Admissions Blog :: UCLA Undergraduate Admissions

UARS Top 10 List

I'm not going to lie, I don't really stay up late enough to watch David Letterman anymore, but I'm relatively sure he still does a Top Ten List on his show. Mine isn't going to have any clever jokes or references to Regis Philbin; it's just going to be 10 things it seems like you all want to know, based on your comments. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't. I'm going to thank you all for coming on this journey with me in advance. 

10. Reminder to freshman admits: The deadline to submit your SIR is May 1. That's this Thursday.

9. For freshman awaiting appeal decisions: please keep in mind that, historically, the number of students whose original admission decision is overturned based on appeal is incredibly low. If you haven't heard from our office by May 1, I strongly recommend you consider all of your options and SIR to another campus.

8. Transfers awaiting their decisions: they're coming soon! I promise! I know the waiting game is zero fun, but in some cases it's unavoidable. It's almost over...really.

7. Transfers admits: Your deadline to SIR is June 2. That's over a month away, but still a good day to keep in mind.

6. Transfer students who weren't offered admission and want to be considered for their second choice major: unfortunately, UCLA does not do this. Sorry. I know our applicant pool was incredibly strong, and am confident that students who were not offered admission here at UCLA received offers of admission from many other wonderful universities.

5. To the person who asked if the picture of the UARS staff on a recent post is the entire staff: the answer is no. It's not even close. It's just a picture of people who remembered to wear their UCLA shirts on picture day and wanted to achieve internet fame.

4. Freshman and transfer admits who want to report changes to their academic schedule or a decline in performance: please do so via the New Bruins website. Sometimes students avoid notifying us about changes to their academic profile because they are afraid of the results and hope that we just won't notice, but I promise you, we do. If you are concerned that something has changed that could affect your admission status, it is truly in your best interest to notify our office as soon as possible by filling out a Provisional Problem Form.

3. Transfer students considering filing an appeal: for an appeal to have merit, it needs to contain new and compelling information that was not available in your original application. If you are going to claim that you have completed a class that is not on your application, or a grade has been changed, you must supply affirming documentation.

2. On this day in 1788, Maryland was 7th state to ratify the Constitution. Way to go, MD!

1. I know I Pollyanna out on you guys a lot, but I really do appreciate your comments and questions, so please keep them coming and best wishes for a happy university experience this fall, wherever you are!

Q&A Time

Well it's that special time again where I answer the questions you leave in the comments section with a multi-topic post. Some might say this is because I am lazy, but I prefer the term efficient. So in the name of efficiency, let's get down to business, shall we?

Transfer Admissions Decisions: I cannot tell you when decisions will be released. I am sorry. I know this is not the answer anyone wants, but it is the truth. Because our campus receives more applications than any other in the country, it takes us a little longer to read and evaluate all of them. We ask that you bear with us just a little longer; we do promise they'll be released by the end of April.

Appeals/Reconsideration Requests: Some of our freshman applicants who were not offered admission this year have filed appeals and are wondering when they will hear a response. We endeavor to reply to student appeals within 15 working days AKA 3 weeks. One thing to keep in mind if you are waiting for our reconsideration decision is that the deadline to submit your SIR to any UC campus is May 1. Historically, a very small percentage of students have their admissions decisions overturned, so I highly recommend that students awaiting a reconsideration decision consider all educational options available to them for fall 2008.

Admitted Freshmen: Welcome again! We can't wait to meet all our new Bruins this fall. While I love the fact that so many admitted students are coming to this blog with their questions, this isn't always the best place to get the answers you need. I am really only an authority on admissions policies and application procedures. The UCLA homepage has links to the department or office that can give you the answers you need, and it will be your best friend throughout your time here on campus.

So in conclusion, and in summation, bear with us during this busy time and thanks for reading and posting your questions! Keep them coming!

You have questions; I have answers...

Since we released admissions decisions a couple of weeks ago, we have received a LOT of questions on the blog, not surprisingly. I've noticed that questions seem to fall into a few different categories, so I am going to attempt to address them here. I hope you find the information you need.

1) The Decision-Making Process: As much as I would love to convince our admitted students to attend UCLA, I cannot do it in good conscience. UCLA is an amazing place, but it might not be the right school for every body. Take your time, consider your options, and choose the campus where you think you will be the happiest. I promise, you will do better academically if you are happy personally, so follow your instincts.

2) Appeals: I understand that a lot of the students who were not offered admission are very disappointed, and I completely sympathize. However, I do want to reiterate that the chances of having your decision overturned are incredibly slim. For an appeal to have merit, the student has to present new and compelling information that was not presented in the original application. High grades and/or awards earned in the senior year do not qualify as new and compelling information. I strongly advise students who were not offered admission to UCLA to consider attending another four-year institution or a community college.

