***uc santa barbara class of 2023 decision thread (stats only)***

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Santa Barbara
1

**Please Post only Stats in this thread. For questions and discussions, please refer to the following thread: **

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/2118492-ucsb-class-of-2023.html#latest

Remove the “a” in the bold, size, and color of your decision.

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Waitlisted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Capped Weighted UC GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Supplemental Review or LOR submission:

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
ELC Eligibility:
First Generation:

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments:

2

Decision: Accepted - undeclared
Applied Mechanical Engineering

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1410 (720 W 690 M)
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.35
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 42/749
AP (place score in parenthesis): 9 APs, Hum G(4), Bio (4), Cal AB (4), LIT (4), US H (4), Physics (this year), Calc BC (this year), Gov (this year, Lang (this year)
Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs, 1 honors, 3rd year language, plus extra 7th class in robotics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): FIRST Robotics Dean’s List finalist, Eagle Scout, AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 12 years competitive robotics, (FRC team CEO)
Job/Work Experience: Employed as fencing armorer
Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours, Eagle Scout, STEM outreach
Summer Activities:Engineering program at Berkeley
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8, Pretty good essays. Have diagnosed learning disability that I wrote about

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type:Public High School
Gender:M
ELC Eligibility:yes
First Generation:no

Reflection

Strengths: Good GPA and lots of extra curricular applicable to degree
Weaknesses: Not a good test taker, lower SAT, no 5 APs
Why you think you were accepted: I think I had the GPA but transferring to engineering will be hard.
Where else were you accepted/: Purdue, Virginia Tech, WPI, SDSU, CalPoly SLO, UCR so far.
Waitlisted: Georgia Tech
Rejected: U Texas at Austin

3

Decision: Decision: Rejected

Objective: Electrical Engineering
SAT I (breakdown): 1450 (750 M 700 R)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Math II (600) Bio E (620) - Did not send
Capped Weighted UC GPA: Dunno, 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4) AP Calculus AB (4) Language and Composition (4) Biology (3) US History (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Computer Science, AP Physics 1, AP Literature, AP Government, Wind Ensemble, Spanish 4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Eagle Scout, 4 Year full ROTC Scholarship for Army and Navy

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Eagle Scout, Cross Country Captain, Varsity Track, Link Club
Job/Work Experience: 21 Hours during winter in local street performance group
Volunteer/Community service: 300 Hours
Summer Activities: Boys State
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7
Supplemental Review or LOR submission: No supplements, dunno about LOR

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Electrical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Washington
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Low - Middle
ELC Eligibility: What is ELC
First Generation: Nope

Reflection

Strengths: ROTC Scholarships I think, SAT score was pretty good I thoight
Weaknesses: Received a C and D in AP Calculus my Junior year, had to retake this year
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Junior year grades, lower GPA
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Santa Clara (A) Notre Dame ® University of Washington (WL) Rensselaer (WL)

General Comments: Life goes on, fingers crossed for any other options :slight_smile:

4

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 28 composite; accidentally didn’t send a 32
SAT II: N/A
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.3W, 4.0UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): Predicted all 6s and 7s (equivalent to A- and A)
Senior Year Course Load: 4 IB classes, 1 Honors, and 1 Elective NH
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Most of my awards are international:
UKMT math competition: Silver Award (10 students in the whole school achieved)
Trinity College London 1-3 Distinction for Flute
Trinity College London 3 Distinction for Theatre
School academic award
Top Tutor Award

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): All of the honor societies, including national honor society; best buddies; random acts of kindness club – really nothing extremely impressive, I know
Job/Work Experience: 2 years at one of the biggest retail companies in the US; managerial position at 17 years old; corporately recognized; several awards from the company
Volunteer/Community service: 500+ hours
Summer Activities: N/A
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I wrote about my passions and my upbringing and how it all contributed to who I am as a person (this was all spread across the 4 PIQs) I honestly would give myself an 8.5/10
Supplemental Review or LOR submission: N/A

Applied for Financial Aid?: You betcha
Intended Major: Pre-Economics and Accounting
State (if domestic applicant): VA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: I would rather not say; but it’s not too high not too low (has changed since my chance me)
ELC Eligibility: idk
First Generation: Nope

Reflection

Strengths: Essays, grades and course rigor probably; I honestly just think I was a unique applicant when it comes to my actual story
Weaknesses: ACT ACT ACT SCOORREEEE
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: i don’t really know
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UC Davis, UCSB, NDNU, Menlo College, SCU, GMU
Waitlisted: N/A
Rejected: Stanford REA (rip i know)

