Why was I rejected?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Davis
1

<p>So, I’m pretty bummed out I got rejected from UCD. I was pretty sure I was going to get in. A lot of friends have posted their acceptances on facebook and have been garnering “congratulations” within the past few hours; I was more academically competitive than quite a few of them. Any insight would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Major: Biomedical Engineering (Is this why?)</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2180
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 730 Chemistry, 760 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7 (3.9W)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (3), Biology (3), Chemistry (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Pnysics B, AP Calculus BC, AP Biology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major. Various music awards.</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): President of Hepatitis B (HBV) outreach club, tutoring at school, youth orchestra, UCSF Internship with Head of Ophthalmology Prof
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: HBV Outreach
Summer Activities: Volunteer at senior center, HBV outreach,
Essays: At least decent. I feel they were sufficient, but I can’t back up how good they were.
Teacher Recommendation: N/A in UCs
Counselor Rec: N/A
Additional Rec:
Interview:
Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $150,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.
Reflection
Strengths: Probably extracurriculars and volunteering.
Weaknesses: Bad AP scores, GPA could be higher.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I don’t know if UCD has a higher standard for BME, or whether it might be something else they didn’t like about me.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
General Comments:
Scared for the higher-ranked UC’s and all the elite colleges I applied to.</p>

2

<p>Possibly GPA or essay. Who knows. Don’t dwell on it. Just wait and see what all universities you get into.</p>

3

<p>You have a really nice application. I agree, the only possible way you weren’t accepted is GPA (which is not low, just not unbelievably high), and possibly the major since that is one of the toughest choices. I got in with a 1870, 740 Math II, same GPA, but with a job. Also a big portion of admissions is the essay as well, and I don’t know how well you did on that. But don’t worry about it, I’m sure with those scores you will get into plenty of colleges.</p>

<p>EDIT: Oh yeah, my major was Neurology, Psychology, and Behavior, so that was a big part.</p>

4

<p>BME is the hardest major to get in to at UCD. You will need higher scores than other majors in order to be accepted. Even higher than other engineering degrees. 3s on APs probably hurt you.</p>

5

<p>If a Cali resident, your stats appear to be plenty good. Another unsolved mystery?</p>

6

<p>BME is extremely popular at UC Davis. That’s probably why. 3.7 is also a little on the low side.</p>

7

<p>your senior load might be too little.</p>

8

<p>Last year the 25th percentile GPA for all engineering students was a little over 4.0. You are below that.</p>

9

<p>Biomedical Engineering is known to be very selective. This holds for many privates as well. It seems that biomedical engineering just might be the new future soon.</p>

10

<p>Wow! This is surprising! I’m sure you are just like me, thinking that the other UC’s will reject you as well… And damn, that feeling sucks.</p>

11

<p>I also applied to Biomedical engineering and got rejected from Davis</p>

<p>ACT: 31 (Math 34, English 28)
SAT II: 800 Bio E
UC GPA: 4.06
UW GPA: 3.77
10-12 W: 4.12</p>

<p>Won Indian President’s Writing Contest
Interned at Stanford Cancer Center</p>

<p>So yeah, I think biomedical engineering is pretty difficult to get into. Congratulations to those who got in!</p>

12

<p>Probably your major! I got in with lower stats, but then again I was an undeclared major.</p>

13

<p>UCD is super competitive when it comes to Bio.</p>

14

<p>I am a Parent. My Daughter was:
Rejected for Biological Sciences major
SAT 2280 (math: 800, cr: 710, writing:770)
Sat Subject Tests: U.S. History: 730, Math: 720
ACT 31
UC GPA: 3.8
Ethnicity:Asian American (Indian)
Good Essay and EC’s- had a research internship at SJSU
Resident: California</p>

<p>Didn’t expect that, maybe merit doesn’t count that much</p>

15

<p>For those who got rejected, did you wish you had applied as undeclared ? Perhaps you under estimated UCD.</p>

16

<p>What about EE? Is that so competitive too? Any one get in and stat?</p>

17

<p>Received an acceptance to UCSD today! You guys are probably right. It seems that the major you apply for will most likely affect your chances of getting in. Still hopeful.</p>

<p>Congrats to everyone who got into UCD!</p>

18

<p>This makes me feel lucky for getting waitlisted for BME…wow.</p>

19

<p>UCD places big emphasis on test scores/academics. Your SAT is good enough. Your GPA, however, is too low.</p>