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  DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Reseda High School senior Salar Hazany puts the final touches on his UC application Friday. UCLA is his first choice for a college.

By Helen Seliverstov

Daily Bruin Contributor Salar Hazany’s future depends on what admissions officers think of what’s inside the envelope he sent to the UC Regents on Friday. The senior at Reseda High School applied to several UC schools and dreams of calling himself a Bruin on April 1 when he hears back from the UC admissions offices. Hazany is just one of about 40,000 applicants wondering whether his accomplishments are enough for admissions officers to accept him to UCLA; wondering if his almost-perfect GPA and his 1350 SAT score are high enough; if he did enough extra-curricular activities and spent enough time on his personal statement.

  DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Reseda High School senior Salar Hazany and Jonathan Alon from Stoneridge Prep School discuss the colleges they applied to at the post office. “In April, I probably won’t care as much any more, but right now getting into UCLA is a really big deal for me,” Hazany said.

Even with so much competition Hazany feels he stands a good chance of getting in, based on his accomplishments. But gaining admission into UCLA is getting harder, and admissions officers are considering all sorts of factors when reviewing an application. Those accepted at UCLA score high on the SAT test – typically between 1170 and 1400 – according to the U.S. News and World Report. Ninety-seven percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their class. Under the new UC comprehensive review policy, admissions officers will also take into consideration personal achievement and life challenges. Hazany knows how hard it is to get in, so over the past three and a half years he has tried to put a check mark in every box of his college application. All he can do now is wait. Besides UCLA, Hazany applied to UC Davis, Irvine, San Diego and Berkeley – but he didn’t apply online. He did not feel comfortable with applying online and said mailing in the application gives him a greater sense of comfort. At the post office, Hazany asked for a certificate of mailing, and he made copies of his final application before sending it off. Hazany, who had stubble growing because he couldn’t find time to shave the last few days while completing his application, admitted he was paranoid about the process, but this, he said, is “too important to mess with.”

Bruin dreams UCLA has been Hazany’s dream school since he was nine. His dad, a UCLA alumnus, has told Hazany over and over again that UCLA is the best place. Hazany’s parents discussed the application process with him and reassured him that any decision he would make would be good. But despite their strong opinion of UCLA, they did not pressure or tell Hazany what to do, for which Hazany said he was grateful. The senior has visited UCLA and Westwood many times. Among other things, he loves the arcade. He has not really thought about attending schools other than UCLA, but if he had to choose, he said he would want to go to UCSD because it is “the next worthwhile place” on his list. Hazany’s classmate Leeja Patel’s first choice is UC San Diego. Patel would prefer to go there because she likes the campus and biology program there more than ones at UCLA or Berkeley. Patel also enjoys the idea that UCSD is further away from home. But Hazany wants to stay close to home; he does not want to leave the San Fernando Valley. “My parents just bought a house with a big backyard, but now I gotta go to college,” he said.

Letters and numbers Hazany’s UC GPA is above 4.0. He received As in AP European History, AP Biology and in Spanish 3 A/B, and Honors Biology. Looking at Hazany’s high school transcript, As are almost the only grades in sight. But then a D jumps out – the D Hazany received in 10th grade Honors Algebra 2. Though it may hurt his admissions chances, Hazany would rather have the D in his application then all As, because he learned so much from the experience of receiving a poor grade. The algebra class was the first one in high school where the grade was comprised of two tests and a final, Hazany explained in his personal statement. This, in part, led to his inadequate approach to the class, he said. But still, he cannot help but wonder how much this D will affect his chances of gaining admission. Like his GPA, Hazany’s test scores are also high. His SAT I score was 1350, and his two SAT II scores were each above 700. But many students applying to top universities have excellent test scores. His classmate and competitor Patel, for example, scored 1390 on the SAT I.

Outside the classroom Hazany’s response to the possibility that test scores will weigh somewhat less in admissions this year – as personal achievement and life challenges will be taken into consideration as well under comprehensive review – was “Thank God.” Hazany’s application has more to offer than just test scores and grades – his list of extracurricular activities is seemingly endless. Outside of academic classes, Hazany participates in the Academic Decathlon team, yearbook, Key Club, Environmental Defense Group, California Scholarship Federation and he is the on Reseda High School varsity tennis team. Hazany is also involved outside of Reseda High. He does martial arts, volunteers for Organization for Needs of Elderly, decorates Rose Floats for the Rose Parade and is involved with the Tree People organization, which plants trees in city parks. Despite all these activities, Hazany feels uncertain whether this is what the admission office wants. Bryan Furuwaka, another senior at Reseda High, took a different approach. He has only done three activities over the past four years – varsity volleyball, Academic Decathlon and Science Bowl, all of which he has done for at least two years. He wants the admissions office to see he is “dedicated and very selective about his options.” It is not always necessary to do an endless amount of extracurricular activities, said Reseda High School college counselor Marilyn Udoji. “(Students should) pick a few activities and be persistent in doing that work,” she said.

The personal touch and uncertainties On his personal statement, Hazany spent two pages explaining to the admissions office why he received the D and what he learned from it. “I got a ‘D’ and I’m darn proud of it,” Hazany’s essay begins. He said it was not hard to capture himself in two pages. In fact, the personal statement was his favorite part of the application process. “I liked my essay so much, because it was very natural for me to write,” he said. Udoji encourages students to write about life experiences and people who have inspired them to pursue higher education, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. The admissions office is interested in who the applicant is beyond grades, scores and activities, she said. Because Hazany’s other grades are consistent, it was a mature and concerned decision on his part to explain his one bad grade, she said. Hazany was tormented until the last minute trying to decide whether to declare a major. He wants to study neuroscience at UCLA, but he is afraid that major is too popular and competitive. “Someone with a major like ancient Latin may stand a better chance of getting in than me,” he said. Udoji said someone who is uncertain what they’d wish to major in should not declare a major, but that declaring one otherwise won’t necessarily hurt their chances for admission. “Universities are aware of students trying to get in through the back door,” Udoji said. Hazany also fears he may have made a mistake – any little mistake at all – that may hinder his chances of getting into UCLA. Hazany filled out at least six copies of the same application. “The application is so meticulous,” he said. The waiting game After Hazany turned his application in at 2:56 p.m. Friday, he did not take a break. “Now I have to go study for SAT IIs,” he said Friday, before Saturday’s test. For now, the application process on Hazany’s part is over. He and thousands of other applicants are left to wait for the UC to respond – with either a big or a small envelope. The Daily Bruin will be following Hazany through the rest of his admissions process, until he turns in a statement of intent to register.