3) Transfer Admission Decisions: I cannot say when decisions will be released. Our best estimate is mid/late April (just a couple of weeks away!), but I am unable to be more specific than that. Your wait is almost over!

Last but not least, congratulations to our Men's Basketball Team for making it to the Final Four! This has been a very exciting tournament so far, and we wish them the best of luck!

New Personal Statement Prompts

We know you early birds are out there. You're the ones who logged on to the UC application website when it first became available a few weeks ago. You've already completed the application; drafted, edited and re-edited your Personal Statement; and are just waiting to finally submit it when November 1 rolls around. We commend you for staying on top of things!

As for the rest of you (and believe me, I was one of you eight years ago), you might not have even thought about your application, much less the Personal Statement. But did you know that the UC application features new Personal Statement prompts for freshman and transfer applicants this year? I know, we just threw a wrench in your operations, didn't we? Well, have no fear. We're essentially looking for the same information as in previous years, but the new prompts guide you better than before.

Just to refresh your memory, this is what you're working with this year:

Prompt #1 (freshman applicants)

Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

Prompt #1 (transfer applicants)   

What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field — such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities — and what you have gained from your involvement.

Prompt #2 (all applicants)   

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

Yes, we've done away with the open ended prompt. Yes, you must answer both prompts listed for your applicant class. No, you may not answer previous years' prompts. You'll be comforted to know that you may split your 1,000 words between both prompts however you wish (although we ask that they be no shorter than 250 words), and if you exceed the word limit by a dozen words or so, it's not the end of the world.

So what are we looking for? Quite simply, we want to see what makes you tick. Who are you? Where do you come from? What don't we already know about you by reading the rest of the application? Don't merely list your classes and extracurricular activities. We want you to show us why they are important and how they connect with your intended course of study.

It is equally important to you give yourself plenty of time to draft and edit your Personal Statement. While the holistic review process ensures that no single section of the application is more important that the other, think of the Personal Statement as your one opportunity to speak to us in a way the rest of your application doesn't.

Now get to work! I've given you tips, now it's your turn to put them into practice. Remember: the application deadline for fall 2008 admissions is November 30. Don't wait until the last minute or else you might find yourself frustrated with a slow and overloaded server.

Good luck, and we look forward to reading your apps!

Keep up the Great Work!

The academic year has just begun here at UCLA, but those of you who are attending high schools and/or community colleges have probably been in class for over a month now. If you are applying to UCLA (or any university) for fall 2008, I have a couple pieces of advice for you:

1) Be aware of all deadlines! UC applications are accepted during the month of November every year, which means that you can submit your application to UCLA online in exactly a month. Sound too soon? Not to worry, you have until November 30 to submit your application, but it's a good idea to start preparing early!

2) Don't neglect your current studies!

High school students: continue taking challenging courses, make sure you take your all your exams on time, and beware the dangers of "senioritis."

Community college students: make sure you maintain a competitive GPA and check with your counselor to make sure you've taken all the appropriate courses to be eligible to transfer.

We evaluate applications and make admissions decisions based on your self-reported information about courses currently in progress and courses you plan to take. If you are admitted and we learn that your academic performance has declined, or you did not complete all of the courses you reported on your application, your offer of admission is subject to withdrawl.

3) Keep checking back here for more helpful tips!

Okay, switching gears from that little lecture, here's a fun fact for the day: "Bruin" is actually the Dutch word for "brown." A brown bear in a Dutch folk tale was named "Bruin" because of his color, and now us English-speakers often use the word Bruin to refer to any brown bear, and two especially awesome brown bears  in particular.

New Bruins

For those who you who have been admitted, either on the UCLA Undergraduate Admissions website or through official mail, I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS and WELCOME to the Bruin family! My name is Roni Lavi, and I work for the UCLA Undergraduate Admissions Office. My duties include advising prospective and newly admitted students regarding acceptance into UCLA and successful completion of acceptance procedures. Now that decisions are out, I know that many of you admitted students are wondering about the next steps. The admissions website is very helpful in guiding you through the acceptance process. The following link will provide you a checklist of what needs to be done before you start classes in the fall:  http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/newbruins.htm Please make sure that you click on the appropriate class level (freshman or transfer).

For those students who have made changes to their course work or have received poor grades, please make sure to fill out a Provisional Problem Form. An evaluator will review your changes and notify you within fifteen working days if the changes will affect your admission. The following links will guide you to the correct forms to fill out the Provisional Problem Form. Freshmen, please visit: http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/NewBruins/NSG_Freshmen.htm. Transfer students, please visit: http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/NewBruins/NSG_Transfer.htm.

