Ms. Sun's Admissions Guide to Highly Selective California Public Universities

Summer school got canceled? Check out the 50 Fantastic Summer Activities for High School Students from the folks at CollegeWise: http://www.wiselikeus.com/collegewise/2009/05/national-young-leaders-conference.html

All-purpose guideline on how to write good college essays - An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/tip-sheet-essay/

Not that you need more nerve-wracking news about budget cuts, but it's better to be prepared for what's coming! UC president outlines revised budget-cutting proposal: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/07/uc-president-outlines-budget-cutting-proposal.html

Yup, I have finally joined the 21st century. Please be patient as I fumble my way around these new platforms.

My Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ask-Ms-Sun/96548487621
Once I have enough fans, I will be able to update the link with a shorter user name.

My Twitter tweet: http://twitter.com/askmssun

Please send suggestions on how I can better use these platforms to help you!

When you don't know what's going on in your Algebra class, you get a math tutor. So what if you haven't got a clue about the college admission process? Well, now you can get a college planning tutor!

Below is my new service for motivated HS freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, and CA CC students who are interested in gaining a competitive edge for the college admission process.

College Planning Service Package

I will meet with you regularly in-person (within Los Angeles County), by phone, or by instant message to review and plan the following:

Academic Achievement

• Monitor academic progress
  
• Suggest curriculum add-on or academic improvement
  
• Offer solutions to make up for academic deficiencies
  
• Monitor standardized testing preparation/schedule
  
• Offer resources for test preparation
  
• Produce an action plan to improve academic achievement

Extracurricular Achievement

• Evaluate extracurricular participation
  
• Suggest potential opportunities for leadership development
  
• Recommend competition/scholarship opportunities
  
• Offer resources to make up for extracurricular deficiencies
  
• Produce an action plan to improve extracurricular achievement

This plan is suitable for any students preparing for the college admission process, not just the UCs. I suggest meeting once per month during the school year. The package is billed on an hourly basis: $88 per hour for in-person consultation, $68 per hour for phone consultation, and $58 per hour for instant message consultation. The package includes free e-mail consultation. There is no contract and you may cancel at any time.

If you are interested in the College Planning Service Package, please send your request to billing (at) askmssun dot com. As always, let me know if paying the fee is a problem and we can work something out.

A parent I know invited me to her home for a college admission party. Think of it as a Tupperware party without the Tupperware and lots of college admission information being swapped. I will be doing a brief presentation covering the basics of college planning to the parents and addressing concerns and questions the parents have afterward.

I am open to present to groups in the Los Angeles area. In the past I have presented at high school faculty in-service, PTA meetings, nonprofit groups, and high school college nights. Altho I am not always able to convince principals/counselors to let me present at the schools because some view independent counselors as preying on nervous parents/students. But I can always present to parent groups or student groups if I am invited. Just contact me and we can work something out.

I am planning a series of presentations in the San Gabriel Valley in the fall. The first round of free seminars will cover the application process for the UCs. The second round of fee-based workshops will cover the personal statement writing process. I will also be scheduling small group personal statement classes during the first part of November. I'm working out the details so stay tuned!

I'm getting a little better at keeping track of the students so the numbers are a little more accurate this year.

Application/Personal Statement: I worked with 14 freshman applicants and 9 transfer applicants on putting together their application and personal statement. Of those, 5 freshman applicants were accepted at either Cal or UCLA or both, and 7 transfer applicants were accepted at either Cal or UCLA or both.

Supplemental Questionnaire: I worked with 3 freshman applicants on putting together their Supplemental Questionnaire response and all 3 were accepted at the UC where the Supplemental Questionnaire was issued.

Appeal: I worked with 3 freshman applicants and 3 transfer applicants on putting together their appeal. Of those, 1 freshman applicant was accepted on appeal and 2 transfer applicants were accepted on appeal.

I also get e-mails from students and anonymous posts on LJ attributing their acceptance to my help. I am always happy to hear that I made a difference.

I have been working on getting my web site set up for a while now and it looks like I may actually get it launched before fall. There are a few things I'm trying to work out in my head as I get my act together. I would really love to hear what you have to say since you will be using the site.

Bulk of the informational postings currently on LJ will be moved and categorized to allow better search (I will set up Google Search on the new site) and access for students seeking admission information. I will keep LJ as a companion blog for the web site to post news and time-sensitive information.

I am contemplating whether I should put Google Ads on my site when it launches. I'm hoping the ads will generate some income to help me maintain the site, but I'm also worried that having ads (not a lot, just a banner toward the top and a banner on the side) will drive users away. What are your thoughts?

Please help me figure out how to make the site easy for you to use! Any thoughts or suggestions are much appreciated!

For in-depth discussion of financial aid and scholarship opportunities, see my post Show Me the Money!

FAFSA - FAFSA4caster

Federal Student Aid (the people who brought you the ever confusing FAFSA form) has launched FAFSA4caster to help students and parents get an early start on the financial aid process:

FAFSA4caster will help you get an early start on the financial aid process by providing you with an early estimate of your eligibility for federal student aid.

In addition, FAFSA4caster will increase your knowledge of the financial aid process and provide information about other sources of aid.

To get an early start yourself, check out the FAFSA4caster at http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/

UC Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan

The The UC system has implemented the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan starting this year. Under this plan, students whose family income is below $60,000 will receive enough scholarships and grants to fully cover their UC fees for the first 4 years of college (2 years for transfers). Of course, the expensive part of an UC education is not the fees but the housing and everything else.

For a more detailed explanation of the plan, see: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/19471/

Student portal for the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/blueandgold/

Financial Aid Pledges to Reduce Student Debt

The Project on Student Debt, an initiative of the Institute for College Access and Success, has compiled a list of colleges that have "developed financial aid policies that limit or eliminate student loans from financial aid packages, reducing costs for students and families." Take a look at all your options (over 50 colleges listed), but be cautious of other potential shortfalls.

Financial Aid Pledges to Reduce Student Debt: http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php

How Pledges Can Fail: http://projectonstudentdebt.org/initiative_page_view.php?initiative_idx=&initiative_page_idx=15

A special shout out to Graeme Brown at Ivy West and Karyn Holtzman, a wonderful educational consultant located in Irvine (she can be reached at CollEdgeCoach (at) aol dot com), thank you both for your kind words and encouragement!

I am attending the WACAC Conference this week and today I was in a session called Class of 2012: University of California New Eligibility Requirements presented by Michele Larkrith, Assistant Director of Marketing and Recruitment at UC Berkeley. Of course, after the presentation of the eligibility changes, all the attendees bombarded her with UC admissions questions (mostly NOT related to the eligibility changes). Below are some new information and clarifications regarding UC admissions. Information provided in this post supersedes some of my previous advice!

Personal Statement Prompts Will Stay the Same This Year

Pretty self-explanatory, I think.

Changes to UC Eligibility

This only applies to those of you who are graduating CA HS in 2012 or later. So skip ahead of you are graduating before 2012.

Good news is you don't have to take the SAT Subject Tests any more (Math Level 2 and a science are still highly recommended for engineering majors). Bad news is competition is going to be horrendous (increased number of eligible applicants combined with likely budget cuts in the next few years).

UCs are still working out the details. But what they do know is spelled out here: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/eligibilitychanges/

Some finer, between-the-lines details:

• You can still use SAT Subject Tests to clear a-g subjects (see how that works here: Options for Satisfying the Subject Requirement).
  
  
• Your personal statement will become even more important because that is the only component of the application that will distinguish you from other applicants.
  
  
• The top 9% of seniors graduating from CA HS (regardless of whether the HS participates in ELC) will be guaranteed acceptance to one UC (likely Riverside or maybe Merced).
  
  
• The top 9% of participating ELC HS will be guaranteed acceptance to some UCs, altho fewer UCs are expected to make the guarantee because of the expected increase in number of ELC students (the campus cannot accommodate all the students).
  
  
• UCs are expecting a 14% to 19% increase in applications while the number of students admitted will likely stay the same or decrease due to budget cuts.

In conclusion, it's going to suck ... but don't despair and keep reading; I do have some good news to share (I think).

Things I Mentioned Before That Are Confirmed (Again)

These are more like reminders of things I have already told you (over and over and over and over):

• Your personal statement is very important because that is the only component of the application that will distinguish you from other applicants.
  
  
• The 8-semester GPA cap is for calculating UC eligibility only (and will likely remain so for 2012 and after). For application evaluation, most UCs use uncapped or slightly capped GPA (if GPA is capped, it is usually capped around 4.5).
  
  
• All AP courses are created equal, there is no such thing as "this AP is better than that one."
  
  
• AP/IB exams are optional but good scores are brownie points.
  
