How to Get Into UCLA: An Admissions Expert's Complete Guide
Last week, a parent called me sobbing. Her daughter had a 4.5 GPA, great test scores, and all the other stuff. But UCLA didn't accept her. “What did we miss?” she asked.
After reviewing hundreds of UCLA files in 15 years of being a college counselor, I came to realize that getting into UCLA is not about checking all the boxes. It's about knowing what UCLA cares about the most and crafting an authentic narrative that they could empathize with.
In this guide, I will share with you the exact strategies that I have been teaching to my other students to help them get into UCLA, and approach this brutally competitive application process with confidence.
The Brutal Reality of UCLA Admissions
Let me get straight to the point: UCLA is super, super competitive. Last year, 173,000 + applicants applied to 6000 freshman spots, making the admission rate under 10% for most of the applicants.
But here is the part that the statistics never show: UCLA does not simply accept applicants with “good” numbers. I have seen applicants with 4.6 GPAs get an admission denial, and applicants with 4.1 GPAs get an admission acceptance. The key difference? Their application translated to a narrative that UCLA is looking for.
What Makes UCLA Different
Like all public universities, UCLA tries to juggle maintaining merit while providing access to students of all backgrounds. As a public school, UCLA has a legal obligation to ensure socioeconomic diversity, first generation students, and a diverse student body reflective of the State of California. If you understand this, you will also understand that this means special opportunities.
During my time facilitating students in Southern California, UCLA in particular has stood out to me for:
Students that have to been through and overcome a lot
Students that have had a positive impact in their community
Students that are curious
Students with different backgrounds and experiences
If you understand Austin’s priorities, you will be able to understand how to better approach the application.
The Academic Foundation: More Than Just Numbers
As with many other universities, UCLA admissions start with academics first. However, many families get this part wrong.
GPA Tells a Story
Yes, UCLA is competitive, and most applicants to UCLA do have weighted GPAs above a 4.15. However, I have been able to counsel students to success with GPAs below 4.15, even 3.85, if they have shared their academic journey in a compelling way.
However, what matters the most is course context and rigor, if you show course completion. UCLA will evaluate your transcript and what classes your school offers. If your school has 20 classes and you take 8 APs, that’s different than if your school has 6 APs and you take 5.
Upward trajectory. The first year as a student with a 3.6 and then a 4.0+ in the junior year shows growth and resilience. I have seen this cycle succeed countless times.
Performance in major related courses. Future engineers are required to do very well in mathematics and the sciences. Future humanities majors are to do very well in the English and Social sciences. UCLA examines fit for your intended path.
The Course Selection Strategy
Last Fall I advised a student choosing between AP Calculus BC (where she might get a B) and AP Statistics (where she would definitely get an A). She chose BC and ended up getting a B+.
She got admitted to UCLA.
Why? Because UCLA admissions officers noticed she took a lot of BC courses and challenged herself with the most difficult math class. They appreciated her ambition.
But you can't just fail out of the courses, you have to do well. The objective is to take the maximum amount of advanced courses that you can do well in, and that is usually A's and a couple B's in the hardest classes.
Beyond A-G Requirements
UCLA’s A-G requirements are the minimum that is required, however competitive applicants have A-G requirements far exceeded them:
4 years of mathematics (at least through calculus/equivalent)
3-4 years of lab science
3-4 years of the same foreign language
Several years of visual/performing arts or higher-level electives
My suggestion is that A-G requirements should be viewed as the starting, not the ending, point.
The Holistic Review: What Does Your Application Actually Go Through?
I am not sure if most families know this but UCLA has a fully integrated review system where there are multiple readers and they look at 14 different elements in three different categories.
I learned this years ago when I went to a UCLA admissions talk and it has changed how I guide students ever since. Obsessing over one component is not the best strategy, we instead try to create strength across multiple components.
The Readers Evaluation of the Applications
Two or more readers grade each application independently and they have to score it in academics, as well as in personal. They’re looking for excellence but also diversity when considering experience, perspective and background.
During my career, I’ve spoken with former UCLA admissions officers who say that they are building a class, not just accepting students one by one. This means that there are no applications that are evaluated on their own; rather, they are evaluated on how you would fit into UCLA’s community.
The following, consistently, are the factors that set the winning applicants apart.
Adversity. UCLA looks at the adversity you have faced, as well as what you have done to address it. This does not mean that you need to share tragedy, but rather take a step back, think, reflect on the obstacles, and showcase how you have grown.