And please feel free to e-mail the New Bruins email account at newbruins@saonet.ucla.edu with any questions you might have regarding your admission to UCLA. 

Again, congratulations and best of luck to you as a New Bruin!

The Rumor Mill

A number of you have been asking us--either on the phone, via email, in person, or on this blog--about when we will release our admission and deny decisions. We've written about it a few times here, but it's worth reiterating because it's so important to us and to you. So here goes: UCLA Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools will release its freshman admission decisions for fall 2007--online and via traditional mail--at the very end of the last week of March 2007. UCLA UARS will release its transfer admission decisions for fall 2007--online and via traditional mail--at the end of the fourth week of April 2007. The only official UCLA admission or deny decision you will receive will come directly from UCLA Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools in the mail and on our website.

There's really no way we could release the decisions earlier than the dates I listed--believe me, I would know. I'm coordinating all of the printed material for our notification via traditional mail, and nary a letter, packet, postcard, or scrap of paper has been dropped in the mail with any UCLA admission or deny decision on it. I realize, as do my colleagues, that this is a really exciting time for all of you, and, for many of you, it's anxiety provoking. If you have any other questions about UCLA admissions or campus life, please feel free to comment on this blog. I'm certain that many of you have the same questions for us, so go public with your queries.

Taking the Plunge

The last time I wrote here I was in the midst of reading applications. Well, I still am, albeit at the tail end. Logistically speaking, we’ve done a lot to increase our reviewing efficiency over the years, but it still takes a good chunk of time get through our applications since reviewing each one individually is an integral part of the process. We certainly can’t do it as fast as many of our sister campuses. And I’m sure there are schools out there even slower than us. Which (finally) brings me to my point: Even if you are dying to get this whole college application thing behind you, you should not commit (i.e., submit your “Statement of Intent to Register”) until you are certain you know where you want to go. Mind you, I am NOT advocating procrastination. I’m just suggesting that you wait until you’ve heard from all your a-list institutions before signing. Then, when you’ve got all the cards on the table, go for it! Freshmen have until May 1 to commit, and transfers until June 1, and all who comply with these deadlines are given the same chances at housing (if you apply for it on time!!!), enrolling in classes, and other opportunities. Also, keep in mind that if you do change your mind you will lose any registration deposit you pay.

By the way, we plan on releasing admission decisions for freshman applicants at the end of March and for transfers at the end of April.

Did You Know?

As Daniel Fogg mentioned in his blog entry, 99% of the students who applied to UCLA did so online. Applying to the UC has never been easier than it is now; one online application can be submitted to any or all of the UC campuses of the applicant's choice at once. Way back when I was applying to the UC (November 1999), we had to do everything on paper, but it was still nice to be able to fill out just one application to apply to several great universities. However, it wasn't always that easy. Journey with me if you will back to 1986. Ronald Reagan was president, Greg Lemond became the first American to win the Tour de France, and our freshman applicants probably weren't born yet. 1986 was also the first year that students were allowed to apply to multiple to UC campuses at once. Prior to 1986, students submitted applications only to their first-choice campus. If the students were not granted admission, their applications may have been forwarded to a different campus in need of applications. Otherwise, students would have had to attend universities outside of the UC system. This change in UC policy resulted in almost twice as many students applying to UCLA in 1986 than had applied in 1985. And the numbers have kept growing and growing ever since!

Take a Tour!

No matter how many magazine articles, national rankings, or news reports you see on colleges, nothing truly compares to actually seeing a day in the life of a student through a good old fashioned campus tour. My name is Jared Zack, and I'm a student affairs officer who also supervises the campus tours program at UCLA. Actually, as a junior in high school, it was this very tour that convinced me that UCLA was my best fit, and persuaded me to make, in my opinion, the best choice of my life.

With ski week and spring break right around the corner, there's no better time than now to visit UCLA! I invite you to tour our campus, and want to make you aware of the different options you have.

To book a tour, you have the option of directly contacting our campus tours office at (310) 825-8764. Tours are offered at 10:15am and 2:15pm, Monday through Friday. Saturday tours are offered only at 10:15am. There may, however, be changes in the typical schedule due to holiday closures and finals week for our students.

You can also book a tour yourself! Just go to our campus tours website, www.admissions.ucla.edu/tours, and follow the easy steps to reserve a spot with one of our distinguished tour guides.

Lastly, if you'd like to view the campus at your own leisure, our newest addition is the tours podcast. You have the opportunity to download a tour to your iPod or MP3 player, giving you plenty of time to enjoy all UCLA has to offer! The podcast is narrated by three of our tour guides: Mike Stevenson, Shaiya Rahman, and Jed Levine. You can find the podcast, with all downloading directions, at www.admissions.ucla.edu/podcasts/tour.html.

Look forward to having you all visit over the next few months!