  
• Do NOT use Score Choice on the SAT Reasoning or SAT Subject Tests. It's better to just report everything and let the UCs sort out the scores. Bad scores will not impact your application in any way whatsoever.
  
  
• UCs will not defer your acceptance. Take it or leave it (unless you have a really good reason, then you can appeal; appeals are reviewed on the case-by-case basis).

Things I May Have Mentioned Before But Here Are Concrete Details

These are some of the things I have discussed in general terms that were explained in more detail during the session:

• The rigor of your senior year schedule is very important. NEW DETAIL: you should take at least 5 year-long a-g courses in your senior year (including whatever appropriate number of AP courses that is common for seniors at your HS).
  
  
• When you have a bad semester or bad year in terms of grades (or extracurriculars), you need to clarify somewhere on your application about what happened (personal statement or Additional Comments). NEW DETAIL: you also need to explain what actions you have taken to correct the situation.
  
  
• You can take online courses offered by CC. NEW DETAIL: you can also take online courses from UC-approved online schools at UCCP, Cyber High School, National University Virtual HS, Stanford EPGY Online High School, and Laurel Springs Online.
  
  
• Your application is compared to your peers. NEW DETAIL: your peers include those who have graduated from your HS in the last 3 years. So you need to consider your achievement in context of not only others who are in your class, but those who have graduated before you.
  
  
• Higher level math course "validates" lower level math courses. NEW DETAIL: Algebra II validates Algebra I and Trigonometry validates Geometry, but Algebra II does not validate Geometry.
  
  
• You should discuss what you did during your gap year (if you took one) in your personal statement. NEW DETAIL: you are strongly encouraged to discuss both the reason you took a gap year and what you did during the gap year.

Things I Have Mentioned That Turned Out To Be Incorrect!!!

My apologies!

• Currently the top 12% of seniors graduating from CA HS (regardless of whether the HS participates in ELC) will be guaranteed acceptance to one UC (likely Riverside or maybe Merced). I had previously stated, incorrectly, that only students from HS participating in ELC are eligible for the guarantee.
  
  
• UC GPA Calculation - after many years of speculation, here is the official answer to how you calculate UC GPA when you have CC courses: you count them as if they were HS AP courses (because the grades are weighted). So one 3-unit or above UC-transferable course is the equivalent of one 2-semester HS AP course. I had previously stated, incorrectly, that CC courses were calculated into the UC GPA either by units or as single semesters; I was way off!

Things I Totally Didn't Know About

Some of these things came as a surprise, others were less of a surprise but still new information.

• Irvine started to waitlist students this year. It is the only UC campus doing that right now but the rest of the UCs will be pondering this issue during the summer.
  
  
• When evaluating applications, all UCs (all of them, really!) will look at the different factors in terms of them being neutral or adding value to the application. Students are never "dinged" for anything on the application. There is never anything "bad" about the application. So stop asking whether something will look "bad" on your application and start asking whether something will "add value" to your application.
  
  
• If you are not able to take summer school at your HS or local CC (due to budget cuts) and that prevented you from achieving academically (for example, you were unable to repeat a course in which you received a D or your fall schedule was scrambled because you were not able to take a prerequisite course during summer), you need to say that on your application (in the Additional Comments). You must also include actions you have taken to correct the situation (for example, you tried to enroll at 2 other CCs when the first CC you tried canceled the class you need).
  
  
• Good News for International Students - Berkeley is looking to increase international admits. Bad News for Out-of-State Students - Berkeley is likely to decrease out-of-state admits if the increase for international students goes thru. Berkeley has found that majority of the accepted international students do commit to attend Berkeley while majority of the out-of-state admits end up going somewhere else. Of course there is also the added incentive of an enormous fee that international students have to pay and that will play a role as the budget cuts start to kick in. The shift in international vs. out-of-state admits also prevents any CA students from being displaced.

Sorry for the incredibly long post, but at least now all the information is in one place!

Governor Schwarzenegger is proposing massive cut backs that include phasing out the Cal Grants program completely. The phase out will start with the cancellation of Cal Grants awarded to students starting college this Fall. UCs are expected to respond by redistributing the UC grants already awarded to students in order to make up for the shortfall. Because of this, the proposed cuts will impact ALL students regardless of whether you receive Cal Grants.

See details of the proposed cut to Cal Grants in the LA Times article, California could be the first state to cut student aid while hiking fees (May 29, 2009).

Writing to your state senator or assembly member about this issue is only a click away! The National Association for College Admission Counseling (an organization for college admission professionals) has a template letter available online here: http://capwiz.com/nacac/issues/alert/?alertid=13464096. Just fill in your information, make any changes you want to the text and click "send." The message will be delivered via e-mail to your state senator and assembly member based on the address you provide.

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has extended its deadline for applications for the HACU Scholarship Program for the 2009-2010 academic year. More than $400,000 will be awarded to eligible students attending HACU-member colleges and universities.

Specific guidelines exist for each scholarship. Students must meet the following criteria for all scholarships:

• Demonstrate financial need and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
  
  
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
  
  
• Attend a HACU-member institution at the time scholarship awards are made. HACU-member institutions include public and private 2- and 4-year colleges across the U.S. It looks like majority of the CCCs, CSUs, and UCs are HACU members.

Deadline to apply and submit supporting documents has been extended until June 5, 2009. Scholarships will be awarded in the fall. For details of the program and instructions on how to apply, see: http://www.hacu.net/hacu/Scholarships_EN.asp.

Admission stats for every UC campus presented in nice pie charts and bar graphs: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/resources/materials/ITU.pdf starting on page 39.

Looks like the admit rate for Berkeley actually went up quite a bit from last year (less competitive). Admit rate for UCLA stayed about the same as last year. Admit rates for the rest of the UC campuses went down across the board, dropping somewhere between 5% to 20% (accepting 5%-20% fewer students compared to last year).

Again, this year is anomalous because of the economic downturn. Almost all UCs took some measures to curb possible over enrollment.

It's never too early to start thinking about financial aid and scholarships. Some large-sum scholarships can have deadlines as early as October. You should be looking for money well before you start applying for college. Just remember, you are going to college one way or another, you just don't know where yet.

Here are some scholarship search sites to help you get started:

• FastWeb
  
• ScholarshipExperts
  
• CollegeNET
  
• Pacific Northwest Scholarship Guide from College Planning Network
  
• SuperCollege
  
• NextStudent
  
• MeritAid

I highly recommend reading 20 Insider Strategies to Save Money on College NOW from MeritAid. The e-book offers some very good advice in between quite a bit of not-so-subtle advertisement about the MeritAid web site. The one excellent point the e-book makes that I want you to consider is the fact that there are a lot of misconceptions about how much colleges charge for tuition; public colleges (like the UCs) are not necessarily cheaper than private colleges. Find out everything you can about college costs before you decide where to apply. Case in point: students from families with incomes less than $60,000, who are accepted to Harvard under [the] regular admissions policies, have no expected parent contribution for their education (translation: if you are accepted to Harvard, you can attend for free if your parents make less than $60k per year).

Read the rest of the post for additional resources, notes on financial aid scams, financial aid information for undocumented students, and a list of scholarships I have come across.

( Boring story about Financial Aid back in my days ... and there might be a moral to the story somewhere in there ... ) Here is a list of federal and state financial aid resources that will walk you thru the basics:

• UC's Financing Guide for Parents and Students (for freshman applicants)
  
• UC's Financing Guide for Transfer Students
  
• Fund your Future: Free Money for College (published by the EdFund and The California Student Aid Commission)
  
• Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid (published by the Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education)
  
• Fact Sheet - More Ways to Pay for College (published by the California Student Aid Commission)
  
• NACAC's Financial Aid Resources (published by the National Association for College Admission Counseling)

There are endless resources on the net to help you find money for college. Just beware of places that ask you to pay for information and/or places that ask you to provide personal information (don't be handing out your birth date and social security number to every Tom, Dick, and Harry). California Student Aid Commission has some resources on how to avoid scholarship scams: Is it a free scholarship? Or a scam? You should also try your local library; many online resources are published in book form (and staying offline when you first get started might be a good idea until you learn how to spot a scam). For libraries on the Dewey Decimal System, look for call number 378 for financial aid books.

Books on money for college tend to fall into two categories: scholarship or federal financial aid. I recently looked into books on saving money for college while remaining eligible for financial aid and found couple books that addressed this issue: 529 & Other College Savings Plans for Dummies and College Financial Aid - How To Get Your Fair Share.

