Personal Statement: How To Succeed At UCLA

During my high school days and the last few semesters when I was at Sandhill Community College I was way too comfortable. I slacked off and all I was thinking about was just getting doing the minimum to just be finished already. Recently, I was pushed by the looks of my grades that I just needed to get things done; I wanted to be free, not to do my best, just to finish so I could say I passed all my classes. Now I realize life isn’t about just getting by, but about bringing all you have to be able to become successful in what needs to be done. In the next paragraphs I will explain what I expected to happen, what actually happened, what I learned, and how I will apply what I learned to future plan.

Entering freshmen year, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do, but I was lost regarding how I was going to do it. This is a sentiment shared by many students entering collegiate studies. Some students may not even have a direction or general idea of what they wish to achieve from college. Others, are either overconfident or hold a disillusioned perspective regarding course selection, work load, study time, time management, and the equilibrium between social and academic life. My first semester at Randolph-Macon began as a series of failures that lead themselves to success largely due to the influence of upperclassmen pursuing the same goals as me and continuously pushing me to hone my strengths and reevaluate my weaknesses.

Starting high school, I was not a perfect student. However, over the past three years, it is clear that my grades have drastically improved. Whether it was adjusting to AP classes or balancing extracurricular activities and homework, I became proficient at handling the twists and turns of high school. By smoothing out my rough edges, I have become a student with distinct goals and a strong work ethic. Having experienced both low and high ends of academic success, my abilities and mindset can be molded to any situation. I am confident that I have the talent, ambition, and the adaptive abilities to become part of a guaranteed

Rutgers University would dramatically help me achieve my personal and educational goals. I am currently a sophomore at Gloucester County College with a dream of starting my own business. I will be the first in my family to obtain a bachelor’s degree. Receiving a degree would be a huge milestone in my family and I would be setting a good example to the rest of my family. I originally applied to Rutgers when I was a senior in high school and I was ecstatic about my acceptance, but I had a personal issue that ultimately changed my plan for college. Unfortunately, I had no idea Rutgers had online degrees, so I turned to community colleges that offered online degrees as a quick solution in order to still attend college that fall. I am planning

Attending High School is hard enough, especially that last year in High School, yes senior year. Now let's add college classes to that and my High School routine is eat, school, and sleep. In the past, I’ve made horrible mistakes for not knowing how tough courses can get especially with an overload and not studying "right". This year I’ve made changes and improved on how, when and where I study to earn good grades and improve my knowledge.

During the end of my 1st semester of sophomore year, I felt as if everything was falling apart. It was my low point throughout my high school career, and I just received my grades for the current quarter of classes. I will be honest; it was a whopping grade point average of about 2.6. Once, I saw this. I did not lose it as much as others would have. Instead, I looked at this and said to myself, “what can I do differently moving forward.” The second semester started, and I know I had to do better whatever the challenges that I face this time around: and so I did. I was able to

While my upbringing in a rural Midwestern town was an overwhelmingly positive experience for me, it did leave me lacking some of the necessary preparation for attending a four-year institution in an urban area. Due to a lack of qualified instructors, my high school offered very few college-level courses. I am very thankful for the credits that I was able to earn, but the number of credits that I was able to transfer as an incoming freshman pales in comparison to many of my peers at Saint Louis University. As a consequence of my lack of experience with college level coursework, I spent a majority of my first year of college bringing my academic performance up to a level consistent with the high standards I set for myself. Fortunately, I was

During my first two years of college, I had no idea what I wanted to become in life. I didn’t know what I wanted out of life. I entered college only because I was told by my parents that I had no choice but to attend college. I went into undergraduate school with the mentality that it was all just fun and games. My freshman and sophomore years were filled with partying and all other sorts of nonacademic activities. My grades were suffering tremendously. By my junior year of college, I had finally made a decision on what I wanted to become in life; I wanted to become a Clinical psychologist.

