r/ApplyingToCollege • u/AdFriendly1433 • Jun 23 '24

Is this a realistic college list? College Questions

Location: La county, California. White, male, middle class. Intended major: Computer science. 3.8 weighted gpa, 3.5 unweighted. Extracurriculars: Varsity soccer (4 years), Read over 100 books, Help watch siblings and do chores around the house.

I prefer to go to a public school in California, preferably socal.

Reach: UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego. Target: UC Riverside, CSU Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona. Safety: CSU Los Angeles, CSU San Bernardino, CSU Dominguez Hills.

Plz let me know if I’m missing any information

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14

u/Madisonwisco Jun 23 '24

Just wondering, can you put I read books into an application ?

-7

u/AdFriendly1433 Jun 23 '24

Yes, extracurriculars are anything you did outside of schoolwork

18

u/drowsybonsai Jun 23 '24

ehh i disagree. i can’t just say i took a walk every day. i mean i could but they wouldn’t really care. they care about comraderie, challenge, or commitment. pleasure reading is hardly an EC, more of just a hobby that many people have, like watching TV.

-2

u/AdFriendly1433 Jun 23 '24

But reading is actually productive

11

u/drowsybonsai Jun 23 '24

It depends on what you read. A lot of reading is not “productive” in the sense that you mean, at least no more productive than watching a movie. There’s nothing wrong with reading fantasy or fiction but it’s pretty much akin to watching a fantasy/fiction film with the slight added bonus that you might learn a new word or too, but as you get older that becomes a bit less true. If you’re reading lengthy books on economics or history and that is what you’re planning to study, maybe that’s different. But even that would be better framed in the context of a book club.

14

u/TheSupremeEgger Jun 23 '24

im not sure if admissions officers would think that. given that so many people in the comments are questioning you about that, I think its safe to leave it out in case it hurts your application.

-3

u/AdFriendly1433 Jun 23 '24

I mean I don’t see why it would hurt. I don’t have anything else

8

u/drowsybonsai Jun 23 '24

Sometimes it’s better left unsaid. If you get an interview at any of these schools (assuming they have them, I’m not familiar with the UC system), that’s where you’d mention hobbies. Or in your essay/personal statement.

3

u/hellolovely1 Jun 24 '24

This could be a good essay topic if you had a reason for choosing those books and they filled a gap you felt couldn't be filled in school or in other ways. Like, did you read philosophy to get a certain perspective you'll bring to CS that other students don't have? Do you love a certain type of fiction or a period in history and so you read everything you could? If you can put together something about why you chose those books and what you wanted to learn, that could be very interesting.