For undocumented students, you may qualify for in-state tuition under AB540; see the AB 540 Student Manual or contact the UC campus you are interested in attending for more information. Futuros Educational Services (a nonprofit) has a pretty comprehensive list of scholarships for AB540 students; one AB540 student I know went to Cal entirely on outside scholarships (last I heard from the student, the total for the scholarships was adding up to $18,000 for freshman year), so it is totally doable. ¡Adelante! California has two AB540 scholarships: Luisa Moreno Scholarship - $500 to $2000 and Founders’ Scholarship - $1000 to $2000. Both deadlines are in the beginning of January. For more information visit http://www.adelante-ca.org/index_files/Page798.htm.

A list of scholarships (majority of these scholarships target high school graduates) I have come across over the years listed in chronological order (starting with multiple scholarships with varying deadlines, then scholarships with the earliest deadlines to scholarships with the latest deadlines):

• Scholarship America is a nonprofit entity that manages employer-sponsored scholarships for employees and their families. Some general scholarships are also available. List of available scholarships is at http://scholarshipamerica.org/open_scholarships.php. Deadlines vary depending on scholarship.
  
  
• Asian Pacific Fund Scholarships & Awards has a variety of scholarships and awards for students of varying backgrounds and interests. For more information visit http://www.asianpacificfund.org/awards/index.shtml. Deadlines vary depending on scholarship.
  
  
• The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation offers 50 four-year $20,000 scholarships and 200 four-year $10,000 scholarships for use at accredited colleges and universities within the US. Rewards leadership and excellence as exemplified through academic achievement and extracurricular activities, including commitment to community service. For more information visit https://www.coca-colascholars.org/cokeWeb/page.jsp?navigation=15. Deadline is at the end of October.
  ( more scholarships ... )

Below is a list of the services I will offer this Fall for HS seniors and CC students who are applying for college. Most of my services will remain free; however, given the increasing number of messages I receive each year, I will be implementing a series of deadlines this year for both free and fee-based services.

Free Service

I will continue to update this blog with the latest admission information.

I will continue to answer questions posted on here, Yahoo!Answers or e-mailed to me for free - expected turn around time: approximately 1 week.

I will NOT "chance" students because my crystal ball is still out-of-order - crystal ball's estimated time of repair: indefinite. The reason why the crystal ball is broken:

UC admission evaluation is based on a variety of factors (Comprehensive Review specifies 14 factors to be considered for freshman applicants and 8 factors to be considered for transfer applicants).

For freshman applicants, all UCs favor factors such as rigorous HS course load (high number of a-g and honors/AP/IB/CC courses), excellent weighted and unweighted GPA, and demonstrated leadership abilities. But these factors (academic and extracurricular) are viewed in context of students in your HS who applied to the UCs in the current and previous application cycles (up to 3 years prior).

For transfer applicants, all UCs favor factors such as high academic achievement (excellent grades in transferable courses, completion of general education and major prerequisite requirements) and demonstrated interest in your chosen field of study or demonstrated unusual promise of leadership.

Given the number of factors considered and the complex data involved, it is essentially impossible for anyone to accurately predict your chance.

I will continue to assist students with their personal statements in the areas of topic selection, outline review, and general feedback - expected turn around time: 2 weeks (expect to receive a reply within 2 weeks after you send me a message). Deadline to send me a message to request FREE consultation: 11:55 p.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2009.

You can send your questions or personal statement review requests to advice (at) askmssun dot com.

Premium Service

For a flat fee, I will give you a separate express e-mail address where all your questions and personal statement/application related issues are addressed within 3 calendar days (expect to receive a reply within 3 days after you send me a message). In addition to topic selection, outline review, and general feedback, I will help you select the tone, style, and overall structure of the personal statement to best present you to admissions, proofread and edit your personal statement drafts, help "package" your application (go over how to describe your extracurricular activities on the application, decide whether anything needs to be included in Additional Comments, etc.), and provide assistance on post-application issues as necessary, such as filling out the Supplemental Questionnaire, submitting updates, or filing appeals.

The fee structure is based on how soon you send me the request:

Time Frame	Flat Fee
By Saturday, October 17, 2009	$50
Between Sunday, October 18, 2009 and Saturday, October 31, 2009	$100
Between Sunday, November 1, 2009 and Saturday, November 14, 2009	$200
Between Sunday, November 15, 2009 and Saturday, November 21	$300

If you are interested in the Premium Service, please send your request along with your completed brag sheet (Freshman Brag Sheet/Transfer Brag Sheet) to billing (at) askmssun dot com. You will receive a payment request from PayPal within 48 hours. Upon payment you will receive your assigned express e-mail address for you to use to communicate with me which will ensure a turn around time of 3 calendar days. Please note that I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.

If paying the fee is a problem, let me know and we can work out an alternate arrangement.

The UC personal statement prompts are here: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/how_apply/personal_statement.html. I strongly encourage you to follow some kind of writing process. While a personal statement is not your regular English paper, it should, at the very least, have a central idea, evidence to support the idea, and transition from paragraph to paragraph. By the way, please do NOT use essays you wrote in your English class as your personal statement. Every admissions rep I spoke to advised against doing that.

Prompt 1 for Freshman Applicants

The way Prompt 1 is worded is rather misleading. According to what I heard at the Berkeley training session, admissions (or at the very least, Berkeley and Irvine - confirmed by a student who attended a seminar at UCI) wants to hear you talk about your dreams and aspirations, and what you have done so far to achieve those dreams and aspirations. My guess is the family/background thing got thrown in there to give students with hardships/special circumstances the chance to use that prompt to discuss them.

I imagine the best way to approach the first prompt is to figure out what your dreams and aspirations are, and what you have done so far to achieve them, only plug something in your background for support if appropriate. But whether you choose to describe your background (family, friends, school, community, etc.) or something else, the description should take up no more than a 1/3 of your essay and the remaining 2/3 should be about YOU (see here for an explanation of the 1/3-2/3 guideline, which I would like to take credit for inventing; altho now it has been labeled as a rumor).

Prompt 1 for Transfer Applicants

UCs expect you to have good grades and demonstrate interest in your field of study. There are three places on the application for you to tell the UCs how you have pursued your field of study with a passion: Academic History (coursework in your field of study), Activities & Awards (extracurriculars in your field of study), and Personal Statement. Your job is to use the Personal Statement to paint a picture for the application evaluators of how you have progressively pursued your interest thru your coursework and extracurriculars and that you are well prepared for advanced studies in your field at the UC level.

While it is extremely important for you to demonstrate some sort of involvement in your field of study, what happens if you have few or no extraucurriculars to show? Well, what the UCs really want to know from Prompt 1 is that you have a full understanding of the field you are getting into and that there aren't any surprises when you start your upper division study. So even if you have few or no "real world" experience in your field of study, you need to make a compelling case to the application evaluators as to why you want to study your field, what you want to do with with a degree in that field, and why you know the field is the right for you.

Prompt 2 for All Applicants

Prompt 2 is a way for your to showcase something about yourself that makes you stand out from your peers. You can do that by discussing a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience (pq/t/a/c/e for short). Why are you proud of this pq/t/a/c/e? What does the pq/t/a/c/e say about you as a person? Does the pq/t/a/c/e demonstrate that you are a hardworking individual who perseveres? Does that pq/t/a/c/e illustrate how you come thru for your team no matter what? And how will that pq/t/a/c/e help you succeed in college? Again, describe the pq/t/a/c/e using about 1/3 of your essay and really get into talking about YOURSELF in the remaining 2/3.

You can also think of Prompt 2 as a commercial spot for yourself. What would be the theme of the commercial? What clips from your life would be featured in the commercial?

How Do I Know If My Personal Statement Is Good?

Swap personal statement with friends or put away your personal statement draft for couple days so you can read it with fresh eyes. Then evaluate the personal statement using this rule from Collegewise founder, Kevin McMullin: pretend you are reading the personal statement to pick your college roommate.

After reading the personal statement, ask yourself if you have a good idea of what the person is like and whether you would want to be friends with the person. Revise the personal statement if anything sounds cliché, obnoxious, or intellectually-challenged. Your personal statement should leave a positive impression even if you are discussing hardships (the focus should be on how you overcame the hardships). Avoid famous quotes (one of the worst kind of cliché), racially charged comments (even self-deprecating ones, because it's just not cool no matter how you look at it), and grandiose life lessons you didn't actually learn (yes, people can tell when you are insincere).

Additional Resources

There is a plethora of books on writing college essays (over 9,000 if you search "college essay" on Amazon). These are good sources to flip thru if you want to see essay samples and get a general idea on the different ways you can organize your personal statement. You can also find them at your local library or bookstores.

I recently found The Berkeley Book of College Essays: Personal Statements for California Universities and Other Select Schools on Amazon. The book is a collection of more than 60 college essays from the students at Berkeley High School in California. Out of those, about 4 essays are from students who got into UCLA, 3 essays are from students who got into Berkeley, and couple essays each from students who got into San Diego, Davis, and Santa Cruz. The rest of the essays have a high concentration of Vassar and Yale admits and few other admits to private universities across the nation. While the personal statements in the book are from the old three prompt format (prior to November 2007), you will get a decent idea of what successful personal statements should look like.

