maybe your essays blew chunks or even, were simply average? maybe he’s first generation college and you aren’t? maybe he had excellent essays? maybe he was ELC and you weren’t? GPA and test score are far from the only two things that colleges consider, you can’t get an accurate idea of whether or not someone will be accepted just from them most of the time. </p>
<p>you were below UCSD averages in both GPA and SATs, and didn’t mention anything exceptional about yourself - not to be mean, but it shouldn’t be a shock that you didn’t get in.</p>