[erure]

^I think my GPA was pretty low but I still got in. I think my weighted was 4.0 or something like that -.- My SAT scores were somewhat high though -- 2100 on SAT I, 800 on SAT II Korean, and 720 on SAT II U.S. History. I only took 6 AP classes total but passed them all.

[ix3sk8rboiz]

^I think my GPA was pretty low but I still got in. I think my weighted was 4.0 or something like that -.- My SAT scores were somewhat high though -- 2100 on SAT I, 800 on SAT II Korean, and 720 on SAT II U.S. History. I only took 6 AP classes total but passed them all.

Ofcourse, sat scores will make an impression, but having high sat scores, and a low gpa (i don't know what yours was) is definitely a risky bet, and most likely (i've used this word carefully since there are so many other factors involved) will not help you for admissions, so all i'm throwing out there is that future ucsd applicants should create a "cushion" for themselves, and that is by either maintaining their grades as they are, or even better, steadily increasing their cumulative grade point average. And by all means, refrain from procrastinating. GPA is very important, especially with increasing competition as UCSD becomes more reknowned for the quality of their education system and majors, next to popular UCLA and UCberkeley. And as you move on toward grad. school, if that's in your list of to-do's in the next decade, it's best to keep in mind that although well-rounded individuals are desired by each college, if a student can't keep up his/her gpa, you miss a fraction of an oppotunity to br admitted with each poor decision you make (i.e. fail to turn in assignments frequently).

*future applicants should take into consideration the educational budget cuts in California due to the recession, and the chance that UC's (as well as many other state schools) may decide to minimize the number of seats offered as a result. SDSU is becoming increasingly more competitive for admission as well. I was a fall 2008 applicant to UCSD, and I was sadly, not offered admission. And the reason I feel my application did not come through was due to my failure to maintain or improve my grades when I had the opportunity. I'm sure many of you won't be as rash, but no matter how easy a class is for you, if you fail to show up for class and keep getting mediocre B's, you're not going to appear as impressive as you would have with that simple letter 'A' on your grade report. It does make a difference.

Also, requirements keep changing, for example: SAT II Mathematics level 2 is now required as one of the SAT subject test scores you submit with your application. I had a 700, but as you can see, it didn't really help me. And, from what I remember, you take another risk when you take a language test from a language you already speak at home, which was why I took the spanish test, which admittedly, is not at all what your teachers prepare you for your third year @_@, but I canceled that, so I have no idea what I got

Oh, and study for your sat, it doesn't hurt to do so. it's not as jaded as you think it might be. For me, I didn't study, and winged it the spring of my junior year. (a bad idea, i know ) Some people do really well without studying, but what could possibly hurt with familiarizing yourself with the sentence structures and logic inside the questions? I had a friend who went to MIT, and is a naturally gifted thinker, but he studied for the SAT anyway and all his efforts paid off: 2350 so, what's wrong with saying you tried? it's to your advantage.

I hope that's helped some that are applying this fall

[mochi567]

yeah i did that, no dice. mochi567 did they send you an email too?

No they didn't send me an e-mail.... i just called them asking were the HELL was my financial aid...

-----------secret<3

[CALI-sweetie]

OK, can anyone tell me how fafsa works I applied during march and they asked me to correct information like 2 months later in may and then I did it and how do you view the results? cause whenever i log into it, it just shows me what I already submitted, it doesn't show me how much money I get.. it's making me depressed..

[akisame]

Heyy! I was wondering if anyone had pictures of the Muir residential halls? More specifically, I need pictures of the rooms themselves and the furniture inside. I forgot to take pictures during orientation and I have been trying to figure out what I will need for the dorm. I need to know what furniture to expect

[mp.ARK]

OK, can anyone tell me how fafsa works I applied during march and they asked me to correct information like 2 months later in may and then I did it and how do you view the results? cause whenever i log into it, it just shows me what I already submitted, it doesn't show me how much money I get.. it's making me depressed..

