If at First You Don't Succeed...Ben Harounian
March 29 was a bad day for Beverly Hills (Calif.) High School senior Ben Harounian: UCLA and UC-Berkeley both rejected him. UCLA was his top choice. Rejecting the rejection, Harounian appealed—to the university's band director. Ben is passionate about drum line, and he figured his passion must not have leapt off his application. In late April, UCLA changed its mind, his GPA nudging him ahead of other appeal candidates, he says. Ben plans to study computer engineering.
SAT scores: 730 math, 640 critical reading, 680 writing
GPA: 3.59 nonweighted
Extracurrics: Marching center snare drum, creating his school's drum line website
Essay topic: Being diagnosed with a form of tachycardia during 10th grade
Tips on appealing: To have a chance, you need to show you have a strength they want.
Insider tip: Highlight those attributes that show you are really good at something.
Do-over: Would have attained a leadership position in a club; tried harder to get grades up
Advice to 10th and 11th graders: Your grades in sophomore and junior years matter most.
Best move: Working with a college counselor, who helped him stay on track
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