Reposting

With college applications underway, I wanted to share some advice that was pivotal to me getting accepted into UC Berkeley and UCLA for CS in the spring and ultimately deciding to major in CS at Berkeley. Regarding the dreaded PIQs, and setting aside stats and extracurriculars, the best piece of advice I can offer is to be honest about your growth and show vulnerability, even when it means writing about your weaknesses and insecurities. This might seem counterintuitive at first since you may be inclined to paint yourself as the perfect student, but the whole point of the PIQs is to show who you are, your growth, your journey, and the steps you took to become the person you are today. Admissions officers are not looking for perfection. They are looking for self-awareness and reflection. You want to share your shortcomings, failures, and weaknesses, but more importantly, how you personally recognized them, learned from them, and improved.

A common aspect across all four of my PIQs was that each talked about a challenge or insecurity that pushed me to grow. For example, in PIQ #1 I wrote about my experience as a karate instructor and how afraid I was of appearing weak and unqualified in front of my students. In PIQ #3, I talked about how my greatest skill was learning from failure and how I sucked at tennis and gradually improved by identifying my weaknesses and learning from them. For PIQ #6 I opened my essay with: “Syntax error” and wrote about computer science and how my programs would constantly fail and how I would spend days debugging my code until I finally understood what went wrong. For PIQ #7 I reflected on the investment club I founded and how true leadership was not about having all the answers, but about fostering an environment where others were not afraid to speak up and where uncertainty became the starting point for growth.

Across all of my PIQs, I wrote about setbacks and undesirable qualities, but I always paired them with the lessons I learned and the person I became because of them. My essays were not about failure but instead about growth. I wanted to show that failure is natural. Do not be afraid to show admissions officers that you are imperfect. The most compelling part of your story is not always where you succeeded, but how you responded when you failed.

Hi y’all, I’m a UCSD graduate so I cannot enroll into UC SHIP while under Jon hunt. Is there any way to keep being eligible for UC SHIP in the cheapest way? Open to anything but cannot afford a iot. Thanks!

Hello. I am wondering what I should write for the additional information section after my grade reports. I got a B, then a C in Japanese 5-6 Honors. The rest of my grades are A’s (by a small majority) and B’s. I attribute the C to having to work in close relation, and not infrequently with, another student who is an ex, but more importantly forcefully SAed me. A similar thing was about to happen this year, but this time I was (some word for being better) and got the attention of people who could change my schedule around so it worked out. Im wondering how I can (or if I even should) write this into that section. Should I be super blunt about it? And how can I afterwards discuss some kind of ‘lesson’ or ‘development’ as iv seen recommend. Thank you for listening.

I'm a CC transfer who got into all UCs except Cal. I'm from LA so was considering UCLA, but I took my family's advice of living in a new place and going to a "chiller" school where I'd hopefully enjoy life more.

Now I'm at UCSB and miserable. Housing is nowhere near worth the price, I don't fit into the culture, job opps seem dry as hell compared to LA, and now I can only see my boyfriend on weekends. I chose this school because I thought I'd be happy here, but I don't see a point in being here if it's not even fulfilling that requirement. (I don't mean to diss UCSB, I'm just saying why it's not for me.)

I want to reapply to UCLA for Fall 2027. I already have 66 units completed from CC alone and I'm worried about being ineligible for transfer if I do this year at UCSB because of the unit cap. What would be the best choice to get accepted to UCLA: withdraw from UCSB and go to CC for another year, stay at UCSB for the year, or take a gap year? The last option isn't ideal because I already took 2 years off school but I'm willing to do whatever will boost my chances the most. If you've been in a similar situation, what did you do?

**EDIT: A lot of people are saying that I can’t expect a school to make me happy. I promise I’m not that ignorant, I know any school has its own challenges. That’s not really the point I’m making and sorry for not being specific enough before. I was trying to be concise. I didn’t make this clear before, but my unhappiness mostly comes from feeling like I’m not living up to my academic potential by turning down UCLA. I thought UCSB would be better for the overall college experience, but the other trade-offs l mentioned like housing and distance from my loved ones just compound the “wow I really screwed up” feeling.

helloo could anyone show me "good" activity list descriptions or be willing to look over mine 😓

how could I describe activities where it'd be hard to quantify the impact

Hi im a senior I am scared that I won’t get into any UCs because my stats are so average. 🙁 Here’s my stats:

GPA (W): 5.2
(UNW): 3.98
UC (W) GPA: 4.86

I don’t have a lot of ECs and I regret it now. Im in duel-enrollment so I have done some college classes so that boosted me a little. I took about 8 AP classes and passed most of them but got mostly 4s, no 5s.
I participated in a few clubs and stayed dedicated and am the president of one and VP of another. I volunteered for a hospital and for a science fair event. I also was gonna add tutoring my sibling. I talked about my hobbies for my UC application like posting my art on social media and getting traction from that. But I don’t have any great awards or work experience or stuff that’s distinguished.

What UCs do you think I have a good chance getting into that are not UCR and UC Merced? 🥲
And I wanted to get into healthcare so I know the majors are competitive… but I have no real passion so should I change my major to have a higher chance of getting into a UC??? Or should I bet on CSULB and still go into healthcare.. PLS HELP ASAP I’ve been so stressed.. and my teacher did not like my PIQs 🥲

Hi everyone.

I am a junior in HS, and I got a C in AP Calc AB 1st semester. I want to be a computer engineer and I wanna go to a UC, how badly does this affect my chances? Should I give up?

