My son just found out he got into UCLA!
@emli8100 I truly dont know what the schools look for. I do know that websites for Cal and USC say they look at application holistically where as the other UCs dont as much. Its weird my son has been accepted and invited to interview for some pretty generous scholarships at USC, Harvey Mudd and Cal, yet admitted to UCLA and UCSD with no scholarship. So who the heck knows what exactly they are looking for or how the individual reading your application interprets the subjective part of the application. So donāt lose hope!
Congratulations @letsshare! Well, the schools may offer different things, but they all seem to know something good when they see it. 
I donāt know if his decision is getting harder or easier with all those choices! Just gotta rank them as they come in and keep the top two in his pocket till the final decision comes in. You all should be very proud - itās a family effort!
got rejected to UCLA and it feels terribleā¦
Does USC admit by major/school? I applied for Accounting so is Leventhal/Marshall competitive to get into?
UCLA - rejected. Surprisingly, the upset hasnāt set in even though it was one of my ādream schools.ā I wouldāve loved going there. I knew it was highly unlikely though, so for right now Iām relatively unfazed. My bigger issue is that because of the rejection, a huge sense of fear is setting in for USC, which has been my absolute #1 for years. Somehow, I relate everything back to USC, including my UCLA rejection lol. Iām crossing my fingers so bad. I know college choice isnāt everything, but I honestly feel like the USC decision will make or break me, and I wonāt know what to do if I donāt get in. Itās super scary 
@iconiclife Everything you just said sounds exactly like my situation. Iām freaking out too and probably wonāt be able to take my own advice but take a deep breath! Somehow we will make it through this last week or so of waiting and see what happens.
Did anyone apply to the World Bachelor in Business program?
Iām starting to lose hope in the college application processā¦we always taught our boys anything can happen if you work hard. My son has a 3.5ā¦hes super smart and is very involved in school and community activities. He spent the money and worked on 8 college applications. Some were long shots because they were dream schools and some were definitely in his qualification zone and some he was right in the wheel house/should be accepted.
He has only gotten into ONE schoolā¦luckily heās super excited about it but not one other school? His Dream Schools for life have been UCLA and USCā¦we toured them his Freshman year of highschool coming from the East Coast. You just want that amazing moment for your kidā¦like I said his one acceptance was awesome but none of the ājust out of reachā or ādream schoolsā seem to come through and take a chance someone. His major is film and heās got so much to offer. Sorry for the ventā¦we just got the no for UCLA so its kind of raw. I am hoping there is still a small chance in the Universe he can get USCā¦good luck to all of you!!!
@JorahTheExplorer Yes I did. I figured we might hear something sooner since its such a unique program
@iconiclife @jcolestan Count me in too! Rejected from UCLA, but USC is my dream school, now Iām just really nervous for what will happen.
@Jslam321 @jcolestan I donāt even know how weāre expected to go to another full week of school before the decisions come out! Iāll just be stressed the entire time!
Got into Boston university for their college of communications (to study film)!!! Ecstatic! They didnāt give me any money but to have gotten in after the UCLA rejection has definitely boosted my confidence a bit! Haā¦ ha
@iconiclife Congratulations!
And I agree completely, can we just sleep through this next week??
@iconiclife me too! see you there, maybe (or USC)
@boymom16 I have been guilty of venting as well. Since my graduation from HS in 1982, California has added 3 CSU campuses and 1 UC campus, while the population of California has increased from 25 million to 40 million. No new Ivy league colleges or ānear Iviesā have been created in that time. At the same time, attending college has become perceived as necessary in order to just stay afloat economically in the US. And there are many more international applicants. Itās just incredibly competitive, to the point that for top programs like UCLA, USC, Stanford, one could arguably almost make a random selection of the top applicants and do as well as the current selection process (like choosing the Brazilian world cup teamā¦). On the other hand, there are lots of spots available at lesser colleges, but if youāre from CA or the Northeast you donāt typically aspire to go to a small liberal arts college in the midwest (for example), especially if you have to pay full tuition. So for your situation (and mine), we should probably just be very happy that our kids have at least one good option for college in the bag.
I was rejected from UCLA yesterday as well (and Pomona). Iām fine because I knew Iād never get in but the main emotion it made me feel was panic for this upcoming week.
@collegekid171 If it does not come in the mail on Saturday, the 25th, just check the portal after midnightā¦ early Sunday morning, the 26th, L.A. time.
Congrats to those receiving admissionsā¦ and hang in there to those facing rejections. My older daughter was rejected by 12 out of 17 three years ago. Thankfully, USC was one of the 5.
But, as @rocket88 suggests, these are not judgments on you or any applicant facing rejection. My daughterās stats could have just as easily gotten her in to each of the schools that she applied to that chose not to admit herā¦ but they were also all top-25 colleges that reject 88-95% of all applicants too. It is a #s game. They have way too many applicants and can only take in so many. Plus they can only take so many of each type/category. These schools are trying to craft a well-rounded class and that unfortunately leaves many well-qualified (albeit likely unhooked) candidates wondering why they did not gain entrance.
As my younger daughter faces 11 more decisions in the coming 13 days, I am just thankful that she has 3 admissions in hand and could see herself at two of them. But USC is far and away her favorite, so there will be no escaping disappointment should the positive USC decision allude her.
Good luck managing the waitā¦ and best wishes for gaining the news you are seekingā¦
@filmstudent2 I totally agreeā¦ I really want to go to LA, and the UCLA denial only hurt because I wanted a guarantee that LA was available even if USC denies me. Iāve had a good feeling about USC, but the week long (New Jersey) wait will not be fun.
@SoccerDoc55 Ironically, I feel the same way even though I live in LA. I just donāt want to leave! There are so many great colleges in SoCal but most arenāt in LA properā¦and USC is the best there is when it comes to my major. I wish I werenāt so attached to the idea of going there.
@CADREAMIN Thank you for your kind words and words of wisdom.
In 2012, my daughter was rejected at UCLA but accepted at USC. We are in the Midwest and initially she was more drawn to UCLA (we toured both schools one day when USC was on spring break and UCLA wasnāt) but paying full price out-of-state tuition at UCLA is not much less than USC. We have heard itās very difficult to get classes in the UC system and itās common to need 5 years. With her AP credits, my daughter graduated from USC in 3 1/2 years. She loved every minute of it too and is still there getting a Masters. I think UCLA is required to take more in-state students and they use some formula taking the raw grades of only certain core classes in their admission selection (as opposed to be āholisticā like USC) so New Jersey and other out-of-state people donāt dismay!