One of THOSE Threads...

Ihazmuffin
Tue, 22 Dec 2015 11:10:16 +0000

Hey CC,

So yeah I’m an international from New Zealand applying to UCLA and UC Berkeley as a mathematics/physics major and would greatly appreciate if anyone could lend their opinions on my chances of getting in. I should say that most schools in New Zealand use a curriculum called NCEA, so forgive me if I have to explain a few things along the way. Not the most competitive student but here goes:

SAT I: 2080, 650/750/680 (CR/M/W)
SAT II: Math 2 (760), Physics (730), Chemistry (720)
UW GPA: 3.88, 3.92 projected
AP: None. AP coures aren’t offered.
Senior Courseload: Again not really applicable because of NCEA but I took all the honours courses that I could have taken. Our honours courses are deemed “scholarship” courses and are the rough NZ equivalent of AP courses. For anyone who understands NCEA, these courses were Scholarship Physics, Scholarship Chemistry, Scholarship Biology, Scholarship Statistics, Scholarship English and Programming (I took Scholarship Calculus in my Junior year).

Extracurriculars:
Scouts (9/10/11/12)
Taekwondo (12)
Model UN (12)
Two choirs (10, 11, 12)
Took a first semester course offered to high school students in first year university mathematics, received a B.
Student Librarian (12)
Paid Maths Tutor (12)

Volunteer Work (~420 hours):
Peer Support Leader
Part of a program for helping students with additional needs. Involved tutoring an under-performing 8th grade English class and mentoring a disabled 8th grade student (our high schools encompass 8th-12th grade in case that aroused any confusion).
Various volunteering for Scouts. Helped run an activity base for 3 weeks at the last scout jamboree. Other community fundraising activities.
Helped build two sheds for the storage and maintenance of old military equipment.

Awards:
1x Qualifier for NZ Math Olympiad Camp
2x Qualifier for NZ Informatics Olympiad Camp
Choir has won numerous regional awards and won four gold medals in an international competition (topping one of our categories)
Several school-level academic awards and a service and leadership award
Some awards in math and informatics olympiad styled competitions

Income bracket: <$70k

Thanks in advance !