*******UCLA CLASS OF 2020 DECISIONS ONLY*******

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
41

Decision: Accepted - Physiological Science

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1870 (660 CR, 640 Math, 570 Writing) singe-sitting, 1950 superscored
ACT: 31 (34 English, 33 Reading, 31 Math, 27 Science, 16 writing, 28ELA)
SAT II: 710 Math II, 690 Lit, 640 US History, 600 Biology - M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
UC GPA: 4.3/4.4 (Can’t remember)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/384
ELC?: Top 9%? Yes
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (3), English Lang (3)
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government, AP Biology, AP Calc AB, AP English Lit, French 4, AP Physics 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Girls State First Alternate (if that counts lol)
Subjective:
Volunteer/Community service: roughly 6 hours weekly over 4 years at a local daycare, school club activities here and there
Work Experience: Had a paid internship full time over summer at local hospital, was a huge learning experience and great time; sadly I didn’t get to write much about it in UC app
Personal Statement: I personally thought they were decent in memory, but when I reread them I liked them, though I had a small typo in one; others really liked them, I feel as if I could have done more as I only had one teacher read it over with me once. Must have been pretty good if I got into all my UCs lol
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major : Physiological Science
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): First generation to go to college in America, low income immigrant parents
Reflection
Strengths: GPA, ACT score, senior year course schedule (there are only four more AP classes my school offers that I won’t have taken by the time I graduate, we only have 11 lol and taking 5 APs at once is almost unheard of in our school)
Weaknesses: SATs
Schools were you accepted to?: UCSD, UCI, UCLA, UCD (everywhere I applied)
Schools you were rejected from?: None
Schools you are waiting for?: None
General Comments: #UCLAbound! I submitted my SIR on the spot lol. I’m super excited for this opportunity and hope to see some of you there! Good luck to all that are waitlisted and rejected, there are great opportunities for us hard workers everywhere we go! Congrats to my fellow New Bruins!

42

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2020; CR/M/W: 650/660/710
[] SAT II: Bio M: 740; M2: 630
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[] UC GPA: Uh, not sure. Above a 4.2, though.
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/65
[] ELC?: Yes
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4); Psychology (4; self-study); Biology (3; self-study); Lit (3); Environmental Science (3; self-study); APUSH (4); Spanish (4); Physics (1); Stats (2; self-study)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc, AP Microecon, Government, English: Critical Thinking (CC), Political Science: Public Policy (CC), Intro to Poli Sci (CC), Physiological Psychology (CC), Sustainable Energy (CC), Abnormal Psych (CC), Comparative Politics (CC), Intro to Education (CC), Intro to Anatomy (CC), Intro to Stats (CC), History of Rock Music (CC), International Politics (CC)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Uh, none! Lol[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
[] Job/Work Experience:None
[] Volunteer/Community service:Gay-Straight Alliance, Guitar Club, Drama Club, FIRST Robotics, Student Government
[] Personal Statement: 9/10

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li]** Intended Major **: Neuroscience/Political Science[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[] Gender: Potato (M)
[] Income Bracket: 40Kish
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM, Personal Statement, community service, bunch of dual-enrollment classes, big plans[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Personal statement, ECs,
[] Weaknesses: SATs!
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Merced, Williams, Irvine
[] Schools you were rejected from? MIT
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Ivies, Berkeley, Stanford[/li][/ul]General Comments: Just goes to show: SATs aren’t everything! Be a personal of character (community-wise; don’t overwhelm yourself with ECs, have above average stats, and you’re in!

43

Decision: Waitlisted

[ b] Objective: [ /b] [ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): Math = 740, Reading = 690, Writing = 650
[ *] ACT: 32
[ *] SAT II: N/A
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] UC GPA: 4.29 (Capped)
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 15%
[ *] ELC?: wtf is that
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro. History (4), AP U.S. History (5), AP English Language (5), AP Calculus AB (5), AP Statistics (In Progress)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Planning/Leadership ASB, AP Statistics, Civics, Economics, Human Biology, World Literature 1-2
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honors, CSF

[ /list] [ b] Subjective: [ /b] [ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Peer Counseling (President), Superintendent Student Advisory Committee, Principal Student Advisory Committee, Student Senate, Track and Field, ASB, Church Theatre (Group Leader), Church Choir (Group Leader), High School Theatre, Band.
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Cashier at Target, Personal Tutor, Unpaid Hospital Intern
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Mission Trips (336 hours), Homeless Outreach (50+ hours), Peer Counseling (100+ hours)
[ *] Personal Statement: Both Prompts 9/10, I was fairly proud of them.

