I’m from NJ and am a junior in high school. I got a 1530 on the SAT (740 verbal, 790 math) and a 23 out of 24 on the SAT essay (I took the new SAT). My current GPA is about a 4.3 weighted, but I think (hope) it will increase since my grades are better than they have been in the past. I’ve taken various honors courses, such as Hnrs English I, II, and III, Hnrs Geometry, Hnrs Chem, Hnrs World History, Hnrs Spanish 4 (my school only offers honors foreign language at level 4), and Hnrs US 1. I am also currently in APUSH and AP Psych, and so far, I plan on taking AP Bio, AP Calc AB, and AP Lit next year. I’m undecided on whether or not to go into AP Spanish next year and am not sure if that’s of any importance. I’m in NHS and have over 250 hours of volunteer service (at the hospital and for my community). I am Vice President of 2 clubs and an active member of many more. I’ve been babysitting and tutoring since freshman year. I have an interest in fashion, so I’ve also been a Nordstrom Fashion Ambassador for the past 2 years and will continue to be. I plan on getting a job at the mall in the next month or two, too.
I know that I don’t have the best application characteristics right now, so is there anything I can do to improve my chances? UCLA is my dream school, and I haven’t given up hope yet. Should I try to go further in my other interests, like photography and cosmetics, to make myself stand out? Should I take SAT subject tests?
If it helps, I’m a first generation student. I’m not really sure if that matters here, but I’ve heard people say before that some schools take that into consideration.
Lastly, I read online that UCLA doesn’t do ED/EA. Is this true? If it’s not, would applying ED improve my chances?
First read the ucla.edu website to find out the facts. Second UCLA gives no financial aid at all to OOS students. Can your parents afford to pay $60,000/year for 4 years?
UC’s have their own GPA calculation using a-g course requirements for 10-11th grades only. Also as an OOS applicant, your GPA will be weighted (extra Honors points) for AP/IB or DE courses only. UCLA will use your UW UC GPA, Weighted/Capped UC GPA and Fully Weighted UC GPA. They also do not consider Senior grades in their admission decisions. No ED or EA, only RD and applications are due Nov 30th.
Also you want to make sure you take a 1 year VPA course to fulfill the UC “f” requirement. This requirement seems to be an issue for many OOS applicants.
http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/a-g-requirements/
https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Lastly, look at the Freshman profile to see where you stand in regards to Stats: https://www.admission.ucla.edu/prospect/Adm_fr/Frosh_Prof16.htm
I’ve taken a year of fine art and applied art. Does that fulfill their art requirement? Also, thank you for the information 
Fine art or applied art should ulfill the requirement.
Just an FYI: posters are trying to help you. Yes, you did not ask about financial aid, but many many posters on CC, that are OOS are shocked that the UC’s do not offer FA for OOS applicants. Affordability and costs are probably the first thing you should look at when trying to come up with a college list. There is no reason to be rude. CC posters are trying to present the facts. If @TomSrOfBoston hadn’t mentioned the costs, I probably would have also made a comment.
Remember many of the seasoned posters are parents and we are acutely aware of college costs while many HS students are not.
Good Luck and do not fixate on any schools that are not affordable.