korean

Applied for need-based financial aid?: Yes
Pell grant eligible?: No
Maximum Pell grant (FAFSA EFC = $0)?: N/A

Highest level of parent education: Bachelor’s Degree
Living with both, one, or no parents?: both parents
Relation to alumni of college: None

Reflection

Strengths: SAT I, GPA, course rigor, focus on a few extracurricular with heavy involvement
Weaknesses: SAT IIs, essays, lack of a number of extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted: SAT I, GPA, course rigor, focus on a few extracurricular with heavy involvement
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: awarded Army ROTC scholarship (conditional on acceptance to schools and medical quantification), deferred from Georgetown EA, accepted to Santa Clara with half-tuition merit scholarship, deferred from UMichigan EA, deferred from UVirginia EA, accepted to Cal State Fullerton Business Honors Program, accepted to UCSB (chancellor’s reception), accepted to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

General Comments: Good luck to future applicants. Work on your application throughout the summer and set deadlines for yourself so that you can have more free time during the first half of your senior year.

45

Decision: Rejected

Merit scholarships awarded (if any):

Major (and division if applicable) applied to: Mechanical Engineering

Academic stats:

Calculate your GPAs with https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
UC Unweighted GPA: 3.85
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 4.1
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 4.3
ELC eligibility (Top (9% HS): Statewide Path

Rank, percentile rank, or percentile range (if available): top 15%
Comments about course load (including senior year):
SAT (total and sections):
ACT (total and sections): 34
SAT Subject Tests (if any):
AP exams (scores in parentheses): AP Calculus A/B (4), APUSH (5), AP Chem (3)
IB exams (score in parentheses):
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

For the following, indicate level of recognition or award (e.g. local, state, national, international) and/or leadership roles:
Extracurriculars: Martial Arts 13 years, Robotics Leadership 6 years
Job/Work Experience: 10- 15 hours/week
Volunteer/Community service: 20 hours year
Summer Activities: Robotics Camp Leader for underprivileged youth

Essays (topics, details): Robotics
Letters of recommendation: Yes

Demographics

State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
High school type: Catholic

Gender: M
Race/ethnicity: Caucasian

Applied for need-based financial aid?: No
Pell grant eligible?:
Maximum Pell grant (FAFSA EFC = $0)?:

Highest level of parent education: Mother MA, Father High school
Living with both, one, or no parents?: both
Relation to alumni of college: no

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: No idea really
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted:CU Boulder Aerospace Presidential and Engineering Dept scholarship, Texas A&M aerospace with scholarship, Virginia Tech, Oregon State with scholarship, Univ Maryland with scholarship, Univ Nevada Reno scholarship
Denied: UT Austin, UC Davis

General Comments:

46

** Decision: Admitted **

University Honors Program

Major (and division if applicable) applied to: Computer Science

Academic stats:

UC Unweighted GPA: 3.83
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 4.17
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 4.26
ELC eligibility: Yes

Rank, percentile rank, or percentile range (if available): 20/574
Comments about course load (including senior year): Linear Algebra & Differential Equations, Multivariable Calculus at local community college. Senior course load is super chill (only AP Stats and CyberSecurity Honors, rest are regular)
SAT (total and sections): 1340 (770 M ,570 E)
ACT (total and sections): 31 (35M, 29 E, 29 R, 29 S)
SAT Subject Tests (if any): Math Level II: 790
AP exams (scores in parentheses):
5: Calc AB, BC, Comp Sci A
4: CS Principles, Physics C E&M
3: Physics C Mechanics

IB exams (score in parentheses):
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QuestBridge NCM Finalist.

Subjective:

For the following, indicate level of recognition or award (e.g. local, state, national, international) and/or leadership roles:
Extracurriculars: Math Club Co-founder & president, VSA, teaching assistant, etc. Basically nothing big.
Awards: AMC 12 School Winner x2, local programming competitions, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, etc.
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Just like a regular high school students
Summer Activities: 2%-acceptance-rate summer program at Carnegie Mellon to study Artificial Intelligence with a full-ride access scholarship.