[ /list] [ b] Other [ /b] [ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]:Biology
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Public, but competitive
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: 140k
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): I’m gay living in a conservative white american household.

[ /list] [ b] Reflection [ /b] [ list]
[ *] Strengths: Personal Statements, Extracurriculars, GPA, AP Scores
[ *] Weaknesses: Academic Rigor, Hooks, Awards
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?: UCLA (waitlist, duh), U of Washington (Biomed Engineering), Cal Poly SLO (Biomed Engineering), CSU Long Beach (Biomed Engineering), PLNU (Biology), Chapman (Biology), Cal Lutheran (Biology)
[ *] Schools you were rejected from?: Northwestern (Biology)
[ *] Schools you are waiting for?: Columbia (Biology), Stanford (Biology)
[ /list] [ b] General Comments: [ /b] I was seriously hoping to be accepted (who wasn’t?), seeing as this has been my dream and plan and ultimate goal for 5 years now. I’m going to opt-in to the waitlist and hope for the best. One thing: I recently came out (after I submitted the UCLA app), so I am thinking of using that and my problems with my household as part of my “Additional Info” on the opt-in prompt for the waitlist.

44

Decision: Rejected

Objective

SAT I: 2260 ( 720 CR, 780 M, 760 W)
ACT: 36 (35 E, 35 M, 36 R, 36 S)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 730 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.76 (4.02 W)
Rank: Top 15%? (Just a guess, school doesn’t rank)
AP: APUSH (5), Stats (5), Euro (4)
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: English, AP Macro, AP Calc AB, AP Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commendation, Schoolwide English Dept. Award

Subjective

Extracurriculars: Club President + Founder, 5 years Odyssey of the Mind (2x State Champions),
Job/Work Experience:1 year retail job, 5 year other work, contracted technology work
Summer Activities: Service trip Costa Rica,
Essays (rating 1-10, details): One 7/10, one 8 or 9 / 10, won’t really go into much more detail
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec: 8 or 9 / 10
Counselor Rec: 7/10
Additional Rec (if used): Teacher, 7/10

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Physics/Astronomy
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $500,000
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, strength of senior year schedule, essay
Weaknesses: GPA, ECs
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Dip in grades junior year, not too many Extracurriculars
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

Rejected: Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins
Waitlisted: UCSD
Accepted: St. Mary’s CA, Willamette, UMass Amherst, George Mason, Ohio State, Northeastern

General Comments: Kinda disappointed but not really unexpected given the caliber of UCLA.

45

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2270 (800 M, 740 R, 730 W)
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 700 Chem
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[] UC GPA: 4.66
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4), Calculus AB (5), English Lang (5), Statistics (5)
[li] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP French, AP Gov, AP Calc BC, AP Physics I[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Key Club (club officer 2 years), Programming Club (Secretary), AMC, etc.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Helped out locally; 200+ hours
[li] Personal Statement: Good[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yup
[li]** Intended Major **: Computer Science[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): California
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Chinese
[] Gender: F
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Nm

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, GPA
[] Weaknesses: Leadership
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCSB, UCI, UCD, UCSD
[] Schools you were rejected from? None yet
[li] Schools you are waiting for? UCB, U-Dub, CMU, Rice, USC[/li][/ul]**General Comments: Did not expect to get in.
**

46

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): didn’t take the SAT
[] ACT: Highest composite 31 (highest scores in each section: W:35 R:36 M:28 SCI:33)
[] SAT II: N/A
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 95 Average (96 for junior year)
[] UC GPA: no idea
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2nd decile
[] ELC?:
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5) APES(5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish, AP English, AP Euro, Physics, Calculus, Latin 4 Honors, Economics, Health
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): cross country, track, tennis, Co-Captain debate team, president of classics club, chair of model un club, VP of environmental club, stage manager of school musicals
[] Job/Work Experience: babysat all through high school, interned at my mom’s non profit, and volunteered/worked at an organic farm with children this summer teaching about the importance of organic and sustainable farming and produce
[] Volunteer/Community service: see above, habitat for humanity and midnight runs
[] Personal Statement: very strong. one was about how growing up in my community inspired my interest in environmental science and the other about how I started high school unable to run the mile in gym, 50 lbs overweight and finished with an all league cross country award and lost all the weight by learning about healthy food.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Geography/Environmental Studies[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): New York
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Small Public School
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket:
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.):