Other personal statement help - Quirky Essays a Window to Future Success? is a story by NPR on the trend of college essay questions. The moral of the story is that no matter how unique you think your essay is, 200 other students wrote about the same thing. Reflect on that thought and search within yourself for a genuine voice when you sit down and write your personal statement.

I developed this brag sheet to help you start thinking about how to write your UC personal statement. This can be useful for other college essays as well if the essay topics are focused on your personal achievement.

Brag sheet is mandatory if you want me to work with you on your personal statement. For instructions on how to request help, please see my post Personal Statement Service Description (Free/Fee Services and Deadlines).

To prepare a Ms. Sun's Special Home Made Brag Sheet for Freshman Applicants, you need:

1. A list of everything you do outside of school starting from your freshman year in high school to what you project you will be doing to the end of senior year
   
   Include things like:
   • sports
     
   • church or temple activities
     
   • Sunday/Chinese/Hebrew schools
     
   • clubs or student government
     
   • music/dance/art lessons
     
   • volunteering or community service
     
   • competitions of any kind
     
   • recognition by any organization
     
   • jobs
     
   • hefty chores (caring for your siblings for more than 4-5 hours per day, having to cook for the family, having to pay bills and balance household finances, etc.)
   
   Exclude things like:
   • sleeping
     
   • brushing your teeth
     
   • going to the mall
     
   • texting
   
   
2. The number of AP/Honors/IB/community college courses you have taken AND the number of AP/Honors/IB courses offered at your high school
   
   
3. Your rough weighted and unweighted UC GPA (it doesn't have to be precise but it should be pretty close; for a convoluted explanation, see my response to a comment on UC GPA Calculation)
   
   
4. The two proudest things you achieved in high school and two most disappointing things that happened in high school (and not about the Homecoming Dance or your significant other)
   
   
5. Any medical/family/personal situations or problems you intend to discuss in your personal statement. I strongly encourage you to disclose situations such as learning disabilities, deaths in the family (during HS), divorce, working illegally (under the table) and/or abuse in your personal statement as they pertain to your academic performance and/or extracurricular participation.
   
   
6. What you expect to major in college and what you want to do with that major when you graduate; if you don't know what you want to major, then what fields do you think you may be interested in pursuing and what do you think you might want to do in those fields
   
   
7. What legacy do you want to leave behind? What is the one thing you want people to remember about you?
   
   
8. Bonus Form - The UCSB Personal Statement Worksheet - please answer the questions on page 2 of the PDF form; this form is not required, but I need to know if any of the questions listed for prompt #1 applies to you

I developed this brag sheet to help you start thinking about how to write your UC personal statement. This can be useful for other college essays as well if the essay topics are focused on your personal achievement.

Brag sheet is mandatory if you want me to work with you on your personal statement. For instructions on how to request help, please see my post Personal Statement Service Description (Free/Fee Services and Deadlines).

Transfer admissions is a bit complicated, so I need you to do most of the work and verify that you are meeting requirements (general education/IGETC, major prerequisites). You can list extracurricular activities you did in high school on your transfer application, so you will need to jog your memory on that.

To prepare a Ms. Sun's Special Home Made Brag Sheet for Transfer Applicants, you need to answer the following:

1. How did you come to choose your field of study (major)?
   • Was it something you always wanted to do?
     
   • Did someone or some event in your life inspired you to study this field?
   
   
2. What have you done in high school and/or community college to pursuit your interest in your field of study?
   • Did you take lots of classes in that field?
     
   • Did you participate in clubs or extracurricular activities in that field?
     
   • Did you get a job in that field?
   
   
3. The two proudest things you achieved in high school and/or community college and two most disappointing things that happened in high school and/or community college
   
   
4. Any medical/family/personal situations or problems you intend to discuss in your personal statement. I strongly encourage you to disclose situations such as learning disabilities, deaths in the family (during HS), divorce, working illegally (under the table) and/or abuse in your personal statement as they pertain to your academic performance and/or extracurricular participation.
   
   
5. What do you expect to do with your major when you graduate college?
   
   
6. What legacy do you want to leave behind? What is the one thing you want people to remember about you?

College Reviews

If you can rate restaurants and professors, why not college? Unigo.com declares itself as the "new platform for college students to share reviews, videos, photos, documents and more with students on their campus and across the country." The reviews can be helpful when you are in the process of deciding where to apply; the comments range from general campus atmosphere to academic life to social scene.

For those of you who are accepted and deciding on where to attend, Unigo offers you the opportunity to peek into what campus life is like. But keep in mind that what you see at Unigo is only a slice of campus life and you should never base your college choice only from what you see there. Gather as much information as you can, including a personal visit while the campus is in session, before you decide where to go.

Getting Berkeley and Other Colleges to Recruit You

Register on Zinch.com and create a profile to show colleges, including Berkeley, why you are the ideal student for them. The UC campuses currently using the site to recruit include Berkeley, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and San Diego. In your profile, be sure to highlight your academic strengths, extracurricular activities, leadership skills, special talent, and/or special circumstances.

Figuring Out What You Want to Do

The Career Chronicles is a good book to flip through for you to get an idea of what it is like to actually work as a pharmacist, architect, lawyer, accountant, or any of the 24 different jobs included in the book. Use the Search Inside function on Amazon to see if the job you are interested in is listed in the book.
( more ... )

Berkeley offers more information than anyone can possibly want (or need). There is no nicely summarized tables of applicants vs. admits. You will have to run SQL queries on the site for both applicants and admits and do the math yourself. The good news is you can look at a variety of data other UCs don't usually disclose, like ethnicity, age, gender, home location, and parental background (education and income level). You can find the information overload here: https://osr2.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/Access/DB/Frontends/runapp.pl.

Overall stats (CA resident vs. out-of-state vs. international, by college, and by CCC vs. UC vs. other school): http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/Adm_tr/Tr_Prof09.htm

Stats by major: http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/Adm_tr/Tr_Prof09_mjr.htm

I'm not a huge fan of college rankings, but I came across a copy at the bookstore and found the articles to be great resources. There are a variety of articles on the standard college admission issues like How to Get In, How to Pay, and Surviving on Campus. You can find all the articles online here: http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2008/08/21/articles-from-americas-best-colleges-2009.html.

Aside from the standard issues, there are articles like Don't Worry: You'll Get Accepted to College, A+ Schools for B Students, and Finding the College That's the Right Fit for You to help clarify misconceptions about college admissions. There are also articles for special situations such as learning disabilities (Need Extra Help? Just Ask) and disclosing emotional problems/disciplinary actions in college essays (Should I Mention Depression on My College Application?). Then there is advice on What to Do if You Don't Get In.

Keep in mind the articles are very generalized and do not apply to all colleges. Take everything with a grain of salt and when in doubt, check directly with the college admissions office. For the more sensitive issues like whether you should disclose your eating disorder in your college essay, talk to your counselor or give me a shout.

University of California accepts both SAT and ACT plus Writing Assessment scores. You can get an idea of how well you will do on these exams by taking the PSAT and PLAN in 10th grade. The UC campuses will only consider your top combined score in one sitting (no "superscore") and they don't really care how many times you take the exams (altho some private schools frown on excessive test taking, so plan accordingly). If you took both the SAT and ACT, the UC uses a conversion scale to compare the SAT and ACT scores and take the highest one. Even tho College Board has implemented Score Choice, the UC is requesting students to send ALL test scores.

You should definitely prepare before you attempt either the SAT or ACT plus Writing Assessment. It's rare for students to do well without some form of preparation. To get started, I would recommend browsing thru test prep books and choose couple books you feel are a good fit with your learning style. If you didn't get a chance to take PSAT and PLAN, definitely try the practice tests for SAT and ACT to get an idea of how well you can expect to perform on the two tests. Do NOT, under any circumstances, fork out money for test prep courses until you have tried both the SAT and ACT plus Writing Assessment (practice test or the real thing). Students tend to do well on one test or the other, but rarely both. So before you empty your wallet to prepare for the SAT, make sure you try the ACT plus Writing Assessment. Maybe you won't need to break the bank after all.

Free and Low Cost Self-Preparation Resources

• Check out College Board SAT Preparation Center for Official SAT Practice Questions and the Official SAT Practice Test (free).
  
  
• Check out ACT Test Prep for practice test questions and preparation materials; some materials are free (clearly labeled "free") while others are for purchase (low cost).
  
