UCs and questions for OOS

Alisonalvarado
Tue, 27 Dec 2016 21:58:49 +0000

Chance me please! Also list questions for OOS applicants!

@UCB UCLA (heard about their holistic views)
UCSD UCSB

Out of state-Kentucky

Guatemalan (Hispanic) female
Public School and Biomedical Sciences Academy

Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
Here I talked about how I was undocumented along with my family, I live with 3 family members (brother, sister and mother) and how my mother struggled to find jobs but we she did I would work along her side and at some points I worked 60 hours a week (yes during a school week). Meaning, I was able to get only 2 hours of sleep daily and still go to school. I talked about skipping lunch for naps and other struggles that were detrimental to my grades.

Describe how you have worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
I talked about how I did not receive any help at home from my mother because she is illiterate and I was the first in my family to obtain any education higher than elementary school (first to go to middle and high school). I mentioned that I also never received much help from my school when I brought up my problems, I talked about how my principle told me she didn’t even know what it meant to be undocumented and so she couldn’t help me. Also English was not my first language.

What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?
I talked about how I have been shaped into a different person because of my circumstances and how I attended a public school with a low minority percentage and many students at my school come from high income families witch was not who I was and so I have had to face being the different one at my school.

What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
Here I talked about how I have been extremely involved in helping my small hispanic neighborhood because we are all undocumented and we live in the middle of high class american citizens. I talked about how when I received a drivers license I would drive people around because many in my area do not have one, also I translated at doctor appointments and tutored children because their parents did not know the English Language.

Stats:
GPA: 3.6(weighted) 3.4(unweighted)
Senior year: 4.1(weighted)
ACT: 23
Math:26
English:25

AP Classes:
AP Biology
AP Statistics
AP Litrature
AP U.S. History
AP Spanish Language

Dual Credit:
Psychology
World History

Honors:
Chemistry
Pre-Cal

Accelerated:
Algebra 2

Extracurriculars:
-Cross Country Running (Varsity)
-Track and Field (Varsity)
-Spanish National Honor Society
-Senior Internship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (ranked 3rd children’s hospital in the nation)
-Latino Mentors Program at local University
-Blood donations
-All-state Track-and-Field Team
-PhDreamer

Awards:
-Honorary Cord of life (blood donations and blood drive)
-Gifted and talented at Mathematics and Leadership
-Academic Athletic Association Award
-Dean’s List
-Academic Excellence Award
-Posters-at-the-capital finalist (presented scientific research to state gov. and legs.)

Any thoughts?.. Thank you!