Hello, Nurds!!
"You want to know the formula to get in. Take out your pencils."
The thing is. I'm not exactly sure how I got into UCLA, which might come as quite a shock for you. With that said, I have no guidelines or any instructions to provide you. I just have my experiences. I emphasize my, because they are personal and unique to me. If you get into UCLA or any school for that matter, you'll find that in many ways you are similar to your peers, but you never share the same background or life or appearance. And you're not supposed to.
I have no experience with reading admissions essays, but I am completely adamant that the admissions readers could smell fabrication by the click of a button. They understand that you may have done the bare minimum to get in and they'll for sure see if you if you're catering to UCLA specifically by being the "perfect student".
Misconception 1) There is no perfect student.
Chances are your parents or some guidance counselor told you that you need straight A's, a ton of extracurriculars, and quite the resumé of activities (as well as an understanding of parallel structure, as I have just failed to achieve). Although these people mean well, that just doesn't cut it these days.Whaaaaaaa?
Yeah, I know, bro.
UCLA is a good school. I get it. We're so good you could possibly hear the Eight Clap Heard 'Round the World. But honestly, if everyone who applied and went here got straight A's, there's not a lot of room for academic diversity.
That's not to say I want you to fail to get in.
But, well, you should have failed a few times in order to have gotten in. If you've hardly failed in your life, I'm impressed, and undoubtedly so will UCLA.
One of the essay options (or two, as I remember) have to do with managing to cope with a problem or failure of some sort and if you've hardly failed, well, that's one (or two) fewer essay options for you to write.
In terms of grades, yeah, I got more A's than B's (much to my surprise). I felt like a complete failure in high school, wasting more planning that doing things that were seemingly impossible or unrealistic to achieve in the limited 24 hours a person is prescribed. I also get several C's and two D's. Yes, I got D's and I got into UCLA.
I'm imperfect and somehow imperfection is perfect for UCLA; it's the perfection they're looking for. So keep calm and stick a dick in that guidance counselor's mouth. They usually know what they're talking about, but they usually don't.
Misconception 2) Counselor's know what the f**k they're talking about.
They're some contradiction to this, yes, but from my experience and the experience of people in Youtube videos I've watched, articles I've read, and fellow UCLA students I've talked to, guidance counselor's usually don't know what they're talking about. They're trying to prepare students for college (or in the very least, prepare students to graduate high school), but many high school students don't want to go to college, let alone get into a school as prestigious as UCLA, and counselor's don't know how to cater to these students.They have specific guidelines for all students, without really considering the student's interests, which totally sucks. So if you haven't already stuffed a magic dildo in your counselor's mouth by now, I suggest shoving it in their rear. Things only go anal from here.
Misconception 3) Everyone wants to go to a prestigious school
This is wrong on many levels.Although my admit class hit a record high of 120,000+ applicants (with a 16% admit rate), 120,000 doesn't represent the entire demographic of students trying to get into a university. Realistically, the approximately 84% of applicants chose to go elsewhere and believe it or not, but students who even got into (and accepted by) UCLA chose to go elsewhere. Yeah, people denied UCLA. That's a thing. People have denied ivy leagues as well in favor of some venture (another college or not, depending on the circumstances) that fits their interests, priorities, and finances.
If we also consider the millions of people who choose to attend community college, the special services, and other projects, we find that only a portion of prospective undergraduate students want to attend a school as prestigious (if not better---let's be real, there's no school better than UCLA) as UCLA.
Misconception 4) It's so expensive. I can't afford to go there.
This can apply to just about any school.A lot of the expenses are justified and, well, a lot aren't, which, again, totally fucking sucks. I get it. We live in the United States--not Western Europe. We pay for shit we don't need; we pay for shit we don't like; and we pay for the shit of the people who shit in golden throne toilets (otherwise known as our administration, which are paid far too much).
In all seriousness, if you're low-income, like my family, expect a generous financial aid package. It's not literally a package (everything is basically digital, which is cool and frustrating). That's not to say, everything will be paid for (you either have to be a hard-working athlete or a hardworking motherfucking beast with equally explicit aspirations that would require an infinite amount of expletives).
If you're not low-income, don't fear. You have options too!!! Seriously! Don't worry. You can still get financial aid, assuming you apply for financial aid. Don't fuck yourself over. Just apply! FAFSA just opened a week ago (October 1st) and the deadline is March 1st.
For anyone, apply to as many scholarships as possible--local, online, national, international. You're going to be a college student in the United States, which translates as being desperate 24/7 (and yes, even in your dreams; it's pretty fucking inescapable). I know several people who hardly have to pay for shit because they've won so many scholarship grants/awards. They practically have to pay out of pocket for personal/miscellaneous stuff, like condoms, dildos, and the like.
