Navigating the UCLA Admissions Process: A Comprehensive Guide

Applying to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) can feel like navigating a complex maze. As the most applied-to school in the world, standing out requires a well-thought-out and honest application. This guide provides insights into various aspects of the UCLA admissions process, from crafting compelling essays to understanding waitlist procedures, and specific requirements for the Asian American Studies MA program.

Understanding the UCLA Application

The UC Application is separate from both the Common App and Coalition application and can be used to apply to all nine UC campuses, which include Los Angeles, Berkeley, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Davis, Santa Cruz, Riverside, and Merced.

Personal Insight Questions

The personal insight questions are designed to reveal your personality, background, interests, and achievements. There is no right or wrong way to answer these questions. It’s about getting to know you in your own unique voice. Applicants are required to select and write to four of these prompts. The essay prompts are set up so that there are eight possible prompts spanning subjects such as academics, leadership, and challenges.

Here's a breakdown of the eight personal insight questions:

Leadership Experience: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. A leadership role can mean more than just a title. Think about what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience.
Creative Side: Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem-solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. What does creativity mean to you? How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom?
Greatest Talent or Skill: What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? You don't necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent.
Educational Opportunity or Barrier: Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college.
Significant Challenge: Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school.
Academic Subject that Inspires You: Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. What have you done to further that interest?
Making Your School or Community a Better Place: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team, or a place like your high school, hometown, or home.
Why You are a Strong Candidate: Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California? From your point of view, what do you feel makes you an excellent choice for UC?

Crafting Compelling Essays

The best applications are the ones that are vulnerable, honest, and well-thought-out, so take your time to answer the essay questions and speak your truth. Think about what you want admissions officers to know about you. Choosing disparate topics that each showcase a unique part of your life is key. Your topics should not only span academics and extracurriculars, but also offer insight as to what unique communities you are a part of and how they have shaped you.

Here are some examples of essay topics and approaches:

Leadership and STEM Empowerment: Writing about achieving the Girl Scout Gold Award, designing and completing a service project in which you empowered middle-school-aged girls to feel more competent in STEM by having them teach younger students STEM concepts via workshops. Part of this project taking place in India.
Passion for Language and Literature: Elaborate on your love of English language and literature, detailing how reading has shaped your perspective and academic interests. Provide specific examples of books and literary analyses that have resonated with you.
Overcoming Challenges: Writing about overcoming AP Physics, which was a challenging course for you. Illustrate the unique way in which you saw the world.
Community Impact through Family Contributions: Writing about your family and their contributions to your home, and your own share of domestic duties. Conclude with a reflection on what doing these things for your family meant to you and how you felt about your contributions.

Academic Profile of Admitted Students

UCLA is need-blind, meaning financial status is not considered when admissions officers review applications. Admitted students had an unweighted GPA of 3.92 - 4.00, with the former number representing the 25th percentile and the latter representing the 75th percentile. In terms of weighted GPA, the middle 50% of in-state students admitted this past cycle averaged 4.36-4.68. Admitted students took 19-29 advanced courses.

Standardized Testing

During your admissions year, students had the option to take either the old or new SAT. The middle 50% of accepted students scored 640-740 on the Reading & Writing section and 630-780 on the Math section. UCLA does not officially require or recommend any particular subject test for applicants, but taking a couple of these exams related to your prospective major can enhance your application.

Navigating Deferral or Waitlist Status

So you’ve been waitlisted or deferred. Darn. But wait: all is not lost! You may have another chance to make your case. When you’re deferred or placed on a waiting list, follow the directions the college provides for what they want you to do next.

Letter of Continued Interest

It lets the college know you’re still interested in attending and why. If they specifically ask you not to send a letter, don’t! But many colleges will invite you to update your application with a letter describing your new achievements and why you are still interested in attending. If you feel a deep connection to that school, a few more weeks of uncertainty may be worth it. But you'll need to express your continued interest to the WL school. While it's imperative to respond in the school's requested format, you can often send an additional letter.

Read also: Navigating Tech Breadth at UCLA

Some schools allow WL students to provide further information (e.g., updated grades, new recommendation letters, a refreshed “why us” essay, a video response, or maybe even a meeting with the admission officer). Do not overdo your response; observe requirements and be discerning about what you include.

What to Include in a Letter of Continued Interest

New information is the best way to turn that “maybe” into a “yes.” Here’s a paragraph-by-paragraph breakdown of what you might include in your letter:

Thank the reader for reevaluating your materials and reaffirm that X school is the place for you.
Include a few updates told in a succinct, straightforward way. Note that these are new awards and you are not re-hashing what was in your application already, which can sound desperate.
Offer a few “Why us?” details that you didn’t include in your original application.

Does a Letter of Continued Interest Really Help?

Maybe. It depends on how the school uses its waitlist and what they’re looking to add to the first-year class. Colleges might use the waitlist to achieve gender balance, beef up enrollment in certain academic programs, or add certain talents. For schools that track demonstrated interest, the LOCI may matter a bit more. Some schools may not even go to their waitlist in a given year, as they’ll fill their class through the early and regular decision rounds. Having said that, ask yourself, “Will I regret it if I don’t write a letter?” If so, it may be worth a shot-you never know. And definitely write a letter if they ask you to and you’re still interested.

