Episode 8 - This is How an International Student GOT into a Top 20 Computer Science Program! w/ Saarth Shah | Part 1

Hello, I'm Jishan Kurbanda.

And I'm Brahm Bhattu, and welcome to our podcast, Weekly Dose of High School, where we'll be guiding you through the life of a high school student while speaking to knowledgeable people in the industry.

Welcome to our 8th episode. Today we are here with Saarth Shah, an incoming sophomore at UC San Diego, where he'll be studying data science. I've personally known Saarth, and he and I used to work on a nonprofit organization called Educately, and we were in charge of the web development team and the video production team. So in today's episode, we're going to be hearing Saarth speak about how he got into UC San Diego, his overall college experience, and the transition from India to the US, and his current and future endeavors.

Before we get started, would you like to introduce yourself to our audience, Saarth?

Um, yeah. Um, hi, my name is Saarth. Um, I'm a rising sophomore at UC San Diego. I'm studying data science at the Halogen Data Science Institute. And, um, I'm planning to minor in entrepreneurship or business, but I haven't really decided which one I want to go with yet. Um, and yeah, I mean, I love entrepreneurship. I'm trying to get into, um, either quantitative finance, data science, or software engineering, which I have not decided on yet. Um, but yeah, that's a little bit about myself.

Great. Without further ado, let's get into today's episode. So, Saarth, My first question for you is, do you think the CS program at UC San Diego is good or on par with like the CS programs at other T20s?

Yeah, I would say so. I mean, so UCSD is what, around like 11th on US News for like grad school in computer science, and I think around 15th for like undergrad. But I would say like my experience so far at UCSD has been absolutely insane. Like some of my friends, they're doing some doing some like really cool stuff with like their programs, like what they're learning. Like I have people around me who are doing, um, like research, they're trying to build startups, they're trying to, um, like they're all working for like good tech companies like, you know, FAANG and all that stuff. So I would say yeah, on par, yes. Um, I think one aspect of UCSD which is really, uh, like underrated is research. Like I, I know like everyone around me is just doing some sort of research or the other, and if you go to like csrankings.org, you'll probably see that UCSD is like 4th in the world for computer science research, and, and like surprisingly above even Stanford. So the kind of research that we do at UCSD is like, I don't— it's like just, it's very interesting. And like the kind of problems that people around me are solving, I would say yeah, I mean, in some aspects, like UCSD is just like a powerhouse, um, and it's like, it's kind of like an underdog where people don't look at it as much as like they look at Berkeley or UCLA. Because I think UCSD gets a little bit of a backlash, or like it gets a little less noticed compared to like how glorifying Berkeley and UCLA are from the UC system. But I would say like UCSD's data science, the CS department is probably even better than UCLA and on par with Berkeley. Like the quality of education is just amazing.

And then a quick follow-up to that. So like, how's the alumni network at UCSD?

Alumni network, I would say very nice. Like I know people who are working at like all the top tech companies you can imagine, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon, like anything. I also know people who are working at like top-tier firms like Two Sigma, Citadel, not too much though, like we're not too much of a feeder for like hedge funds but we are definitely a big feeder for FAANG and like software engineers in general. If I talk about research, yeah, a lot of my seniors are going to other top research schools or like staying at UCSD doing their PhDs here. I also— and for entrepreneurship, which is what I'm interested in, we might not be as glorious as like the number of entrepreneurs that came from like Stanford or Berkeley because of, you know, they are physically present in the Bay Area. But for entrepreneurship, we do have some really strong alumni like the founder of GoPro, We have the founder of DE Shaw, we have the founder of— I think Qualcomm actually came out of UCSD, it was built by professors here. And we have this one company recently that raised $1 billion, it's called Rada. So we have a lot of alumni who are creating big tech companies too. So yeah, alumni network is pretty solid, that's it.

Got it, thank you.

Okay, sorry, this is a—

this might be a little bit of a personal question, so you don't have to answer if you don't want, but if you don't mind answering, maybe share which colleges you applied for early decision, early action, or restrictive early action.