Intellectual curiosity. UCLA wants to see students who have an inquisitive mind, one that goes beyond what the classroom has to offer. One of my students who got in spent her summers reading philosophy and created a discussion forum online; another one learned how to code to build an app that addresses food insecurity.
Impact. UCLA looks at students who have positively impacted their community to an extent that is significant. However, it is not about the number of organizations you worked on; one student working for a long time on one organization is far more valuable than 10 students working for a short time on a long list of organizations.
Application Story
This is, by far, the most noticeable differentiation to me. Successful UCLA applicants do not write independently for each of their accomplishments. Rather, they write one cohesive narrative that defines who they are, what they care about, and what is important to them.
Discovering Your True Story
About two years ago, I had a student named Marcus. He originally wanted to put his best foot forward, so he tried to market himself as a ‘perfect candidate’. He drafted an application with all his accomplishments, but no element of the application portrayed who he was as a person.
This was not acceptable, so we had to begin the application all over again. I asked him what was most important to him, and it turned out he spent years at a time caring for his grandfather with Alzheimer’s, and while doing so, his mother was working a double shift. That experience was what made him passionate about \neuroscience and community health advocacy.
This is the story Marcus had to tell. It was not presented as a hardship, but as the motivation for his intellectual curiosity and a commitment to equitable access to health care. Because of it, he was accepted to UCLA.
And so, the moral is, the most interesting story to tell is a true story, not a made up one.
Questions Every Application Should Answer
When I assess applications, I look for answers to three questions specifically.
Who is this person, outside of academics? \n What are their driving values? What do they care about?
What do they uniquely contribute? \n How could they improve UCLA’s community?
Why UCLA? \n How does UCLA compliment their values and goals?
Out of all the applications I’ve ever read, the ones that answer the questions above for sure top the ones that only have a long list of accomplishments.
Extracurricular Activities: Quality Over Quantity
I tell my students that UCLA does NOT want to see students who are doing tons of activities and doing them superficially. UCLA wants to see depth, impact, and engagement.
What Actually Impresses Admissions Officers
I have been counseling students for many years and have recognized certain patterns in students’ extracurricular involvement that resonate with UCLA:
Sustained commitment. Spending 4 years in 1 activity and moving from being just a participant to governing as a leader shows commitment and growth.
Measurable impact. Having the title of “Member of Key Club” has no significance. “I coordinated a food drive and collected 5,000 pounds of food and established a continued partnership between the school and the local food bank” is memorable.
Alignment with interests. Your extracurricular activities should relate to your academic interests and values, creating a coherent narrative.
The Project-Based Approach
One method that works every time and is also my favorite is completing a signature project that solves a real problem in your community.
Last year, I had a student who identified food waste in the school cafeteria. She researched the problem, proposed a solution to the school administration, partnered with a local farm that accepts compost, and for 18 months, monitored the environmental change. This single project was the focus of her application narrative and demonstrated so much initiative, research skill, leadership, and impact in the community.
You don’t need to cure cancer or start a charity. You need genuine engagement with an issue that speaks to you.
Specific Activities that Carry Weight
From my perspective and conversations with admission officers, some activities signal a stronger candidacy:
Higher grade independent research projects that extend beyond the requirements of the coursework
Employment/sustaining paid work that financially helps the family
Quantifiable leadership roles/creating change that have resulted in measurable social change
Successful state or national level competitions
Sustained creation of diverse artistic portfolios
The common theme among these is that they demand a tremendous investment of time and exhibit a level of initiative that goes beyond mere engagement.
Mastering the Personal Insight Questions
The Personal Insight Questions (PIQs) are the place for UCLA to get to know you beyond a 30-minute interview. After going through thousands of essays, it becomes evident that there is a level of consideration gone into the ‘successful’ essays that is tied to a real issue that the applicant is working through.
Picking Out Which Questions to Answer
You will need to answer 4 out of 8 possible questions. Each answer has to be 350 words. Most students end up busying themselves far too much trying to figure out which questions to answer. My suggestion is to answer the questions that:
Let you discuss different parts of your identity.
Fit with your bigger story.
Let you share different, specific experiences instead of answering with generalizations.
Show the traits UCLA appreciates.
What Else to Include to Write a Good Essay
I remember reading an essay last spring where a student described how she failed her driving test three times. Instead of trying to hide this "failure," she explained her journey in overcoming her driving test anxiety, stating how she learned to be persistent and advocate for her concerns.
