Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1430
ACT (breakdown): 33
SAT II: 780 math II, 750 Literature
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.19
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Marching Band, AP Calculus AB, AP Government, AP Microeconomics, Advanced Computer Aided Design, Creative Style (english)
Major Awards : none
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Band (11,12), Drumline (11,12), MUN 11th grade, LINK leader 12th grade, marched in the 2019 Rose Parade Pasadena Honor Band
Job/Work Experience: worked at Panda Express since June 2018
Volunteer/Community service: church’s VBS, more church childcare
Summer Activities: band and drumline practices, work
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Creativity (7/8): I wrote about how I’ve always liked working with my hands to make things, like origami or lanyards. I talked about how I saw a presentation at JPL about an origami inspired satellite and that it inspired my passion for engineering.
Challenges (8): I described the challenge that came with being a short girl playing a drum that weighs 40 pounds and is mostly played by guys. I talked about how my determination is my strongest trait, and that my determination to succeed in drumline occasionally overshadowed academics, which is why I did not take the WHAP exam. (That was probably a mistake to write about but oh well).
Leadership (8/9): I talked about my growth as a leader in drumline, and how I learned from past mistakes to find a balance between being too strict or too lenient.
What else makes you stand out (10):
I talked about my job at Panda Express, and how much having a job in the service industry has helped me grow. I love working with people and seeing all the love they give each other while having a family dinner, etc.
Supplemental Review or LOR submission: I added an Additional Comment that hit pretty close to the word limit that talked about my adoption. I couldn’t find a way to work it into the other prompts without compromising either the honesty of my situation or ignoring part of the question. Basically, I was born in China and adopted by a white family, which has caused a lot of social and cultural gaps between my asian peers and me.
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: mechanical engineering
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public (about 2000 students)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <70,000
ELC Eligibility:
First Generation:
Reflection:
Going into this, I thought UCI would be a safety school based purely on statistics, but I think this year has been insanely more competitive than past years. I got really worried a week or two before the release date and was almost certain I would get rejected, especially for mechanical engineering.
Strengths: My adoption, my essays
Weaknesses: Not many APs or major focused extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My backstory definitely helped, and I have always been an extremely strong writer, so I know my personality and voice were able to clearly show in the essays.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Colorado School of Mines
Waitlisted: UCSD, Harvey Mudd
Rejected: UCLA, Cal Poly SLO
General Comments: I’m extremely happy I got in, especially considering the drastic increase in applications this year.