UC Application

Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.I am over a 100 words on the limit, what should I remove and what should I clarify.

My mother and father never completed college because my mother was pregnant at a young age and they both had to drop out in order to support our family.

Because my parents never went to college, nor did my grandparents and so on, it was difficult for me to grasp the importance of getting a college degree. And it was even more difficult understanding the steps necessary to achieve one. I never did well in school or took it seriously because it was never expected of me to do so.

As I finished freshman year the reality of life after high school began to hit me. With a society revolving around a college degree I understood that I had to break this curse (of no college)?, and prove to my family how an education is important to succeed in life and achieve my goals.

After my freshman year I discovered I was ranked 93 among 610 students. Although this is not too bad considering my slack in school, it opened up my eyes about the importance of every class and assignment. I became more involved in school and started caring about my academics, and class rank.

Immediately I signed up for my first AP class, World History, during sophomore year. As the year went on, several of my classmates began to drop left and right. My own grade was discouraging as I struggled to adjust to the rigor of AP. I had not learned how to study, take notes orrrrrr-----. At the end of the first semester i finished with an 80. Despite being disappointed in myself, I decided to try even harder the next semester. I began to refine my academic abilities by going back to the basics. By the end of the year, my hard work pushed me to finish off the last semester with a 94. I really enjoyed the rigor of AP courses and I decided to challenge myself even more junior year and signed up for AP Biology, Statistics, English, and US History. I became really dedicated to school whilst juggling a job, and multiple extracurricular activities and organizations.

At the end of my Junior Year, I was proud to see that my hard work and dedication really paid off and I am now ranked 18 of my peers.

I believe that my parents not having a thorough education really encouraged me to do the opposite and create a pathway for myself. Although I was able to overcome the difficult task of achieving high school the challenge is still with me today as I go through the college application process. It is a rocky journey without having someone to talk to daily or ask advice at home as many fortunate students do. But this has taught me how to be independent and search for many different resources to fill the gap of under-educated parents

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