That's how she got into UCLA.
That works essay was very specific and, as the student presented it, there was a lot of self-reflection to show the school how much she had grown from the experience. I'm sure this is exactly the kind of thing UCLA is looking for, instead of trying to present themselves as flawless.
Key attributes of strong essays include:
Illustrative details that show rather than tell readers
Introspection that demonstrates complexity of thought
Authentic tone that resonates with teenagers rather than sounding like a corporate document
Relation to personal development or change in values
Some essay common mistakes include:
Different essays that describe community service done in an entirely interchangeable manner
Employing elaborate vocabulary to showoff rather than to express something
Writing a narrative but failing to contemplate over its value
Puffing up the truth or lying about experiences
The PIQ Strategy I Use With Students
First we think of big life events that showcase growth in different attributes like courage, risk-taking, or self-discovery. Then we discern which prompts will capture these events the best.
On an individual level, I require students to dig deeper than basic statements. For instance, rather than writing something like “I mastered the skill of leadership,” the essay must capture the moment when the person was able to lead a group, resolve a dispute, or changed direction of the group in a constructive manner. Details like these animate the essay.
Timeline for Success
There is a trend that I notice: the students who start early with the essay outlines have many more choices when it comes to building their application.
Getting Started in 9th and 10th Grade
If you're a freshman or a sophomore and you're reading this, you are in luck! You should use this time to:
Figure out what activities you like and want to do
Try and make connections with your teachers and mentors
Challenge yourself and demonstrate rigor in your courses
Start thinking of different issues or problems that you can focus on
Avoid trying to create the “perfect” resume. You should focus on the activities that resonate with you or engage your interests in depth, rather than trying to add a ton of activities to your resume.
The Most Important Year: Junior Year
Junior Year is when students should start taking their applications seriously. In the fall of junior year, I typically work with students to:
Consider what courses to take in senior year, making sure you keep the rigor in your classes.
Increase the number of activities you are involved in to focus on at least 3-5 of them.
Generate some ideas that could be meaningful topics to write about in your essays.
Start looking into the values and specific programs that UCLA offers.
By the spring of junior year, we want to have a draft of the essays written, recommendations requested, and a structured narrative to work with.
Applying as a Senior
By the fall of senior year, the successful contenders have…
Good grades in difficult courses.
Solidified their application stories.
Prepared and reviewed their UC PIQs.
Listed their activities and their consequences/impact.
The UC application opens August 1 and closes November 30. Drafting the PIQs due in early November is the best approach. This ensures the grades and activities are documented and the student are only focusing on revising the PIQs.
What Not To Do When Applying
After 15 years there are patterns or the common mistakes that lead to the unsuccessful applications, and there are a few of these mistakes that are the most common and i work the hardest to prevent.
Mistake 1: Not Looking At UCLA Published Priorities
Most parents and students don’t take a look at the common data set, but UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine has published their comprehensive review and since most people don’t look at it, it makes the review and application strategy far simpler.
Mistake 2: Resume Inflation
One of the students I counseled was involved in 18 activities at a… very very very superficial level. When we audited her activity time spent, the answer was "not very much." Her application was much more compelling after we cut it down to 5 activities in which she had spent enough time.
UCLA values greater depth and quality over breadth. More participation does not equal more value in the application. It is far more impactful to have leadership and accomplishment in 3 activities than a participation trophy in 10.
Writing Generic Essays
Every year, drafts start with lines like, "I have always wanted to help people." Essays like these are synthesized into one in the minds of Admissions Officers.
Memorable essays, however, start with something very specific. For instance, "The first time I extracted DNA from strawberries, I spent time in the kitchen and had to text my biology teacher at 11 PM because I had 17 questions."
Specificity is what makes these essays memorable.
Starting College Admissions as a Senior
The UCLA Admissions process is very tricky, especially when it is started in senior year. For these students, the disadvantages are stacked against them. The students cannot change course trajectories, develop new activities, and it is very hard to build relationships with recommenders.
Ideally, planning for this process should be started in the students freshman year, at the latest, the second year.
The Common Misconception of "Holistic Review"
There is a common misconception when it comes to the UCLA Admissions process. Some students believe it is enough to just conquer adversity in order to pass. Others think this award is a guaranteed one with just perfect grades. Ultimately, neither are true.