Yeah, um, I would love to answer that. So I applied to like 22 to 23 different schools, um, partly because I was an international and I was going with a shotgun, like I don't know if you guys have heard of this term like shotgunning. I was trying to shotgun and see what is the best thing I can learn. Uh, so I applied to 24, around 24 different schools. Um, I applied restrictive early action to Yale. Um, at that time when I was applying, I was, uh, I was a big follower of Jaspreet Khan, who's like co-founder of Twitch. And yeah, I was looking into Yale for the CS department. I saw that it would probably be the easiest Ivy to get into because they want strong CS people. And I applied early action but didn't go anywhere. I got rejected straight up, which I don't even care now, but that time it was kind of a bummer. But then as a regular decision golden, I applied to all of the, um, 7 Ivies that were left. I applied to Stanford, Carnegie Mellon. I applied to all like Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, Georgia Tech, Michigan. UIUC, Purdue, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and applied to Waterloo and Toronto in Canada. And as for what I got into, I got into data science at UCSD, I got into software engineering at Waterloo, which is a really good program, which is what I was considering between UCSD and Waterloo, and I got into University of Toronto. I got into Wisconsin-Madison's computer science, and I was waitlisted by Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, Georgia Tech, Michigan. Yeah, I think that was it. I got a lot of rejections though, so shotgunning was—

At least you got into UC San Diego, so that's really good.

I did, yeah, that was fun.

So on to my next question, Saarth. So during your high school years, have you ever participated in any internships? Because right now students participating in internships so that they have work experience and are ready to, and are ready to go to college. So have you ever done something like this or something similar to it?

Um, I did actually. So I did intern for like a small tech firm here in my city. Uh, I would not advise internships particularly because what happens is that let's say you, you're interning for like a firm that like nobody knows about, um, specifically like where you're applying to school. Let's say like if I'm— if I like intern at a place here in India that nobody knows about even in India, like if I— how would the admissions officer at like a top CS school would know about that? Like that's just not possible, right? While it may, um, sound like you know some stuff, but I feel like if you're interning, it's much better to intern at a place that has some sort of credibility or like know about it. You know, I think a great example, I know I've seen some people on LinkedIn, like some high schoolers who've been interning at like San Diego Supercomputer Center. And I mean, I work here too, but like that's like a name which a lot of people would know about because it's like there's only like, I think it's 7 or 8 supercomputer centers in the US. So if you like, like if you work at a place like this or you work for like a big tech company, well then yes, then internships make sense because then people know about it. But if you're interning like like a random startup that no one knows about, um, I don't know if it's a good idea, um, unless it has some credibility attached to it. Let's say if you're interning for a startup that is a part of a university's program, then maybe, uh, might be a little bit more credible. But then in general, I don't know, I'm not a big fan of, uh, interning for like no-name companies. Um, rather I would say if you want to learn something, or if you want to so that you have some experience with like what you want to do in college. I would rather prefer to work on like personal projects or doing something cool of yourself, like, you know, starting your own startup, like, you know, building a cool project that you can show that, that can get some credibility from others also. But, uh, internships are kind of like, if they're, if they're respectable, if people know about them, then for sure. Otherwise, I'm kind of, I don't know, it's, you can still do it because it's not, it's something, you know, it's much better than having nothing on your resume.

Yeah.

But I wouldn't like necessarily advise it over like working on your own things, doing your own projects.

Thank you, Sarath.

So like Sarath, you mentioned you wouldn't advise it if it's like a no-name company. Do you have any tips or tricks to get into an internship as a high school student, like a widely known company? Because those are really, really hard as for a high school student.

