Hello! I’m Ehban and I got into UCLA for the class of 2028. Here’s how I did it:
My Background
My Name is Ehban Awan, and I hail from Karachi, Pakistan. I attended Karachi Grammar School. That’s where I did my A-levels and GSCEs from. As of now, I’m studying Physics at UCLA, but I will be switching my major to Mathematics and Applied Physics. I applied to both the U.S and the U.K, all whilst securing an option in Pakistan. In Pakistan, I applied to LUMS.
Why did I choose the United States? It’s mainly because I always found myself inclined towards physics or a discipline grounded in hard sciences. However, opportunities catering to the said subjects in Pakistan still remain meagre, and I would have prioritized studying in Pakistan if I were to pursue Medicine, but given the gaps that the higher education system in Pakistan is yet to replenish in these aforementioned disciplines, the U.S felt like the natural choice.
Choosing the U.S over the U.K mainly came down to the fact that I wanted to work in the U.S in the future, since acquiring a job in the U.S. is comparatively easier if you happen to study there.
Why UCLA?
I ended up applying to 21 colleges. Here’s the list of colleges I applied to:
Cornell
Georgia Tech
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
UC Davis
UIUC
Duke
Northwestern
NYU
CMU
Dartmouth
Upenn
Brown
Stanford
Harvard
MIT
Drexel
UMass Amherst
Rutgers
Purdue
Out of the ones I got into, I was deciding between UIUC’s Grainger College of Engineering vs UCLA, and I eventually chose UCLA because I knew I potentially wanted to explore fields like CS, which is harder to do at UIUC unless you are admitted for that major.
As for the early application window, I only applied to Cornell early decision and got deferred, eventually getting rejected in the regular decision cycle. Out of all the college acceptances I received, UCLA seemed to be the most appropriate option for me.
My Stats: The Numbers Behind My Journey
As for my A-levels, I ended up getting 4 A*s. In my O-level,s I had 9 A*s and an A, along with a subject distinction in Biology. I had a 1560 on my SAT. On my High School transcript, I had a total of 42 A*s, 8 As, 2 Bs, and 2 Cs.
Beyond the Classroom: My Extracurricular Activities
My extracurriculars involved a blend of both academic and creative activities. As for the academic aspect of my activities, they mainly centered around the theme of Physics and Engineering. I :
was one of the top 15 contenders for Pakistan’s International Physics Olympiad Team to represent Pakistan in IPhO 2024
came first in the pure sciences module of ACSEC, a STEM Competition hosted by Aitchison College
was the Physics Module Head for KGSO’24 (Karachi Grammar Science Olympiad)
was a part of the STEM team and a SAT tutor in the Peer Tutoring Society of KGS
completed a pre-college physics course at Brown University over the summers
As for the creative side of my extracurricular activities, I demonstrated my love for music and art. I:
was the President of the Sounds and Music Society at my High School
was a drummer in the school band
made art in my free time, mainly involving sketching and drawing
College Essays: Narrating My Story
My College essays explored a rather different aspect of my personality, giving a more authoritative and authentic voice to my application, all whilst ensuring that the idea of academics being a huge part of my life was explicitly conveyed.
One of my college essays centered around my inquisitive nature harbored within my habit of frequently asking questions in class. I was well regarded as the infamous Questioner at my school. Some people seemed to like my notoriety for asking questions, given how these would “waste” the class time, helping them get past the boring and mundane lectures. While on the other hand, many detested me, for they deemed those questions to be irrelevant and overlooked them with annoyance. Despite all the hate and love my questions collectively brought, they helped me demonstrate my intellectual curiosity to the admission officers.
Another one of my essays was rather more academic, exploring my deep-rooted passion for Physics and how I managed to envision the very concepts, I’d learn in Physics, in my day-to-day life, linking it to the “Baader Meinhof” phenomenon, a psychological effect in which a person notices a specific concept, word, or object more frequently after recently becoming aware of it. By connecting these two ideas, I felt I was able to convey my awe of the omnipresence of physics and how it is the lens through which I view the world.
Lastly, one of my essays helped shed light on the creative end of my personality’s spectrum. In this essay, I focused all of the attention towards a mere sketch book that I happened to take to school every day. Whenever the Questioner inside me took a break or whenever I found a lecture excruciatingly boring, I would resort to my sketch book, sketching the students in my class, capturing the simplicity in their busy lives, and perhaps adding more meaning to those moments of sheer simplicity. I shared how my peers would love those sketches and how I found the process of sketching them even more rewarding.
As for the process of writing those essays, the most demanding part for me was coming up with an idea. In my opinion, writing the essay itself is not that hard once you’ve collected your thoughts and have had a good idea. So I spent a lot of time brainstorming and coming up with characteristics that were unique to me and would set me apart from the people around me. At times, I would hit a roadblock when it came to brainstorming, so I started reaching out to my friends, family, and people I was close to, asking them about things they found unique about me. That’s kind of where I started my essays from, and the writing just came naturally to me once I had my thoughts articulated.
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Structuring the UC and CommonApp Application
Since you can use the same application for all the UCs, I started working on the UC application a month prior to the submission date. Moreover, UCs do not require any letters of recommendation, nor do they have any “why us” essays, cutting down any extra research in regard to the College campus and clubs that you're usually required to do. The UCs usually require five 350 word essays and then a list of your stats and activities. So I spent about a month on my UC application. Their application window usually closes on 1st of November. That’s when I started working on my regular decision cycle applications and wrapped up everything by January. All in all, I spent about a month for the UC applications and two for the RD (Regular Decision) applications. I got done with my RD applications a lot quicker, since I already had my ideas in mind and essays from the UC application, so I would just extrapolate or even copy and paste in some cases. That made my life way easier!
