What does it really take to get in to ucla

Question

What does it really take to get in to ucla

Answer 1

The same things it takes to get into any highly selective university.

1. Grades! Earn straight A's, or something close to it. A 3.5 simply won't cut it with a school like UCLA (unless you are an exceptionally talented athlete). Take AP, honors and IB classes, too, to show that you can handle tough material.

2. Scores. Have SAT scores above 630 in each section, or an ACT score over 29.

3. Extracurricular activities. Volunteer, play sports, play music, join various clubs on campus.

4. Leadership. It's not enough to just do stuff. You should take on challenges where you lead people while doing stuff, too.

I got into UCLA, but chose Berkeley. I had a lot of all of these things on my application, and that is typical for UCLA and Cal applicants.

Answer 2

UCLA is more academically focused, so excellent grades and great test scores are essential.  Rigorous course schedule is also very important.

Try taking a few community college courses in the summer (courses in the a-g subject areas that are UC-transferable; the grades are weighted and you receive college credits without having to take AP exams) to help boost your GPA and to show UCLA you are motivated to take that extra step to achieve academically.