<p>In sum, I was rejected to UCLA as a freshman. To exhaust all of my options, I intend on filing a letter of appeals. I may have two grounds for appealing, but I am concerned that they may not be appropriate or adequate.</p>
<p>I have been diagnosed with OCD for quite some time. In fact, I have had OCD ever since I was a little kid. I just did not get treatment until high school. I had psychiatric sessions towards the end of my sophomore year but had to cancel them due to my attendance with a summer program. I was prescribed Prozac/fluoxetine for my disorder. </p>
<p>Once I returned, I expressed to my family that I wanted to reschedule appointments with a psychiatrist in order to fully recover from my anxiety disorder. Unfortunately, throughout the first semester of my junior year, my parents were largely unsupportive of my disorder. They refused to schedule an appointment and scolded me each time I brought it up. In summary, they would always tell me that the disorder was “all in my head” and that it is nothing. During that same time, I would continue to take Prozac and I even increased my dosage. However, because I have not seen the doctor in months, I was fully unaware as to whether continued (and increased) dosage would have helped me recover or made matters worse. It was not until spring of that year that I was able to see a psychiatrist. She spoke with my mother and explained to her that while the disorder is indeed “all in my head,” it was a legitimate disorder that required recovery and treatment. The fact I was able to see a psychiatrist gave me some sense of relief and into my senior year, my OCD has become less severe.</p>
<p>During that time period with which I had no professional medical assistance with my OCD, my grades slipped. However, it was not much as it was just 3 of the 5 Bs I have acquired throughout high school. Nonetheless, it was still a very pressured and stressful period of time for me as I did show symptoms of anorexia coupled with other emotional problems. </p>
<p>I failed to mention anything regarding my OCD or emotional problems as I believed that they were too personal at the time and would not make a significant difference within my application.</p>
<p>I am also unsure if I have another grounds for appeal through my lack of extracurricular activities within my application. I have participated in volunteer work with my mother’s Buddhist organization and I have attended several Buddhist study meetings throughout high school. My father is Catholic and my mother is Buddhist, but we all get along fine on religious terms. I consider myself part-Catholic and part-Buddhist as I do practice both. However, I was a little concerned that some UC application readers may have had some hidden bias against Buddhism and so my application was void of any religious identification whatsoever. </p>
<p>The UC application has a format of weeks within the extracurricular activity and the hours per week spent on it. My involvement with the Buddhist community would have been displayed as 4 hours each week for 25 weeks.</p>
<p>Does anyone have advice on whether I have an appropriate (and effective) grounds to appeal with?</p>