Very Interested in UCLA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

<p>Hi! I wanted a better idea of what schools I should be applying to this year since I am a senior and I would really love some insight! I am really nervous and would love as much help as I can get! :)</p>

<p>GPA (weighted): 4.1
GPA (unweighted): 3.6/3.7</p>

<p>SAT: 2020</p>

<p>ACT: 30 (I took the practice test cold and will be able to get at least a 32 on the real thing)</p>

<p>APs: World History-5, English Lang- 5, US History- 5, Psychology- 4, Calculus AB- 5
(I am taking 3 more AP classes senior year, is that enough?)</p>

<p>Extracurricular: Debate Team 4 years (held leadership position for 3 years), NHS life time, volunteered at most 300 hours, tutor a lot, was a TA for a summer school, won a county-wide writing contest, president of 2 clubs (created 1) </p>

<p>I should be in the top 10% of my class.</p>

<p>I think I want to be an English major. (Will that help?)</p>

<p>I am really, really in UCLA, but am also drawn to UCSD, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, and. Also, I am fascinated by LACs, Scripps, Claremont McKenna, and Pomona (out of reach for me I think?). </p>

<p>I am also in-state.</p>

<p>Could anyone please tell me if I am looking at the right schools and my chances for getting into them? Again, I would be tremendously grateful for any help! Thank you very much!!!!!</p>

2

<p>I doubt you will get into all 3 of UCLA, Berkely and UCSD. Definately 1, maybe 2 (UCSD and UCLA) and definately Irvine.</p>

<p>Probably 2/3 of the LAC’s as well.</p>

3

<p>I’d consider you barely a “match” for UCLA. Your SAT is 10 pts and your WGPA .2 pts lower than the average.</p>

<p>You have a good shot at UCLA though I wouldn’t be surprised if you were rejected either.</p>

<p>You have a slightly lower chance at Berkeley though its not out of the picture either.</p>

<p>You’ll most likely make Scripps but the rest of the Claremont Colleges are very likely out of reach. Pomona and Claremont McKenna are more difficult than most of the Ivy League.</p>

4

<p>Oh, wow, I didn’t realize my chances were so precarious! I really want to secure my chances at these schools…is there anything I can possibly do to increase my chances?! </p>

<p>Oh, and are specific grades really important or is it just the general GPA that matters?</p>

<p>Thank you to binks09 and sentimentGX4 for your responses! They were really useful :)</p>

5

<p>^Scratch what I said about Scripps. After some research, I found their average SAT to be 2030 and WGPA to be 4.05. You’re just a “match” and have a chance of being rejected as well. But you’d definitely make Pitzer.</p>

<p>Regarding what you can do, its probably too late to significantly raise your GPA now. Your best bet is starting early on your personal statements and raising your SAT score. Scripps, UCLA, and Berkeley are all doable. You just need 100 more SAT points and you’ll be in a comfortable range for the three.</p>

6

<p>Thank you so much! I am still curious about specific grades and GPA? Will admissions officers nitpick over individual class grades or will they place their judgment on the GPA? Oh, and would it be better for me to take the SAT or ACT? Sorry for the questions and again, I really appreciate your time and help!</p>

7

<p>you may have a shot at ucsd & uci</p>

<p>but if you really want to go to ucla, i suggest going to a cc for 2 years.</p>

8

<p>I am aware that community college is an option but it has been a goal of mine since junior high to go to UCLA directly after high school, or at least be accepted to a traditional university/ college that I am drawn to. :slight_smile: I really will to work as hard as I can to accomplish this goal!
Am I really so far out of reach from UCLA? :(</p>

9

<p>i really really really don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, but in my opinion (and from experience) you are. to be honest with you, the reason the bar is set so high for high school students to get into ucla and other top uc’s is because there’s very little diversity in the high school application process </p>

<p>90%+ of all high school applicants have either one or all of the following under their belt</p>

<p>1.) high gpa
2.) AP classes/subject
3.) high SAT and/or ACT scores
4.) school clubs</p>

<p>it makes it that much harder to select potential students since many applicants have the same stats. for example of the 300+ students in my 2008 high school class, my friend who was ranked 5th in the entire school with over a 4.0 gpa was rejected. the bar has risen dramatically since then so you can only imagine your chances.</p>

<p>whereas a (most) community college transfer have real world experience, probably supports his/her own self (doesn’t live at home), and works full time while attending school</p>

<p>HOWEVER, if you have something that stands out in your application or personal statement like being president of your student council, working for the mayor, or doing anything else significant at a young age that a normal high school student would never tackle - that may increase your shot.</p>

10

<p>Hmmm…so, if not UCLA, then should I be looking at USC, UCSD, UCI, Scripps, and maybe UCLA? Thank you Andrizzle for your enlightening explanation, but I think I still want to apply to UCLA, just because I really love the school and don’t want to close the door on it just yet! :slight_smile:
Application wise, would a demonstrated interest in multiculturalism be an example of something significant that someone my age has not accomplished? Or starting a significant academic club at school for a subject that has long been neglected (neglected as in related to clubs)?</p>

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<p>[Profile</a> of Admitted Freshmen, Fall 2009 - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_fr/Frosh_Prof10.htm]Profile”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_fr/Frosh_Prof10.htm)</p>

<p>Don’t close the door, but think about subject tests. My D had a similar profile ( better unweighted GPA), got into Scripps and UCSD, and Cal, but not UCLA in 2008. Her subject tests where “sub par”, as the kids on here are so fond of saying…</p>

