UCSD Guide
Pro’s of UCSD over Berkeley and UCLA
– Berkeley and UCLA are often overrated. Your success in education, in the job market, and in everything else in life is dependent on YOU as an individual, not the name of the college.
– Better registration. Science clases are often unavailable to many students at Berkeley and UCLA due to high demand. According to many Berkeley students, registration is a nightmare.
– Safe neighborhood. Berkeley and UCLA are in urban, higher-crime environments. UCSD, on the other hand, is located in the very affluent community of La Jolla, a suburb north of San Diego.
– More outdoor, natural environment. UCSD is a paradise for runners, bikers, swimmers, surfers, and other outdoor-loving people! The beach is also really close (though not adjacent) to campus.
– International experience: Mexico is about a 30-minute drive away!
Berkeley and UCLA are definitely amazing schools that truly deserve the great reputation that they have. For certain liberal arts majors and engineering disciplines, Berkeley and UCLA would have an edge over UCSD. For nursing, UC Irvine would be better than UCSD. UCSD, however, is greatly rising in university rankings, especially in the sciences.
UCSD statistics
Fall 2008
Total Enrollment: 28,200
Undergraduate Enrollment: 22,518
Graduate Enrollment: 5,682
Undergraduates by Ethnicity:
African American: 1.5%
American Indian: 0.4%
Asian/Pacific Islander: 48.6%
Chicano/Latino: 12.2%
White: 26.7%
Other: 1.6%
Not Stated: 5.8%
International 3.2%
Chancellor: Marye Anne Fox
[Chancellor = Principal]
Faculty: 1,471
Founded: 1959 (4th-newest UC)
Location: La Jolla, San Diego County, California, USA
[Pronounced “Lah Hoyah”]
Campus: Suburban, 2,124 acres
Newspaper: UCSD Guardian
Colors: Navy Blue and Gold
Athletic Team: Tritons
Mascot: King Triton
Fall 2009
47,037 freshman applications
37.5% offered admission
Tips before you apply:
– Try to get 680 or over on the writing section of the SAT I if you haven’t done so already. This will fulfill the UC entry-level writing requirement. A passing score (3 or above) on the AP Lit or AP English tests can also fulfill this requirement. If not, you will take the UC Analytical Writing Placement Exam in May of senior year, which may be taken only once.
– Try to get 700 or over on a foreign language SAT if you’re atttending Eleanor Roosevelt College. This will exempt you from taking foreign language GE’s. A passing score (3 or above) on any foreign language AP exam also counts.
– Try to take AP Calculus AB or BC in high school. This may save you from having to take math placement exams.
– (To get a head start on your application) For your extracurricular activities, list them all out and describe:
1) the number of hours per week spent on the activity
2) the number of weeks per year spent on the activity
3) the number of years spent on the activity
4) written description of the activity
Try to round off and approximate the number of hours/weeks, since colleges just want to have a rough idea of how much time you’ve spent on an activity.
– Each campus costs $60 to apply to. Applying to all UC campuses will cost $540. Credit card is accepted.
– No letters of recommendation are required for UC’s.
– After you’ve finished taking all your SAT’s, make sure that you send an official score report of all your SAT’s to all of the colleges you will apply to via College Board’s website! It costs around $10 or so to send a report to a single college. Failure to do so jeopardize your admission!
– Be prepared to visit San Diego two times before you actually start college. UC San Diego holds an Admit Day on the first Saturday of April, Scholars’ Day in early March for their top admits, and mandatory orientation sessions from June – September. Southwest Airlines is a good option for those who do not wish to drive down to San Diego. Also try to tour San Diego and the surrounding area – you will get to know your surroundings much better! I can give you an informal tour around UCSD if you’re interested. Just e-mail me at andhsiu@gmail.com
– Budget at least $1,000 before college begins. Costs include:
$60 – application fee (due November 30)
$100 – SIR deposit (due May 1)
$650 – housing deposit (due June 30)
~$150 – orientation fee (due May or June)
Essay prompts for UC application:
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 #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?
Essay #3 (optional)
You can write ANYTHING you want to UC!
Respond to EACH prompt in about 1,000 words. That would be 2,000 words total. Going a little over 1,000 words is fine.
