<p>i live in texas and i REALLY want to go to ucla. what kinds of things should i really work on to get in? like gpa class rank sat sat2 etc? thank you in advance!!!!!</p>
<p>If you are interested in a specific school, that could work for you. My S is graduating from the Design|Media Arts program. When he applied, one of his classmates who applied to engineering and had better stats than he did was rejected. Friend's parents are also UCLA alums. Also, I was told by some recent alums that if UCLA is the only UC you want to attend, then apply to just that one and not to any others. Otherwise, do the best you can in all facets--courses, SATs, and ECs and keep your fingers crossed!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Well, UCLA is much like many of the other competitive colleges; they want to see a strong and well-rounded applicant. If you're looking for specific emphases though, I would emphasize SAT II scores (in the past, UC's have placed an increasing emphasis on these), extracurricular activities/leadership (seems to be a valued characteristic among its admits), GPA, and SAT I score (the higher the better because it's difficult to get in from out-of-state). </p>
<p>UC's don't look into class rank.</p>
<p>This is going to be a looong post ;)...so keep reading. </p>
<p>Both my friend and I got into LA from out of state this year. We have similar stats, so here's what we basically had:</p>
<p>SAT I: 1500+
SATII: 750+
course taken: 9+ Aps, the rest honors.
Awards: national merit semi-finalist, AP scholar w/distincton, leadership awards...
leadership/community service: president/founder of clubs...lots of volunteering
GPA: our UC GPA were slightly lower than average because we both got a couple of B's in AP classes.
Essay: pretty good but nothing too special</p>
<p>Here's some advice i'd give you:</p>
<p>SAT IIs count twice as much as SAT I. </p>
<p>Also get involved at school/in your community. Note that the UC application ONLY ALLOWS you to put a LIMITED number of EC's. So be sure that you devote more time/energy to a couple of special ones. Here's what I mean. Don't join 20 different clubs just to become a member with no major contribution/distinction. On the application, you only have room to put down around 6/7 EC's, so it doesn't matter if you join 20 clubs. INSTEAD, run for office in a couple of the clubs, or found your own club. Also...show COMMITMENT to these clubs by joining for more than 2 years. You may also want to choose activities that are related to you intended major/interests.</p>
<p>On the application, be sure to mention any special circumstances/problems you've had to overcome. If you are applying for engineering, you may need to have better stats than us...I'm not really sure. =) </p>
<p>Hope this helps! ;) Good Luck! :)</p>
<p>I would say the essay is very important as well. Do not be the robot that churns out good grades and test scores because the average UCLA applicant is well qualified.</p>