  
• Prepare for the SAT by going straight to the source: The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition by College Board offers description of the test, test taking strategies, and practice tests with answer keys. Find a copy at your local library (free) or purchase a copy (low cost).
  
  
• Prepare for the ACT by going straight to the source: The Real ACT Prep Guide: The Only Official Prep Guide From The Makers Of The ACT by ACT offers description of the test, test taking strategies, and 3 real ACT tests with answer keys. Find a copy at your local library (free) or purchase a copy (low cost).

If you are thinking about taking test prep courses, consider the following:

• The Wall Street Journal has contended in its article, SAT Coaching Found to Boost Scores - Barely (May 20, 2009), that test prep courses are not as beneficial as the test prep companies would lead you to believe. The article suggested that Revolution Prep may have provided more difficult mock tests in order to show a dramatic test score improvement. I had received separate feedback from a parent who had similar suspicion regarding the mock tests offered by Revolution Prep. However, the same parent also rated Revolution Prep as having "a decent program, especially for the price" (April 23, 2009; thanks to Marlene for sharing).
  
  
• The LA Times article, UCLA grads score big with SAT preparation company (November 22, 2007), featured Revolution Prep, an alternative test preparation company to the giants Kaplan and Princeton Review. Revolution Prep proclaims to offer quality test preparation with a relatively small price tag; the company also promises that no student will be turned away due to financial hardships.

How exactly are the two standardized tests different? NPR takes a stab at answering Should You Take the SAT or the ACT? The biggest difference for me, personally, is that ACT doesn't penalize you for wrong answers ("I'm out of time! C, C, C, C, C") while SAT deducts 1/4 point for each wrong answer.

UCLA Extension is offering a course this summer called College Essays: Communicating Your Personal Story that helps HS students put together their college essays. The course is not cheap, a whopping $495 for about 8 hours of class instruction. This is the first time I have seen courses like this being offered but it may be worth looking around to see if similar (and perhaps cheaper) courses are offered at college campuses near you.

I am no longer accepting requests to review appeals. See guidelines below on how to write your appeal.

You must file the appeal by the campus deadline or within two weeks from the date the decision becomes available. Not all UC campuses will have an answer for your appeal before the June 1 SIR deadline, so be sure to SIR with a backup school in case the appeal doesn't pan out. There is no penalty for you to withdraw the SIR if you are accepted on appeal somewhere else; the only thing you lose is the $100 deposit.

Guidelines on Writing Your Appeal

Remember, telling the admissions office they made a huge mistake is not going to help you. For your appeal to be considered, you must prove that you are a much stronger candidate than what was presented in your application. Specifically, you must present new and compelling information that was not previously available to the admissions office. So if you failed to include information regarding extraordinary hardship or exceptional talent/extracurriculars on your application, you can discuss these things on your appeal as reasons for the UCs to reconsider you. Make sure you describe exactly how the exceptional talent/extracurriculars qualify you for UC admissions or how the hardship prevented you from achieving academically.

The focus of your appeal should be why you are an excellent candidate for the UCs, not why your hardship is horrible or why you have to get into the UCs. Your objective is to explain why the UCs should be interested in you, not how much you love the UCs. State your case concisely (one page appeal is ideal and two pages are acceptable) and don't exaggerate or try to be dramatic. Keep in mind that the acceptance rate on appeal hovers around 3% for most UC campuses.

Each UC campus offers a set of instructions/guidelines on how to submit an appeal. Follow the instructions/guidelines from the UC campus you are interested in appealing to ensure proper and expedited processing of your appeal submission:

Davis: http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_nonadmitted.cfm
Scroll down to May I appeal my denial of admission?

Berkeley: https://students.berkeley.edu/myberkeley/myberkeleyapp.asp?todo=cms&id=113
Scroll down to Can I appeal my admission decision?

Irvine: https://www.admissions.uci.edu:8443/you_applied/not_admitted.html#appeals
Scroll down to Appeals to Selection Decisions, and Appeals to Cancellation Decisions

UCLA: https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/AppealsTr.htm

Merced: As far as I can tell, there is no instruction available online on how to file an appeal. Call the Admissions Office at (209) 228-4682 or toll free in California (866) 270-7301 for information.

Riverside: As far as I can tell, there is no instruction available online on how to file an appeal. Call the Admissions Office at (951) 827-3411 for information.

San Diego: http://admissions.ucsd.edu/UCSDFall09AppealsProcess.pdf

Santa Barbara: http://www.admissions.ucsb.edu/parentcounselor/Appealprocess.asp

Santa Cruz: http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/10_transferNotAdmittedUD.cfm#appeal

Read the LA Times article, UC Merced's first full graduating class: We made it! (May 10, 2009), for an insider perspective on what it was like to be the first students of a new UC campus.

In the article Holding College Chiefs to Their Words (May 6, 2009), the Wall Street Journal "turned the tables on the presidents of 10 top colleges and universities with an unusual assignment: answer an essay question from their own school's application."

Below are direct links to the essays:

• Barnard College's Debora Spar on daily routines
  
• Carleton College's Robert A. Oden Jr. on getting lost -- and found -- in Cairo
  
• Grinnell College's Russell K. Osgood on a historical figure that has influenced him
  
• Oberlin College's Marvin Krislov on a historical figure that has influenced him
  
• Pomona College's David Oxtoby on an experience that was 'just plain fun'
  
• Reed College's Colin Diver on an experience in diversity
  
• The University of Chicago's Robert J. Zimmer on "Living the Question"
  
• University of Pennsylvania's Amy Gutmann on her autobiography
  
• Vassar College's Catharine Hill on an influential person in her life
  
• Wesleyan University's Michael S. Roth on an influential person in his life

As you read the article and the essays, consider the choices the writers made. Are the essays more interesting when writers choose more personal topics? Do you get a good sense of who the writers are as individuals after reading their essays? Learn from their example and apply these thought processes to your own application essay writing.

I am currently working with transfer students who are filing appeals. I am reading all the e-mails/posts coming in and responding to those that are urgent. But if your situation does not require immediate attention, you may want to hold off on e-mailing me until after May 22, 2009. If you have already e-mailed me, rest assured that I will get back to you between the end of May and beginning of June.

I guess there is a rumor going around that if you attend UC Merced, you are guaranteed transfer to UC Berkeley or UCLA in two years. That is a rumor and is not true.

The rumor came about from an invitation only program called "Shared Experience Program." In the last couple years, UC Berkeley and UCLA have sent selected applicants invitations to participate in the program where the students are guaranteed transfer after successfully completing two years at UC Merced. The guaranteed transfer only applies if you are selected to participate in the program. If you did not receive an invitation, attending UC Merced will not guarantee anything for you.

UC Berkeley accepts very few UC-to-UC transfer applicants while UCLA is more open to UC-to-UC transfers. Keep in mind that CA CC transfer applicants receive priority consideration. Your best bet is to attend CA CC for two years and apply for transfer if your ultimate goal is to graduate from UC Berkeley or UCLA.

See the Wall Street Journal article on how students are dealing with the heavier than usual rejections (this year saw a record number of college applications): http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124096471555766239.html

See a sample of rejection letters ranging from tough to gracious here: http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-RejectLet0904.html. UCSD won the title for "Most Confusing" rejection letters.

Sorry to have left you transfer applicants out in the cold. What can I say? The squeaky wheel gets the oil and high school kids are very squeaky! I'm a bit in the dark on when the decisions are supposed to be out for transfer applicants, so please feel free to share!

In general, you must file each appeal by the campus deadline or within two weeks from the date the decision becomes available. See my post Transfer Appeal Guidelines for more information.

Check the decision for each campus using the links below:

Berkeley: https://students.berkeley.edu/myberkeley/myberkeleyapp.asp
Decisions will be out on April 30 (confirmed).

Davis: https://sisweb2.ucdavis.edu/owa_service/owa/bwzkugap.P_AccountSetup
Some decisions are already out. All decisions should be out by mid-April.

Irvine: https://www.admissions.uci.edu:8443/cgi-bin/maa_uci.cgi
Decisions should be out before April 30.

UCLA: https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/Decision/Login.aspx
Decisions were released on April 24.

Merced: https://my.ucmerced.edu/portal/main.html
I have no information on when the decisions are released.

Riverside: http://my.ucr.edu/
I have no information on when the decisions are released.

San Diego: https://a4.ucsd.edu/tritON/auth/applicantsso
Majority of the decisions were released as of March 14.

Santa Barbara: https://www.admissions.ucsb.edu/applicant/index.asp
Some decisions were released March 16, the remaining decisions will be available between March 16 and May 1.

Santa Cruz: https://my.ucsc.edu/psp/epprd/EMPLOYEE/EMPL/?cmd=login
I have no information on when the decisions are released.

Good luck everyone, holler if you need help!

