Admitted!
Major (and division if applicable) applied to: Environmental Science
Academic stats:
UC Unweighted GPA: 3.83
UC Capped Weighted GPA: 4.17
UC Fully Weighted GPA: 4.5
Eligibility in Local Context?: Yes
Rank, percentile rank, or percentile range (if available): School doesnât rank
Comments about course load (including senior year):
AP Human Geography
AP English Literature
AP Environmental Science
AP Macroeconomics/ AP U.S. Government
SAT (total and sections):
1560
R&W - 800
M - 760
ACT (total and sections): N/A
SAT Subject Tests (if any):
Bio (Molecular) - 800
Chem - 730
Math II - 720
AP exams (scores in parentheses):
Bio (5), Chem (5), World (5), Calc BC (5), Statistics (5), English Lang (5), Spanish IV (5)
IB exams (score in parentheses): N/A
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): FBLA State winner 2nd place and 4th place (idk if this counts)
[ab]Subjective:[a/b]
Extracurriculars:
Job/Work Experience: paid internship at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at Memory Care Center, Volunteer at California Academy of Sciences, started an organization w/ a friend that was dedicated to diversity in STEM, TEDx student organizer, taekwondo 1st degree black belt
Essays (topics, details): Probably an 8/10. People said they were good and the topics were pretty unique.
[ab]Demographics[a/b]
State (if domestic applicant): CA
High school type: Big, competitive high school
Gender: F
Applied for financial aid?: No
Highest level of parent education: Masters
[ab]Reflection[a/b]
Strengths: My essays were probably my biggest strength. I didnât spend a lot of time on them (I literally wrote them they day the UC app was due rip), but they were true to my character. I talked about the things that fascinated me and really set me apart, even if they werenât the most traditionally âimpressiveâ things about me. Also, my major probably isnât as competitive as others, so that definitely plays a role.
Weaknesses: I definitely thought my GPA was a huge weakness. I also think my extracurriculars could have been a weakness: I truly enjoyed participating in them, but on paper, they werenât as impressive compared to others.
Accepted: Wash U, UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD, UCSC, SDSU, Duke Kunshan University
Waitlisted: Georgetown, Barnard
Rejected: JHU
General Comments: The amount of time I spent on this site is insane, especially reading the decision thread for the UCLA class of 2023. To anyone reading this, please donât let this consume you. The college admissions process is terrible - youâre pouring your heart out, only for huge decisions to be made by people you will never know in a process that you are largely shut out from. It can be pretty devastating. Donât let this define you or deter you - if you work hard with a goal in mind, you will get where you need to be. This isnât the end.
Also, admissions officers (mostly) know what theyâre doing. I got waitlisted and rejected at a few schools and when I thought about it more, I probably wouldnât have been happy there anyway.
Good luck to everyone and congrats to those who got in!