One of my twin boys got accepted(the other didnt apply) so excited
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Hi- What type of music is your applicant interested in? My son was admitted to the music program. He plays drums. I don’t know too much about the UCSD music dept. What was the draw for you?
DD ACCEPTED
Media Arts
UW 4.0, UC Weighted 4.4ish
6 APs, some honors
Top 9%, school does not rank
NorCal
ECs: paid internships related to writing and volunteer summer camp leadership roles
Accepted: SFSU, USF, Emerson, UCR, SJS
Waitlisted: LMU, Chapman, UCI, UCD
No thank you: UCLA
QUESTION: any opinions about screen writing? VA27 seems to offer only basic screenwriting but that is her focus (for now). She also really likes comp sci so I love the VA29 program. She’s in VA27, but looks like you can double. She’s got a nice merit scholarship from Emerson which is a top film school but I’m concerned it doesn’t leave her with many options if she decides to pivot or fully change directions.
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Accepted Electrical engineering
OOS
Muir College
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Hi Lexiealex007 - yes Stevens is a god school for both engineering and finance - they have great job opportunities since it’s basically right across the river from downtown Manhattan. The reason I said safety school/ yield management etc. is that DS applied somewhat half-heartedly knowing he wanted to stay in CA and had plenty of other “Safety” schools (e.g. CSUs) he was applying to. I’m pretty sure the half-hearted attempt showed in his application 
Look like it’s interchangeable. Both are non-capped major in the same department. Your daughter should email the department to confirm. 
https://catalog.ucsd.edu/curric/CHEM-ug.html
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That’s an impressive profile, sorry about the outcome - we’ve realized from both our kids’ experiences plus those of our friends’ kids that this whole process is basically a lottery once you have the minimum academic credentials to get in.
One thing I understand is specific about UCSD is they place a lot of importance on the PIQs as a way to differentiate the applicants and see who is (a) clear on what they want and their motivation for joining UCSD and (b) would be a good fit with the community.
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Hi all - UCSD’s admissions site says they do not entertain deferrals at all. My son wants to take a gap year. So far I’ve seen that only UC Davis allows a 1-year deferral. Do you know of any students that were able to defer their admission at UCSD or any other UC?
Also on average how frequently are students staying on campus able to go home for the weekend to the Bay Area? This is (for some reason) a major criterion for my DS and why he is likely to pick UC Davis over UCSD. I have one friend whose son takes an inexpensive Southwest flight to Oakland once a month. Any data points here?
As far as I know, UC Davis IS the only UC that allows a deferral/gap year and is quite flexible about it. You can request one from the other UCs, but very few are granted. Many private universities allow deferral/gap year, but not UCs or Cal State. My son is at Davis, and while he didn’t take a gap year, he did choose to take a year off after his freshman year (called PELP, Planned Educational Leave Program). He did not need to reapply after the year (he’s going back this Spring) and was considered a student the entire time. I’m not sure the other UCs allow this, either. My daughter was also interested in a gap year but, unfortunately, has been WL at Davis (her first choice).
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I have a child who did that in the opposite direction. We live in LA County and he went to Davis. He came home over each break - Thanksgiving, winter, spring and summer.
The first quarter, we felt it was important for him to develop social connections and to stay in Davis. We ended up flying up for parents’ weekend and one other weekend. Even after that, he found that it helped his mental sanity if he came home (or at least got out of town) mid-quarter. It gave him something to look forward to. In the beginning, we flew him home but, as he got acclimated, he would go to Tahoe or SF with friends and that satisfied his need for a change of scenery.
One thing to consider is that the quarter system moves quickly. Midterms start around week 3 and continue through week 7. Sometimes we would book a flight only to find out that he had two midterms the following week. Fortunately, SWA is flexible with rescheduling credits.
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Thanks much! Yes staying on campus to make friends and get the benefits of campus life is a HUGE part of the college experience and what I keep telling my son is the most lasting take away from the four years (everything else falls away over time)
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I have heard from a few people that UCSD has an unconventional grading system that creates an overly competitive culture amongst its students. Can anyone shed light on whether this is true?
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What major or department?
Human development sciences
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Hi! I’m an on-campus student and I try to go home almost every 2-3 weeks (a little excessive but I get homesick easily). It is extremely manageable and affordable since SWA has flights almost every hour and there is free transportation to the airport! I know plenty of people who are able to travel home even during midterm season for some extra comfort.
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thanks, helpful to know. Yeah I think my son will be like you and I won’t complain about him visiting regularly!
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S23 Accepted
Major: Data Science
UW 4.0, UC Weighted 4.45
7 APs, 5 DE
Top 9%: yes, Ranked: school does not rank
NorCal
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Daughter Accepted
Major - Psychobiology
In State
#3 out of ~300 students
UWGPA - 3.83
UC GPA 4.17
WGPA - 4.60
9 JC Classes (3.8 GPA)
4 AP
8 Honors
Very Strong PIQ - Born in Poland. Lived in 3 countries. Learned English starting at 7. Went to Poland last summer to help the Ukrainian refugees. Suffered major trauma as a child. Volleyball team captain. Tutors other kids since Freshman.
Accepted - UCLA, UCD, UCSD, UCSC
Rejected - UCI
Waiting - UCSB
She had a bad semester at beginning of her Junior year due to Covid return to school shock and a family traumatic event. She got a C in an AP class and 2 B’s in her JC classes. She recovered and got all A’s the next semester. She didn’t submit any AP scores as she got bad scores on all due to poor instruction during Covid. She also attends a Title 1 school, but I am not sure if that matters or not.
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My son was accepted yesterday to all the UC schools he applied. Ucla , Uci, and UCSD. What is the Jacobs school scholarship? He is leaning towards ucsd for engineering.
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Congratulations on the scholarship. Jacobs School Scholars | Jacobs School of Engineering
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