Um, I think networking. Like if you have— if you know someone and they can refer you for a position, that definitely helps you out. Um, I like, even like as a college freshman, like when I was applying to internships as a freshman, um, I applied to all the top tech companies, but, um, and I heard back favorably, like from some, like I got some decent interviews, but I didn't like get like a full-time offer, like I didn't get an offer for the summer. But one thing which I've seen, like some of my friends were interning, they basically got it through their own network. So like maybe through their connections, maybe their parents' connections. I think that definitely helps a lot. I mean, it might be— it might not be the best for someone who has no connections, but I think networking does help you out. So, uh, if you— I mean, that's like, that's probably the number one tip that I would give. Like, try to build your network and know people who might be able to refer you to a position. Other than that, just keep applying. You know, it's a numbers game. Um, I applied to more than 400 internships last year. And I only got like 15, 20 interviews. I mean, which is really hard to get as a freshman too.

Yeah, true.

As a college, as a high school student, it's even probably hard to get an interview at a tech company. So yeah, it's a numbers game and try to network your way in. That's like the only 2 tips I'll probably give.

And then to like on Reddit or like many other forums like Reddit, I've seen people saying do this strategy of cold emailing like startup companies. Like I know you just said don't do that, like if it's a no-name company, but like how beneficial do you think like it is because at the end of the day it shows like work experience and like your passion for that interest or for that specific area. So like, do you recommend cold emailing or no?

Uh, um, I would recommend cold emailing for sure. Um, but I don't know about no-name startups. I would definitely cold email professors in colleges and try to get a research position. I think that is definitely something which is like, which can definitely get you in because let's say if you're interning, if you're researching, uh, if you're like of like a research project at like a big school or a school that people know about, um, then it does help you a lot on your resume because college admissions officers definitely know the other school and they know that, hey, if you work here, you have something, you know. If you can show your interest in that specific subject in that way, I think that's a great idea. Um, what happens with tech companies in specific? Let's say, let's say if you're working for a random startup that was, you know, or like a random company that does like a few X amount of dollars in revenue per year that no one knows about, what would happen is that let's say it's very easy to like say, hey, I did all of this stuff at this startup, but then if people don't know that company, they're like— I don't know how much credibility I would give to that, like personally, because I recruit for my own startup sometimes, and when I see people who worked at like a random company that I don't even know about, Um, I don't know how much credibility I would give it, but like, let's say if they have worked at a company which has some ties to a specific university or a specific program, or like some, some like they're either connected with an accelerator, a big tech accelerator, or they're connected with like, um, you know, uh, with the university, or like they have, um, they're in some incubators, they are funded by some company, then I might give it more credibility. But other— but if it's just like a straight random business out of nowhere, uh, unless you've created it, but you just— or you're just working for it, uh, I don't know how much credibility I would give it. But I mean, if you're getting paid for it, well then, then for sure do it. But I would like— specifically if you're just working for free for someone, for like a no-name company, then I would like definitely suggest against it. It's much better to work on your own projects.

Yes.

Got it. Okay.

So now deviating a little and more about the admission process. Um, obviously you might not know the exact reason why you got into UC San Diego, but do you have a rough estimate or idea how you got in? Because specifically you're like an international student, so that makes it even much more harder for you because the quota is so low. And it's like, do you have any like idea how you got into UC San Diego?

I actually do. So I don't know if you've seen those videos where you can see your college admission, uh, like files. people make those videos. I actually got access to my own college admissions file, um, sometime early this year, so I was able to see, uh, what the admissions officers rated me on. Um, it was kind of all over the place. Like, I think I had 3 readers. Um, I was given like 2 1s, like overall 1s, where like 1 is like the highest on the scale and 5 is like the lowest on the scale, with 3 being the average. And I was given like 2 ones and 1 three. So it was kind of all over the place. Like, 1, 2 admissions officers, like, called me, like, a really good fit, like, and, you know, must admit, which is like one. And then I had done 3, um, by, like, my second reader, which I was kind of— which is kind of weird. Um, uh, what I think got me in was definitely my leadership experience because I was rated very heavily on that. And my academics were also really high, um, because I've I've always been top of my class in high school, so I think that helped me out a lot. So that's why I was like kind of given those high grades, but I did not see how they rated my essays. So I have no clue if those were the things that actually got me that one, but I was definitely rated very highly on my leadership and my, this thing, my academics.