[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: personal statement, upward trend in grades, extracurriculars and senior year course load
[] Weaknesses: ACT scores, OOS, and class rank
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted to University of Michigan, University of Texas Austin and Binghamton University/ Deferred from Columbia University
[] Schools you were rejected from? Rejected from Tulane University
[li] Schools you are waiting for? UC Berkeley, Oberlin College and Barnard College[/li]Good Luck!!

47

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): never took
[] ACT: 32 (33 superscore: 30 English, 36 Reading, 33 Science, 34 Maths, 36 Writing)
[] SAT II: Math level 2 750 & 790, Physics 730 & 700
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
[] UC GPA: 4.1 on online calculator, but not sure
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
[] ELC?: what? No idea what ELC is.
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): I’m Australian, so no AP
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): My school never offered IB courses
[] Senior Year Course Load: Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Mathematics Extension 1 (high level), Mathematics Extension 2 (highest level), English Advanced
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Distinction in Australian Physics Olympiad, Silver in da Vinci Decathlon and Duke of Edinburgh silver [/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): founded a “student government” IT subsidiary (“president” for 2 years), selective school choir, debating (Senior A team), schools newspaper writer and editor, mentored research in relatively and quantum mechanics for 5 years
[] Job/Work Experience: No jobs, but work experience programs in Engineering and Physics at University of New South Wales in Australia
[] Volunteer/Community service: weekly at Sydney Observatory and at school IT department for 2 years
[] Personal Statement: one about how my passion for physics and research came about at my school, and another about the challenges I faced while starting up the “student government” IT subsidiary

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Physics[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): n.a/
[] Country (if international applicant): Australia
[] School Type: private, single sex, religiously affiliated
[] Ethnicity: Chinese
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 300-400k (property investment & dad is CEO and co-founder of engineering firm)
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): research, women in STEM, Australian?

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: I feel that my essays really helped me out - all those hours in English class writing essays on Hamlet and creative stories helped! Also, the fact that I achieved good grades (all As apart from when I had pneumonia) with the hardest course load combination in my school system definite helped.
[] Weaknesses: Obviously my ACT English score isn’t great, but I think they took into consideration the fact that I’m Australian and we use British grammar here
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Just UCLA
[] Schools you were rejected from? MIT, Caltech
[li] Schools you are waiting for? UC Berkeley, Princeton, Columbia[/li][/ul]General Comments: Wasn’t surprised that I was rejected by MIT and Caltech, and am really glad I got into UCLA! :slight_smile:

48

Decision: Rejected

[ *] SAT I (breakdown): superscore 2210- reading 720 math 690 writing 800
[ *] ACT: 33- don’t remember breakdown
[ *] SAT II: US History- 740 Literature- 690
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 100): 91.1- seems a bit low, but there’s an upward trend, and my school is an internationally recognized magnet school, so that has some weight as well
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History: 5 English Language: 5 US History: 5. English Lit, Psych, US Gov in progress
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ ] Senior Year Course Load: AP Eng Lit, AP Psych, AP US Gov, Advanced Latin Readings (honors, not AP), Calculus, Nutritional Science, Newspaper
[ ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): some sort of AP scholar thing?? for getting 5s on 3 AP tests, gold and silver medals on the National Latin Exam
[ /list][ b]Subjective:

[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): piano for 6+ years, robotics team- PR department- since sophomore year, I’m now a project manager this year, school newspaper since sophomore year (freshmen aren’t allowed to join)- now an editor
[ *] Job/Work Experience: november 2014 to present: paid internship at an office. I go 2-3 days a week after school for 2-3 hours a day
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: N/A
[ *] Summer Activities: summer 2012: did “summer school” at my school to fulfill some requirements, to free up periods during the actual school year. summer 2013: paid office internship over the summer. summer 2014: just SAT prep tried desperately to find a job, but no luck. summer 2015: worked at the office
[ *] Essays: valid, I actually spent time on them
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: I’m not allowed to read them, but I assume they’re pretty good- both of my teachers really liked me
[ *] Counselor Rec: –
[ ] Additional Rec: –
[ ] Interview: –
[ /list][ b]Other

