What does UCLA look for in essays?

As we read your application, including your answers to the personal insight questions, we're looking for evidence of your intellectual curiosity and your interest in personal development. UCLA has such a creative, ambitious and diverse student body.

What essays are needed for UCLA?

Choose four of the eight “personal insight questions” to answer (350 words each): Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.

How do I stand out on UCLA application?

Be sure to showcase any extracurriculars that emphasize your special talents, skills, and achievements. Apart from the UCLA GPA requirements, UCLA admissions looks for applicants who show leadership, creativity, intellectual curiosity, and a willingness to enrich the campus community.

What values does UCLA look for?

UCLA looks for candidates with a broad set of qualities, such as intellectual independence, responsibility, maturity, insight, leadership skills, motivation, initiative, and concern for others and the community.

What are they looking for in UC essays?

Make sure that your UC essays reflect your best characteristics in some form. Since the UC schools are part of the same system, they share many of the same values. Common characteristics they are looking for include creativity, problem-solving, persistence, leadership, and diversity.

how to get in UCLA (it's not that hard): GPA, SAT, extracurricular, essay hacks

What not to do in a UC essay?

How do you make a UC essay stand out?

Try to think of your responses as painting a full picture of you as a person and imagine how an admissions committee member might imagine you when reading your essays. Choose to answer questions that help you stand out and provide insight into the person you will become given the opportunity to be a UC student.

What does UCLA care about most?

UCLA values course rigor, GPA, and essays most, followed by extracurriculars, talent, personal character, and volunteer/work experience. Standardized test scores and demonstrated interest are not considered. Nearly 60% of students had a 4.0 high school GPA, and the acceptance rate is around 8.57%.

What does UCLA look at the most?

There are only three factors that UCLA ranks as being “very important” to their admissions process: rigor of secondary school record, GPA, and application essays. Factors rated as “important” are: talent/ability, character/personal qualities, extracurricular activities, volunteer experience, and work experience.

What kind of students does UCLA want?

Personal qualities of the applicant, including leadership ability, character, motivation, tenacity, initiative, originality, creativity, intellectual independence, responsibility, insight, maturity, and demonstrated concern for others and for the community.

How can I increase my chances of getting into UCLA?

You'll need to be at the top of your class to have a chance of being admitted to UCLA. You'll need nearly straight As in all your classes to compete with other applicants since the average unweighted GPA of students admitted into UCLA is a 3.9.

How do I guarantee getting into UCLA?

With a GPA of 3.93, UCLA requires you to be at the top of your class. You'll need nearly straight A's in all your classes to compete with other applicants. Furthermore, you should be taking hard classes - AP or IB courses - to show that college-level academics is a breeze.

Does UCLA admit based on major?

Students are generally only evaluated for their first choice major, and must apply for a specific major. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.2, some majors have stricter requirements. Students coming from California-based community colleges have additional resources available.

How to satisfy UCLA writing requirement?

How much do essays matter for UCLA?

Essays are a critical component of your application to the University of California (UC) system. Since the UC system no longer considers standardized tests, like the SAT, ACT, AP, or IB examinations, when reaching admissions decisions, there are fewer data points with which admissions officers can assess candidates.

Can you get into UCLA with a good essay?

Well-crafted essay responses may give you an edge over another strong candidate with comparable academic performance. Taking the time to research how to get into UCLA and including specific and relevant details in your responses will make your personal statements much stronger.

Does UCLA care about grades?

Academic GPA (calculated using A-G courses taken from the summer after 9th grade to the summer after 11th grade with AP/IB/UC-approved Honors/community college courses carrying an extra grade point; for the purpose of admission evaluation, UCLA looks at unweighted and fully weighted GPA – no GPA cap).

What are 3 important things about UCLA?

What grade does UCLA look at?

Does UCLA or UC Berkeley look at freshmen year grades in the decision? I had a rough start to high school but finished really strong. No, the UCs do not look at your freshman year grades. In fact, the UCs use their own GPA system, aptly called “UC GPA,” that only includes sophomore and junior year grades.

How to get into UCLA with bad grades?

It is definitely possible to get accepted to UCLA even with a not-so-great GPA. The key is to focus on other factors that can strengthen your application. For example, you might have excelled in extracurricular activities which demonstrate leadership and commitment, or have exceptionally strong essays.

Why is UCLA so hard to get into?

UCLA considers weighted GPA as one of its admissions factors. The median weighted GPA for UCLA is 4.58, and its middle 50 percentile ranges from 4.40 to 4.73, indicating that you will likely have to take higher level classes like AP and IB classes in order to be a competitive candidate for UCLA.

Why is UCLA acceptance rate so low?

UCLA's selectivity is likely a result of an increasing number of applications and the likelihood that admitted students accept their spot at the school. Since 1994, UCLA has always had more applicants than Berkeley.

Can you cuss in UC essays?

Avoid swearing in a college essay, since admissions officers' opinions of profanity will vary. In some cases, it might be okay to use a vulgar word, such as in dialogue or quotes that make an important point in your essay. However, it's safest to try to make the same point without swearing.

Do UC essays need a hook?

Crafting a Strong Hook (but don't be too clever!)

An impactful hook is vital for any essay, and UC PIQs are no exception. A strong hook can make the difference between readers engaging with your entire essay and merely skimming through it.

Should UC essays be straightforward?

Writing style: be clear and straightforward

The UCs have some great writing tips (at the bottom of the PIQ page). Maybe the best advice they give is: Talk about yourself so that we can get to know your personality, talents, accomplishments and potential for success on a UC campus.