<p>UCLA was my one of my top choice schools and I was so sure I will get in.
SAT 2270, ACT35
SAT II, 740,760,760
3.92 GPA UW, 4.56
8 APs.
Top 10 out of 500 (school doesnt rank)
Lots of extra curricular activities, BasketBall team captain three years
Medical volunteering, Doctor shadowing and so on..
Teachers recommendations couldnt have been bad but I dont think UCs see that</p>
<p>Not that it matters anymore but just wanted to hear what possible reasons could there be that I was rejected. May be it will help students next year. </p>
<p>My thoughts were:</p>
<p>I applied to Bioengineering major. It is heavily impacted but I still thought I could get in
I dropped Spanish in my final semester due to a sports injury which made me miss quite a few classes. I called them and mentioned that but not sure whether they linked it</p>
<p>If there is anyone who got into Bioengineering, I would really like to hear from you folks..</p>
<p>By the way, I got in to UCSD which is among the top 5 for Bioengineering with Regents and many related benefits.</p>
<p>Edit: Finally, I am on waitlist at UCLA but dont think I will accept that nor am I going to appeal - too much pride :-(</p>
<p>So you got rejected and then changed to waitlist? Did the appeal work then?
The only thing I can think of is impacted major and too many competitive students from your high school…But UCSD is a great option to have.</p>
<p>Just wanted to add something…
" too much pride "…dont think about pride. If you really want UCLA, appeal or wait it out. Dont take it personal. It is not worth it.</p>
<p>Sorry, just to clarify. I am waitlisted but the admission status says something like “I regret to inform you that we are not able to give you admission at this time” and the next paragraph says that “however…”</p>
<p>About the pride - I am more hurt than disappointed. Yes, UCLA was among the top choices but I dont know what else I could have done other than getting 2400!! I worked by butt off and at the same time played physically demanding basketball, broke my leg in that process. Could have done more APs may be if not for basketball (i wouldnt do that, just saying). Just foolishly believed in all the hype about “well rounded”. After all this, to go back to them begging? I think it is not worth it. I think I should go to a college that wants me than to a college that I want. A time comes when one should move on… May be all others admitted to Bioengineering are better than me…</p>
<p>Essays were about some non-academic personal achievement over the last 7 years. It was definitely not a bad one - I got into other UCs with the same. I am no expert on UC Admissions but I think essays might help in a tie-breaker, meaning when two guys are equal one with a better essay wins (excluding cases where someone has very compelling life story like poverty, death, disease etc)</p>
<p>They must have really hated your essays because with those grades/scores you could have done much better than UCLA (ivy leagues). Most of the people I know that got in had around 2000ish SAT score and 3.6ish UW GPA. I’m shocked that you didn’t make it.</p>
<p>The UC admissions is a strange breed this year. I just read about a kid who got in with a super low GPA, but…don’t feel bad. UCSD is a great school, my son got rejected there AND UCLA so…count your blessings and move on with your college career. Good luck and STILL work hard.</p>
<p>Essays are the most or among the most subjective of all items in the resume. But I really do not think it is bad. I do very well in writing in general, but we will never know</p>
<p>I would still like to think Bioengg being very competitive and the fact that I am an Asian being major reasons. </p>
<p>I am waiting on Ivies - I applied there more out of curiosity of knowing whether I will get it than going there. I dont want to spend so much money because I wont get any scholarships or finaid there. So, it is UCSD for me. It is a good school but more importantly the Bioengg program is good, so I am ok…</p>
<p>Thanks all writing positively about UCSD. I likely might have gone there anyway because of the Regents and also because I am going there for the 8 year combined medical program interview next week. </p>
<p>But sorry, rejection hurts… may be it hurt my ego. I thought I didnt have ego…</p>
<p>First of all, congrats on UCSD Regents…that is a great option. I know people who have opted to go there even after getting into Cal and UCLA.</p>
<p>But in case you are seeking closure and questions, here is what I can think of.