The Six College System
“Six colleges, one great University”
On your UC application, you will be asked to rank UCSD colleges based on preference. The college you choose DOES matter, since all their housing, locations, general education requirements, themes, and other factors differ A LOT from each other! Rank your colleges based on your career goals, personality type, etc.
Having six colleges allows break UCSD down into manageable chunks and have a sense of being in a smaller, close-knit community. It would be quite easy to feel lost in a large campus that doesn’t have such a system. Thus, UCSD has been nicknamed the “Oxford of the West” because of this. (Oxford University in England is split into many small colleges.) UC Santa Cruz also has a similar system.
Often, the colleges do not have enough room for all students. You will then be directed to your second-choice college if that happens. If not, you will be directed to your third choice, fourth choice, and so on.
UCSD college descriptions:
http://www.ucsd.edu/portal/site/ucsd/menuitem.135225ab0c7ce3c0c0020010d34b01ca/?vgnextoid=14d9a78f2c741110a78f2c741110cdca5105RCRD
Each college is different:
Marshall – more community and public service oriented; stresses good citizenship
Muir – most flexible GE’s (general education: basic classes that everyone has to take regardless of major); also the hardest college to get into due to high demand
Revelle – difficult but very well-rounded GE’s, oldest college
Roosevelt (“ERC”) – international emphases; GE’s include lots of history and liberal arts; nicest dorms; Main GE program is called MMW (Making of the Modern World), which is a 2-year writing program; closest to gym and park; International House, where foreign students and professors live, is in ERC
Warren – best for engineering majors, since the GE’s can be tapered to fit your major; has the most single dorms; closest to engineering buildings; in center of campus
Sixth – only a few years old, and does not have a new name yet; GE’s highly emphasize art. Main GE program is called CAT (Culture, Art and Technology); in center of campus
All the colleges, except for Sixth, were named after real people!
For info on their GE’s:
http://www.ucsd.edu/portal/site/ucsd/menuitem.e25088fc289ee30b4bb91c8ad74b01ca/?vgnextoid=c0dedc247ef63110VgnVCM10000045b410acRCRD
My rankings were:
Eleanor Roosevelt:1, John Muir:2, Thurgood Marshall:3, Sixth College:4, Earl Warren:5, Revelle:6
Key phrases to help you remember the colleges’ themes:
Marshall – Community service
Muir – Flexibility
Revelle – Difficult, traditional curriculum
Roosevelt – International
Warren – Science and enginerring
Sixth – Artsy
Filling Out the Application
Tips for applying:
– If you EVER got 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in anything, DEFINITELY put mention that you got 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in your college application.
– Mention how many years, and which years, you have been doing an acitivity for, especially if it is a leadership role.
– For your extracurricular activities, list them all out and describe:
1) the number of hours per week spent on the activity
2) the number of weeks per year spent on the activity
3) the number of years spent on the activity
4) written description of the activity
Try to round off and approximate the number of hours/weeks, since colleges just want to have a rough idea of how much time you’ve spent on an activity.
– Make sure to save your log-in info, such as application ID, URL’s, usernames, passwords, and other information in a separate document. Doing so will save lots of time and trouble!
– Summer school and community college classes can be tricky to fill out. Make sure to consult your guidance counselor if you’re not sure about how to do so!
– Submit your application a few days before Thanksgiving. On November 1, when the application is out, fill it out right away. Have your application completely ready to be submitted by around November 15-20. Review your application for several days and make any changes necessary. November 29 and 30 are bad dates to submit, since procrastinating applicants often crash the UC website on those dates!
UCSD admissions process
UCSD admits students on a point-based system.
2009 statistics
Total cutoff: 7738
Regents cutoff (academics only): 7258
Average weighted GPA: 4.09
Average SAT I: 1966
Regents scholarships include:
– $6,000 tuition fee
– automatic entry into honors program
– priority for class registration
For 2009, the average Regents Scholar had a 2246 SAT and 4.3+ GPA
Anyone who falls under the cutoff score either gets placed into winter quarter admission (which means the student can spend the fall quarter at a local community college) if they are borderline, or simply rejected.
THE POINT SYSTEM
(From: http://www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/freshmen/process.html)
Step I: Academic review Maximum Consideration
Uncapped Grade Point Average (GPA) 4,500
Scores of all required exams 3,200
[The above two are added together to determine who will get Regents.]