So now I have a couple of follow-ups on that. So one, I thought if you waive your FERPA rights, so like the rights to see your educational records, then you can see it. So did you— do you have to do that as an international student or no?

Yes. Um, I don't know, I don't know how it works, uh, but I saw this like it was on our Reddit where, you know, somebody was like— the people were looking at their admissions files and then you just had to like message the admissions office asking for your, uh, file. I don't know how it works honestly because I have no clue what any of those rights stuff means, but I was— I just sent them a message, hey, I want to look at my file. And I think I do— I can look at it legally once I'm like— once I'm already in the school. So I was able to get access to it that way.

And then the second follow-up is, how would the ratings— like, if you get like all 1s, right, does that guarantee admission, or can you still get in with maybe like 2s?

Yes, you can. Because, um, I was not the only one who saw my admissions file. I know a lot of my friends did request their admissions file too, um, and I think I was the only one who got like an overall score of 1. Most of my friends actually got 2s and 3s and they still got in. They might— they did not get into the first majors at times, but they did get in to— but they did get like ultimately get accepted to UCSD. So you don't really need to have the straight up 1. So like even I did not have like straight up 1s. I had like 1, 1, and 3. So you don't need hard ones, honestly.

Got it. And then you may have heard of the backlash that some of these UCs have been getting, especially Berkeley. They're like accepting more out-of-state people and international students rather than California residents, maybe allegedly increase their tuition and revenue. So do you think these rumors are true or what?

I have heard that these rumors are true. I know a lot of people who are out of state at UCSD. I'm not sure what is going on at Berkeley. I think they do definitely do it so that they can bring in more revenue because my, like, my out-of-state tuition is super high. Like, I'm paying like almost a quarter of a million dollars in the 4 years of education that I'm doing here. So it's super expensive. So that definitely helps schools out a lot, right? Because you're paying a lot more, so they get in more money. But I mean, if I was a taxpayer, Like, if I was like living in California and I was paying taxes here, then I would not want people from out of state to get in. Um, but I don't know, I mean, some of these schools, I mean, they also have to like maintain— like, because there's research powerhouses and they're doing like all of these incredible things, I think you need like to have diversification. You need to have people from all around the world, uh, all around the country. So like you have people like, you know, so you can have like very diverse idea and a very diverse community, um, which is debatable. Like if you talk to a California resident, maybe they'll say something different. But like for me, um, I'm grateful that I got in, um, and a lot of people around me are super grateful that they got in, um, even though we were out of state or like not California residents. Um, so it's— I think it's like the answer to this question would like depend on who you're talking to. if you're talking to someone from California, they would prefer, like, you know, for them to go to the school. Yeah, but I think from a school's perspective— yeah, I mean, from a school's perspective, I mean, I don't know. I mean, these guys have a lot of, like, their funding is, like, super high. They get a lot of money. So I don't know if they're doing it just for monetary reasons, or, like, I'm pretty sure they're doing it for more than monetary reasons. But I've heard that these rumors are true. But I, um, but still, I think California residents get priority, like It's, it's like the bars for getting into UCSD as a California resident is not as high as like as an international or as an out-of-state. So that is, that is something, it's much easier to get in and they have more seats for like California people. So it's good for a lot of people. Thank you.

Okay, so sorry, as a college student you'll probably have an answer for the question I'm about to ask. So I have a friend who has been accepted into the University of Michigan in their junior year So why do you think great colleges like University of Michigan would accept him so early when more potential could be seen during the summer of their junior year?