Essays (topics, details):
Letters of recommendation: N/A

Demographics

State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
High school type: Public

Gender: Male
Race/ethnicity: Asian

Applied for need-based financial aid?: Yes
Pell grant eligible?: Yes
Maximum Pell grant (FAFSA EFC = $0)?: EFC=0

Highest level of parent education: Parents graduated from college in Vietnam
Living with both, one, or no parents?: both
Relation to alumni of college: N/A

Reflection

Strengths: background as an immigrant, strong e.c. in Comp Sci & Math
Weaknesses: Rigor of classes. Due to my english fluency, I didn’t take AP Lang or APUSH or advanced classes in language/humanities like other students.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: idk admission is mysterious
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

47

Decision: Admitted

Merit scholarships awarded (if any): N/A

Major (and division if applicable) applied to: Electrical Engineering

Academic stats:
UC Unweighted GPA: 4.00
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 4.13
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 5.00
ELC eligibility (Top (9% HS): N/A

Rank, percentile rank, or percentile range (if available): N/A (but probably will be valedictorian)
Comments about course load (including senior year): finishing high school with 5-6 APs, perfect GPA, rigorous coursework
SAT (total and sections): 1590 (800 on math, 790 on reading/writing)
ACT (total and sections): N/A
SAT Subject Tests (if any): Math 2 – 750, Physics – 720
AP exams (scores in parentheses): AP Bio (4), AP Chem (3), AP English Lang (5), AP Physics 1 (4), AP Calc AB (5)
IB exams (score in parentheses): N/A
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): US Presidential Scholar Candidate

Subjective:

For the following, indicate level of recognition or award (e.g. local, state, national, international) and/or leadership roles:
Extracurriculars: Speech and Debate (Club Captain, nationally ranked in top 10), Piano (finished CM testing), Voice (Western and Carnatic)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Worship team at church (lead pianist and vocalist), tutoring at a low-income public elementary school, leadership roles at school
Summer Activities: Taught at speech camps

Essays (topics, details):
Essay #1: Leadership role – talked about mentoring students at school
Essay #2: Talent/skill – talked about piano and how it transformed me
Essay #3: Making community a better place – tutoring low-income students
Essay #4: What makes me stand out – talking about women in STEM
Letters of recommendation: N/A

Demographics

State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): N/A
High school type: Private (homeschool taking online classes)

Gender: Female
Race/ethnicity: Asian

Applied for need-based financial aid?: No
Pell grant eligible?: No
Maximum Pell grant (FAFSA EFC = $0)?: N/A

Highest level of parent education: Undergrad (both)
Living with both, one, or no parents?: Both
Relation to alumni of college: N/A

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, GPA, essays
Weaknesses: No work experience
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think I was accepted because of my scores and transcript. My essays probably solidified it.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected from Stanford, accepted by Biola, Letourneau, University of the Pacific, UC Santa Cruz

General Comments: Congratulations to all!

48

Decision: ADMITTED
Merit scholarships awarded (if any): 30 k Regents Scholarship w/ honors college
Major (and division if applicable) applied to: Biomedical Engineering

Academic stats:

UC Unweighted GPA: sorry too lazy to calc
UC Capped Weighted GPA: ^^
UC Fully Weighted GPA: ^^
ELC eligibility (Top (% HS): top 9%

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1560 800 Math 760 R/W Essay: 8, 6, 7 (21)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Math 2 - 800; Chemistry - 780; USH - 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.44 (before 1st sem senior, 4.5 after)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school only gives decile so I’m in top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): BC (5), AB Subscore (5), Chem (5), APUSH (5), CompSci A (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): nada
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry Teacher Assistant, AP English Lit, AP Spanish Lang, PE Racket Sports (lmao), AP Stats, AP Bio, AP US Gov’t, AP MicroEcon
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
-Congressional Award Medal from US Congress
-Recognition Certification from World Taekwondo Headquarters
-Taekwondo medals at comps
-AP Scholar w/ Honor
-NMS Letter of Commendation
(tbh nothing too big)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Interned at Stanford Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology to work under renowned PI for eye and heart research.
-Taekwondo - 8yrs, 2nd degree black belt (3rd IP), instructed classes, competition team by audition, local medals, awarded Iron Tiger (ik sounds cheesy) for being first student to complete an extremely rigorous examination, National Dan.
-Lead organizer of TEDx event and licensed by TED
-School science club to help prep for olympiads and internships (Founder + President)
-Teen Advisory Board Member for city library, planned large events for city, team thanked by mayor for work
-Library volunteering: 150+hrs
-Varsity Parliamentary Debate team, won 40+ official rounds, competed at prestigious invitationals like NPDI, member of NSDA, Seal of Honor, Merit, and Excellence
-Orchestra (violin) 6yrs, played in paid entry concerts, ranked 2nd in section
-World Core Scholar tutor for humanities, tutored underclassmen for writing and such, chosen by teachers by being a top student in humanities
-Jr Olympic Archery Courses from USA Archery instructors
-Officer of Volunteer Coordinator for United Veterans Coalition
-another 1 -2 small officer positions
-Worked with a professor in local community college to build a device to measure fruit ripeness using chlorophyll degradation patterns.

