Case Study ·

Accepted to
UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Davis

Medicine
Ava started the summer before senior year with a 4.58 weighted GPA and an SAT of 1030, well below UC averages. A personal statement built on her main extracurricular activity helped her earn admission to UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Davis.
Smiling student

About Ava

Application Persona · the theme that tied it all together

“The family-oriented student committed to helping her community”

Started
12th grade
From
Los Angeles, California
GPA
4.58 weighted
Test score
SAT 1030

Challenges and Activities: Before and After

Where Ava started
Where Ava finished
SAT 1030410 points below the UC Berkeley average
Admitted to UC BerkeleyPlus UCLA and UC Davis
No clear academic interestActivities across service, sports and student government
Community-focused storyA persona built on family and helping her community
Early essay topicsToo emotional, invited sympathy
A formative experienceDrawn from her main extracurricular activity
Activities to organizeVolunteering, youth group, sports and internships
UC-style working documentHonors and activities refined before submitting

How did InGenius Prep Help?

A Stanford University Former Admissions Officer and a Graduate Coach worked with Ava 2-on-1 from 12th grade through the application.

  1. Summer

    Getting started

    Ava and her team started work the summer before senior year.

    Through Application Counseling
  2. Summer

    Choosing her topic

    She brainstormed topics and drafted outlines, then wrote about a formative experience from her main extracurricular activity.

  3. Fall

    Activities section

    The team built a working document modeled on the UC application to draft and refine her honors and activities.

  4. Fall

    Final review

    Her team checked grammar, content, tone, structure and fit before she submitted.

Questions About This Case

How did Ava get into UC Berkeley with an SAT of 1030?

Her application leaned on her 4.58 weighted GPA, a personal statement about her main extracurricular activity and a carefully built activities section.

When did she start working with InGenius Prep?

The summer before her senior year, through Application Counseling.

What changed in her personal statement?

Her counselors felt her first topics were too emotional, so she wrote about a formative experience from her main extracurricular activity instead.

Who reviewed her application before she submitted?

Her Stanford Former Admissions Officer did a final review for grammar, spelling, content, tone, structure and school fit.

One honest conversation.
That's how it begins.

Every student works 2-on-1 with a Former Admissions Officer and a Graduate Coach.