Why I think I got In

(The Above is not Paris)

But anyway, a lot of better qualified people will probably scratch their heads and think why is this girl with a less than 700 GMAT, less than 2 yr working experience got into UCLA ?

I'll try to explain to my best knowledge :

1. I'm a reapplicant and I took the one year to make my application stronger :
1.1. I applied in 2005, worked extra hard for my #1 family essay. I spoke from the truth about my family and how it had shaped me as a person. My parents are pretty unique in some ways and it made me develop certain traits as a person ( ie. always trying to strike a balance in life ). Was waitlisted last year. I emailed the Admission Direction for International student and some others but didn't get too far and was rejected in the end.
1.2 While reapplying in 2006, I went to The MBA Tour and Anderson Information Session. I met the Admission Director for International student in person and started talking about how to make my application stronger. He didn't really remember me but at the end of e day, he looked at my file and suggested some tips for me :
1.2.a. UCLA likes me but I lack the working experience ( I graduated in Sept 05, applied in Dec 05 )
1.2.b. Try to write more on professional work in my reapplicant essay and get professional recommendations this time
1.3. Tried to make my GMAT better but didn't work. My math improved, my verbal dropped. What to do? Life goes on

2. I have a clear career goals in life. I took the one year off to really think about what my goals are in life. I want to be an entrepreneur in the future. I rationalize what kind of short term career goal I should aim to get and within 10 years I'll most probably be in Indonesia. I guess having a clear career goal and showing that I'm actually working towards achieving it helps.. UCLA actually has a specific club that matched my long term goal so I talk abous joining this club/fellowship while in UCLA.

3. Diversity :
3.1 I'm from a 3rd world country : Indonesia. I'm a girl. ( Some people says that help, but I don't know ). For UCLA, they take into consideration that English is not my first language so they give me a break for not performing like other locals in GMAT verbal.

3.2. I studied in Indonesia til I was 16. Got a scholarship to study in Singapore for high school. Came to UCLA for undergrad after that with 1 yr credit. Finished up my Bachelor in 2 years.

4. Extracurricular : some leadership skills from clubs in Singapore and US.

5. My interview on October 2nd actually went pretty well. I'll write about that later on.

Hope this helps :) Anymore questions, shoot me a comment