General Comments:
BE YOURSELF AND TELL THE WHOLE STORY

5

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I:
1040 (560 RW, 480 Math)
ACT: Not Taken
SAT II: Not Taken
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 3.72
Rank: 27/197 when applying, 20/191 now
AP: English (3) no others offered 11th Grade
IB: None
Senior Year Course Load:
AP Stats, AP English, Advanced Dance, Strength/Conditioning, Government, Economics, Child Development, Physics
Major Awards: None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars:
4 Years Field Hockey (Team Captain)
4 Years Track & Field (Team Captain)
4 Years Drill Team (Team Captain)
Job/Work Experience:
Interned for large Labor Union (IBEW 340) for two years.
Volunteer/Community service:
4 Years Youth Cheer Coach
4 Years Field Hockey Camp Counselor
Summer Activities:
Pole Vault, Wrestling, Camping, Reading
Essays: 9/10
The several teachers from neighboring HS campuses she sent her essays to after submission thought they were stellar. One thought they looked a little too edited, though. Covered her participation in HS Girls Wrestling, her challenge in coming from rural school with little AP/Honors class offerings, her leadership roles in dance choreography, etc.
Supplemental Review/LOR: No

Applied for Financial Aid:
Middle Class Scholarship, CalVet Fed Waiver
Intended Major: Sociology
State: CA (Tehama County)
School Type: Small, Rural, Public
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 100k
ELC Eligibility: Yes
First Generation: Yes

Reflection

Strengths:
ELC Eligible, one of just three in her class applying to UC system, essays, senior class load, took all available AP/Honors classes
Weaknesses:
Small school, low SAT score
Why you think you were accepted: All the reasons listed under ‘strengths’ above.
Where else were you accepted:
Accepted at UC Merced, SJSU, SSU, CSUMB

General Comments:
Thankful for all the help we received from this forum. With not much assistance from the Counseling staff at her HS, this info turned out to be invaluable.

6

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 UC Davis, 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!

7

@Flournoy_Parent what was your major

8

Our daughter was admitted for Pre-Sociology @Cyla

9

Decision: Accepted

History Major!
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1100 (580/520)
ACT (breakdown): 23
SAT II: n/a
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 3.75
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/210
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World, AP Bio, AP Span Language, APUSH, AP Lang, Ap Gov, and AP Lit
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: 2 APs 1 Honors 1 NH and 2 NH electives
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years Student Org of Latinos (President), 2 years of Associated Student Body ( Sophomore class president and ASB President), Student Leadership Club, Babysitting
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: Saturday school tutor and frequent pet sitter
Summer Activities: none
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7/10
Supplemental Review or LOR submission: nope

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: History
State (if domestic applicant): CA ( LA county
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: >900 students & urban
Gender: female
Income Bracket:
ELC Eligibility: Yes
First Generation: Yes

Reflection

Strengths: leadership
Weaknesses: standardized tests scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: essays and coursework, took all but 2 APs available at school.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted to CSUF, UCR, CSUN, and CSUDH. Rejected to none

10

Accepted!!
In state
Physics (alternate major, applied ME)
SAT 1420
UC GPA: 4.07
Fully weighted 4.25

5 APs (Physics, Calc AB, AP Gov, AP US, AP Euro)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AP Gov, AP Calc, English, Oceanography
Major Awards Overall Best Math Student in my HS, Overall Best Physics student, 1st Team All League Football

Extracurriculars Varsity football (captain), Varsity Rugby, club founder and President
Job/Work Experience: Math tutor
Volunteer/Community service: Football camp counselor

Essays (rating 1-10, details): decent

Intended Major: Physics (alternate major, applied ME)

School Type: Small private religious

ELC Eligibility: Top 9%

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted ASU Barrett (ME), CPP (ME) KU (ME), waitlisted CPSLO and UCD

General Comments: So happy!!