UCLA takes every single application in context, meaning pieces of excellence cannot just be placed without every other dimension being completed. A solid academic prep has to be placed in order to get the other personal qualities, and vice versa as well.
There has to be an overall strength placed across the dimensions.
How Professional Guidance Helps
I debated putting this section in, especially because I do not want the guide to feel like a sales pitch. However, with complete honesty, I do have to say many families benefit in having professional college counseling.
The Importance of Experience
Having worked with many students over the years has given me the ability to see things families cannot. I see things like when a student has a great story, but it ends up being overshadowed by what they think the admissions committee's opinion will be.
I see it when students choose extracurricular activities that don't line up with their stated interests, when essays that have good writing but miss the point, when applications fail to present the student's true accomplishments.
That perspective comes from reviewing many applications, successful and otherwise, and seeing how admissions officers think and what their biases are.
What Applicable Counseling Offers
I divide my practice into the following areas.
Purposive structuring that starts early and spans years, instead of months, and results in strong applications.
Story shaping that focuses on the students' true narratives so they don't have to create a story.
Guided essays that are done over a number of drafts to ensure students dive deeper than just surface-level reflections.
Wholesome appraisal that carries the admissions point of view so that critical metrics are highlighted and areas that need improvement are not overlooked.
Stress process management and assistance in a process that can be overwhelming.
When to Seek Help
Professional help is appropriate when you
-- Want to create a customized multi-year strategy and are just starting the process
-- Are confused on how to position and organize your specific experiences and your unique situation
-- Having difficulties finding your voice and telling your story on paper
-- Have learning differences or specific circumstances
-- Are feeling stressed and overwhelmed about how complicated the process is with competitive admissions
At Meridian Prep, we offer a complimentary initial consultation to assess your profile and provide individualized advice completely free of charge, with no obligation and no sales pressure. If we think we can help you, we’ll explain how we can help. If we think we can’t add value to what you are already doing, we will be honest about that as well.
Your Next Step
If you are reading this, you are likely serious about the admission process. Here are the steps you should take next:
Immediate Next Steps
Read the Common Data Set for UCLA. Go to UCLA’s institutional research webpage to download the Common Data Set. Look for the differences of what they state as “very important” and what they state is “considered.”
Evaluate your profile and be honest about it. Determine your strengths and your weaknesses. Don’t focus on how other applicants are doing, think about your own development instead.
Figure out your story. What experiences impacted you the most? What do you value and care about? Your story should come from a sincere place and be a combination of your experiences and your beliefs.
This Month
Select courses carefully. Make sure you are enrolled in the most challenging classes that you can handle. Remember to balance taking higher-level courses with the overall workload you can handle.
Extra-curricular activities. Are you in too many activities? Would you be able to make a bigger impact if you focused your attention on less activities? It is better to do one thing really well than to do lots of things poorly.
Start a project. Find something in the community that needs attention that also relates to your interests, and try to come up with some ideas to solve the problem.
Ongoing
Relationships with teachers and mentors. Make sure to build genuine relationships with teachers, and mentors, and have them get to know you really well. This allows them to provide you with a more personalized recommendation about your character and how you actively participate in class.
Keep a record of all activities. Think about all the things you have done and be sure to write them down with specific details about the things you were in charge of, the impact it had, and what the outcomes were. You are going to need this information for your application.
Know about UCLA. Make sure that you have all the information you can get about UCLA and what programs and values they incorporate. This is going to make it easier for you to present cohesive and genuine ideas.
Final Thoughts: You Can Do This
It's not easy to get into UCLA. I'm not going to lie and pretend that's not the case.
That being said, you should also keep this in mind: every year, UCLA lets in thousands of students. This means that they are looking for students of all different backgrounds and strengths. Students who, while they may not be perfect, have the potential to do great things and have good character that fits in with the school culture.
You are meant to be excellently yourself without having to put up a facade while also building a solid academic record along and getting involved in your communities.
Understanding and knowing what means to persevere and work in to achieve what means to build a quality and value application to UCLA is something I have witnessed so much in my 15 years.
The real question is not whether it is possible for you to gain admission to UCLA, but whether you are prepared to put unsolicited effort to being your real self, but in an intentional way.
This is something I have meant to elaborate with you, so let's collaborate.
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Information about your academic and extracurricular activities and current profile.
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A consideration of your authentic and real story along with an explanation of the best way to present it.
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