Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1230 (670 reading/writing, 560 math)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: N/A
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5) English Language (4) Psych (4) World History (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: 3 APs (Gov/Macroecon, Literature), no math, Forensic Science, Philosophy, Photography
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years of varsity volleyball (captain 2 years), 1 year of frosh swim, Debate Club, Young Activists Club, Athletic Council, Photography Club
Job/Work Experience: 1 year as hostess at pizza place (it was horrible), math tutor, babysitter, youth volleyball coach
Volunteer/Community service: Organized a fundraiser that raised over $4,000 for Heifer International, apart of a program dedicated to civil service in my community, volunteered at several homeless shelters
Summer Activities: Volleyball camps/training
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Essay #1 about my life growing up with ADHD - 8
Essay #2 about my fundraising project - 7
Essay #3 about how several teachers have impacted my learning/life - 9
Essay #4 the creativity I express through debate - 9
Supplemental Review or LOR submission: N/A
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Cognitive Science
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Upper middle class (170,000)
ELC Eligibility: Yes
First Generation: No
Reflection
Strengths: My essays were definitely my strength. I started working on them the summer before Senior year so about 3-4 months before we had to submit and that really gave me the time to make all the changes I needed and feel like my essays were a true representation of who I am both as a student and as a person. Get as many people to read/edit them as you can!!
Weaknesses: My SAT score. I only took it once because I felt like if I got a ‘good enough’ score then I wouldn’t need to try again. 1230 is like the bare minimum I think for a UC. At the time I was mainly considering Cal States. I feel like taking it once your Junior year and then again about 6+ months later is the best bet.
Why you think you were accepted: I think I’m pretty well rounded and am not one of those kids who spends their time just on school (no offense if you do though, to each their own). My essays represented my personality and story as well.
Where else were you accepted: I only applied to 3 schools, UC Santa Barbara, UCSC and Cal State Long Beach (my hometown), so I was accepted at CSULB but that doesn’t really mean anything since we get automatic admission for being in the Long Beach School District. My school generally isn’t very competitive with colleges. We have like 10-15 kids maybe who try for the big schools, but most of us just end up at SLO or CSULB.
General Comments: Congrats to everyone who got in and for the future applicant: get as many people as you can to read your essays and make sure your personality really shines through, thats the most important part.