Number of “a-g” courses beyond the minimum 500
[Most Lynbrook students have already fulfilled this.]
Step II: Additional academic factors
Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) 300
[Top 4% of graduating class. This ranking is based on unweighted GPA. Make sure you agree to have Lynbrook send your personal academic information to third parties such as universities, or you will not be considered for ELC. If you are determined to be an ELC student by the University of California, you should receive a letter in the mail. If not, you can check with the Lynbrook office.]
Educational environment 300
[Lynbrook is not eligible due to a high API score and being in a non-disaadvantaged community.]
Step III: Socioeconomic factors
Low family income 300
First generation college attendance 300
Step IV: Personal characteristics and achievement factors
Demonstrated leadership 300
Special talents/ achievements/ awards 300
Community and volunteer service 300
Participation in academic development preparation programs 300
Special circumstances/ personal challenges 500
Total possible score is 11,100.
How to calculate your score:
STEP I
GPA calculation:
– Multiply your GPA by 1,000.
– 8 honors / AP courses (for grades 10-11) max
– capped at 4.50
For example,
– 0.10 weighted GPA = 100 points
– 4.00 weighted GPA = 4,000 points
SAT calculation:
1) Add your SAT I score and best two SAT II score.
2) Multiply the sum by 0.8.
3) Round off to the nearest whole digit.
For example, I have a 2968 for all my SAT’s, since it’s 0.8*(2110 + 800 + 800) = 2968.
Add the GPA and SAT points together, and that’s your Regents eligibility score.
Add 500 points for a-g courses taken. This does not count towards your Regents eligibility score. Most Lynbrook students will already have these 500 points.
Except for ELC students, most Lynbrook students are not eligible for STEP II and STEP III points. Add 300 points if you are ELC. STEP IV is difficult to calculate. Call the UCSD admissions office to see how they determine the scores. Usually about 100-150 points are added for each award, leadership role, community service hours, etc. performed.
Myth debunking:
– Going to a high school with a high API score, such as Lynbrook or Monta Vista, does not give you any points at all. Only going to high schools with low API scores will help you attain points (up to 300 points for “Educational environment”).
– Community and volunteer service is only significant for schools such as Berkeley and especially UCLA. Community and volunteer service can only gain you a maximum of 300 points. At least 100 hours of service must be done within a continuous time span of within 2 years in order to gain 150 points or so.
– For UCSD you get no points whatsoever if you just join a sport or club. You only get points if you get a 1st, 2nd, 3rd place award or if you hold a leadership position, such as club president / vice president, team captain, etc.
– Applicants do not receive any points for the names of the courses taken, sequence courses are taken in, or for the number of AP courses taken. Unweighted GPA is only used for ELC consideration and not for admission itself.
– Essays rarely count for UCSD. Personally I received zero points for my essay, even though it most likely helped me gain admission to UC Berkeley. UCSD amissions officers use essays to search for points that they could add onto your profile. They only help admissions officers clarify extracurricular activities, identify life difficulties, and see if you’ve done anything else that was not mentioned on the other parts of your application. For example, if I mentioned something about my life difficulties or volunteering, then they take that from my essay and add, say, 300 points. They do not want a story. They want plain, simple facts. Please do note that Berkeley and UCLA look at essays far differently than this. Berkeley and UCLA evaluate students without point-based system, and application essays can often mean the difference between admission and rejection for those two campuses.
Contact UCSD admissions
Call (858) 534-4831
– The admissions office says they encourage students to call in for information. Go ahead – don’t be shy!
– Try to call on a weekday. They close at 5 pm.
– Allow one hour for the phone call, since they may place callers on hold.
– If you do call, tell them, ask for “Debbie,” tell them that you’re from Lynbrook, and that Andrew introduced you to them.
UCSD has a little more than 20 admissions officers who work regular 40 hour weeks at the Triton Center, which is a building at UCSD. The lady I talked to over the phone, Debbie, used to live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but later moved to San Diego. She has been working at the UCSD admissions office for several years now.
By mail
Admissions office:
University of California, San Diego
Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools
402 University Center, 3rd Floor
La Jolla, CA 92093-0013
Transcript verifications:
University of California, San Diego
Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools
9500 Gilman Dr., Dept 0021
La Jolla, CA 92093-0021
Decisions come out in mid-March.