[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[ *] Intended Major: International Relations/Public Policy/something in that realm
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: magnet public school
[ *] Ethnicity: white
[ *] Gender: female
[ *] Income Bracket: pretty high lol
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): campus visit

I was hoping I’d at least get waitlisted… oh well…

49

Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1740 Reading (620) Writing (590) Math (530)
ACT: 24
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
UC GPA: 4.27
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/113
ELC?: n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP English Language (4), AP Spanish (4), AP World History (4), AP United States History (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load:AP Calculus AB, Visual Arts, AP Literature, AP Physics 2, Government CP/ Economics CP
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholars with Honor

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Yearbook Committee (3 years), Summer school tutor (1 year), Girls for a Change club (2 years), school tutor (4 years)
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: school tutor; volunteer at local church for youth program
Personal Statement: 9/10. First one was about how my parents pushed me towards education and working for them at their store taught me I wanted to be a business major. Second one was about involuntarily signing up for the school play and it taught me to be more courageous and over my fear of failure; really proud of my second one.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major Pre Business-Economics
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: small charter school in CA
Ethnicity: Latina
Gender:Female
Income Bracket:low income; below 60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM and first generation college student

ReflectionL
Strengths: I worked extremely hard on my personal statements and it reflected my personality really well. I really believe my essays got me in because my test score was LOW. Also, I had a heavy AP courses load since sophomore year and took the hardest ones.
Weaknesses:Definitely my SAT/ACT score which was way below the average. Also, I did not have many leadership positions, I just kind of volunteered and was involved in a lot of activities.
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UC Riverside, UC Irvine, CSU LA, CSU Long Beach, San Francisco State, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, waitlisted at Fordham University
Schools you were rejected from? none so far
Schools you are waiting for? UC Berkeley, New York University, University of Rochester, UC Santa Barbara
General Comments: Still in complete shock that I got accepted into UCLA. This just goes to show that test scores DO NOT determine your acceptance completely. I got waitlisted at Fordham (wth) yet I somehow managed to get into one of the top schools in the country. 99% sure I will be a Bruin this fall! Congrats on who got accepted and sad to hear about the rejections :frowning:

50

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): never took
[] ACT: 32 (33 superscore: 30 English, 36 Reading, 33 Science, 34 Maths, 36 Writing)
[] SAT II: Math level 2 750 & 790, Physics 730 & 700
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
[] UC GPA: 4.1 on online calculator, but not sure
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
[] ELC?: what? No idea what ELC is.
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): I’m Australian, so no AP
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): My school never offered IB courses
[] Senior Year Course Load: Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Mathematics Extension 1 (high level), Mathematics Extension 2 (highest level), English Advanced
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Distinction in Australian Physics Olympiad, Silver in da Vinci Decathlon and Duke of Edinburgh silver [/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): founded a “student government” IT subsidiary (“president” for 2 years), selective school choir, debating (Senior A team), schools newspaper writer and editor, mentored research in relatively and quantum mechanics for 5 years
[] Job/Work Experience: No jobs, but work experience programs in Engineering and Physics at University of New South Wales in Australia
[] Volunteer/Community service: weekly at Sydney Observatory and at school IT department for 2 years
[] Personal Statement: one about how my passion for physics and research came about at my school, and another about the challenges I faced while starting up the “student government” IT subsidiary

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Physics[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): n.a/
[] Country (if international applicant): Australia
[] School Type: private, single sex, religiously affiliated
[] Ethnicity: Chinese
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 300-400k (property investment & dad is CEO and co-founder of engineering firm)
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): research, women in STEM, Australian?