Biomedical Engg needs you to be reviewed by the college of Engineering and that has a much stricter standard. Your SAT/SAT2 are fine though. What I can think of is rigor of your classes such as AP Cal/AP physics…you are essential evaluated not as a Bio major but as an Engineer. Lack of Engineering focussed EC…may have hurt? Again, these are pure speculation on my part…but yes, being Asian and if you go to one of those high API schools, you are probably being judged to higher standards. And who knows, you are probably high up there in the waitlist…dont let ego take over…if you are still wishy/washy…file your wait list. But come Thursday, perhaps you won’t care :)</p>
<p>I do not think that’s the case for him. My stats were much lower than rabridevi, and I got in as a Computer Science major along with the Regent Scholarship. I have a 30 ACT and 4.45 UC GPA, coming from a ~100 students inner city charter school with 938 api. Heck, most people here have better course loads than I do. The only AP I’ve taken was AP U.S. history, and the only current AP is AP calculus AB.</p>
<p>Rabridevi, do you know how many people from your school applied to UCLA? It may be that fewer than expected applicants applied to UCLA from your school, so UCLA just reviewed you against applicants from around your area due to context review.</p>
<p>@Labyrinthus…you have a major hook here (from your acceptance thread)
Hook(if any):
low income bracket
highly successful inner city charter school (938 api)
QuestBridge Finalist (?)</p>
<p>Rabri - If you are from a high school that had lots of APs available and lots of high performing kids and you dont have any other hooks (low income, some other adversity)…yes…then honestly, you are held to higher standards. I agree it is the “context review”…</p>
<p>oh yes…and a bit of luck plays into everything…but you are lucky to have UCSD Regents. Honestly I would choose that even if you had regular UCLA admission.</p>
<p>It is true that my school has a lots of APs and a lot of high performing kids. But I am among the top 10. And I have taken 8 APs and a few more honors. Kids with way way less grades/SAT have gotten in but in other majors. Thats why I am really curious about those who have got Bioeng.</p>
<p>Yes, UCSD regents is better than regular UCLA. I have that (and Regents in UCI too), so I am happy. But I will never know the answer to “Why I didnt get UCLA” but you guys have been giving some perspective, so that is good.</p>
<p>@rabridevi, i just read on another thread that Bioengineering is one of the most impacted majors at UCLA, and the incoming class is only 75-100 kids.</p>
<p>Not sure if that explains specifically why you didn’t get in though =(</p>
<p>Meh, I don’t know that you’ll ever know why you didn’t get in. If anyone looked at your stats it’s clear that you’re competitive for UCLA, even for Bioengineering, but admissions is always uncertain. I don’t think your essays could’ve negatively affected you; they’re important, but not as important as grades/scores and other ECs.</p>
<p>Don’t think of yourself being rejected. Admissions is a crapshoot.
You are probably more qualified than someone who was admitted unfortunately there are so many applicants.</p>
<p>I read a book by an admission officer and she said there are so many other factors that affect getting admitted or not. It could be your application was at the bottom of the pile when the reader got to your application.
Your application could have been as similar as to one the reader just finished and didn’t work in your favor.
The reader didn’t feel like he/she knew you and maybe it was your essay that didn’t pull the reader in.
Think of a book. Someone will enjoy a certain book while another person who reads the same book doesn’t like it or just didn’t relate to it. It doesn’t mean the book isn’t good. </p>
<p>UCSD is a great school for engineering. My son was on a mission trip when UCSD held their engineering reception and he didn’t get to visit it. In my opinion, I thought UCSD had great engineering extras/internships, etc - more so than UCLA. I also think UCSD is more personal than UCLA. I tried to get my son to reconsider UCSD vs UCLA but I lost.</p>
<p>@rabridevi - I’m waitlisted too, and it sucks. SAT 2300, SATII 800/780, 4.0 UWGPA, computer science. I know how you feel. My best friend also applied for bioengr with similar stats to mine but was rejected. Her scores & GPA were a little lower, but she had more APs and ECs than me. There’s no way to know why, so you gotta just move on. I found the stats from last year’s freshman applications for UCLA engineering (2011). Looks like materials & electrical engineering was the way to go.</p>