That's a, that's a great question. Honestly, I have no clue because either that person is probably a prodigy or like they're like way ahead of the high school classes or they don't really need high school to succeed in college, like to succeed then probably colleges would accept them. But I don't know, these cases like outliers. So if I personally was given an option to attend college as a high school junior, I would probably not because, um, you would— I mean, as a junior or like as a— even as a high school senior, when you're one year younger than all the freshmen, um, can seem a little out of place, you know, when you're like with around, around with people and everyone as an adult and you're like still like 17 or 16. I don't know, I would not want to be in that situation. It's like, because what happens is that colleges, while they're great for academics and great for research and great for everything else, um, there are also places to where you build your network. And you know, networking specifically, if you are around people who are the same age as you then it's much easier, even though you might be on the same intellectual level with them. But sometimes, you know, if you're in the same age bracket with them, then you relate to them a lot more. So it's easier to network that way. But honestly, I don't know. I mean, I have heard of cases like this too. Like, I have— I know someone from my high school many years ago who got into like Stanford as like a junior in high school, which was Very weird, but that guy was a prodigy. He had like 10 different math Olympiads and whatnot. So like, he was like an outlier. Like, you don't see people like that usually. Um, but I don't know, like, honestly, I mean, this is a little bit, uh, like what I probably would do. I, I don't— probably don't understand what, what, why, why, why university would accept someone.

Yeah, I'm a bit confused as well, but thanks for sharing.

Okay, so start, uh, what would you say would be like your top 2 extracurriculars that you highlighted or emphasized in your college applications?

Um, so for my top 2 extracurriculars, um, I had like for my first, like the most important extracurricular which I had in high school was I built this employment platform, which was essentially like what happened when like COVID initially hit. a lot of people around me were like losing their jobs because like, I don't know if you guys have heard of this, but like the COVID wave in India was like terrible, you know, people were dying left and right.

Yeah.

Um, so I realized that, you know, hey, people around me were losing their jobs because nobody wants to bring in— like, we have a lot of— so, um, like nobody wants to bring in domestic help when like COVID is on such a high peak. And for those of you guys who don't know, like India, there's a culture of like hiring someone to help you with your daily chores. So it's like you have someone to help clean your house, you have someone to like clean your dishes. I know it might not sound like super familiar with, but we do have a culture like that in India. And specifically when COVID hit, you know, a lot of people didn't want other people in their houses because they felt unsafe. So a lot of people were losing their jobs. A lot of people who were working were also moving back to villages from cities. So there were people who needed help, but they did not have anyone to like get access to that. So I built like an employment platform with my friend where, you know, people who were losing their jobs could post like, you know, that they want a job and people who want to hire someone can post that they have an opening and then we can connect them through the platform, through the website. And we ended up like, I think we were able to like source 60 full-time jobs that we are aware of. And we had like 7,000 people who visited our website, like were users. We were featured everywhere on the city newspaper, like kind of became a small thing at that time. And we did some— I mean, while 60 sounds like a small number, we did some really impactful things at that time. Like my— I still remember this call which I had with this guy who was a painter who could not pay his rent for a while because, you know, he had no source of money. And we were somehow able to get him a gig, um, like a long-term sort of like a project, like a couple months. And that guy was so happy that, you know, we still remember that day. I mean, it was really fun. So yeah, I mean, I built that website at that time. Uh, my second most, uh, extracurricular, which I mean, I'm the most proud of, was I've been to like a video game. So I was a video game developer at that time.

Oh yeah.

I built, I mean, I grew up playing Counter-Strike a lot. Uh, and a lot of Call of Duty. So I was kind of interested in like seeing how I can build something like that. So I spent 9 months building this, uh, prototype or like a, like a self-made version of Counter-Strike and Call of Duty, like somewhere in between both of those games. And it was kind of a fun project. I learned a lot of programming at that time, you know. Um, it was finally like, I mean, it was a big project because that game was not just like a single-player game, it was multiplayer. So it was like connecting to servers and, you know, allowing multiple people to play at the same time. And like, you know, like if someone attacks someone else in the game, you know, I have to display and change the score for everyone. So it has to be done in real time. So it was like a big project at that time, uh, built on Unity. Uh, I learned C# for it.