If you' re an out-of-state or international student, unfortunately, more often than not, you're 2+ years will be extraordinarily expensive and truthfully, that's an injustice. You're getting more or less the same resources and education for a more expensive cost--on top of your other expenses (e.g. if you want to see your family/friends and go on holiday). I'm truly sorry. I'm not exactly sure as to the logistics of why everything is so expensive, but that's your reality.
My hope is that no one should pay more than they have. My hope is that we should pay for our education with more realistic finances. My hope is that education will be affordable to many and to all. We're just not there yet. *Sigh*
Misconception 5) I need to take all rigorous courses.
Although this may seem ideal, it's actually not if you think about. Let me explain. If you can handle it and you absolutely know you can handle it, feel free to overwhelm yourself for a limited cost of $91 (or however fucking much it costs to pay for just one AP exam).I thought I could and, apparently, so do many hopeful optimistic students. The reality is, again, you're not perfect, so don't try to be. UCLA does look for well-rounded students, but solely focusing on academics and not much else, unfortunately, disqualifies you from being admitted. You'd be surprised how many students believe that just good grades in rigorous courses are enough to get into a top tier school.
For the record, I'm not trying to be snarky or cynical; I'm being realistic, more realistic than I've been throughout high school, more realistic than I am in my daily, personal life. The fact that I'm being so "cruel" shows that I care about who comes here. I see so much inspiration every day in the people I see, meet, and experience that it's unnerving, exciting, and intimidating all at once how different we are in a shared space.
My overall advice: take courses and engage yourself in clubs/activities that reflect your interests--even if they're all over the place. You can justify these choices in your essays.
I really wish I would have actually listened to this advice when constantly told to me by my older siblings. someone would have told me this
Taking AP classes won't ensure that you will get in. If your school doesn't offer AP classes or the sort, you still have a chance to get in, really. However, if you take the most challenging courses your school has to offer, that is certainly unique. In fact, schools actually take into account the amount of rigor and types of classes each school of each applicant offers, so don't worry if your school doesn't have AP, honors, IB, or the like.
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| An iconic view of UCLA |
This is a really strong misconception because, well, you're in high school (or presumably some other institution) and for the most part, the school part of high school, is a BIG part! It's basically a HUMUNGOUS portion of education itself, which is the most appealing part of colleges. This may be a no-brainer, but apparently, it's not as acknowledged.
Sure you can take all of the AP or IB courses your school has to offer, but what else are you doing? Students who do this are automatically on the backburner. They are seen as students who are only trying to get into school as opposed to students who actually applied themselves and lived their lives partially to their hobbies and interests and not so much for a school that may or may not reject them.
Would you rather take AP classes to earn as many credits possible, yet only be interested in a handful of the courses that you take (and thus be miserable throughout your high school life) or take courses you actually like (whether they're AP/IB/honors or not) and feel like you actually benefit from what you're learning? I would choose the latter. However, if you look at the very bottom of this post, you'll find that I didn't necessarily always do that and I was fucking miserable. So I'm relaying this advice as heartfeltly as I can.
Again, you can check the University of California website to see that the UC's like to see consistency of classes, also known as the a-g requirements.
You'll find that some of the shit you learned in high school is worthless to you not only as soon as you finish the class (and/or corresponding exam) but also after you graduate or you may find that they'll bite you on the ass. Maybe not when you're playing Jeopardy from your television screen, but when you have to take a class that involves that material. Even shit you learn in IB and AP classes you'll find irrelevant if you're not interested in the subject matter. For the most part though, if you're from an American secondary school, you'll find that most of the crap you learn is essentially useless, which is a shame because it seems that we're wasting time during such a formative time in our lives. We should be learning what we want to learn during these years than filling all of our heads with dispassionate nonsense that won't mean anything to us other than a grade at the end of the term or a mark on our transcripts or a score on a standardized test.
My point (besides my tirade): Learn what you want to learn. Do what you want to do; don't do what your parents, guardians, or even your friends want to do. Your application reflects YOU and who YOU are. Not exactly who you want to be, although there's some truth to this converse statement, more so who you have been these past four years and how that will reflect how you might want to be on campus. That is to say that you are doing things that you love and are intrinsically passionate about.
Otherwise, you'll have an application that doesn't really reflect what you've been doing and how these activities and stuff have impacted your educational decision to attend the institution (UCLA. In case I haven't said UCLA enough, UCLA, UCLA, UCLA).
Misconception 6) I just have to do what [insert UCLA alum here] did in order to get in.
Yeah, no.Admissions requirements change throughout the years. Always keep up to date with what is expected of you.