I’m admitted! Now what?
First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on your admission to UC San Diego! UCSD is a world top-ranked university that really isn’t easy to get into!
For those of you who are admitted, once you log into the UCSD website, click on “Housing Application” on the left-hand menu. All you have to do is to click on a button once. That will reserve your housing for you. You don’t even have to turn in your SIR (Statement of Intent to Register) before you register.
IT IS HIGHLY IMPORTANT that you reserve your housing as soon as your offer of admission becomes available online. If you do not do so, you may become stuck with undesirable housing!
Try to maintain at least a 3.0 weighted GPA (3.0 unweighted for UC Berkeley and UCLA) the second semester of your senior year, although UCSD only requires a 3.0 weighted GPA for first and second semesters COMBINED. Any D’s or F’s will result in your admission being rescinded!
SIR
SIR (Statement of Intent to Register) comes along with a $100 non-refundable deposit. A good date to submit your SIR would be around April 20. Be sure to call a university by telephone if you make an SIR mistake.
After SIR
Housing – A Basic Overview
You will be asked to complete the second portion of the housing contract in late May or early June. The contract can only be filled out once you have activated your UCSD e-mail account, which will become available for activation at about the same time. A $650 deposit via eCheck (simply provide information from your check) is required.
You will be required to choose from:
Residence Hall – “Dorms.” These are better places to get to know more people and become closer to your community. More meal points are included, and fewer chores need to be done! Consider living in one for your first and second years.
Apartment – These are real apartments. They have full kitchens, bathrooms, and other utilities, and are much more spacious than res halls. However, they are more isolated from the community than res halls are. Consider living in one for your third and fourth years.
(For both res halls and apartments:)
Single – one room, one person.
Double – one room, two roomates.
Triple – one room, three roomates.
Select the preferences that you would like your roommate to have.
Preferences
Questions 11, 12 and 14 are for College background information and will not be used in the assignment process.
1. I smoke. Yes No
Select NO
2. I am bothered by smoke. Yes No
Select YES
3. I am very meticulous about my room and need it to be clean all the time. Yes No No Preference
Select YES
4. I am tolerant of alcohol use. Yes No No Preference
Select NO
5. I am tolerant of my roommate having guests stay overnight in our room. Yes No No Preference
Up to you. Personally I selected “no.”
6. I go to bed at midnight or later on weekdays. Yes No No Preference
Up to you. Personally I selected “no.”
7. I am awake early each weekday morning. Yes No No Preference\
Up to you. Personally I selected “yes.”
8. I consider myself outgoing and prefer to be housed with someone who is also outgoing. Yes No No Preference
Up to you. Personally I selected “yes.”
9. I am comfortable sharing my belongings with my roommate. Yes No No Preference
Up to you. Personally I selected “no” (to prevent theft, etc.)
10. I frequently like to study with music playing. Yes No No Preference
Select NO, even if you do listen to music with headphones or earbuds. You wouldn’t want a roomate who plays loud music all the time.
11. List what you would consider characteristics of a good roommate/suite mate
( 50 character maximum ):
12. Other living considerations
( 50 character maximum ):
13. Do you prefer:
Outdoor Activities Indoor Activities
14. Favorite recreations and hobbies
( 50 character maximum ):
15.
Academic Interest:
Humanities/Fine Arts Engineering Social Sciences Math/Sciences Undecided
16.
Payment Plan (Financial Aid students are encouraged to select Quarterly):
Monthly Quarterly Paid in Full
I selected QUARTERLY.
E-mail account
Your UCSD e-mail account will be available in late May. Unfortunately, UCSD does not let students choose their own e-mails, since they are all automatically pre-assigned by the school system. Make sure to check it often, since important information, such as orientation and housing notifications, will often be sent to your e-mail.
Log in at http://webmail.ucsd.edu
Orientation
Be ready to attend a mandatory UCSD orientation session in June or September. You will meet new people, get your photo taken, and do lots of fun stuff. Each college’s orientation varies a lot.
Chemistry Placement Exam
Take online at: http://chem-web.ucsd.edu/academic/placement/
You will be recommended for Chem 4, Chem 6A, or Chem 6AH. Personally I would recommend Chem 6A for most Lynbrook students, and Chem 6AH for those who did really well in AP Chemistry and AP Calculus.
andyxiu 