In my first semester of college I felt overwhelmed by course load. I wasn’t doing will in the beginning where I was not doing as great as I expected. I began to doubt myself and became frustrated on why I was having such a difficult time. However, I had great advisors Annette De La Torre and Alicia Rodriguez who listened to me but most importantly helped transition. They advised me to use the tutoring centers and how to cope with everyday stress. But they made it clear that the only person that can make change is yourself. So, I had two options either to cry and complain about how poorly I’m doing or take this as a learning experience and make change. I chose the latter and began to seek help and learned to manage time. I ended the semester strong with a 4.0 which I never achieved

Looking back at freshman year, my life was like a malevolent game, vibrant and impacted. I was just another high school school student among all the others eager to face life’s new challenges. Throughout the beginning of my first year of high school, i was already beginning to reach goals that i had set for myself to complete by the end of my high school experience. I made new friends, got it into the JV Soccer team, engaged in different clubs, and was already starting on some volunteer work. Did i seem to be forgetting anything? Sleep, food, relaxation, downtime… Who needs it? It turns out the answer is ME! I need it!

My first year at Montclair State University, was something that was completely unexpected. I went into my first year with an expectation to succeed. Yet, I was hit something different. My mother was diagnosed with stomach cancer. My worries did not just stop there, because I had to fight a long case with Great Oak Charter School for the mistreatment of my special needs sister. Stepping in the role of the head of household was physically, emotionally, and mentally draining. There was no time for me heal from the events taking place, because I had to sustain my family in all aspects even financially. As I tried so hard to hold an exterior that I was fine, my whole being began to plunge. I abandoned my studies to focus on my family. Yet, I didn’t

Time is a powerful thing when it comes to the development of a student. Looking back to my freshman year, I can easily say that my wish to obtaining a college education has changed significantly. The idea of finally having freedom, getting to sleep in, and practically doing what I want without someone always looking over my shoulder is what I looked forward to. However, nobody told me about the sacrifices a college student makes on a daily. From learning to time manage and dealing with sleep deprivation, to the constant panic and anxiety that comes from the stress of being away from home, this is nothing like what I envisioned. Nevertheless, these struggles have only opened my eyes to what this world is really like. A college education is more than studying for exams and completing bookwork, it is a test of a student’s mental strength.

My most important honor was making the Dean’s Honor’s List for the spring quarter of my sophomore year, because it gave me the belief and determination to finish my undergraduate career in a better academic standing to how I started it. My performance during the first four quarters at UCLA decreased my GPA. Entering at 17 years old, I was naïve to the dedication needed to succeed in such an academic environment, and with all the distraction I lost focus and my grades suffered. My second winter break was the turning point where I realized that committing only 50% effort to academics would never ensure success. The next quarter saw me more focused than ever before, and with the extra effort my results improved. It was still not perfect, and I

High school was truly a test for my skills in balancing my academics, social life, and my hobbies. There were many times where I lost the balance, but it did not discourage me to give up and put all of my efforts to waste. Instead of being discouraged, it was my motivation to achieve higher things. It was my motivation to get back up, defeat the imbalance, and to strive for higher things. After four years of attending high school, my (sometimes stubborn) determination was the greatest thing that I have learned about myself. In college, I would like to test this strength again, and hopefully, in a more challenging environment where I will fall even harder,

I can remember missing 8:05 classes because I stayed out too late the night before. In high school the teacher would constantly remind the students when certain assignments were due, but this was not the case in college. I learned that the hard way my first semester. Sometimes I forgot to turn in an assignment because I didn’t properly read my syllabus and my professor never mentioned it. These were all new problems that could have easily let escalate without taking the proper actions. For the most part I was doing fairly well but a few of my grades began to plummet. I was losing the confidence in myself and started to wonder if going to college had been the best decision. The time had come for me to grow up and become an adult even I didn’t feel the time was right. I immediately began attending tutoring sessions, working with peers and also keeping a daily to-do list. These factors were the eventually led to drastic improvement and success. After my first semester I learned how better manage my time, take advantage of campus resources and also how to organize myself better. These struggles also taught me that sometimes I try and rush through things instead of taking my time. I realized that one of my strong points is being able to really do well when my back is against the wall. Although I was unhappy while facing obstacles I am happy I experienced them. I believe this experience was the reason for my