Ask Ms. Sun

Ask Ms. Sun Sign up for online accounts with each UC campus to check the status of your application. See my LJ blog for links.

Ms. Sun's Admissions Blog for Highly Selective California Public Universities - Ahhhhhhh!
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Tue at 11:37pm
Jermaine Abrantes

Jermaine Abrantes Hi Ms.Sun,

I've done my apps for the UCs but when I submitted, it read an error in my app that said I failed to complete a class for my fine art, when in truth I actually did. In the app I put in a class which covers for it, which was Theatre Arts 41. Apparently the online app didn't read it as such.

Right now I'm just c...oncerned if whether that will affect me negatively. Can you confirm if the admissions folks will look at it as an error on the app or not? Thanks.

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Mon at 2:13pm · Report
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
Several students complained to me about the a-g counter not working properly on the application and some have told me that application processing service said that it was a glitch. As long as you had listed the course in the Academic History section, you should be fine. Try not to stress.
Tue at 12:46pm
Jermaine Abrantes
Jermaine Abrantes
Thanks!
Tue at 1:33pm
Jonathan Leung

Jonathan Leung Hi, I was just wondering if Canadians are subject to the same financial aid policies as International Students (At UC Berkeley). If so, what are my options for minimizing the cost of tuition?

January 3 at 3:18pm · Report
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
Most likely ... your best bet is looking for scholarships in Canada for studying abroad.
Mon at 10:31am
Jessica Won

Jessica Won Hello Ms. Sun, I sent 2 of my SAT scores from College board to 2 of the schools I applied to. But yesterday I found out that you can send your scores to only one of the schools you applied to and it would be shared. But I have one more school I haven't send the scores to yet. Since I already sent it to 2 schools should... I send it to the last one too? Or would it be okay if I don't? Thanks you Ms. Sun. (:

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January 1 at 10:01am · Report
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
You are probably not going to get an email just for that; but you can check your online account with each UC campus to see if your scores have arrived.
Mon at 10:29am
Jessica Won
Jessica Won
Okay, thank you so much Ms. Sun! :)
Yesterday at 5:06pm
Lara Bogossian

Lara Bogossian ms sun i was wondering if pre requsited classes such as intermediate algebra are factored into the overall gpa.

December 31, 2009 at 9:58pm · Report
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
Most UCs look at overall transferable GPA.
December 31, 2009 at 11:26pm
Lara Bogossian
Lara Bogossian
thank you!
January 1 at 2:51pm
Louise Lee

Louise Lee Hi,
I initially submitted the UC application and decided to pay for it via mail. But now I have the money to pay for it via credit card. Is there any way I can pay through credit card? I'm afraid that my admission process might be delayed because of this. Thank You.

December 31, 2009 at 12:15am · Report
Louise Lee
Louise Lee
Also, I sent in my scores last weeek normal delivery...do you think i should resend it with rush?
December 31, 2009 at 12:21am
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
You will probably have to pay by mail. But you can email the UC application processing service at ucinfo@ucapplication.net or call (800) 523-2048 (in California) or (925) 808-2181 (outside California) during normal business hours to find out if you can pay by credit card.

You may need to send Rush Reporting to get the scores in on time for ... See Moreapplication review. Since the UCs changed their policy this year, you can send the score report to just ONE UC campus and the scores will be forwarded to the application processing service to be distributed to other UC campuses.
December 31, 2009 at 11:25pm
Joshua Liu

Joshua Liu Hello,

I was just looking at the average GPA's to get in to UC's, and was wondering if those GPA's were UC calculated GPA's (sophomore and junior grades), as opposed to cumulative high school GPA's.

December 30, 2009 at 5:30pm · Report
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
They are UC GPA (a-g courses taken from the summer after freshman year to the summer after junior year) capped at 8-semester AP/honors.
December 31, 2009 at 11:20pm
Joshua Liu
Joshua Liu
Thanks for the info. It is appreciated.
December 31, 2009 at 11:29pm
Tan

Tan Do community college students have priority over high school students and university transfers for college admission?

December 30, 2009 at 2:17pm · Report
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
CC applicants generally get priority over other 4-year college transfers. CC applicants do not compete with HS applicants; the acceptance pool is separate.
December 31, 2009 at 11:18pm
Ask Ms. Sun

Ask Ms. Sun Students ask me from time to time about leaving high school early to attend college. I'm not a huge fan because I think high school is an important part (albeit sometimes painful part) of growing up. But I got something in the mail today and I feel obligated to share. I'm not endorsing the school in any way because ...I don't know that much about it. So here it is:

Bard College At Simon's Rock
Simon's Rock is the only four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences specifically designed to provide bright, highly motivated students with the opportunity to begin college in a residential environment after the tenth or eleventh grade.

Yes, you heard it right, after the tenth or eleventh grade.

The only independent information I pulled up online was the ranking from U.S. News & World Report. The school is considered as a "Baccalaureate College" (colleges that focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts) and ranks #9 for the North region: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/bacc-north-rankings. What does that mean? Beats me.

Check it out if you are trying to escape the fiery hell of high school. Let me know what you find out.