Some summer programs are still accepting applications! Apply now!

To find summer program opportunities at a UC or CSU campus, simply visit the campus web site and search the term "high school summer program" or "community college summer program" to see the available programs.

Summer programs I have come across for HS students (listed in chronological order starting with programs with varying deadlines, then the earliest deadline to the latest deadline):

• I'm not a fan of summer programs by for-profit organizations, but you if you have money to burn ... The College Admission Prep Camp is a way to have a great time on a college campus this summer while getting a head start on the college admissions process. The program offers: SAT test preparations with a proven curriculum, college admissions essay one-on-one tutoring, college admissions guidance - where to apply, how the process works. For more information visit http://www.educationunlimited.com/camp_sessions/sessions_only. Programs are pricey, between $2,000 to $4,000. Tuition assistance is available (covering up to 50% of the cost). Deadline varies depending on the program.
  
  ( Programs with Past Deadlines ... )
  
  
• The One LA Teen Youth Leadership Program is sponsored by Coro Southern California and unites high school students from across the city to explore, learn, and develop into leaders. This year there are three Saturday workshops on April 25, May 9, and May 23; please make sure that you can commit to these three dates before applying. Workshops will include activities that encourage team building, critical thinking, and communication skills; opportunities to learn about community issues; and interviews with community, business, and civic leaders. High school students in grades 9 through 12 are eligible and encouraged to apply. No minimum GPA is required. For more information visit http://www.coro.org/site/c.geJOIUOyErH/b.2733393/k.939F/One_LA_Teen.htm. Deadline is April 17.
  FREE!
  
  
• CDC Disease Detective Camp is an academic public health day camp held at CDC's headquarters in Atlanta, GA. The camp is open to upcoming high school juniors and seniors. Over the course of five days, campers will take on the role of disease detectives and learn first-hand how the CDC safeguards the nation's health. Teams will probe a disease outbreak using epidemiologic and laboratory skills and report their findings to a group of CDC scientists. Activities may include short lectures by CDC experts, a mock press conference in the CDC press room, and a look behind the scenes of CDC. Non-Atlanta residents may apply for the camp, but are responsible for providing their own accommodations and transportation. For more information visit http://www.cdc.gov/gcc/exhibit/camp.htm. Deadline is April 20.
  FREE!
  
  
• The African-American Youth Leadership Program, a division of the Research and Policy Institute of California, is seeking applicants for its 2009 African-American Youth Leadership Conference. California high school students eligible to graduate in 2010 or 201 1 are invited to apply. The conference will be held: July 25 - August 1, 2009 at CSU Sacramento Conference participants will stay in campus housing and be supervised at all times. Program will enhance leadership skills, strengthen understanding of state and local government, teach financial responsibility, and career exploration and development. For more information visit http://www.calresearch.org/aaylp-application.html. Deadline is April 25, 2009.
  FREE!

Summer programs I have come across for CC students (listed in chronological order starting with the earliest deadline to the latest deadline):

• Experience Berkeley is a summer/fall program sponsored by Stiles Hall, a nonprofit organization affiliated with UC Berkeley. Black, Latino and Native American CC sophomores from California are eligible to apply. The program offers mentoring, support during application filing, and workshops. For more information visit http://stileshall.org/transfer.html. FREE!
  
  
• UCLA has a decent list of Non-UCLA Affiliated Summer Programs available for CC students here: http://www.ugeducation.ucla.edu/urc-care/SummerPrograms2007revised.pdf and some additional listings here: http://www.ugeducation.ucla.edu/urc-care/summerprognonucla.htm

See my Financial Aid Update for information on FAFSA4caster, UC Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, and a list of colleges that have pledged to meet student financial needs with little or no loans.

Here are some scholarship search sites to help you get started:

• FastWeb
  
• ScholarshipExperts
  
• CollegeNET
  
• Pacific Northwest Scholarship Guide from College Planning Network
  
• SuperCollege
  
• NextStudent
  
• MeritAid

I highly recommend reading 20 Insider Strategies to Save Money on College NOW from MeritAid. The e-book offers some very good advice in between quite a bit of not-so-subtle advertisement about the MeritAid web site. The one excellent point the e-book makes that I want you to consider is the fact that there are a lot of misconceptions about how much colleges charge for tuition; public colleges (like the UCs) are not necessarily cheaper than private colleges. Find out what you can about what a college charges before you decide not to apply. Case in point: students from families with incomes less than $60,000 who are accepted to Harvard under our regular admissions policies have no expected parent contribution for their education (translation: if you are accepted to Harvard, you can attend for free if your parents make less than $60k per year).

Read the rest of the post for additional resources, notes on financial aid scams, financial aid information for undocumented students, and a list of scholarships I have come across.

( Boring story about Financial Aid back in my days ... and there might be a moral to the story somewhere in there ... ) Here is a list of federal and state financial aid resources that will walk you thru the basics:

• UC's Financing Guide for Parents and Students (for freshman applicants)
  
• UC's Financing Guide for Transfer Students
  
• Fund your Future: Free Money for College (published by the EdFund and The California Student Aid Commission)
  
• Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid (published by the Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education)
  
• Fact Sheet - More Ways to Pay for College (published by the California Student Aid Commission)
  
• NACAC's Financial Aid Resources (published by the National Association for College Admission Counseling)

There are endless resources on the net to help you find money for college. Just beware of places that ask you to pay for information and/or places that ask you to provide personal information (don't be handing out your birth date and social security number to every Tom, Dick, and Harry). California Student Aid Commission has some resources on how to avoid scholarship scams: Is it a free scholarship? Or a scam? You should also try your local library; many online resources are published in book form (and staying offline when you first get started might be a good idea until you learn how to spot a scam). For libraries on the Dewey Decimal System, look for call number 378 for financial aid books.

Books on money for college tend to fall into two categories: scholarship or federal financial aid. I recently looked into books on saving money for college while remaining eligible for financial aid and found couple books that addressed this issue: 529 & Other College Savings Plans for Dummies and College Financial Aid - How To Get Your Fair Share.

For undocumented students, you may qualify for in-state tuition under AB540; see the AB 540 Student Manual or contact the UC campus you are interested in attending for more information. Futuros Educational Services (a nonprofit) has a pretty comprehensive list of scholarships for AB540 students; one AB540 student I know went to Cal entirely on outside scholarships (last I heard from the student, the total for the scholarships was adding up to $18,000 for freshman year), so it is totally doable. ¡Adelante! California has two AB540 scholarships: Luisa Moreno Scholarship - $500 to $2000 and Founders’ Scholarship - $1000 to $2000. Both deadlines are in the beginning of January. For more information visit http://www.adelante-ca.org/index_files/Page798.htm.

A list of scholarships (majority of these scholarships target high school graduates) I have come across over the years listed in chronological order (starting with multiple scholarships with varying deadlines, then scholarships with the earliest deadlines to scholarships with the latest deadlines):

• Scholarship America is a nonprofit entity that manages employer-sponsored scholarships for employees and their families. Some general scholarships are also available. List of available scholarships is at http://scholarshipamerica.org/open_scholarships.php. Deadlines vary depending on scholarship.
  
  
• Asian Pacific Fund Scholarships & Awards has a variety of scholarships and awards for students of varying backgrounds and interests. For more information visit http://www.asianpacificfund.org/awards/index.shtml. Deadlines vary depending on scholarship.
  ( more scholarships ... )
  
• TYLENOL® Scholarship provides several $10,000 and $5,000 scholarships to students who are pursuing healthcare-related education at an accredited institution. Scholarships are awarded based on leadership qualities and academic performance. For more information visit http://www.tylenol.com/scholarship. Deadline is in mid-May.
  
  
• SunTrust Off To College Scholarship Sweepstakes gives high school seniors the chance to win a $1,000 scholarship for their first year expenses at an accredited college or private career school. One winner will be chosen every two weeks. It's FREE to enter and eligibility is not based on GPA or financial need. Each $1,000 will be payable to the winner's school of attendance. Only one entry per person for each drawing; you can register after each drawing for the next one! For more information visit http://www.suntrusteducation.com/sweeps/default.asp. Last drawing is on May 15.

I have given these pieces of advice and heard other Berkeley alumni giving similar ones; and these are certainly applicable to most 4-year colleges:

• Take the minimum number of required units (13 semester units at Berkeley) your first semester, course load is heavier at Berkeley compared to HS (this is true for most 4-year colleges) so don't overwork yourself.
  
  
• Take the time to get to know your roommate/floormate/suitemate (they are the ones who have to drag you to the student health center if you are deathly ill), make friends with people in your classes (so you can borrow notes if you don't make it to class), and explore the different extracurricular activities available to you on and off campus (college is not just about studying).
  