As for the RD applications, I was more cognizant, especially because of the “Why Us?” essays and whatnot. So I tried connecting my personal values with theirs. I would research and go through their websites to find the match between me and the colleges themselves.
Resources: Your Go-To for the Application Process
A resource I primarily used during the whole college application process was Reddit. I believe Reddit can be quite handy when it comes to staying updated and to extract a general idea of the kind of students certain colleges accept. For instance, if you look at MIT and Carnegie Mellon, they have very strict criteria, per se. They usually take Olympiad medalists and prioritize academic accomplishment. As for the Ivy Leagues and other top colleges, they want a more well-rounded student, where academics, leadership, public speaking, and community engagement all come into play.
I also happened to come across this online PDF file of 50 essays of students who got accepted into the Ivy League. I went through 5-10 of those essays to have an idea what a good essay looks like, before I started writing my essays.
Addressing Weaknesses
What I think weakened my application to some extent was the fact that I wasn't well-rounded enough. My application was more inclined towards academia, although I did do a bit of music and the arts. As for the academics, I had a B in my AS (first year of A-levels) Math exam and since I was applying for Physics, the math grades were an important part of my application. That’s where I used the additional information section to address this drop in grade, highlighting how we Pakistani students missed our Statistics Component of the Math Exam in lieu of political unrest nationwide, and got an insanely hard Pure Math Component of the Exam. So our grade was mainly assessed on one component only. To further compensate for it, I grinded really hard for the Mid-Term and Final Math Exam in my A2 (second year of A-levels) and did well in it. So I still ended up getting a predicted grade of A* in Math.
Life on a College Campus
As for the first two weeks at UCLA, I was incredibly homesick. I still remember calling my mom and sister on the phone, complaining about homesickness and going through an existential dread of having to spend a whole year in a new place where I didn’t know anyone… It took me a while to adjust, and feeling out of place was one of the many feelings I went through. But soon enough, to combat this very feeling of loneliness, I started sitting in public places where I could interact with other people. A lot of people lock themselves up in their dorms, which ends up further exacerbating their situation. So if you’re feeling lonely, you’ll feel even worse. I started doing all of my studying at my floor lounge, interacted with the people there, and ended up making a few friends. Try putting yourself in positions where you are forced to interact with others. If you are relatively introverted like me, such that you’re not able to go up and talk to people, try putting yourself in places where the extroverted people will come and talk to you.
Navigating recent changes in U.S. immigration, visa, or education policies as an International Student
Amidst the uncertainty linked with the recent changes in U.S immigration and visa policies this year, there was a lot of debate on whether international students like me and my friends should return back to Pakistan for the summer break. There was an underlying fear that we may not be able to come back to the U.S once we leave and won't be able to continue our second year here at UCLA. Many people were adamant on not leaving in the first place, which got me to second guess whether I should return back to Pakistan for the summers. But then, a lot of people who had their visas revoked had them returned. That’s what gave us the confidence that there is an upward slope in regard to all these policies. So it was kind of safe for us to travel, and hence I returned back to Pakistan for the summer break.
I would suggest, the students who are applying to colleges in the U.S or would be starting their term this fall, don’t stress out, everything will work itself out. You’ve got no control over these policies, so stressing about something you have no control over won’t do you any good. As for the whole dilemma of deciding to return to our countries over the break, I had made up my mind that I wasn’t going to get myself trapped in a country just out of the fear of not being able to re-enter, so I trusted my gut and hoped for the best!
Moreover, for the students still applying to colleges this year, don’t get tunnel vision and restrict yourself to one country only. Try applying to colleges outside the U.S, since getting into a college in the U.S is becoming exponentially harder, so you would want to keep your options open. For instance, try applying to the U.K, Canada, Pakistan itself, or wherever it may be so that you have the most options to choose from towards the end.
Cast a wider net!
Dealing With Imposter Syndrome
For those who feel like UCLA is out of their reach or those applying to colleges in the United States this year, I would say that just roll the dice and see what happens. When it comes to college applications, you can never know for sure if you're going to get in. You could be the best applicant in the world, and you could still not say with certainty that you're going to get into XYZ College. By the same measure, you could be one of the worst applicants in the world, and you can't say with certainty that you won't get into XYZ college. There is definitely luck involved. If you really want to get into UCLA and are somewhat scared, there's no harm in just putting in an application. The worst that can happen is your situation will not change; you weren’t in UCLA now, you won't be in UCLA later. But the best that could happen is that you could get into UCLA, so there's everything to gain and nothing to lose!
Food For Thought: Tips for Aspiring Students
I wish someone had told me to start my research and college prep way earlier, so I could have had more time to work on my extracurricular activities and add more depth to them. Starting earlier could have allowed me to explore my interests more broadly. Since I was a kid, my family had told me to pursue medicine, and since both my parents were doctors, that felt like the most natural path. Guided by my mom to apply to colleges abroad, I started my research and soon came to know of the several entry tests that you're required to sit in order to study Medicine in the UK. This was when my Sophomore year was about to end, leaving me with roughly two years to collect myself. Had I done my research earlier, I would have probably switched my gears earlier, too. Consequently, I missed out on so many amazing opportunities and competitions in the discipline of Physics itself, including IYPT (International Young Physicists Tournament), IOAA (International of Astronomy and Astrophysics), etc.
As cliché as it may sound, try being yourself when you’re applying to colleges. Don’t try to be something that you’re not. Don’t do activities that you’re not interested in, just for the sake of filling up your college apps. So what I would suggest is to find something that you genuinely are interested in. Do things that you genuinely care about. A lot of times, you're not able to do those things as well as compared to if you were actually interested in them. Not only are you going to benefit from such activities that fascinate you, but your college application itself will benefit from doing so. True growth comes from working on yourself, not your resume.