11

ACCEPTED
Major: Undeclared Letters and Sciences

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1200 (630 RW and 570 M) (19 essay)
ACT (breakdown): 24
SAT II: 1170 (600 RW and 570 M)
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.1
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 49 (top 10%)
AP (place score in parenthesis): APStat (1) Apush (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: APCalc AB, Speech and Debate, AP Gov, Honors marine bio, and Forensic Science
Plus College Courses (total 14 units)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 20 awards in Speech and Debate, CSF, Student of the Month, Academic All American

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and Debate (Academic All American, 20 awards 3 time state qualifier, 2-time national qualifier, Team Captain) member of about 7 other clubs
Job/Work Experience: Internship for Borgen Project
Volunteer/Community service: about 100 hours, Internship for Borgen Project
Summer Activities: Speech and Debate Congressional Nationals
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9 (interesting and original personal story as well as a lot of leadership experience)
Supplemental Review or LOR submission: N/A

Applied for Financial Aid?:Yes (cal grant a as well)
Intended Major: International Relations
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public
Gender: F
Income Bracket: very low income
ELC Eligibility: no
First Generation: no

Reflection

Strengths: Speech and Debate, Essays- one of which included my personal obstacle, Taking Community college classes with a 4.0, Leadership, Internship
Weaknesses: SAT score was really low, hs gpa probably could have been higher, low community service hours
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essays were really goos as well as my personal story
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to SDSU, CSULB, SFSU, USF, U Portland, U Pittspurgh, UCSC
Rejected: None

General Comments: Tell the whole story

12

ACCEPTED
Major: Communications

SAT I (breakdown): 1300 (740 reading, 560 writing)
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.2
AP (place score in parenthesis): One AP score for World, 4
Senior Year Course Load: AP Government, ASB Leadership, Regular English, Photography

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): ASB - 11th-12th grade representative junior year, head of Advertising Committee senior year
Job/Work Experience: Social media internship
Volunteer/Community service: LGBT Center volunteer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I think my essays were an 8. I wrote one about designing flyers in ASB, one about being a member of the LGBT+ community and giving back through volunteer work, and one about my discovery of and love for Communications.

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State (if domestic applicant): California
School Type: Public
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Very low
ELC Eligibility: Yes
First Generation: Yes

13

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1480 (750 English, 730 Math)
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t submit
SAT II: 700 U.S. History
Capped Weighted UC GPA: Honestly, no clue. I had ~93/100 with a pretty large upward trend
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (2), APUSH (5), AP Gov, AP Psych, AP English Language
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Psych, AP Lang, Precalculus Honors, Religion 12, Filmmaking
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): No Major awards, was a state qualifier for golf and was named the all-area scholar athlete winner

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Youth Leadership Program, Varsity Golf, Varsity Squash, 2x School Retreat Leader, Model UN, Youth and Government, Writer for Newspaper Club
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: ~140 Hours at different sites around area, Went on Service Immersion Trip through school for a week
Summer Activities: Nothing, I mostly play in golf tournaments, so I spend most of my time practicing
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, showed what I was passionate about and thought they turned out really good
Supplemental Review or LOR submission: N/A

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Catholic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >$250,000
ELC Eligibility: N/A
First Generation: No

Reflection

Strengths: SAT, Essays, Additional Information
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted: I showed my passion through my essays and my SAT score was good. I also took time to write about mental health problems I experienced at the beginning of High School. I know that was risky, but those issues are a part of me and I don’t want a schools who doesn’t accept me for me.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to LMU EA (30k Scholarship), SCU EA (6k Scholarship), Fordham EA (30k Scholarship); Waiting on UCLA, USC, Dartmouth, Berkeley, UCI, UCSD, Georgetown, Emory, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Villanova, Michigan, American, George Washington

General Comments: Very excited to get into UCSB as it was the first decision I really cared about. Its not at the very top of my list, but depending on how I do at UCLA, USC, Dartmouth (Legacy) etc. UCSB is definitely a possibility.

14

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t submit
ACT (breakdown): 29 (Composite)- 33 (English), 32 (Reading), 27 (Math), 25 (Science)
SAT II: 650 (History)
Capped Weighted UC GPA: Don’t know but weighted GPA (4.55/5.0)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/365
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (2), AP English Lang (3), APUSH (4), AP Psych (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, English 1 B (college class), AP Stats, Wind Ensemble (advanced), AP Gov, Spanish II
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Part of Wind Symphony that got a silver medal in the 2017 International Los Angeles Music Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Minding Your Mind Club (Founder & President), Wind Symphony (Principal Flutist), I Am That Girl Club (Vice-President)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Unpaid tutoring at the Boys & Girls Club (10th grade) and at school for math (10th-12th), volunteer at Smooth Transitions Inc. (summers of 2017 and 2018)
Summer Activities: Walt Disney Concert Hall Performance (2017), nothing else special
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8.5/10 (Enjoyed writing my essays)
Supplemental Review or LOR submission:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biopsychology
State (if domestic applicant): CA resident
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $65,000-80,000
ELC Eligibility:
First Generation: Maybe? Will be the first to get a degree at a 4-year university
Hooks: I happen to have two disabilities: Cerebral Palsy and Functional Neurological Disorder/Conversion disorder (very rare: every 30/100,000 people have it)