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Home — Bard College at Simon's Rock - The Early College
www.simons-rock.edu
Bard College at Simon's Rock: The Early College is the only four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences specifically designed to provide bright, highly motivated students with the opportunity to begin college in a residential setting after the tenth or eleventh grade.
December 28, 2009 at 7:21pm
Maddie Kinard

Maddie Kinard Sophomore year:
-JV volleyball team
-JV cheerleader
-Varsity cross country team
-varsity track
-volunteer twice a week at local nursing home, volunteer downtown to feed the homeless twice a month
-work every day with personal trainer for track so that I can meet my goal of attending the state track meet

This summer I will be... traveling abroad to The Galapagos Islands and Ecuador for two weeks with my Spanish III Dual Credit class and am raising half of the money on my own (approximately $2000). Next summer I plan on traveling with them to Spain. I will be involved in NHS my junior and senior year.
I take every opportunity to take the PSAT and other practice tests. My test scores on those have not yet been configured though.
I would greatly appreciate if you told me any ideas of other activities that would be a good idea to get involved in. Also, if I were to apply today what would my chances be? Any input is greatly appreciated :) Sorry this was so long, but thanks for your time!

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December 27, 2009 at 12:29pm · Report
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
Take a look at the information on my website for HS students at http://www.askmssun.com/hs.htm and let me know if you have more questions.
December 28, 2009 at 11:02am
Maddie Kinard
Maddie Kinard
okay thank you! any suggestions of anything else i could be doing to help my chances? sorry, i know i read and checked out the website, but i am just curious. thanks :)
December 28, 2009 at 12:58pm
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
What you have looks fine. Grades are the most important. Long term commitment is favored, so stay with your sports. Work toward leadership positions (team captain).
December 28, 2009 at 7:17pm
Maddie Kinard

Maddie Kinard Hi Ms. Sun..I am currently a sophomore in a high school located in Texas. It's a class 4A high school, so it's a pretty large school. Last year I decided I would really like to go to UC Berkeley. My grades are very high, I'm ranked number 15 in my class of 498 students.

Here is a list of my involvements of the past two... years:

Freshman year:
-freshman volleyball team
-freshman cheerleader
-varsity track (events were 400m, 800m, and 1600m relay, qualified for regionals in 800m and 1600m relay)
-club volleyball team
-varsity cross country
-multi-media video qualified for national competition
-involved in church, volunteer about once a week at a local nursing home

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December 27, 2009 at 12:28pm · Report
Ask Ms. Sun

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Ms. Sun's Admission Blog for Highly Selective California Public Universities - Website Revamp
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December 27, 2009 at 2:26am
Eunice

Eunice MS. SUN! Happy Holidays.

I'M SO STRESSED RIGHT NOW :(
I thought my scores were sent in to the colleges right after I took my test. Today, I finally discovered how to know which tests were sent in, and.. my last 3 tests I took weren't sent in. And the UCs require them to be in by December 31 which is in.. SIX DAYS. I don'...t really want to do the rush thing, but even with the rush service, would it receive them in time??

I don't know why my scores weren't sent in. Every day I checked my account on collegeboard, I saw the little box in the bottom right hand corner with the list of the colleges I selected when I first took my SATs, and I assumed they would be the same colleges that would receive the score every time.

Thank you

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December 25, 2009 at 12:53pm · Report
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
Happy Holidays to you!

Don't freak out, these things happen from time to time.

The UCs have changed their policy and you only need to send the score report to ONE UC campus and the scores will be forwarded to the application processing service for distribution to other UC campuses.... See More

Go ahead and order Rush Reporting to make sure the scores arrive as soon as possible. You are looking at about $36, which is not that bad. You should be fine if the scores arrive by the first week of January.
December 27, 2009 at 2:40am
Badar Mayaki

Badar Mayaki ms. sun, if i send my december act results to the uc's, will they receive them in time?
and do i have to send the act results to every uc i applied to, or just one?

December 25, 2009 at 11:41am · Report
Eunice
Eunice
ms. sun said in an earlier post (down thereeeee somewhere) that we just need to send it in. but you can wait for her response just to make sure :)
December 25, 2009 at 12:54pm
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
The UCs have changed their policy and you only need to send the score report to ONE UC campus and the scores will be forwarded to the application processing service for distribution to other UC campuses.

Go ahead and order Priority Report to make sure the scores arrive before the end of December. The wording on the UC website kept switching between December and January, so shoot for end of December to be on the safe side.
December 27, 2009 at 2:35am
Crystal Jane Huang

Crystal Jane Huang Merry Christmas, Ms. Sun!
Instead of enjoying the holidays as I would normally, I have been meaninglessly stressing over my acceptances to UC Berkeley and UCLA. I am a first-year, junior transfer from a community college, an English lit major and philosophy minor.

I've been having some interesting debates with professors..., students and fellow applicants. If I were to be accepted to both, which school do you think would better satisfy my craving, in regards to my major and desire to be a lawyer/ politician?

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December 25, 2009 at 8:58am · Report
Ask Ms. Sun
Ask Ms. Sun
Don't stress now.

Once you get the good news, visit the campuses and see where you feel at home.
December 27, 2009 at 2:34am
Crystal Jane Huang
Crystal Jane Huang
Alright, then. Thank you.
December 28, 2009 at 8:26pm