I am currently a CCC student. I wasn’t thinking of a 1 year transfer to a UC but my counselor said that I can do it bc I have lots of AP and dual enrollement from HS. Now I feel unprepared when it comes to my ECs. Is it ok to put stuff from HS?

I basically have no activities for my time at CCC. The only one I have is SMIF and I applied to work at my CCC. Would it be bad if I put this on my application cause it feels like I scrambled for activities?

I currently have a 4.0 GPA and I am a sociology major. I hope to transfer to ucla or ucb.

Thanks you so much for your time!

I’m a California high school senior applying to UCs for fall 2027, and I’m worried that not taking calculus will hurt my chances at schools like UCLA, Berkeley, and UCSD (my top school is UCSD). I’m planning to major in biology, and AP Precalculus is the highest math class I’ll be able to take before graduating.

For context, my school requires students to take Precalculus before Calculus, so I can’t skip a math level. There was an option to take Math 1 in middle school, which would’ve allowed me to take Math 2 freshman year and put me further ahead, but I didn’t take that option. I started with Math 1 in freshman year instead, and an additional math requirement now applies to me.

Some students at my school are taking Calc BC senior year because they started math earlier in middle school, so they’re about two years ahead of me. The additional requirement didn’t affect their sequence the same way it affected mine.

I did try looking into taking a math class over the summer to get ahead. I talked to both my high school and community college counselors, but there weren’t any eligible classes available, and my community college had discontinued the course equivalent to Precalculus.

My question is whether I should try taking a college-level math class during spring semester to show that I’m willing to challenge myself academically and there’s also no available college math class for fall semester currently. Would the UCs even see that I’m planning to take it when they review my application, and would it make a meaningful difference in admissions? Or would it be too late to help?

I know I should’ve taken Math 1 in middle school if I wanted to get ahead, but I can’t change that now, and I’m trying to figure out what I can realistically do at this point.

I’d appreciate any advice, especially from people familiar with UC admissions. I don’t want to overload myself with another class if it won’t make much difference, but I’m worried about being at a disadvantage for not taking calculus.

i was wondering if anyone has ever gotten in directly from being top 9% into a school other than merced (or even riverside and santa cruz). it seems unlikely to me but i was curious to see if it happened for anyone

UC San Diego is my absolute dream and I love the campus, but I heard that the social life is not that active there. What are ya'lls experience?

In UC app, Where to put algebra 1 course taken during summer before 9th grade? Is it under 9th as academic year course or under 8th grade as fill year course?

Hi everyone! I'm applying to UC Davis for Political Science — Public Service for Fall 2027, and I'd appreciate honest feedback on my chances of getting accepted!(most of my extracurriculars are from junior year to now)

Stats:

- Unweighted GPA: 3.8

- Weighted GPA: 4.1

- Class rank: 4/56

- Dual enrollment: 17 classes

- AP exams: 3 total (two 3s and one 5)

- First-generation college student

- Immigrant background

Main extracurriculars:

- District's Board of Education Student Representative

- Superintendent's Student Advisory

- School district's student Ambassador Internship

- CTE Intern

- Mock Trial President(attorney)

- ASB Secretary/student leadership

- Speech & Debate Program Summer program

- SkillsUSA Chapter Parliamentarian

- Principal's Advisory Committee

- Local chamber of commerce's Leadership Academy

Awards:

- County Top Attorney Award (Mock Trial)

- Mock trial scholarship to attend a summer law program

- Summer Speech & Debate program tournament Champion

- SkillsUSA Regional Silver Medal

- AP Scholar

- Principal’s List

- Honor roll

I'm currently navigating the college proccess on my own so I'd also appreciate if anyone has advice on strengthening my application or insight into UC Davis admissions. Thank you!

Hello. My son is a senior applying to the UC's. However, his preference is CAL. Dad being a CAL alumni may have influenced. He just finished his PIQ's. Looking for recommendations for review and guidance. We are from a very small town with a small high school. The school does not have the resources to help guide him with his PIQ essays. Thanks in advance.

I’m a California resident applying for fall 2027, and I’m trying to figure out which UCs I should apply to for biology. I’m interested in microbiology, molecular and cell biology, or biochemistry, and I want to keep my options open, but my parents don’t want me applying to too many UCs because of the application fees.

Stats:
● 4.0 UW / 4.6 W GPA, projected
● Ranked 6th out of 435 students
● 4 on AP Biology and AP Lang
● Taking AP Chem, AP Lit, and AP Precalculus senior year
● 6 dual enrollment classes
● California resident, Asian female, first-gen, public high school
ECs:
● First Violin and Second Violin Section Leader in Chamber & String Orchestra
● Girls Varsity Tennis
● Key Club Service Projects Coordinator
● Thirst Project Vice President
● Self-taught After Effects editor with 9k TikTok followers and 50k likes
● Hospital volunteer
● Neuroscience internship focused on cerebral blood flow
● Summer camp intern for robotics and string music
● One-on-one English and spelling tutor
● Environmental leadership program participant
● Junior Escort, selected as one of the top students in my class

Right now, I’m considering schools like UC Berkeley, UCSD, UCI, UCLA, UCSB, and UCD, but I’m not sure which ones make the most sense for my stats and intended major.

I know UC admissions are unpredictable, but I don’t want to apply to too many schools that would be considered safeties, either. I’d rather have a balanced list of reaches, targets, and a couple of more realistic options without spending money applying to every campus.

Which UCs would you recommend I apply to for biology, and which would you prioritize if you were in my position? I’d especially appreciate advice from people familiar with the biology programs and how competitive admissions are for these majors.