Just because so-and-so may have gotten in for such-and-such reason doesn't mean you will. After all, the admissions reps look at ALL of your application, under a holistic approach, meaning that they look at your grades, extracurricular activities, among other aspects. A huge part that sets you apart is your essays, wherein you can address aspects of your application that haven't been reflected; you could explain grades that may not reach their standards or may not be up to par, you could discuss how an experience influenced your education and life, you could talk about
Just stand out in some capacity. I can assure you that just bragging about your straight A's won't cut it these days. What do you do? What do you like to do? What do you want to do? What have you done? But don't not brag. You're up against, again, 120,000 or so applicants. A lot of them will sound the same and talk about things the admissions counselors will eventually be tired of hearing (if they haven't already been tired of hearing already). Make them smile, laugh, feel something from you application!
A-G Requirements
*I was apart of an AP program, so I didn't really have a choice in my English/History classes, and you may find that this will happen in your schedules. Tough it out; it contradicts my saying take classes that reflect you but, hey, it happens.
**When the requirements say at least, they really mean that that is the minimum number of years they expect you to take certain classes. They highly recommend you taking more.
*** I won't include the courses I took at my community college because transfer courses require a separate "rubric" if you would, and since I didn't apply as a transfer student, I don't exactly know the transfer student process. Sorry, transfer students.
**** I would have LOVED to take Photography and Journalism (for skills in my preferred profession to be), Piano and Guitar and Choir and Ukulele (for the passionate music side in me), Human Anatomy/Physiology (for a SUPER EASY A). I pushed myself too hard, so I kind of regret not taking courses I actually wanted to take.
a) History (at least 2 years):
AP European History, AP US History
b) English (4 years)
English 1 Honors, English 2 Honors, AP English Lang/Comp, AP English Lit/Comp
c) Math (at least 3 years)
Algebra II Honors, Trig/Precalc Honors, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC
d) Lab Science (at least 2 years)
Biology Honors, Chemistry Honors, AP Physics 1, AP Bio
e) Language other than English (at least 2 years)
Spanish 1, Spanish II Honors, Spanish III Honors, AP Spanish IV
f) Visual and Performing Arts (at least 1 year)
Drumline, Symphonic Band, AP Music Theory
g) Electives (anything "extra" or beyond the indicated years for each of the above requirements/miscellaneous)
AP US Government/Politics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Human Geography, Visual Communications, AP Psych, etc.
You'll find that you're high school grades and test scores fulfill certain requirements. I would suggest fulfilling as mnay as you can while still in high school/community college so that you could save time and money when you enter UCLA.
If you don't get satisfactory test scores, that is alright. You don't have to fret. I didn't always pass my standardized exams (in fact, I didn't pass most of them) and you know what? I got in, so, again, suck on that!
Neavez--AP score (not taking the test)
**When the requirements say at least, they really mean that that is the minimum number of years they expect you to take certain classes. They highly recommend you taking more.
*** I won't include the courses I took at my community college because transfer courses require a separate "rubric" if you would, and since I didn't apply as a transfer student, I don't exactly know the transfer student process. Sorry, transfer students.
**** I would have LOVED to take Photography and Journalism (for skills in my preferred profession to be), Piano and Guitar and Choir and Ukulele (for the passionate music side in me), Human Anatomy/Physiology (for a SUPER EASY A). I pushed myself too hard, so I kind of regret not taking courses I actually wanted to take.
AP European History, AP US History
b) English (4 years)
English 1 Honors, English 2 Honors, AP English Lang/Comp, AP English Lit/Comp
c) Math (at least 3 years)
Algebra II Honors, Trig/Precalc Honors, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC
d) Lab Science (at least 2 years)
Biology Honors, Chemistry Honors, AP Physics 1, AP Bio
e) Language other than English (at least 2 years)
Spanish 1, Spanish II Honors, Spanish III Honors, AP Spanish IV
f) Visual and Performing Arts (at least 1 year)
Drumline, Symphonic Band, AP Music Theory
g) Electives (anything "extra" or beyond the indicated years for each of the above requirements/miscellaneous)
AP US Government/Politics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Human Geography, Visual Communications, AP Psych, etc.
You'll find that you're high school grades and test scores fulfill certain requirements. I would suggest fulfilling as mnay as you can while still in high school/community college so that you could save time and money when you enter UCLA.
If you don't get satisfactory test scores, that is alright. You don't have to fret. I didn't always pass my standardized exams (in fact, I didn't pass most of them) and you know what? I got in, so, again, suck on that!
Neavez--AP score (not taking the test)
The reality is I still don't know how I got into UCLA; I'm glad and proud that I did. It was a surprising revelation to see my acceptance on my admit portal on that March 17th. I can only speculate how I got in, but I'll never know and neither will you if/when you get in. You don't know what people's biases will see in you, but whatever happens, let's hope it happens for the many reasons that will arise after you go wherever you go.
On that note, until next week, Nurds, for Part 2 of this College Talk series.
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