Job/Work Experience:
-Stanford Internship
-Taekwondo teaching (couldn’t get official job tho I was offered cause of Visa)

Volunteer/Community service:
-Library Volunteering + Teen Advisory Board (150+ hrs)

Summer Activities:
-Stanford Internship
-Helping run taekwondo classes
-traveled a lot

Essays (topics, details):
First: About creating a science club to prep others after not being able to take the USABO/Chem Oly due to visa status.
Second: Library/TAB volunteering
Third:
Fourth:

Demographics:

State (if domestic applicant): CA
High school type: Pretty competitive public HS

Gender: M
Race/ethnicity: Indian

Highest level of parent education: Bachelors
Living with both, one, or no parents?: Both
Relation to alumni of college: no

Reflection

Strengths: ec’s, grades and scores, courseload,
Weaknesses: no big awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: EC’s were solid and immaculate transcript for my school
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: [accepted]: UCSB (through chancellor), U Michigan engineering, U wisc-madison, U Minn TC, UNC - CH. [Rejected]: UT austin. [Waiting] too many to list lol

General Comments:
I feel like I worked really hard for the last 4 yrs. I was quiet and introverted, which was augmented by my move to CA from TX at start of 8th grade. I broke and remolded myself so many times to get to where I am. I know everyone has put in effort, and every single person who submitted a college app (and even if u didn’t cause of reasons) is a champ. You got through it, and you’re a survivor. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. You WILL be successful.

49

Decision: Accepted

Merit Scholarships: None (as far as I know)

Major: Biochemistry

UC UW GPA: 4.00
UC Capped W GPA: 4.05

Rank: Top 4% (by the end of junior year)

ACT Comp: 30 (E 26, M 32, R 31, S 30; W 8)

AP Exam(s): Chemistry (4)

EC: Varsity Badminton (11th), JV Badminton (9th and 10th), Speech and Debate (11th), Science Olympiad (11th), Chemistry Summer Research at UOP (11th), Helped family member through depression since my freshmen year

12th Grade Classes: AP Bio, Weight Training, CP Econ/Govt, ERWC 12, Pre-Calc

Weaknesses: No excessive BS EC’s like most people have listed
Strengths: Passionate about what I liked/did
Very good UC Essays (we worked on them in class :stuck_out_tongue: )

50

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1400 (only took it once)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 700 US History & 700 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.5
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.33
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Human Geography (4), APUSH (5), AP Chemistry (3), and AP Calculus AB (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP French 5, AP Psychology, AP Calculus BC, AP Macroeconomics, AP Government, Wind Ensemble, and English 4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honors, CSF, and scholar athlete award

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: Not eligible to work - I’m still considered an immigrant despite the fact I’ve been in the US since I was 1
Volunteer/Community service: Run my own nonprofit, volunteered at nursing home, food bank, dance team manager, leader of after school cultural event, coded my own app, run online and in-person tutoring services,
Summer Activities: Developed a film with a Microsoft-based tech company to inspire young women to pursue STEM careers
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I would give them maybe a 6-8 rating. I wrote them completely on my own. One about sleeping in my dining room. I live in a rich area but houses are hella expensive here so we got a 1 bedroom apartment and turned the dining room into my bedroom. Made studying 10x harder for me but I talked about my strengths w/ that. Other was about an old neighbor I had who was like my grandpa and my experiences with him and I connected that to the bonds I was able to create at my nursing home. Third was about the film I developed and how there’s inequality in my math and science classes at school along with the tech industry which pushed me to work on this film. Fourth was about developing my app.
Supplemental Review or LOR submission: N/A

Applied for Financial Aid?: Not eligible to file my FAFSA b/c I’m not a citizen
Intended Major: Pre-Biology
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $91,000. Income solely comes from my dad
ELC Eligibility: Top 9% at my school
First Generation: Yes, but I can’t put First Generation since I’m not a citizen. Weird technicalities

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, maybe essays? Essays are all about perception and it depends on who read my essay and what they personally thought
Weaknesses: test scores/awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I put my soul into my essays. I think my GPA was strong and my ECs were decent. Maybe they outweighed my SAT??
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to UCSB, SDSU, CSU Long Beach, San Fran State, Cal Poly Pomona. Waiting on SLO, UCSD, UCLA, UCI, and UCB. Friday is gonna be SO tough.