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: I feel that my essays really helped me out - all those hours in English class writing essays on Hamlet and creative stories helped! Also, the fact that I achieved good grades (all As apart from when I had pneumonia) with the hardest course load combination in my school system definite helped.
[] Weaknesses: Obviously my ACT English score isn’t great, but I think they took into consideration the fact that I’m Australian and we use British grammar here
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Just UCLA
[] Schools you were rejected from? MIT, Caltech
[li] Schools you are waiting for? UC Berkeley, Princeton, Columbia[/li][/ul]General Comments: Wasn’t surprised that I was rejected by MIT and Caltech, and am really glad I got into UCLA! :slight_smile:

51

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2170; CR/M/W: 710/730/730
[] ACT: 32; E/M/R/S/W: 35/32/32/30/29
[] SAT II:
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] UC GPA: no idea, but I took and passed 3 APs before senior year if that helps
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/300ish
[] ELC?: I’m out of state
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): only took and passed APUSH test (5) before senior year
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): school doesn’t offer
[] Senior Year Course Load: Honors Anatomy and Physiology, AP Microeconomics, AP Bio, Band x2, AP Calc AB, AP Lit., Independent Study
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none :([/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Sunday Chinese School (idk if that counts), Dual County Defenders (chairman; is a local youth action team tackling social problems such as underage alcohol abuse), NHS, BETA Club (treasurer), FBLA (secretary and then VP), Academic Bowl Team, marching band, concert band, Science Club, Student Gov. Association (historian and then president)
[] Job/Work Experience: waitressing at local restaurant
[] Volunteer/Community service: lots of projects and workshops for Dual County Defenders, packing snack bags for kids in area every week, volunteer at local orphanage (total: 200-300 hrs)
[] Personal Statement: 1. about how my 1st gen parents adapted to life in southern US and how their growing up in America affected my own growing up (liked this one ok but is less clean)
2.about my passion for gardening in a humorous tone, with a side of self-discovery (really liked this one and others told me it was a great read and very revealing of my character)

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[li]** Intended Major **: biology [/li][] State (if domestic applicant): GA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: public, smallish
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: <$50,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): 1st gen college

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: I suppose I have sufficient ECs/work/volunteer. I also liked my essays, and my class rank might have helped.
[] Weaknesses: SAT, ACT, not too many APs
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UGA Honors, WashU (waitlisted), UChicago (waitlisted - this one really broke my heart)
[] Schools you were rejected from? Vanderbilt ED
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Cal, UPenn, Cornell, Harvard, Emory, Duke[/li][/ul]General Comments: When I first discovered CC a year ago while planning out how I would approach the arduous task of applying to colleges, I was very grateful for threads such as this. I promised that I would come back one day and contribute to one myself in hopes of helping others. Applying to UCLA was a decision cemented by CC; UCLA had seemed like too high of a reach (as did many of the schools I ended up applying to haha) since it’s one of the most applied to schools in the US, but after seeing encouraging comments from others in threads just like this one, I decided to give it a try.
The past few weeks have been a very stressful time for me. First, Vanderbilt said no, then WashU, then UChicago a couple of days ago. Seeing the blue CONGRATULATIONS banner at the top of the screen after logging into UCLA’s portal really lifted my spirits though.
So I may be rambling at this point, but to anyone still reading (lol), never give up. Even if you don’t get accepted to a certain college(s), it’s ok. You’ll end up where you’ll truly fit in, I believe.

52

I got accepted! To bad I can’t afford it… Nice job to everyone who got in though :slight_smile:

53

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 710M/740W/780CR
[] ACT: 33 (29 M, 34S, 34W, 35R)
[] SAT II: 710 M2, 750 BIO
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
[] UC GPA: 4.48 ? (Posting for daughter, this is my calculation, she thinks its higher than this)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/73 - very high transfer out school - only IB DP offered, no non IB classes offered
[] ELC?: N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): HL (MATH/BIO/ENG/HIST), SL (SPAN/ART) - TESTS TO BE TAKEN
[] Senior Year Course Load: As above + TOK, CAS, Extended study in HLs (School special)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 2 Scholastic Art awards, Some local awards, nothing earth shaking[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): President of National Science Honor Society, VP of National Art Honor Society, Secretary of National Art Honor Society, CAS Leader, Model UN, GSA, Debate Club, Math Club
[] Job/Work Experience: Internship at Lab of Neuroscience division of a National Primate Research Center
[] Volunteer/Community service: VOSE Volunteering, Invited artist for Charity fundraiser, Math tutor
[] Personal Statement: 1) Wrote about combining an Artistic and Scientific approach in all spheres of life, living holistically, 2) Wrote about a very uncomfortable conversation with mother in the middle of a health scare that helped redefine mother-daughter relationship and strengthened personality.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Don’t think eligible since OOS for 1 year
[li]** Intended Major **: Neuroscience (Got it)[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): OR
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public charter, very highly ranked
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: Irrelevant - OOS
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Research internship at a very prestigious laboratory