Hmm.

I got a couple, I think 400 or 500 downloads at that time. It was not super big, but yeah, it was a fun project that I was really proud of and still helps me to this day, the kind of things I learned at that time.

Yeah, I remember it's Project Recall, right?

Yes, yes.

Yeah, I remember. Yeah, okay. And so for like UCSD, like they offer like individual colleges within like the university, each for like a separate field. So for like a CS major, would you recommend applying to like the Jacobs School of Engineering or like the College of Arts and Sciences?

So for UCSD, I don't know how it goes for other schools, but for UCSD specifically, it does not matter what major you apply for. What happens is that you first get into UCSD. So I can apply for any major. First I have to get into UCSD itself. If I can't pass that stage, then I won't— like, they won't even consider my majors. But first you get into UCSD. If you have— I don't know what, like, the admissions officers are looking for, but if you have that, you get into the school first. And then they look at what 2 majors you have listed on your application, and they check if they have an opening or like a space for like those majors. And then they kind of— your major kind of depends on that. So you— a lot of people get their second majors, they don't get like the first majors. A lot of people actually don't get into both of their majors and get in undeclared. I think almost all of my friends who have got in from India were like undeclared or got into like their second major. Um, so it does not matter, um, what you apply for. Uh, it like— I think you can apply for both your first choice and your second choice and can get in depending on, you know, what you would like, you know, what would you prefer. So like, like I know for Berkeley for sure, like if you apply for EECS computer science, it's really hard and you almost have like— it's a very small chance of getting in. But for UCSD, you could apply CS at Jacobs and apply math and computer science, which is essentially the math major under the— like CS major under the math department, which is kind of easier to get in, which is like open, uncapped. So if you, you know, you don't really have to apply for— like, you can apply for your top major and apply for your backup major and still be fine compared to like other schools. They won't reject you straight up UCSD just because you didn't get into the major. Um, we have a concept of capped and uncapped majors. A lot of those engineering, data science, and you know, really hot majors are capped, so which means they accept limited people. Um, so let's say when I applied, I applied first for computer science and my second major was data science. So both of them were capped majors, but I thankfully got into data science. Um, these majors are like super small, like I think CS at UCSD was like 150 freshmen, data science was 152. So I think what, 6,000 people applied to UCSD? 6,000 people get into UCSD, um, in a year. Like freshmen, like incoming freshmen, so like I think around 6,000 and like 30,000 to 40,000. Like I don't know what the number is, but I know a lot of people get in. But the classes of these majors are like super small, 100, 150. So super hard to get in. Um, I— what I did was sort of wrong. I should not have applied to both 2 cap majors. But still, I, I think you can do that at UCSD and still be fine. You can still get into UCSD undeclared if they don't accept you into both of your majors, and then you can apply for like a— you can either try transferring into like a major of your choice, or you know, you can apply for an uncapped major which you can switch into anytime, which is like what we have, Math and Computer Science at UCSD, essentially the BSES version of what Berkeley has. You can just apply for that major, like you don't need— like you don't even need to, um, I think you don't even need like a GPA requirement. You can just switch into that major anytime if I'm not wrong.

Got it. So like, um, I was going to ask you this later on, but like I'll just ask now. So like for CS, if someone's applying to UCSD as a CS major, would you recommend applying like as a specialized major like you just mentioned under the math department or like the data science to like maximize your chances?

I would say apply for what you really want to study because for some of these majors like CS, it's almost impossible to transfer into. So once you get into the school it's always— it's almost super hard to get into that major. I would say like apply for what you really want to study in the first spot, in your first like your preferred major, and then for your secondary major choose something which you're fine with as an alternative. So let's say you really want to study computer science, which is under the computer science and engineering department, um, super hard to get into, 150 people get in, but you're fine with math and computer science, which is an uncapped major, if you don't get in. So that could be like your second option. So you can— you should definitely apply for whatever major you want without caring about like how hard it is to get in, at least in the first position, in the first preferred major.