General Comments: Grades are important, and you should work hard, but it’s not everything. Keep doing things outside of school that you love. Choose unique ECs that reflect what YOU like. Just bc everyone is playing the same sport or volunteering somewhere doesn’t mean you should too, especially if it’s something you don’t want to do. and for your essays, don’t include everything you’ve ever done and most definitely do NOT mention your GPAs/scores. Your essays are to show your quirks and personality. Each essay should be a peek into who you are and the different traits you have. Good luck to you future applicants!

51

Decision: Admitted

Major (and division if applicable) applied to: Nutrition

Academic stats:

UC Unweighted GPA: 4.0
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 4.17
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 4.63

Rank, percentile rank, or percentile range (if available): #1 as of submission
Comments about course load (including senior year): Full Cambridge honors
SAT (total and sections): 1390 super scored, 690 reading 700 math
AP exams (scores in parentheses): school doesn’t offer
IB exams (score in parentheses): school doesn’t offer

Subjective:

Regional level position in Key Club with awards
Founder and president of a club
4 varsity letters from two sports
Weekly regular volunteer, seasonal jobs

Demographics

WA State
High school type: Public

Gender: Female
Race/ethnicity: Asian / Caucasian

Applied for need-based financial aid?: Yes but too high EFC

Highest level of parent education: College grad / AA
Living with both, one, or no parents?: parents
Relation to alumni of college: none

I hope this info helps future applicants.

52

Decision: Waitlisted

Merit scholarships awarded (if any):

Major (and division if applicable) applied to: Computer Science and Engineering

Academic stats:

UC Unweighted GPA: 4.00
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 4.31
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 4.38
ELC eligibility (Top (9% HS): Yes

Rank, percentile rank, or percentile range (if available):
Comments about course load (including senior year): 4 APs
SAT (total and sections): 1540 (750 RW 790 M)
ACT (total and sections):
SAT Subject Tests (if any): Math II (800)
AP exams (scores in parentheses):
AP Calculus AB (5)
AP Computer Science (5)
AP Lang (4)
AP World Hist (5)
AP U.S. Hist (4)
AP Calculus BC (5)
IB exams (score in parentheses):
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

For the following, indicate level of recognition or award (e.g. local, state, national, international) and/or leadership roles:
Extracurriculars:
Job/Work Experience:Summer Job 300 hours
Volunteer/Community service:
Over 100 hours local events
NHS
Rotary
Summer Activities:
Job
Learning to program

Essays (topics, details):
Passion for Computer Science
Creativity through video
Leadership in engineering class projects
Hardship of helping my family often
Letters of recommendation:
No

Demographics

State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
High school type: Public

Gender: M
Race/ethnicity: Asian

Applied for need-based financial aid?: Yes
Pell grant eligible?: Yes
Maximum Pell grant (FAFSA EFC = $0)?: 004950

Highest level of parent education: High school
Living with both, one, or no parents?: Both
Relation to alumni of college: No

Reflection

Strengths:
Essays, GPA, Scores
Weaknesses:
Maybe EC
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Competitive major. Maybe the AO did not like my essays, favored ECs more, did not resonate with them. Maybe y̶i̶e̶l̶d̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶t̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: CalPoly SLO, UCSB, SDSU, SJSU, Longbeach

General Comments:
Really wasn’t planning on going to Davis and if they saw through that, I’d say the AO did their job correctly. Waiting on UCLA and UCB.

