How this student got into UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley, known for being the #1 public university in the United States, is going to be home to one of our brightest KSJC seniors: Ted Luong. Born and raised in California, Ted is a low-income, first generation college student who is also a half-Vietnamese, half-Chinese twin in a family of 5. With his eyes set on Berkeley, we interviewed Ted on how he navigated the college admissions process:

What is your major and future career aspiration?

“I'm going to major in CS, hopefully I'll be able to get into cybersecurity as a graduate.”

What other colleges did you get accepted into?

• San Jose State University

• CSU Long beach

• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

• San Diego State University

• UC Merced

• UC Riverside

• UC Santa Cruz

• UC Davis

• UC Irvine

• UC San Diego

• UC Santa Barbara

• UC Berkeley

• UC Los Angeles

• University of the Pacific

• Santa Clara University

• Loyola Marymount University

What was your weighted and unweighted GPA?

He had a 3.99 UW (1 A-), 4.37 weighted GPA, and 4.44 UC/CSU GPA. 

What AP Classes have you taken, and what were your scores?

He received a 4 on AP World History, AP Computer Science Principles, and AP English Language, and got a 5 on AP Calc AB, AP Chemistry, and AP US History. 

What were your ACT and SAT scores?

He got a 1510 on his SAT (he took it only once), with subscores of 730 English, 780 Math. He took the ACT 2 times, getting a 32 and a 33, giving him a superscore of 34 (35 Math, 34 Science, 34 English, 32 Reading). He decided to only submit his SAT, though. 

How much time did you spend studying on the ACT and SAT?

Ted started studying when summer break started, studying for about 10 minutes every day until his SAT in November. 

Any tips for the ACT and SAT?

"Practice test, practice test, practice test." It's not about knowledge, as Ted describes, it's about knowing how to take the test.

What were your main extracurricular activities?

Ted spent the majority of his time in his Youth group, which he began in 6th grade. Apart from that, he was a cross country and track and field runner, robotics and hack club member, and held strong leadership positions within the Wolfprints club and ASG.

How have those extracurriculars influenced your future aspirations?

Ted knew he wanted to go into something computer science related in High school, so his extracurriculars only reinforced his ambitions. His athletic and club involvements also fueled his interest in joining related clubs at Berkeley

How did you rank your extracurriculars?

Ted ranked them by personal importance, commitment, and relative effort.

Do you have any advice on your extracurriculars?

Ted emphasized the importance of being active and confident wihtin your extracurriculars. He also said that extracurricular activities outside of school is important.

What did you write your essay about and why?

For the UC's, Ted chose prompts 1 (leadership), 4 (educational opportunity), 6 (academic subject, and 7 (community). He wrote about sports, ASG, independent computer science study, hack and robotics, and learning music theory on his own.

For the common app, he chose the prompt prompt 1 (identity) and wrote about his experience as a twin. He believed this essay was strong, unique, and deeply personal.

How much time did you spend on your essays?

Ted began in junior year and worked on it over the summer after AP testing. He had lots of brainstorming.

Do you have any advice for writing your essays?

He emphasized the importance of beginning Junior year or higher because starting extremely early will stop you from learning more about yourself and developing strong writing skills. He also emphasized the importance of pushing through writers block.

Who were your letter of recommenders and why?

Ted asked Ms. Kuga, our former English 9 teacher and cross country and Track and Field coach. He also asked Mr. A.

For Ms. Kuga, her strong insights into Ted's character as coach made her stand out.

For Mr. A, his strong insights into Ted's academic ability made him stand out

What awards did you put down in your application?

College Board Recognition Program, AP Scholar with Distinction, Dual enrollment award, and school spirit awards.

How did you form your college list?

Ted wanted to stay in California, so the majority of his colleges were mainly here.

Do you have any advice on forming a college list?

He said to not worry too much about a balanced list. Apply to one or two safeties, and fill the rest with targets and reaches.

What do you look for in a college?

Location, acadmeics, and campus culture

What made UC Berkeley stand out from the rest?

Berkeley offers one of the best computer science program. It is also in the middle of silicon valley.

What extracurriculars do you plan to do at UC Berkeley?

Ted wanted to join clubs related to his major and athletics.

What do you think the strongest part of your application?

He states that his common app essay was the best part of his application.

What was a barrier you faced during the application process, and how did you adress?

Ted stated that his lack of resources and college expertise posed a significant challenge. As a result, he reached to teachers, such as Ms. C and Mr. Hwang, as well as online forums to learn more about opportunities he could take.

If you were to restart your high school career, what would you change?

Ted expressed that he wanted to start ealier. He felt that his involvement in 9th grade was lackluster and that things started to become real in 10th grade. He also wanted to reach out more outside of school

Any advice to any people in the college admissions process?

Ted said to do continue doing extracurriculars you love by complementing it, not trying something new very late in the college admissions game, do things that may not seem impressive (even though it actually is), and reflect on the strongest aspects of yourself and write about that in your essays.