So, um, you applied to data science, and what was your second one?

Um, I applied to CS and data science. CS.

Okay, and they're both uncapped, right? Or they're both capped?

They're both— they're both capped, yes.

Got it.

So hard to get in. Yeah, got it.

And then, um, like UCs are like test blind now and they also don't accept letters of recommendation. So like, what do you think a UC like truly values? Is it just your GPA and course rigor, or it's like a combination of things such as GPA, essays, and extracurriculars?

And now, like, I think academics are very important. Like, your grades should be like— you should have really high grades if you want to get into like a top, top tier You see, um, that's what I've seen so far. Like, they emphasize on grades a lot. I think they also— like, extracurriculars are also really important. I don't know how important essays were when I was applying because when I saw my college admissions file, I did not see any, uh, you know, comments or like any sort of like scoring for my essays. Um, I think, I think that did come into account for my leadership and all that stuff that these guys were like kind of, um, scoring me on. But I would say academics are definitely the most important, like, because they are test blind. I, I mean, I wish they were not test blind because, I mean, SAT scores do help you out a lot when you're trying to apply to colleges, uh, if you have a good one at least. But as these guys are like test blind right now, I would say your GPA would probably matter the most because that's what matters when you're trying to— if you, let's say, if you want to transfer out from like a community college to a UC, I know this, like, they give a lot of emphasis on their GPA. So I would assume that even for undergrad, like, your high school GPA would be like the most important, or like your class rank or something. I don't know how these guys score GPA, or like how do they standardize different GPAs from all around the world, or like a single scale, but I think your GPA is definitely really important. And extracurriculars also, I think, come in second after your grades.

Okay. And then, so like, I was also gonna ask you this later on, but like the UCs, like they calculate their GPA in a whole different way than like most colleges. Like they have their UC CAP GPA and stuff. So how does all that work?

I have no clue, honestly, because I mean, because I'm like, my GPA system when I was, because I did my high school in India, was completely different from like what these guys do in the US. So I had no clue how they calculated my GPA or how they Um, look into it. But I think, um, for me, when I was applying, I don't think they calculated my UCGPA. They calculated, uh, because I could see like when on my admissions file I could see that they like commented that my, my 10th and 12th grades, which was like my sophomore and senior year grades, were all above 90s. Uh, so I think they did make that comment. So they were definitely looking at my Indian grades rather than like converting my grades to like a UCGPA or anything. So I don't know how they do that for domestic applicants, but that was what the case was for me.

So rule of thumb would be just to have like straight A's, right, above 90s, and you'll be good?

Yeah, I would say so. Yeah, you need to have, um, as many A's as you can, probably.

Got it. Okay, thank you.

Okay, so sorry, as an incoming sophomore in college, do you know any med students who are planning to take the MCAT exam their sophomore year and why they're taking it in that specific year?

Um, I have— I know a lot of people who pre-med, like almost, I would say, half or more than half of UCSD is around like— it's either pre-med or CS. Like, that's like the hottest major here. Um, and that makes sense because UCSD is also like a really good med school. I think it's top 25 in the world right now or something. It's really, it's really good and like one of the best med schools in California. Um, so We have a lot of pre-med students, but most of my friends who are planning to take the MCAT are planning to do that in their junior year, so not in the sophomore year. I don't know anyone who's taking— who's planning to take that in their sophomore year, but I've heard of a lot of people planning to take that in their junior because that would give them, I think, enough time to prepare for— yeah, yeah, like med school and applying for it.

Yeah.

Thank you, sir.

Well, that's it for today for episode 8 of Weekly Dose of High School. Hope you guys enjoyed Saarth Shah speak about UC San Diego's admission criteria. Make sure to tune in later this week for part 2 of this episode.

Also, if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to our podcast, whether you're listening on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, or even YouTube. We're on all those platforms and we upload weekly episodes, so make sure you subscribe so you never miss an upload. Until then, take it easy, guys.