  
• Show up at your professors' office hours and ask questions. Simple questions you can ask: 1) What other reading materials would you recommend that will help me in this course? Be prepared to actually read whatever the professor recommends so you can ask the professor questions about the reading material later. 2) How should I prepare for the midterm/final? You can also prepare kiss-ass questions by reading up on the professor's research interests (look up the professor's bio on the department web site and ask some questions about his/her research; if you don't understand the research, ask a simple question like "I saw that you are focused on research in ________, can you tell me more about it?"). Once the professor puts your face to your name, you will likely do better in the class (brownie points for showing up during office hours and taking an interest in the professor's work).

Not all UC campuses will have an answer for your appeal before the May 1 SIR deadline, so be sure to SIR with a backup school in case the appeal doesn't pan out. There is no penalty for you to withdraw the SIR if you are accepted on appeal somewhere else; the only thing you lose is the $100 deposit.

The deadline to request freshman appeal review from me has passed. If you have already e-mailed me, rest assured I will reply by April 12, 2009. Please read the information below for general guidelines on how to write your appeal.

Guidelines on Writing Your Appeal

Remember, telling the admissions office they made a huge mistake is not going to help you. For your appeal to be considered, you must prove that you are a much stronger candidate than what was presented in your application. Specifically, you must present new and compelling information that was not previously available to the admissions office. So if you failed to include information regarding extraordinary hardship or exceptional talent/extracurriculars on your application, you can discuss these things on your appeal as reasons for the UCs to reconsider you. Make sure you describe exactly how the exceptional talent/extracurriculars qualify you for UC admissions or how the hardship prevented you from achieving academically.

The focus of your appeal should be why you are an excellent candidate for the UCs, not why your hardship is horrible or why you have to get into the UCs. Your objective is to explain why the UCs should be interested in you, not how much you love the UCs. State your case concisely (one page appeal is ideal and two pages are acceptable) and don't exaggerate or try to be dramatic. Keep in mind that the acceptance rate on appeal hovers around 3% for most UC campuses.

Each UC campus offers a set of instructions/guidelines on how to submit an appeal. Follow the instructions/guidelines from the UC campus you are interested in appealing to ensure proper and expedited processing of your appeal submission:

Davis: http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_nonadmitted.cfm
Scroll down to May I appeal my denial of admission?

Berkeley: https://students.berkeley.edu/myberkeley/myberkeleyapp.asp?todo=cms&id=111
Scroll down to Can I appeal my admission decision?

Irvine: https://www.admissions.uci.edu:8443/you_applied/not_admitted.html#appeals
Scroll down to Appeals to Selection Decisions, and Appeals to Cancellation Decisions

UCLA: https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/AppealsFr.htm

Merced: As far as I can tell, there is no instruction available online on how to file an appeal. Call the Admissions Office at (209) 228-4682 or toll free in California (866) 270-7301 for information.

Riverside: As far as I can tell, there is no instruction available online on how to file an appeal. Call the Admissions Office at (951) 827-3411 for information.

San Diego: http://admissions.ucsd.edu/UCSDFall09AppealsProcess.pdf

Santa Barbara: http://www.admissions.ucsb.edu/parentcounselor/Appealprocess.asp

Santa Cruz: http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/10_froshNotAdmitted.cfm#appeal

Well, looks like the Cal Spring admit guys and gals are starting to look for roommates in case housing doesn't come thru. I guess you guys can exchange information on here, just don't be posting your phone number and home address.

Up to last year the housing office was able to accommodate all the Spring admits, but you should probably line up some off-campus housing options just in case.

Everything on or east of College Avenue is pretty decent. North campus is a bit dark but fairly safe last time I checked. Everywhere else is hit or miss. Just remember to buy a big Maglite and bring it with you when you walk thru campus/residential area at night (you can blind the attacker with the flashlight and then conk him on the head).

Ok everyone, group hug.

*HUG*

Keep in mind that each UC campus uses a different set of evaluation criteria so acceptance or rejection at one UC campus is not indicative of your chance of admission at another UC campus.

I do expect everyone to treat each other with respect on this site, so please be polite when you comment.

Please do not compare yourself to your friends, classmates, or others online. You can't just look at the GPAs and test scores of other students and decide that they are less worthy than you of being admitted. You have no idea what they do in the summer and after school, or what they put on their applications. Whatever conclusions you derive from the limited information available are just assumptions based on hearsay, speculation, or bias.

So life may not be fair; you will have to learn to deal with it. You should not take college admission as a judgment of who you are or as a way of determining self-worth. Handling defeat gracefully is a sign of strong character and we should all practice that more often.

I am happy to work with you on an appeal if you can come up with new and compelling information that was not previously available to the admissions office. Go back and review your UC application (you can see and print a summary of your application by logging into the UC online application site). Check to see if you left out anything major (medical/family problems, significant extracurriculars, etc.). Let me know what you come up with and we can discuss your options.

I offer Premium Service for filing appeals for a flat fee of $50. If you are interested in the Premium Service, please send your request to billing (at) askmssun dot com. If paying a fee is a problem, talk to me and we'll work something out. The deadline to request appeal review is Saturday, April 4, 2009, at 11:55 p.m. Pacific Time. You must send me a copy of your application and a list of new and compelling information you intend to include in your appeal by the deadline.

Remember, telling the admissions office they made a huge mistake is not going to help you. For your appeal to be considered, you must prove that you are a much stronger candidate than what was presented in your application. Specifically, you must present new and compelling information that was not previously available to the admissions office. So if you failed to include information regarding extraordinary hardship or exceptional talent/extracurriculars on your application, you can discuss these things on your appeal as reasons for the UCs to reconsider you. Make sure you describe exactly how the exceptional talent/extracurriculars qualify you for UC admissions or how the hardship prevented you from achieving academically. Keep in mind that the acceptance rate on appeal hovers around 3% for most UC campuses.

Each UC campus offers a set of instructions/guidelines on how to submit an appeal. Please read the instructions/guidelines from the UC campus you are interested in submitting an appeal before you e-mail me:

Davis: http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/admissions/fr_nonadmitted.cfm. Scroll down to May I appeal my denial of admission?

Berkeley: https://students.berkeley.edu/myberkeley/myberkeleyapp.asp?todo=cms&id=111. Scroll down to Can I appeal my admission decision?

Irvine: https://www.admissions.uci.edu:8443/you_applied/not_admitted.html#appeals. Scroll down to Appeals to Selection Decisions, and Appeals to Cancellation Decisions

UCLA: https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/AppealsFr.htm for freshmen and https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/AppealsTr.htm for transfers.

Merced: As far as I can tell, there is no instruction available online on how to file an appeal. Call the Admissions Office at (209) 228-4682 or toll free in California (866) 270-7301 for information.

Riverside: As far as I can tell, there is no instruction available online on how to file an appeal. Call the Admissions Office at (951) 827-3411 for information.

San Diego: http://admissions.ucsd.edu/UCSDFall09AppealsProcess.pdf.

Santa Barbara: http://www.admissions.ucsb.edu/parentcounselor/Appealprocess.asp

Santa Cruz: http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/10_froshNotAdmitted.cfm#appeal for freshmen and http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/10_transferNotAdmittedUD.cfm#appeal for transfers.

Share the news or vent your frustration about the wait!

Davis - freshman decisions are available as of March 12

Irvine - freshman decisions seem to be trickling out as of the second week of March

UCLA - freshman decisions are available as of March 18

Riverside - freshman decisions seem to be trickling out as of beginning of March

San Diego - freshman and transfer decisions are available as of March 14

Santa Barbara - freshman and transfer decisions are available as of March 16

Santa Cruz - freshman decisions seem to be out as of March 15

For links to check admission decisions at each campus, see my post Decisions, Decisions ....

Emergency procedures for March: Please remain calm, listen to and follow instructions provided by the UCs. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with all backup college plans. Please use the stairs if there is a need to evacuate. If a student is in distress, please notify Ms. Sun immediately.

The economic downturn has changed the way UCs make admission decisions this year. Check out the LA Times article Colleges share applicants' anxiety for details.

What I have noticed is the increase of invitation-only activities and a different pattern in admission decision notification. My guess is that the UCs are spending more time wooing highly qualified applicants and leaving everyone else in the cold. The impact would be far reaching as some UCs may start waiting lists. Since the enrollment outcome is uncertain, that also means chance of admission thru appeal may change significantly.

Engineering is competitive by major, unlike College of Letters and Science or other colleges/schools (such as College of Natural Resources at Berkeley) where all majors are equally competitive.