The school will likely tell you where to send your LOCI in your waitlist or deferral notice. There may be a form to fill out-if so, use that!-if not, send your letter to the person who sent you the original notice.

UCLA Asian American Studies M.A. Program

The Department of Asian American Studies at UCLA offers a Master of Arts (M.A.) program with options for concurrent degrees in Social Welfare (MSW) or Public Health (MPH).

Read also: Understanding UCLA Counselors

Application Process

All applicants must apply for admission to the Asian American Studies M.A. Program. Along with the applications, prospective students must submit all required supplemental materials. Note that applications will not be considered until all required materials have been submitted. The application process is now conducted online. The application may be completed one section at a time and in multiple sittings. An incomplete application will be held for 30 days from your last login; thereafter, it will be removed from the system. All sections listed on the main menu must be completed before you can submit the application. Please check the Graduate Division’s application webpage after December 15th to see if your application is complete.

Applications must be submitted by December 1st. On the average, we receive 50 applications and have accepted up to 15 students to the program.

Supplementary Materials

The UCLA Graduate Division handles the online application and the application fee; the Department of Asian American Studies processes supplementary materials (statement of purpose, writing sample, letters of recommendation, and transcripts).

Statement of Purpose: The statement of purpose should address your reasons for pursuing an M.A. degree in Asian American Studies, past and present experiences within the field, and your involvement with the Asian American community.
Writing Sample: The Admissions Committee prefers writing samples that focus on Asian American topics. What is important is that the writing sample is coherent, well-organized, and demonstrates strong writing and analytical skills. The Admissions Committee strongly recommends that you revise the writing sample before you submit it with your online application. You may want to ask a faculty member to work with you on editing the paper before you submit it for review by the admissions committee. Creative writing or a substantial community report may be submitted. However, please bear in mind that the writing sample should give the admissions committee a sense of your ability to tackle graduate-level work. You should submit the stronger writing sample, particularly if it demonstrates your research and analytical abilities.
Letters of Recommendation: We require three letters of recommendation. Preferably at least two letters of recommendation should be from academic faculty. The recommender should be able to address your writing skills, research and analytical skills, and classroom interaction. Be sure that the recommender can address your leadership ability, writing and analytical skills, or other skills and experience that would make you a good candidate for the graduate program. Additional letters may not be read by the Admissions Committee. The Asian American Studies Department strongly recommends the submission of letters of recommendation via the online application process. In addition, a Letter of Recommendation form must be downloaded HERE, printed, completed, signed by you, and then given to your recommender. Your recommender must then complete the form, check all assessment boxes, sign the form, and return the form and a letter of recommendation to you. The Letter of Recommendation form is incomplete if it is not signed by you and the recommender, and it will not be reviewed as part of your application.
Transcripts: One official, sealed hardcopy academic transcript OR official electronic transcript with evidence of degree conferral from each institution the student received a degree from is required. We evaluate the entire transcript, and take into account that some applicants have changed majors during their undergraduate course of study.

Program Duration and Financial Support

Normative time-to-degree for the MA program in Asian American Studies at UCLA is two years. Normative time-to-degree for the joint programs in Community Health Sciences (MA/MPH) and Social Welfare (MA/MSW) is three years. After two years (or three for the joint programs) students are considered beyond normative time, and do not qualify for financial support from the Department of Asian American Studies. The Asian American Studies graduate program is a two-year program. Therefore, we do not provide financial support beyond the second year.

Students can apply to the UCLA Graduate Opportunity Program (GOP), a campus wide competitive student financial support program that covers registration fees, non-resident tuition, and includes a $25,000 stipend. There may also be a small pool of funds that are administered by the Department of Asian American Studies. Additional support is available through Special Fellowships Office of the Graduate Division. Support for the second year comes in many forms. Students can apply for Teaching Assistantships and Research Assistantships with the Department of Asian American Studies. There are also departmental fellowships; Division of Graduate Education fellowships; fellowships and research grants administered by the Asian American Studies Center, fellowships available from on-campus institutions; and extramural support.

Additional Information

The Department of Asian American Studies does not offer a part-time MA program. Students enroll in at least 12 units per academic quarter. However, many of our graduate students have maintained part-time or full-time work in the second year of the program after they completed their required coursework and as permitted by their research and thesis writing schedules. We accept applications once a year in the fall. We do not accept admission applications for the Winter or Spring quarters.

All international applicants whose first language is NOT English are required to certify their proficiency in English. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) OR International English Testing System examination (IELTS) must be submitted with the application. The minimum TOEFL or IELTS scores, required by UCLA before a recommendation for is made by the graduate program, are 560 on the paper test or 220 on the computer-based test (TOEFL) or Overall Band Score of 7.0 (IELTS). Scores are valid for two years prior to application for graduate admission.

tags: #UCLA #acceptance #letter #example