Your FAFSA won't show you how much you got in terms of financial aid. You'll need to visit UCSD's financial aid section in order to find out what the amount given to you is. Here's a direct link: https://www-act.ucsd.edu/cgi-bin/tritonlink...inancial_aid.pl

[pockified]

I don't think grades ARE everything. If you're talking about GPA and test scores, mine aren't that hot. My high school GPA was 3.86 WEIGHTED, SAT I: 1860, SAT II: 540 and 610. VERY sad SAT II scores, since I only took two subjects and I missed the SAT II language testing date in November so I couldn't even have tried getting an 800 in Chinese. I was actively involved in 2 organizations most of my high school career and held some leadership positions, but I definitely was not the kind of student that was involved in a million extra curriculars + a sport or something. I think what saved me were the college admission essays. My life definitely did not go smoothly, and I made sure to work that into my essays. It seriously felt like I was writing a kdrama or something, hahahaha. My brother got into UC Berkeley by writing something similar, but then again, he has the better grades to go with that essay. Anyway, admission directors LOVE hearing about students who:

- Have a steady improvement in grades
- Are able to persevere through hardships and not let it affect them academically (well, not TOO much anyway)
- Are well-rounded and likable/Good personality (Personally, I don't think anyone would like to admit weird creepers to their school, but maybe it's just me)
- Have diverse, unique experiences (They want to make sure you can bring diversity to the school)

My GPA was rather consistent (it was always between 3.8-4.0) until senior year, and I attributed some of the rare dips in my grades to family problems, which I don't really want to elaborate on a forum. And no, I don't mean things like high school drama ("Oh, he didn't like me so I tried to commit suicide"-- that will not help you). I meant real-life situations that even admissions officers can sympathize with.

Anyway, it seems like my little *cough* maybe not so little *cough* post can't help the recent graduating seniors. Hopefully some upcoming seniors came across some of these posts because they contain valuable information in their own way. It's a case-by-case basis. What works for me doesn't mean it will work for everyone else. To the Class of UCSD 2012, though, I hope to see you alive and kickin' this fall on campus! If you're in Revelle College, say hi to me! You'll probably see me during Welcome Week (the first few days after you move in on the 19th) passing out ice cream, distributing flyers, chillin' with the RA's, and at UnOlympics!

[ix3sk8rboiz]

^um yeah~ so you just kinda reiterated what I said lols~

When I said that grades are everything, I think I made a pretty good point. If you didn't have a weighted GPA, you probably wouldn't have gotten accepted. That means you probably took some Ap or honors courses along the way, and as long as you made a progression (like you mentioned), you have a good chance of getting in. And I already said it before~ your grade trends have to be on a constant incline, you can't just drop for a year (And if I have to be specific, you shouldn't drop down to a 3.5), especially during your sophomore and junior year, and then make it up during your junior and senior year. As you mentioned in your post, consistency and grade improvement is key ( so it grades are important afterall right?). And they don't look at your senior year grades unless you were accepted. And if it was 3.8 weighted, good for you. Unless you take Ap scores junior year, if you take honors out of state they're not weighted into your gpa, which was the case for me. I took my aps senior year to show I was competent and academically motivated to do so. People who live in california have a big advantage since UC's are state-funded schools. I know lots of great students who were rejected since they came from overseas~ my senior year classmates here in california got accepted into UCSD easily because they were involved in the IB program, or took 3 or 4 AP classes (But then, this is just my observation*** I can't say the same for everyone ofcourse), and were able to pass them with B's or so, which, when weighted are 4.0, so that saved them from having to worry too much As for extracurriculars, I think they don't count for much (but you should still do them ), you just need to complete about 200 hours of volunteer service. There's a point system they use to rally everyone's points and make a cutoff score among the freshman applicant group. Someone should post that here so people can see

[Kurisu]

I had like.. 15 hours of community service. But I was admitted in fall 2006, so IDK if things have changed.

Eh, I think my bf got into UCSD because of his acceptance essay, which was basically like a sob story. Same for me, but what I wrote I actually meant. I know some people have lied when writing theirs. I don't think his GPA (although it was 4.3) actually had as big an impact. An acquaintance of mine who got rejected from UCSD and went to UCI had about the same weighted GPA as my boyfriend, but he had a 1300/1600 SAT or something. AND he has passed a number of AP tests. Plus he was in a more advanced class -- still in AP, but at a higher level where about 20 students in each year can get in. Might I mention again my boyfriend got 1500/2400 on the new SAT lol. He still got into UCSD and is actually doing pretty well too.

I guess UCSD does/did look for personality when reading those three essays in UC applications because honestly, I still don't understand how my acquaintance got rejected from UCSD. He was in various clubs, played a sport, and did a whole lot more than I did in high school! So I guess this is also another rare case.


