How strong would an appeal explaining a lack of (not nonexistent) community service and extracurricular involvement due to responsibility of taking care of grandfather spanning through high school be?
I mean, I received the SR. So it opens tomorrow.
I am going to appeal but what is considered new and compelling information in UCLA context? On the website it says āHigh grades received in the senior year, recently acquired awards, or an increase in activities are not a basis for the reversal of a decisionā so Iām confused. I donāt know if they mean simply having slightly higher grades or new ECs is not enough to impress the admission officers or they just donāt care about your improved scores or ECs at all.
I have some strong new ECs that I think will make me a stronger applicant, but Iām not sure if they will consider it. Also, I applied CS but want to change my major to L&S undeclared. I think my decision to study CS was premature. I have many things that I am passionate about so I donāt think I should stick to CS when my programming experiences isnāt particularly strong and CS program is extremely competitive.
I am also going to appeal to Berkeley and will attend if I got into either.
This would probably not be too strong, as UCs tend to not care too much about ECs. Theyāre very known for only looking at GPA and standardized test scores. If you donāt have those, they donāt care about the rest of your app at all
I submitted my appeal 4/2 at 12:21 am and kept making edits until 4/2 11:59 pm. Once u submit, they allow u to make edits up until midnight of that night. Based on the research Iāve done, the sooner u submit, the earlier u hear back (if they accept ur appeal). I spent all of 4/1 writing it, an tried to submit it by 4/1 11:59 PM but I wanted more people to read it before I submitted it. Good luck to you all. This is my last chance before I forever say good bye to my dream.
with the appeal does UCLA need transcripts , like do you send one inā¦ also Iāve done my appeal but i have my grades and missing extracurricular activities as attachments but since you canāt attach anything how do you put all of these into one letter to submit.
Yes, your personal connections to medicine are critical to who you are as a candidate. I suggest you appeal and this time be VERY honest (and concise) about your challenges and accomplishments (ADD).
Checked my application status and they are reviewing my records, hope I get in!!!
I submitted my appeal on April 1st, and just checked my status and theyāre reviewing my application! I got into all of the other UCs Iāve applied to, (UCSD, UCSB, and UCI) but Iām holding out hope for UCLA admissions to change their minds. Does anyone know how soon appeal decisions have been released historically?
In my application, I never included the fact that I have cancer and am still receiving treatment for it. Iām in remission now and I didnāt include it because I didnāt think it was as compelling as other things that I had to say. And the fact that I just kind of ran out of timeā¦ Is this a good basis for an appeal? UCLA has the major that I want and itās also convinient for me to be there because thereās a clinic near the campus I could go to for treatment. Should I mention that in the appeal too?
@turkeypanini I do think that is very compelling information, however it is so important that UCLA may feel shocked that they didnāt receive any word about it in your initial application. You had 4 essays in which they were supposed to learn about you: your passions, accomplishments, and your life in general and this failed to come up at any point. It may seem suspicious that you didnāt include it in the first place
@Sbp325 I mentioned it very very briefly in the scholarship consideration section of the UC Application. I checked off ādiagnosed with cancer,ā or something like that, but I never really expanded on it. The main reason why I didnāt mention it was because Iām in remission. At that time, there were other things/problems in my life that were more prominent. I was diagnosed at age 4, so to me, it didnāt feel that hard-hitting. Itās just kind of been a constant in my life. It was my mistake not including it. Is there a way for me to provide proof of diagnosis/treatment?
@Sbp325 Iām also first gen so I really had no idea how to navigate through applying for colleges. I relied mostly on whatever I could find online and my friends.
my original application i didnāt put my recent grades in because i didnāt know them yet do i get my school to send a transcript or do i self report it in the appeal or just explain why i wasnāt able to report them on the application, and Iāve got new ECs i forgot to report on my application do i self report that too on the appeal
@turkeypanini Mentioning it on the UC application was a good idea but if you are planning on making it the basis of your appeal and talking about how it impacted your life so much to the point where UCLA should appeal your decision for it, then you shouldāve included it in one of the four essays, because they are looking to know about the most prominent things in your life in those essays. I know all this stuff is difficult and I actually applied myself and am planning on appealing so if you ever need anyone to talk to/go to advice for, I have a lot of knowledge from both my parents and college counselors so feel free to message me anytime
Iām planning on appealing because after I applied, my grandfather had just died after suffering from kidney failure and a hemorrhagic stroke, and caring for him during the college application season took a toll on my essays. I hate using it as an excuse for anything, but after my rejection I feel like this could count as ānew and compellingā. And after his death I doubled down on my extracurriculars (using my position on a state board for my Latin club to hold a book drive for a prison literacy project and hosting a Rubikās Cube competition for charity) and managed to pull off straight Aās first semester. would that count as showing that i am a stronger applicant than what I originally put forth?
@Sbp325 Yes Iād really appreciate that! Thank you so much! How should I go about writing my appeal then? I just want it to show that Iām stronger as a person/applicant because of my condition; that I didnāt write about it because I have a stronger resolve. I want to show that I didnāt let it peg me down as a person, that I didnāt let it define me, not necessarily that it hasnāt impacted my life. Iām not sure if that makes sense. I also applied to the school of arts and I felt that my supplemental application was not as good as it could have been becuase of my lack of knowledge on the system. I was just going along with what was being asked of me, really. I tried looking for some examples/help online, but there was basically nothing. I wanted to double major in art and psychobiology and UCLA is really the only school that would let me do that. 
@Sbp325 Should I also mention the fact that I was going to apply to art schools but I didnāt want to limit myself to just art (and the fact that itās unrealistically expensive). So I applied to UCLA because it was the only UC with a well established art department. I originally was going to apply under psychobiology but I was told it would be more difficult to transfer into art. I was intending on double majoring in the first place.
@turkeypanini honestly, if I were you I would try to find a way to try and tie your disease and your love for art together. maybe say that while you were in treatment, you became more serious about art and really focused on it as a hobby and also to add color and light to your life during such a difficult time. of course, only write that if it is true to some extent. as for the art schools, maybe talk about WHY you want to double major in those subjects which is why ucla would be the best fit for you. like why psychobiology? do you want to go to med school? explain your choices to them
does anyone know when freshman appeals usually come out?