Reflection

Strengths: My essays, my academic track record
Weaknesses: Not the best extracurriculars, my ACT score is not that high
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think I got accepted because of my emphasis on wanting to change my community through advocating for mental health and raising awareness around mental illness. I took initiative to create my own opportunities to help create a change for the community that I respect and love. Maybe my sharing my story around Conversion disorder gave an unique perspective to the admissions officers
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to UCR, Chapman University, University of Redlands, Cal Poly SLO, Cal State Long Beach, University of La Verne. Rejected from Pomona College (so far)

General Comments: Don’t be afraid to apply to the colleges that you may not think you will not get into. As generic as it is, just be yourself and share the important parts of character and personality that can potentially resonate with others. Everything is going to be okay, no matter what happens. Hope all of you go to the college where you are most content. Congrats to everyone who got accepted!!!

15

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1500 (800 Math 700 R/W
SAT II: Math 2 (800) Chem (780)
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.27
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): APCalc BC (5) APUSH (5) AP Lang (5) AP Chem (4) AP World (4),
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1 &2, AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Spanish, AP Econ & Poly, Photojournalism, Cheer

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Cheer (Captain), Yearbook, (E in C), Girls Math (VP and co-authored book)
Job/Work Experience: Coaching
Volunteer/Community Service: Hospital, Math for Girls Org, Red Cross,
Summer Activities: MIT Womens Tech Program.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8-9
Supplemental Review or LOR submission: none requested

Applied for Financial Aid?:Yes
Intended Major: Computer Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): In-State
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public
Gender: Female

Reflection

Strengths: Math Scores and EC’s, Leadership, Well rounded
Weaknesses: Took SAT at 15, got 1500 and decided not to take again
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: strong math and EC’s
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted UCR, UCD, UW. Deferred then Rejected to MIT

General Comments: daughter loves UCSB, she is very excited. Was also invited to CCS Math Open House.

16

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
ACT: 32 composite
Unweighted GPA: 3.96
Weighted GPA: 4.3
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.2
Rank: 6/450
AP: AP World History (5), AP US History (4), AP Lang & Comp (5)
Senior Year Courseload:
AP Calculus AB, Honors Geology, Honors Physics, AP Lit, AP Macroecon, AP Government
Major Awards: MVP and Most Inspirational in XC + track, school related awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars:
3 years Cross Country (Team Captain 2 years)
3 years Track & Field (Co-captain 1 year)
2 years Mock Trial
1 year Geology Club (President)
1 year ASB
Job/Work Experience:
N/A
Volunteer/Community Service:
Coast Room Interpreter for local zoo, and ran booths for seasonal activities at same zoo (2 years)
School-related running events (2 years)
Blood Bank
(all add to be 100+ hours)
Summer Activities: N/A
Essays: I would say maybe a solid 8/10 or 9/10
I had a few of my friends look over one of my essays, but the others I just had reviewed by my mom (seems her constructive criticism was quite beneficial!). One was about my leadership in xc and track and how that’s shaped me as a person. Another was how passionate I was for marine conservation and how I found a way to share that passion with a community that isn’t frequently exposed to marine ecosystems. The third one was how I found a platform to share my love of nature photography on. My last one was about how I’ve learned to cope and live with my severe food allergy.
Supplemental Review or LOR Submission: No

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Pre-Biology (Aquatic Biology)
State: California
School Type: Medium-sized Public
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Middle
ELC Eligibility: not sure
First Generation: No

Reflection:

Strengths: personal insights, possibly ECs, and courseload rigor
Weaknesses: community service
Why do you think you were accepted: I really wanted my essays to have an authentic and passionate voice to them, and I think I accomplished that. I also think my ECs and coast room volunteer position amplified my application.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted to UC Davis, SJSU, CSUMB, Cal Poly Slo & Waitlisted to UCSC. Waiting to hear from Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD.

General Comments: Getting my decisions has really shown me how unpredictable the college admissions process is, especially for California public universities. Grades and course rigor are obviously important to a degree, but I think all the “extras”, (jobs, community service, ECs, awards, etc), and your essays are what can really determine your outcome. But do the things YOU like and explore your passions in any way you can. Your passions and story can outweigh a subpar GPA or test score any day.