53

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 34 (35 English, 35 Math, 33 Reading, 32 Science)
SAT II: Math 740 Physics 800
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.21 Uncapped GPA 3.88
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH 4, AP Lang 4, AP Physics 1 5, AP Physics 2 5
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Gov/Econ, AP Lit, Spanish 3, Computer Game Design,
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Acting in school plays as well as in various summer productions out side of school for all 4 years, Playing Piano for more than 10 years, various school clubs
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club junior and senior summer about 50 hours all together,
Part of a club that surfs with underprivileged kids, but only had about 10 hours
Joined Key Club senior year.
Summer Activities:
As I mentioned, Boys and Girls Club volunteering
I did theater camps and acted in their productions
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I’d say 8, but Idk for sure. I wrote one really good essay about how I grew up having Autism. I talked about how this made it hard to make friends and made me struggle in school. The other were decent but not great. I wrote one about how much I enjoyed acting and volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club.

Supplemental Review or LOR submission: No

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major:
1st Choice: BioEngineering
2nd Choice: Undeclared Letters and Science
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $100,000-$150,000
ELC Eligibility: Top 9%, making me ELC eligible
First Generation: No

Reflection

Strengths: ACT for sure, Weighted GPA
Weaknesses: Unweighted GPA, rigor of classes (my school offers like 25 AP classes and I only took 8-9)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I really don’t know.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: SDSU, UC Riverside, CSU Chico, Santa Clara University, CU Boulder, University of Oregon

Waitlisted: UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly SLO

Rejected: UCSB

Waiting on: UCLA, UCSD, UC Irvine, UCB,

General Comments: I’m really not sure why I was waitlisted. I know UC Davis is a top-rated very selective university, and you can never be sure of anything. However it still really seemed like I had a strong chance of admission. My ACT and weighted GPA were above their average. It seemed like my extra-curriculars were decent at least. I also thought talking about having to overcome challenges from having Autism would help me out a lot. I have a few guesses. I got four Bs freshman year because I was not as motivated then, but I still got a majority As. UCs don’t consider freshman year in calculated your GPA though, and I also had a very strong upward curve. I got only two Bs sophomore year and 1 B junior year. I also took most AP classes junior year. Another possibility is that I attend a very good high school, and many students have excellent grades. This could make it harder for me. Do you I got waitlisted because I put a competitive first choice major. I put down an alternate major, but do you think I would have had a better chance if I put that down as my first choice major?

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Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1500 (710 R 790 M)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: N/A
Capped Weighted UC GPA: Unknown, Unweighted=3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 51 out of 750
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (5) English Language & Composition (5) Calculus AB (5) Calculus BC (5) Spanish Language & Culture (4) Psychology (N/A) Statistics (N/A)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Psychology, English IV Regular, Cheer, Teacher’s Aid, Wellness Center Internship
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): JV Cheer (Captain), Peer Counseling (Fundraising Chairperson), Key Club (Treasurer, Inter-Club Coordinator, President), Children’s Ministry, G.S.A. (Vice President)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Key Club (300+ hours)
Summer Activities: Summer School 2 years (1 World History, 1 Civics/Econ)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7, Leadership in Key Club, Facing Challenges as an Asian American, Making my Community a Better Place in Terms of Mental Health, Finding my Voice in Cheer and Helping Others Achieve Theirs
Supplemental Review or LOR submission:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Psychology
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Middle Class
ELC Eligibility: Yes
First Generation: No

Reflection

Strengths: Strong focus on extracurricular activities related to major (mental health, community outreach, etc.), consistent involvement in community service, decent workload and performance on AP/SAT exams
Weaknesses: Relaxed senior year schedule, cheer involvement for only 1 year
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Generally well-rounded
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted (Santa Barbara, Riverside w/ Chancellor’s, Cal State Fullerton) Waiting for (Irvine, LA, Berkeley, San Diego, Irvine, Boston U, & Harvard)

General Comments: None of my extracurricular activities or academics ever had the intent to do it solely for college. I pushed myself where needed and even as seen in my senior year, I took a well-deserved break. I made sure to enjoy the activities I participated in not only to get the most out of it, but have a genuine experience to promote afterwards and showcase in my college essays. Colleges want holistic students yes, but make sure your child has a holistic experience that lets them explore their academics, interests, and hobbies as much as possible.