Berkeley College of Engineering publishes a comprehensive FAQ that answers virtually all questions you may have regarding admissions. Freshman Admission FAQ is here: http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/prospective-students/admissions/freshman-faq.html. Junior Transfer Admission FAQ is here: http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/prospective-students/admissions/transfer-faq.html. For admission stats, you need to run SQL queries to pull the applicant/admit data from here: https://osr2.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/Access/DB/Frontends/runapp.pl and calculate the stats yourself.

UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science publishes detailed admission stats of their freshman and transfer applicants here: http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/ucee_a.html.

Finally, I have found the web site for the office in charge of UCLA's student data - Office of Analysis and Information Management. Everything you can possible want to know about UCLA's admission and enrollment data can be found here: http://www.aim.ucla.edu/admissions/admissions.asp, just scroll down to see the general data and click on one of the links to get more detailed reports.

You can also see the UCLA Common Data Set which spells out the relative importance of each of the factors UCLA considers when evaluating freshman and transfer applications. Select the most recent year and scroll down to the bottom for links to each section.

Basis for Selection (C7) - ranked by very important, important, considered, not considered

Academic
Rigor of secondary school record - very important
Class rank - not considered
Academic GPA - very important
Standardized test scores - very important
Application essay - very important
Recommendation(s) - not considered

Nonacademic
Interview - not considered
Extracurricular activities - important
Talent/ability - important
Character/personal qualities - important
First generation - considered
Alumni/ae relation - not considered
Geographical residence - considered
State residency - not considered (the Undergraduate Admissions & Relations with Schools states that "UCLA gives priority to applicants who are California residents" but if you look at the UCLA freshman admit rate for out-of-state applicants, you can see the percentage is about the same or higher compared to in-state applicants)
Religious affiliation/commitment - not considered
Racial/ethnic status - not considered
Volunteer work - important
Work experience - important
Level of interest - not considered

Transfer Admission in section D simply lists the requirements, but doesn't spell out how each criterion is weighed.

I was digging around for admission stats when I came across the Office of Student Research. Berkeley publishes its entire admission data set online and you can run a variety of SQL queries to get all sorts of results (by major, by gender, by ethnicity, by SAT score, by CA residency, etc.) here: https://osr2.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/Access/DB/Frontends/runapp.pl. Have fun!

Another fishing expedition landed me on the UC Berkeley Common Data Set which actually spells out the relative importance of each of the factors Berkeley considers when evaluating freshman and transfer applications.

Freshman Basis for Selection (page 6) - ranked by very important, important, considered, not considered

Academic
Rigor of secondary school record - very important
Class rank - not considered
Academic GPA - very important
Recommendation(s) - not considered
Standardized test scores - important
Application essay - very important

Nonacademic
Interview - not considered
Extracurricular activities - important
Talent/ability - important
Character/personal qualities - important
First generation - considered
Alumni/ae relation - not considered
Geographical residence - considered
State residency - very important
Religious affiliation/commitment - not considered
Racial/ethnic status - not considered
Volunteer work - important
Work experience - important
Level of interest - not considered

Transfer Admission is a more descriptive process and starts on page 11.

Freshman decisions are available in the month of March. See my post Freshman Decision Timeline for the specific date the decisions are expected to become available for each UC campus.

Transfer decisions are available between April and May.

Check the decision for each campus using the links below:

Berkeley: https://students.berkeley.edu/myberkeley/myberkeleyapp.asp

Davis: https://sisweb2.ucdavis.edu/owa_service/owa/bwzkugap.P_AccountSetup

Irvine: https://www.admissions.uci.edu:8443/cgi-bin/maa_uci.cgi

UCLA: https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/Decision/Login.aspx

Merced: https://my.ucmerced.edu/portal/main.html

Riverside: http://my.ucr.edu/

San Diego: https://a4.ucsd.edu/tritON/auth/applicantsso

Santa Barbara: https://www.admissions.ucsb.edu/applicant/index.asp

Santa Cruz: https://my.ucsc.edu/psp/epprd/EMPLOYEE/EMPL/?cmd=login

Good luck everyone, holler if you need help!

Most summer internships have deadlines between end of January to as late as May. Start looking around if you are interested in doing an internship. Beware of search sites that ask for money. You can always check the web sites of large companies and search "high school internship" or ask your local library for internship reference books.

Some resources to get you started:

• FastWeb: Resources: Internships for High School Students (selected number of internship links posted)
  
  
• Vault Internship Database (searchable database of around 300 HS internships nationwide)
  
  
• Find your Congress Member at tp://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml and search "internship" on his/her web site. You can also look up your State Assembly Member (for California State Assembly, go to http://www.assembly.ca.gov/defaulttext.asp and click on "Find My District")
  
  
• Find a California Superior Court near you at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/find.htm and search "internship" on the web site (sometimes under Volunteer Opportunities)

Internship programs I have come across for HS students (listed in chronological order starting with programs with varying deadlines, then the earliest deadline to the latest deadline):

• The Youth Internship Program (YIP) places qualified urban students in Los Angeles as paid interns in law firms, businesses, government offices, and non-profit organizations. Open to sophomores and juniors during their out-of-school months, the program is offered three times a year to accommodate students in year-round school systems. Each paid internship program lasts eight weeks. Students work at job sites for six out of the eight weeks. During the first and last week and every Friday of each program, YTP participants take part in educational seminars. For more information visit http://www.crf-usa.org/youth-internship-program/. Deadline varies depending on the program date.
  
  
• Emma L. Bowen Foundation for Minority Interests in Media prepares minority youth for careers in the media industry. The program is unlike traditional intern programs in that students work for partner companies during summers and school breaks from the summer following their junior year in high school until they graduate from college. During the five-year program, students have an opportunity to learn many aspects of corporate operations and develop company-specific skills. Corporations have an opportunity to train and mentor students with the option of full-time employment upon completion of their college degrees. For more information visit http://www.emmabowenfoundation.com/main.html. Deadline is at the end of January.

In the latest article from LA Times, UC wants the truth on student applications, the UC application auditing process was explained in detail and the auditing timeline, examples of the audit request, and stories of successful/failed audits were described. Thanks to Eddie for sharing the article.

Information I dug up from the UC web site regarding the verification process:

In addition to the post-admission verification, the University conducts a pre-admissions verification with a random sample of applicants, who are notified in early January that they must submit verification documents in order to be considered for admission. Applicants may be asked to verify an item from one of the following application sections: Awards/Honors, Extracurricular Activities, Community Service, Educational Participation Programs (formerly Special Program Participation), Work Experience, Academic History and the Personal Statement. Falsification is the basis for a denial or revocation of admission to the University. Failure to submit the required documentation by the deadline will result in applications being withdrawn from further admission consideration at all campuses.

And remember:

It is important that applicants complete the Academic History thoroughly and accurately. Students should use grade reports, transcripts and the high school's UC-certified course list; they should not work from memory. Any information that changes after the application is submitted should be reported immediately to the admissions office at each campus to which the student has applied.

Applicants should be reminded that the information on the record will be verified following receipt of the official high school transcript and required test scores. If the University finds any information to be incomplete or inaccurate, the student’s admission to or enrollment in the University may be jeopardized.

Source: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/adminfo/freshman/helpingapply.html

I also spoke to one admission representative from Berkeley who indicated that Berkeley hand picks applicants for audits to verify glorious stories of achievement that may seem far-fetched.

Here are links to the undergraduate "business major" at each UC campus. Not all campuses offer a program in Business Administration, some offer Business Economics or Management Science.

Berkeley - Business Administration

Davis - Managerial Economics

Irvine - Business Administration or Business Information Management

UCLA - Business Economics, also known as BizEcon

Merced - Management

Riverside - Business Administration

Santa Barbara - Business Economics or Business Economics with Accounting

Santa Cruz - Business Management Economics

San Diego - Management Science

It's a done deal and the new rules apply to those entering in the fall of 2012 and after. Good news - no more SAT Subject Tests. Bad news - fewer students are guaranteed acceptance.

General information about the change - http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/eligibilitychanges/

FAQ about the change - http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/eligibilitychanges/faqs.html

This is the approximate timeline of when you can expect to find the decisions online from each UC campus. I'll update the timeline as I get more information in the next few weeks. I have a list of links to where you can check the decision for each UC campus and I will put that up next week.

Riverside and Merced will make decisions available online starting in February. The decisions come out continuously (it feels like they accept students as they read the applications). So don't panic if everyone you know have heard from Riverside and Merced but you have not; give them until the end of March to make a decision.

Irvine, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara will make decisions available online starting as early as mid-February. The decisions come in couple of waves but may continue to trickle to the end of March. So give them until then to make a decision before you freak out.

Davis will make all decisions available on the same date early March (almost always within the first week of March).

UCLA and San Diego will make all decisions available online around March 15.

Berkeley is always last; all decisions should be available by March 26 this year.