See you guys at Geisel / S&E Library.

[pockified]

ix3sk8rboiz, I'm not trying to prove you wrong here, hahaha. Just in case you get that idea. I agree with you for the most part, because this is college, and in order to get into college, you must have good grades, no? But sometimes that's not enough. I had some friends in high school that excelled academically, but that's all they did. Perhaps throw in a service club in their activities, but they basically just went home right after school to study. And then there are some that take AP courses but get B's (maybe even C's) in them, however they're involved in student gov't, service clubs, social clubs, self-interest clubs, etc. So it's understandable that their grades won't be as high because they have less time to focus on their studies than the average high school student. My friend who was heavily involved with extra curriculars was accepted into UCSD, while the other acquaintance of mine who studied a lot but rarely socialized went to UCI (which is a good school, but the ranking is lower than UCSD's and let's just only put these rankings into consideration). So I'm just saying that yes, there is still hope as long as you show improvement and you're willing to commit to it.

The UC admissions system is a weird one, I'm not going to lie. They accept a variety of people because they want campus diversity. Sometimes I see people in lectures and/or discussions asking the most stupid questions and I wonder why they were even accepted in the first place. Luck plays a large role in your acceptance. Even the smartest people you know can get rejected from good schools.

Kurisu, I really think they do look at student personality when they read the essays. I personally thought that my personal statement was one of the most honest essays I've ever written, except tweaked a little bit to highlight my good points. There is a line between sounding confident and sounding arrogant about your achievements. Admissions officers would probably take you in because even if you didn't have the best grades in high school, you may still end up doing very well in college because you have the right mindset.

And ix3sk8rboiz, I hope you get picked up by another university and that you'd enjoy it there instead. It's true that UC's kind of have to take in a certain amount of in-state students just because they're state-funded public schools, but I think that's the way it is. :\

[rhaps0dize.]

should I reserve textbooks or not? do most students do that at ucsd?

[Kurisu]

Not to mention how much out of state tuition fees cost. Tuition for out of state is about three times the amount of in-state students at UCSD. Can someone quote me on that, because I believe one of my co-workers said that it's $20k+ a year JUST for tuition. Dorming is another story.

And yea personality is important. lol though I still don't understand how one of my friends got into UCSD but got rejected from SDSU! lol!

rhaps0dize. - I recommend you NOT. I could have saved myself $200 for the first quarter if I did NOT reserve textbooks. Try to find what textbooks you will need for class by using Facebook Marketplace -- you can find used copies (in MINT/LIKE-NEW CONDITION) for a fraction of the cost at the UCSD Bookstore AND you can pick them up from someone on campus. Plus you probably won't need to use those books until week 1 or 2, if you think about it. Also don't open any books that are shrink-wrapped until you are sure you want to stay in that class. Some books you can even order online and they will ship quickly. Try amazon.com and buy some used books. Even with the shipping price, it may still be cheaper than if you bought them from the bookstore. This also works for new books because I've seen some sellers selling new books for really good prices.

Log onto tritonlink and search for the classes that you signed up for, then click on the book icon to get a booklist.

[mp.ARK]

should I reserve textbooks or not? do most students do that at ucsd?

You do not want to reserve books from UCSD's notorious Price Extortion Center. Go to Half.com instead. Facebook Marketplace is also a great place to get books cheap if you're good at bargaining.

[ix3sk8rboiz]

pockified: yes, I know and thankyou.

[originalmilk]

HELP-?
I'm trying to accept my financial aid but when I click "financial aid" on the left side I can't find the button for "confirm awarding assumptions" under mandatory task. It was there like a couple days ago... but I can't find it anymore! Anything will help! Thanks in advance<3

even if you've confirmed your financial aid i dont think we get it until school starts.

oh and for anyone who wants to know how to confirm your financial aid its pretty simple.

First log in the triton link - www.myappication.ucsd.edu
Then look to the left side of the menu and click FINANCIAL AID.
It'll take you to another page with instrusctions. From there click how the to check your financial aid award status link.
It'll take you to ANOTHER page. Read it and find the link that says FINANCIAL AID TOOL.
LOG IN again and then BAM, you're there.


Or to make things simple go here Financial Aid Tool and Log in!

