Can I get into UCLA with this record? honestly?

Question

Academic GPA =3.71
weighted GPA =4.12
senior GPA weighted= 4.74
SAT reading :510
Sat Writing: 540
SAT MAth: 650
SAT Total:1700

-president of two clubs: French club(junior) and European club(Senior)
-AP Scholar award: AP French Language 4, AP World History 3, AP US History 3,
- one year work experience as a bus buy(freshman year)
- no sports but was in jazz band
-extracurricular:running half marathon, learning languages, playing piano, taking private tennis lessons
-50 hours of community service, 130 hours of volunteering as teacher's aide and other.
-taking 4 AP classes this year.

so will UCLA accept me? How is my SAT? is it ok?

Answer 1

Your academic records look good and your extracurricular activities are great. I would recommend: 1) take the ACT exam and see if you do better, and 2) write an excellent personal statement for your application. UCLA is changing their admission process this year and your personal statement will likely be weighted more than previous years. You can find a guidelines on writing your personal essays from Berkeley (but it's applicable to all UCs): http://students.berkeley.edu/files/Admissions/Personal_State_07.pdf

Concentrate on doing well in your AP courses but don't feel pressured to take the AP exam if you are not confident. Not taking the AP exam does not count against you in the application process. Scoring well on your exam (4 or 5), however, will give you a small advantage.

In regards to your personal essay, please: 1) do not submit what you wrote for the "college essay" assignment for your senior English class; 2) do not have your fellow students or your teachers proofread it; instead, ask your parents' coworkers or friends, someone who doesn't know you very well to proofread it. The reason is the essay is supposed to give the admissions officers a complete picture of who you are, what you have done, and where you want to go/how you want to get there. Only someone who doesn't know you very well can evaluate whether your essay has accomplished that.

Answer 2

Well, UCLA and Berkeley are both University of California system schools. To get into either you have to qualify to get into that system. It's a tough one, and not all students who get into the UC system get assigned to the school of their preference. My advice is to get to work. Right now, you're a B student. You can still get into that 3.5 range. You'll need SAT's and a reasonable amount of extracurricula work. Focus on your writing and analytical skills. UCLA and Berkeley are the creme dela creme of the UC system. You should not focus on those at this point. What you need to do right now, is do the best you can in every and all classes. Treat all assignments as they matter more than the last. Do your reading. Do the research. Write the paper. Get help when you need it. Do your homework. Your habits will contribute more to your grades than anything else you do. You'll be surprized how it's just not that difficult to get really good grades, if you have good work habits. When you get to be a junior is when you should start to look at colleges seriously. You'll have a better idea of what you want to study in college, and what kind of environment in which you wish to learn. It may not be Berkeley or UCLA. It may be Davis or Santa Cruz. It may be out-of-state (not california). It may be Stanford or Cal Poly -- or even Harvey Mudd. Big, small, private, public, Cal State or UC. There are a number of choices. Right now, develop your study habits and take all assignments big or small seriously, because they do matter.

Answer 3

If you're from California, then yes. If you're outside CA, you probably can - it depends on several factors, including what school you go to (Most colleges rate high schools, so a high GPA at a high school they don't take seriously isn't that helpful), who else is applying from out of state, and your intended major. The real question is financial aid.

I would definitely make sure that you do well on the AP tests you take, and if you feel you can get 100+ more points on the SAT, then retake it.