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Jack of all trades, very rigorous curriculum, good ECs, supplemental communicated a lot about academics, took college courses while at HS out of own initiative
[] Weaknesses: No famous awards like Intel/USAMO (did not even have the time to apply for things like those)
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Univ of Florida, Smith College, UCSD, UCLA, Pomona
[] Schools you were rejected from? None so far
[li] Schools you are waiting for? a few of the Ivies, Stanford, Berkeley[/li][/ul]General Comments: Got UCLA ASC invitation, family in middle of move to CA so technically UCs will be the instates not Oregon Publics. Most probably enrolling at Pomona even if admitted to any of the Ivies.

Since I am posting this for my daughter as a parent, I cant express her opinions but mine are to encourage all of you that suffered disappointments. As they say, get knocked down 10 times, get up 11. Best of luck to everyone. Go conquer the world!

54

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 740 CR, 800 M, 770 W
[] ACT: 35 (mix of 35s and 36s)
[] SAT II: 730 Math II, 800 Chem, 790 Bio E, 740 USH
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.51
[] UC GPA: 4.21
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 50/300 (ish)
[] ELC?: What’s this?
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (5), Bio (5), Calc BC AB (5), USH (4), Enviro (5), Lang (5), Gov (5), Stats (3), Physics 1 (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): None
[] Senior Year Course Load: Principles of Macroecon, Prin. of Microecon, Brit Lit Med. to 1800s, Ceramics, Chinese 2, Public Speaking, Intro to Philosophy (all dual enrollment)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist[/li]
[/ul][ b]Subjective:**[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and Debate, Science Olympiad, Chinese Club
[] Job/Work Experience: McDonald’s summer job (would not recommend)
[] Volunteer/Community service: 200+ hours from local food pantry, Chinese school, etc.
[] Personal Statement: I wrote a story about a bad speech and debate round. Went from judges fault to realizing it was mine, improving, helping team, etc. I liked it, but knowing my writing ability, probably an 8/10 max.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[li]** Intended Major **: Pre Business Econ[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
[] Country (if international applicant): US of A
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 150k+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): none

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Test Scores, course rigor, lots of volunteer hours
[] Weaknesses: no leadership roles, GPA ain’t too great
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?: Ohio State, U British Columbia, Case Western, Northeastern, Santa Clara U, UC San Diego, UCLA
[] Schools you were rejected from?: NYU (Stern)
[li] Schools you are waiting for?: UC Berkeley, U Southern Cali, U of Toronto, U Santa Barbara[/li][/ul]General Comments: Good Luck to all, and

55

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT: 2240
[] ACT: 33
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.67- Got C’s and B’s freshman year, but straight A’s soph-senior year.
[] UC GPA: 4.4
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 15% (9-12) Top 1% (10-12)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lang and Psych: 5
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Not offered at school
[] Senior Year Course Load: Four APs, Regular science, Regular spanish 4
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, CA Arts Scholar, Scholastic Gold Key[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Journalism Club (President, co-founder), School choir, Independent literary magazine (Contributing editor)
[] Job/Work Experience: Intern at city’s chamber of commerce, digital marketing director for a local daycare
[] Volunteer/Community service: Painted a mural for the city, volunteer for 2016 presidential campaign, teacher at childrens art camps
[] Personal Statement: Both were 10/10

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes.
[li]** Intended Major **: Pre-Political Science[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity:Asian
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket: <100k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): HAHAHAHA nope.

[/ul]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: Test scores, EC’s, SATs/ACTs, Personal Statements
[] Weaknesses: Hot damn my GPA for sure. But it had a strong upward trend I guess?
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UCSD, CSULB, Cal Poly SLO
[] Schools you were rejected from? none so far…
[li] Schools you are waiting for? UCB, USC, and a bunch of longshots[/li]
General Comments: idk. I know my GPA looks incredibly weak, but thats mostly because freshman year was a hot mess. Luckily for me, UC’s don’t look at freshman year, and I’ve had straight As since then so that must’ve made a big difference. Overall, don’t freak out if you don’t get in. Or do. Whatever you think is best for yourself personally.

