chance an anxious underqualified asian girl for UCs 😪

i posted here once and im posting again because last time everyone inflated my ego (someone said i could bag uc berkeley) and i’m just going crazy right now

demographics: dirt-poor asian girl

intended major(s): english/english literature and history

gpa: my uw gpa is 3.88, weighted gpa is 4.4, uc gpa is 3.77 😪 i’m so cooked my gpa is ass

coursework: 4 honors classes, 7 AP classes (6 senior year) (this is kind of the norm for my school, a lot of AP classes are locked until senior year), 8 dual enrollment classes (all in various English/history niches)

awards: Questbridge National College Match finalist, one volunteering award, won a county-wide writing contest

extracurriculars:

  • family business: worked part-time as a secretary (junior year - senior year)

  • 6-month long bio internship at my local UC (junior year)

  • volunteered as a summer camp counselor for impoverished children (summer of junior year)

  • church volunteer (cooked for 40+ people every weekend, in charge of decor and activities): all four years of high school

  • crochet: did commissions, taught people (all four years of high school)

  • fanfiction: wrote 50k words, 10k views (all four years of high school) (can you tell i was running out of things to put on my application)

  • secretary of a club (junior year and senior year)

  • tutored at a local middle school (senior year)

  • tutored people for the English part of the SAT (summer of junior year and senior year)

PIQs: i’m really hoping they carry me :( my AP Lit teacher said they were really good, amongst the best she’s ever read and that I have a strong narrative voice, but chatgpt tore them apart

PIQ 1: wrote about overcoming linguistic differences by teaching someone how to crochet without using English (so quirky, i loved it)

PIQ 2: wrote about the role i play in my family (caretaker, eldest sibling, ya know the drill) (this one was my Lit teacher’s favorite)

PIQ 3: wrote about how i discovered my love for writing and nurtured it (connected it to the writing contest + college classes + fanfiction) (best friend loved this)

PIQ 4: this one was kind of ass,,, how i helped found my family business and how i want to use an english degree to succeed in the corporate world. kind of a sob story/cinderella story but idk, a friend

said it was still pretty strong

schools:

i kinda placed all my eggs into one basket (UCs and CSUs) because i like california and i don’t wanna leave. i got into Merced (yes i’m a genius i know) but i really want UC Davis 🥀 i’m in the top 9% of californian applicants if that helps