Hope this helps!

[originalmilk]

Oh, and just a little notice to all you people who are receiving CAL GRANTS, you'd better log on to their website and update your status to GRADUATED from high school, or else they won't send you your money.

[erure]

Random vent:

I am taking CHEM6BL over the summer right now and it's pretty much infamous in UCSD for being such a horrible class -- so much work for 3 measly units. Anyway, the biggest lab report for that lab is due in 2.5 hours and I spent most of yesterday in the ER after my lab was over because I became suddenly and violently ill (terrible headache, nausea, fever, cold sweat, vomiting, the works). I got discharged late last night, sent e-mails to my TA and professor, and went to bed because I was super tired and I thought that I would get an extension on the lab report since I had a doctor's note and everything. WRONG. So I got up around 7 (thank God I did or otherwise this would have been completely impossible) and checked my e-mail and found out that they weren't going to give me an extension and if I did not turn in the lab report today, I would be deducted 20% of my grade. So I've been working on the lab report for the past 3 hours and I'm nowhere near being done. Ugh CHEM6BL SUCKS and the professor is HEARTLESS! D:<

[Kurisu]

Fortunately I'm taking Chem 6BL during fall quarter. Did you use old labs or anything? Just wondering.

[tinyvietpeach]

Random vent:

I am taking CHEM6BL over the summer right now and it's pretty much infamous in UCSD for being such a horrible class -- so much work for 3 measly units. Anyway, the biggest lab report for that lab is due in 2.5 hours and I spent most of yesterday in the ER after my lab was over because I became suddenly and violently ill (terrible headache, nausea, fever, cold sweat, vomiting, the works). I got discharged late last night, sent e-mails to my TA and professor, and went to bed because I was super tired and I thought that I would get an extension on the lab report since I had a doctor's note and everything. WRONG. So I got up around 7 (thank God I did or otherwise this would have been completely impossible) and checked my e-mail and found out that they weren't going to give me an extension and if I did not turn in the lab report today, I would be deducted 20% of my grade. So I've been working on the lab report for the past 3 hours and I'm nowhere near being done. Ugh CHEM6BL SUCKS and the professor is HEARTLESS! D:<

=( who's the professor? is it berniolles? she's usually pretty nice..=/ that definitely sucks...i turned in my big lab late, but that extra day i had, i was really thorough and went through my lab and made sure everything was how i wanted...i ended up with a decent/higher grade than quite a few people...people tend to make a lot of careless mistakes, which add up...

Fortunately I'm taking Chem 6BL during fall quarter. Did you use old labs or anything? Just wondering.

there are people who will say like, it's dishonest to use old labs, blah blah, and yeah, it is, but nobody is joking when they say "everyone does it." like seriously. because labs are not hard at all, they are just REALLY TIME CONSUMING. like writing an intro or experimental takes 4359834 hours even though all you're doing is literally rewriting what is in the lab manual. i think if you have old labs, when you copy it, it does sink it. when you do the actual lab, you'll have different numbers/data, but it'll help A LOT to have old labs so you can see what they did and stuff, then you end up doing your own calculations.

[erure]

=( who's the professor? is it berniolles? she's usually pretty nice..=/ that definitely sucks...i turned in my big lab late, but that extra day i had, i was really thorough and went through my lab and made sure everything was how i wanted...i ended up with a decent/higher grade than quite a few people...people tend to make a lot of careless mistakes, which add up...



there are people who will say like, it's dishonest to use old labs, blah blah, and yeah, it is, but nobody is joking when they say "everyone does it." like seriously. because labs are not hard at all, they are just REALLY TIME CONSUMING. like writing an intro or experimental takes 4359834 hours even though all you're doing is literally rewriting what is in the lab manual. i think if you have old labs, when you copy it, it does sink it. when you do the actual lab, you'll have different numbers/data, but it'll help A LOT to have old labs so you can see what they did and stuff, then you end up doing your own calculations.

Yeah it was Berniolles. Hmm. Reading your post I'm wondering if it's better to turn it in on Monday instead of in 2 hours because I'll have a lot more time to go over everything... I really did fly through the lab this morning so there are probably tons of mistakes X_X I don't know... Ugh CHEM6BL sucks balls and I hate Berniolles. She's nice to your face and then she's totally evil behind your back D:<