56

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2170 (750 R, 730 W, 690 M)
[] ACT: didn’t send
[] SAT II: Bio 790, Math II 730, US History 680
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] UC GPA: 4.36 capped, 4.68 uncapped
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
[] ELC?: idk
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s in Bio, USH, English Lit and Lang, Psych, Calc BC, World History, Human Geo
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): none
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, IB HL Math, AP Spanish, ERWC, IB SL Theatre, AP gov/econ
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 3 AP Scholar awards, National Merit commendation[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Peer Leaders, Swim Team all 4 years, Charity club (treasurer) US History club (president), other random clubs
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[] Volunteer/Community service: not very much
[] Personal Statement: Both were pretty good. First was about my home life, and second was about a hobby of mine

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Nah
[li][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Undeclared - Life Sciences[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): California
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: upper middle class
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): nah

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: GPA, AP scores, personal statement
[] Weaknesses: Extracurriculars, volunteering, no work experience
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted to Cal poly slo and UCSB
[] Schools you were rejected from? None yet
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Stanford, Harvard, and Princeton[/li][/ul]General Comments: Good Luck!

57

Decision: Accepted

SAT I (breakdown): 2040 (M: 720 W: 660 CR: 660)
ACT: 29 (didn’t submit)
SAT II: U.S. History (700), Literature (660)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.84
UC GPA: I forgot, something like 4.42
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 32/650
ELC?: yes
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (5), European History (4), Spanish Lang (3), Art History (3), English Language (5), U.S. History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Macro, AP Micro, Physics, AP Environmental Sci, AP Literature, AP Psychology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Recognition Scholar, National Commended Scholar, AP Scholar w/distinction, NHS

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): JSA (state position, treasurer), Mock Trial, Art Club (secretary, treasurer), NHS peer tutor, JV Swim
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: Exchange program, library, church
Personal Statement: About my mom’s illness and my career goals or something

Applied for Financial Aid?: yea
Intended Major [ /b]: History
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: URM
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: peasant status
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM, first gen

Strengths: no idea… GPA? idk. I’d say URM but not sure if they look at that
Weaknesses: SAT I, SAT II
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted to Northeastern (honors, half scholarship), Fordham (honors, full tuition), McGill, Wesleyan, Kenyon, UCSD. Wasn’t wait listed anywhere.
Schools you were rejected from? no where
Schools you are waiting for? Middlebury, Wellesley, Skidmore
General Comments: Was planning on attending a private liberal arts but financial aid isn’t looking so good there. Looks like I’ll be a Bruin. Very excited!! See you guys in the fall.

58

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2260 (800 CR, 700 Math, 760 Writing)
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: Math II (760) Biology E (720)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
[] UC GPA: 4.13 Capped
[] Rank: 1st decile (my high school doesn’t give out individual ranks)
[] ELC?: No
[] AP: Calc AB (5) Chinese (5) European History (4) English Lang (4) US History (3) Biology (4)
[] IB: School doesn’t offer
[] Senior Year Course Load:AP English Literature, AP Physics C, AP Statistics, AP U.S. Gov, AP Chemistry, Economics, Adv. Journalism
[li] Major Awards: AP scholar with distinction?[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Varsity lacrosse, summer camp counselor, 4-H, student newspaper (News Editor)
[] Job/Work Experience: Worked as a crew member at Quickly for 8 months
[] Volunteer/Community service: 4-H and I translate letters for a foundation in China that collects funds to send underprivileged students to college
[] Personal Statement: First was a risky topic but I’m guessing it paid off…? (9/10)

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?:No
[li]** Intended Major **: Biology[/li][] State (if domestic applicant): Yes. In state.
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: $200,000+
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Not any that I know of[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Transcript, volunteer and leadership experience with camp, high school newspaper
[] Weaknesses: Participation in school clubs and student government, got a C in the first trimester of AP Physics
[] Schools were you accepted to? UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCSD, UC Irvine, UC Davis, Caly Poly SLO, SDSU
[] Schools you were rejected from? Stanford
[li] Schools you are waiting for? USC, UCSB, Harvard[/li][/ul]
General Comments: Congrats to everyone else who got in and good luck to everyone!