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<p>I am prepping for the upcoming tests as we speak! :smiley: I am happy to hear that there is a chance for me to attend some of the schools I have dreamed of going to. I know that realistically I would be lucky to be accepted, but it is nice to hear that all hope is not lost!
Thank you so much Shrinkrap! I really appreciate this
Just curious, which school did your daughter choose? She is so lucky to have been admitted to both! :)</p>

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<p>I think you guys are being a little hard on hellokitty85. I don’t think UCLA is out of reach for you. :slight_smile: First of all, what’s your UC GPA? If your freshman year grades are what brought down your unweighted GPA, it won’t hurt you much at all because UCLA doesn’t consider freshman year grades. And if you can really get a 32 on the ACT, you’d be above-average for test scores. Everything else looks good; you have long-term ECs, several leadership positions, enough AP classes, good AP scores, possible ELC class rank…yep. I think you have a solid chance. :slight_smile: Oh, and you’re definitely in at UCI and UCSD, by the way.</p>

14

<p>You most certainly have a GREAT shot at UCLA and we would love to have you :slight_smile: I am actually quite surprised at some ppls comments here…</p>

<p>(Only about a year ago, I was in the same situation as you are in now, and many ppl in CC also have told me that ucla or any other school i have listed would be reaches or barely matches, but i certainly got into most of them including ucla where i will be freshman this year :D)</p>

<p>Your application currently is strong enough, really. Maybe raise your standardized test scores just by a little bit. And definitely dont forget about the SAT2s. I was required to take three of them last year, and they are just as important as your other standardized tests. Your extracurricular activities are excellent, and those leadership positions are fabulous!!! I command you on those achievements and they should GREATLY help you with your admission.</p>

<p>Just so that you know, MANY ppl with very or pretty high ACT or SAT scores got rejected last year, even the ones who also had great extracurricular activities as well. So try your best to write a personal statement that can help the admission officers who are reading your file to get know to more about YOU. </p>

<p>Cheer up! I am very positive you will make it to UCLA. PM me if you might need more help :)</p>

15

<p>^ i agree</p>

<p>and i do believe you should apply, you have nothing to lose really. do as much as you can now to build up your application. </p>

<p>just by looking at your stats i can safely say you’re guaranteed to get into at THE VERY LEAST, one of the schools you’ve mentioned.</p>

<p>good luck! and let us know if you need any help with anything!</p>

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<p>“Thank you so much Shrinkrap! I really appreciate this
Just curious, which school did your daughter choose? She is so lucky to have been admitted to both”</p>

<p>Duke, but that was a big reach, and a big surprise. She was VERY fortunate to have so many good choices. She REALLY loved Scripps.</p>

17

<p>@Andrizzle: I will most certainly be applying to UCLA! It has long been one of my dream schools and I wouldn’t be happy with myself if I didn’t at least try. Thanks again for your reality check- I know that UCLA is one of the most popular/ hardest schools to get into! :)</p>

<p>@Eiffel: Actually, my freshman year was really good. What ruined my GPA was sophomore and junior year…I really wanted to challenge myself and take
trig/precal honors as a sophomore and took Alg. 2 in the summer. My weakened math background coupled with very challenging teachers (for both trig/ precal H and calc AB AP) made matters worse and, thus, you have my weakened GPA. I did get a 5 on Calc AB AP. If not for those grades, I would have near perfect grades. I didn’t fail or anything like that so I am still applicable for the UCs and other schools.
Does that change anything for my college admissions chances, though?</p>

<p>@ joonghoonkim: I would be really happy to be accepted to UCLA! And I thank you for your commendation and truly hope it, and the rest of my application is enough :)</p>

<p>@shrinkrap: I am really happy for your daughter and her good fortune and I hope she is happy with her decision! :D</p>

<p>If you guys wouldn’t mind answering a few more questions from an anxious high school senior:
-I really would like to know if admissions officers will nitpick over individual grades or if they place most emphasis on GPA?
-Also, connected with the first question, can I make my weak math grades in sophomore and junior year hurt less with my 5 on AP Calc? My calc teacher was really difficult, pushing all students to get 5s not 3s.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for all of your help everyone! I am really, really, really grateful for all of the support and help and I really do appreciate your time and effort! :slight_smile:
(Sorry for the long post!)</p>

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<p>Oh, I understand your predicament. I’m not really sure if it’ll affect your chances greatly or not…:-/ Personally, I knew I wouldn’t be able to do well in really advanced math classes (I did well in Honors Geometry and Honors Algebra II, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to excel in Honors Pre-cal or any AP math [and I don’t need those classes for my majors at all either]), so I just didn’t take any. The highest level of math I took -was- Honors Alg II, but I still got into UCLA and Berkeley. I’m not sure how they’ll view your situation though…since you -did- get the 5 on your AP Calc test. What grade did you actually get in the class? And since you want to be an English major (and if you’re clear about this in your personal statements and demonstrate a passion for the subject), they might be more forgiving of the fact that you didn’t excel in those math classes. :)</p>

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<p>I, unfortunately, got Cs in those classes. I was not happy with it, but my determination to push myself to my limits got me into trouble. I really do love English and I don’t plan to be a math major. I am studying for the math sat 2 and I am trying my best demonstrate my interest in English. I am just hoping that the rest of my application will be enough to offset my math scores. :(</p>

20

<p>I recommend you get off of here and study for subject tests and fall grades. If you end up on “the buuble”, some UC’s will look at fall grades. That, and essays are what you can do right now.</p>