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Author
Nicholas Chung
UCLA College of Letters & Science
Grad 2021, B.S. Computational and Systems Biology
Determined to stay local and save on application fees, Nicholas applied to only 4 schools in his senior year: UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine. He was accepted to all 4.
Attending UCLA was one of the best choices in my life. I will always be proud to be a Bruin.
When I was applying for college, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming amount of pressure to succeed. Early on in my high school career, I had my eyes dead set on UCLA. The number 1 public university in the world, close to home, has fantastic sports and weather, and (most importantly) ranked number 1 in dining hall food quality. What more could I ask for?
The competition back then was fierce. The admissions rate back then floated around 11-14%. Nowadays, it's closer to 9%. As a former Bruin, it was very clear to me why this was the case. I was surrounded by some of the most passionate, intelligent, and driven students that the nation had to offer. And of course, it makes sense: when admissions officers are forced to sift through 100,000+ applications, they are forced to look beyond students' GPAs.
For UCLA's admissions data for the 2022-2023 application cycle...
The average enrolled student's GPA was...
3.95
The percentage of enrolled students with a 4.0 GPA was...
70.7%
The data speaks for itself. UCLA reported in their 2023 Common Data Set entry that the average enrolled student had an eye-watering 3.93 GPA. This effectively means that students are mostly competing against other students with perfect GPAs. The fact of the matter is that a perfect GPA is becoming a minimum standard and is no longer an admission-worthy achievement on its own.
How does a student stand out?
Become compelling. I cannot stress enough how crucial it is for students to look beyond their grades and activities and think deeply about what makes them compelling students. In general, a compelling student is...
Academically excellent and naturally academically curious
Deeply involved in after-school activities
Able to craft excellent personal insight questions with their unique and authentic voice
College Counseling helped me avoid mistakes and cliches to write essays that I am extremely proud of.
I was fortunate to have the help of a college counselor who provided me insight on my essays months in advance before they were due. The college essay is truly more of an art than a science, and for some of my essays, I had created up to 14 drafts before my counselor and I could agree that they were ready.
Advice for a future Bruin
Start your application essays early. There is no such thing as starting "too early." Starting early allows you to gradually develop your authentic and compelling voice. The essay process is a complex and thoughtful process that requires multiple drafts to sharpen.
Ask for help on your applications. There were many mistakes in my application that a college counselor helped me avoid. Had I not had an extra pair of eyes thoroughly reviewing my application, I would not have realized how my first essay drafts actually contradicted each other.
Pace yourself. A college counselor helped me set a timeline for myself which helped tremendously in balancing my schoolwork with my application responsibilities.
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