59

Decision: Accepted (Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown):n/a
[] ACT: 33 Composite (34E 31M 34R 33S 34W+E)
[] SAT II: Math 770 Physics 640 Biology E 660
[] GPA (out of 4.0): 3.73 UW 4.127 W
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Spanish Lang (5) Chem (3) Spanish Lit (5) Physics 1 (3) English Lang (4) Calc AB (5) Physics 2 (-) Calc BC (-) Env Sci (-) Macroecon (-) English Lit (-)
[] Senior Year Course Load: Linear Algebra H, AP Physics 2, AP Calc BC, AP Environmental Science, Government/AP Macroecon, AP English Lit
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): got a couple of national awards from AFJROTC

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Gay-Straight Alliance (VP) 2 yrs
Baking Club (Treasurer) 2 yrs
Science Bowl Team (member) 1yr
AFJROTC (various positions) 3 yrs
Peer Tutor 1yr
work with a nonprofit group 4 yrs
[] Volunteer/Community service: lots… 300+ hrs
[] Summer Activities: This summer I took a college course at UChicago on a full scholarship
[] Essays:
Personal experience - 8/10 wrote about my mom’s lasting impact on my personal growth
World from - 8/10 wrote about my grandma’s death and how that showed me the value of support (this was written 3 days before submission because thats when it happened)

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Choice 1- Civil Engineering, Alternate- Environmental Studies
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Competitive Public about 670 in senior class
[] Ethnicity: Mexican
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 100k+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: strong stories to tell in essays, luck of the draw.
[] Weaknesses: Having not many As in AP classes, basically my GPA is really not that high compared to a significant portion of my classmates. VERY LOW SAT subjects (especially since i got into engineering)
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: because app readers had like 15 minutes to read my application and something arbitrary probably made me stand out
[] Schools were you accepted to? UCLA UChicago and UMiami
[] Schools you were rejected from? none yet :slight_smile:
[] Schools you are waiting for? Tufts, Brown, Cal, USC
[/ul]General Comments: Happy to get in and to all, good luck to all as decisions roll in!

60

Decision: Accepted (Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown):n/a
[] ACT: 33 Composite (34E 31M 34R 33S 34W+E)
[] SAT II: Math 770 Physics 640 Biology E 660
[] GPA (out of 4.0): 3.73 UW 4.127 W
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Spanish Lang (5) Chem (3) Spanish Lit (5) Physics 1 (3) English Lang (4) Calc AB (5) Physics 2 (-) Calc BC (-) Env Sci (-) Macroecon (-) English Lit (-)
[] Senior Year Course Load: Linear Algebra H, AP Physics 2, AP Calc BC, AP Environmental Science, Government/AP Macroecon, AP English Lit
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): got a couple of national awards from AFJROTC

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Gay-Straight Alliance (VP) 2 yrs
Baking Club (Treasurer) 2 yrs
Science Bowl Team (member) 1yr
AFJROTC (various positions) 3 yrs
Peer Tutor 1yr
work with a nonprofit group 4 yrs
[] Volunteer/Community service: lots… 300+ hrs
[] Summer Activities: This summer I took a college course at UChicago on a full scholarship
[] Essays:
Personal experience - 8/10 wrote about my mom’s lasting impact on my personal growth
World from - 8/10 wrote about my grandma’s death and how that showed me the value of support (this was written 3 days before submission because thats when it happened)

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Choice 1- Civil Engineering, Alternate- Environmental Studies
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Competitive Public about 670 in senior class
[] Ethnicity: Mexican
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 100k+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: strong stories to tell in essays, luck of the draw.
[] Weaknesses: Having not many As in AP classes, basically my GPA is really not that high compared to a significant portion of my classmates. VERY LOW SAT subjects (especially since i got into engineering)
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: because app readers had like 15 minutes to read my application and something arbitrary probably made me stand out
[] Schools were you accepted to? UCLA UChicago and UMiami
[] Schools you were rejected from? none yet :slight_smile:
[] Schools you are waiting for? Tufts, Brown, Cal, USC
[/ul]General Comments: Happy to get in and to all, good luck to all as decisions roll in!