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Decision: Admitted

Major: Pre Political Science

Academic stats:

UC Unweighted GPA: 3.9
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 3.9
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 4.3
ELC eligibility (Top (9% HS): 28/255

Comments about course load (including senior year): 3 IB classes senior and junior year with A’s. One AP class. Apart of a school academy which is geared towards Education and being a teacher.
SAT (total and sections): 1110
ACT (total and sections): n/a
SAT Subject Tests (if any): n/a
AP exams (scores in parentheses): didn’t take it
IB exams (score in parentheses): haven’t taken yet
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a

Subjective:

Extracurriculars: lacrosse, golf, cheerleading, apart of drama, leadership roles, academy leadership position
Job/Work Experience: have held a job since I was 16, am a student teacher every morning during first period at a local elementary school
Volunteer/Community service: over 100 hours
Summer Activities: summer law internship, volunteered at after school summer programs, summer jobs

Essays (topics, details): about the family struggles and how they’ve helped me be resilient, my interest for law and politics as a daughter or immigrants, losing childhood dreams and fear failure and overcoming it
Letters of recommendation: n/a

Demographics

State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
High school type: public

Gender: female
Race/ethnicity: Latina

Applied for need-based financial aid?: yes
Pell grant eligible?: yes
Maximum Pell grant (FAFSA EFC = $0)?: yes. EFC=0

Highest level of parent education: middle school and elementary school
Living with both, one, or no parents?: both
Relation to alumni of college: n/a

Reflection

Strengths: all my extracurriculars and my essays which I’m extremely proud of
Weaknesses: SAT scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: my letters were truly what showed who I am and I’m extremely happy with how they came out.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:I think my application overall showed the student I am regardless of not having an amazing SAT scores.

General Comments:
SAT scores are not everything so don’t ever let anyone make you think your chances are lower. What you choose to write about can truly make or break it for you but anything is possible. Accepted to UC Davis, SJSU, SFSU, Sacramento State, CSULB, waitlisted for Santa Cruz.

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Meant to say that I also was admitted into UC Santa Barbara :)))))

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Decision: Accepted
OOS
UW GPA: 3.43
UC capped GPA: 3.44
Weighted (not capped): 3.88
10 APs and lots of honors/university courses
1460 SAT
Decent essays
Accepted: UCR, UCSC (merit scholarship)
Rejected: LMU, UCSB, UCSD
Waitlisted: UW, Cal Poly Slo

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Forgot to add I am a biomedical engineering major and had good ECs

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Decision: Admitted

Objective:
Merit scholarships awarded (if any): None, but offered entry into LEADR program??
Major (and division if applicable) applied to: Civil Engineering

Academic stats:
UC Unweighted GPA: 4.0
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 4.31
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 4.38
ELC eligibility (Top 9% HS): yes

Rank, percentile rank, or percentile range (if available): n/a
Comments about course load (including senior year): 4 APs junior year (near impossible to get any APs before junior year at my school), community college courses every summer after ninth grade, 4 APs senior year, less periods but 1 CC class fall, 2 CC class (one not transferable) spring
ACT (total and sections): 34 composite // 33 E; 34 R; 34 M; 35 S; 9 W AND 33 Composite // 35 E; 36 R; 32 M; 29 S; 10 W
SAT Subject Tests (if any): 770 Math II, 760 Bio E
AP exams (scores in parentheses): Eng Lang (5), Bio (5), USH (4), Calc AB (5)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: dragon boat (manager/leadership), crew for school musicals
Job/Work Experience: tutoring, 2 not relevant administrative summer internships, helping my immigrant father write invoices/estimates for his business
Volunteer/Community service: after school tutoring, AP bio tutoring
Summer Activities: internship summer after soph, junior years, summer college courses every year
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7/10;

  1. leadership- confronting issue on sports team and programming a spreadsheet to resolve issue,
  2. creativity- experimenting in baking/testing limits,
  3. Educational experience- takeaways from helping my non-English speaking immigrant parents,
  4. barrier- recognizing excuses for what they were

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
State (if domestic applicant): CA (in state)
School Type: Public
Gender: F
Income Bracket: EFC ~4400 I qualify for Blue & Gold program.
First Generation: Yes

Reflection
Strengths: GPA, CC courses
Weaknesses: course selection (should’ve taken calc BC / AP chem), SAT Subject Tests
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: luck? lol
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:UCLA, & UIUC (civ eng), UCSC (tech. info management), Cal Poly Slo (arch. eng), UCSD (structural eng, chancellor’s scholarship), UCI (honors, business info management)- all accepted.

General Comments:
College is what you make it! I know a lot of people who don’t get into their “dream school” but end up loving where they ultimately attend!

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