17

Decision: Accepted
pre-mathematical sciences(2nd choice major)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):1540(math 790 english 750)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Math II - 760 Physics - 670
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.34
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): applied rank 42/643
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History(4), US History(2), Calc AB(5), Physics 1(2)… taking both Physics C tests, Calc BC, Macroecon, CS Principles this year
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP Calc BC, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Macroeconomics, Photo 1, Myth & Scifi
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): acadec senior year, a bunch of school clubs mostly just senior year
Job/Work Experience: youth soccer referee 3 years
Volunteer/Community service: none
Summer Activities: Engineering & Technology camp at UC Berkeley between my soph & junior year
Essays (rating 1-10, details): probably not great, but I’m never confident in my writing so who knows
Supplemental Review or LOR submission:

Applied for Financial Aid?: ye
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Gender: male
Income Bracket: not very high idk
ELC Eligibility: yes
First Generation: no

Reflection

Strengths: sat score/class rank/senior year courseload
Weaknesses:community service/ECs
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:idk man
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:Accepted Fresno State, Waitlisted UC Davis, waiting on UCLA, USC, UCB, UCI, UCSD, Cal Poly

General Comments: bruh

18

Accepted!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II: n/a
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.25
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), English Lang (4), Spanish Lang (4), Computer Science
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Macroeconomics, AP Government, AP Literature, AP Calculus AB, Spanish V, Graphic Design Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Texas state-wide poetry winner, winner of 5 department awards in high school

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Band (section leader, chief band librarian) - marching & concert
Debate - extemporaneous speech
Youth City Council (representative)
LGBT club (president/founder)
Member of 5 honors societies

Job/Work Experience: listed babysitting & plant care
Volunteer/Community service: over 150 hours
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): honestly do not remember that much, but I am pretty sure I used a similar one to my Common App so it was probably a 8 or so
Supplemental Review or LOR submission:

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Communications or English
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: large public
Gender: female
Income Bracket: high
ELC Eligibility:
First Generation: n/a

Reflection

Strengths: extensively involved in my ECs (as noted on my resumes), my transcript was pretty seamless (only one B all of high school and it was an 89 for one semester of AP World History)
Weaknesses: didn’t take every AP class I could have, could have retaken my ACT
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: i think it helps I don’t live in California (possibly, not sure on that one)
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: SMU, Sarah Lawrence, UConn, Southwestern … deferred from Barnard & rejected from Northeastern but I really did not try on that application so I’m not surprised

General Comments:

19

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (760 english, 790 math)
ACT (breakdown): 32 (34 math, 35 english, 32 reading, 29 science) ← didn’t send
SAT II: 770 Math II, 760 Bio M
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.26
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): CSP (5), Euro (3), Bio (5), Lang (5), Java (5), USH (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stat, AP Calc AB, AP Comp Gov, AP Micro + Macro, Unweighted English, Game Design, Honors Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none, biggest awards I’ve gotten is Cross Country Coach’s Award and Student of Excellence from CS teacher

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Charity club (secretary, 3 years)
Science Alliance (2 years, 1 year officer)
Cross-country (3 years)
Track (1 year)

Job/Work Experience:
Worked at restaurant for 1.5 years

Volunteer/Community service:
Mexico mission trip
Instructor at a Python coding camp
Instructor at a game design camp
Helped CS teacher with APCSP activities

Summer Activities:
Summer running club and camp
Job (see above)

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7.5 or 8
Many adults loved them, my friends liked them. I think I could have made them more interesting/shown a broader perspective of myself.

Supplemental Review or LOR submission:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Computer science (but I got in undeclared under Letters and Sciences with the honors program)
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~$150,000
ELC Eligibility: no
First Generation: no

Reflection

Strengths: Stats/academic success, job
Weaknesses: Volunteering, no major awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I did well in school and through my essays I showed that I handle situations/problems outside of school well too. I showed that I was hardworking and open-minded and multifaceted.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Rejected: Cal Tech
Waitlisted: UCD, CPSLO, Harvey Mudd
Accepted: SJSU, SCU
Waiting on UCI, UCSD, UCLA, UCB, Stanford, Claremont McKenna

General Comments:
I have mixed feelings. Of course I’m happy to have gotten in, and the honors program is awesome. But there’s very little chance I’m going to attend because I didn’t get into CS. Good luck future applicants!

20

Decision: Rejected

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: Mechanical Engineering
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 Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly SLO

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

General Comments: I’m really not sure why I was rejected. I know UCSB 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 rejected 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?