⭐️ how i got into ucla ⭐️ (grades, essays, the system) 

I watched this and bawled my eyes out the entire time. I feel as though I was lead so far astray during my time in school. I have a 4.0 and I’m an IB diploma student. If my school weighted my gpa I’d have a 4.9. I was in varsity activities. I thought I was doing everything right. I got rejected from every school I applied to other than my local state school. Every single school. I have no idea who I am or what I love because I focused so hard on being the “perfect” student rather than finding myself. Schools do absolutely nothing to prepare you correctly for college applications. I wish I would’ve seen this sooner.

SAT: 1290 (6:02) ACT: 26 (6:18) GPA: 4.3 (6:34) - got into UCLA because of his good essays about his life and passions - also because of location, less people in a certain place = higher chance of acceptance, more people = lower chance of acceptance

Who’s watching this after he became a well known artist

I always see you at school, but I’m too shy to say hi 😭

*ngl i'm kinda l i v i n g for these dance-like-no-one's-watching intros* they make me happy 😊🌈

i’m a middle class, public school student with mediocre grades that is an expert at nothing but being generally anxious and sporadically angry.

I'm honestly still in shock I just got my acceptance letter from UCLA a few hours ago and everything you said made perfect sense! My SAT scores were very low (around 1140) although I had a very high g.p.a. I wasn't in lots of extra-curriculars either, except for a few. However, I was in this one educational program for low-income students since freshman year in which I took college classes with them every summer. But besides that I honestly didn't think I'd get in. I think what did it for me were my UC Supplemental Questions. I wrote purely to describe the conditions in which I lived in and how I was able to maneuver between the obstacles thrown my way . I showed my persistence to keep trying and how I always worked my very best despite how sometimes I'd fail. Therefore, I really do think my personal essays were what essentially helped me get into this school. Goodluck to everyone trying to apply to this school! I believe in you all :) TIP: if you happen to get an email from them asking if you'd like to elaborate further on your UC Supplemental Questions, you should definitely do them! I received that email and was given the chance to elaborate more, which I did, and here I am starting my first term this Fall :)

I’ve noticed throughout all your deep videos when you talk about your childhood that even though you’ve had so many struggles you’re one of the most positive and optimistic people I’ve ever seen. you’re not cynical or bitter. you’ve gone through things but you’ve been so mature about it. obviously I don’t know how you feel off the camera but when you talk about it you don’t say it in a way to make people pity you or to throw shade or anything. Moral of the story you’re such an ungrownup grownup

Conan. How the hell are you so aesthetic?

*sooo what i've learnt is that the whole school system is a lil' bit fcked* 🙄 they tell us doing one thing will get you in but what they really let you in for (or don't) is something completely different, *i'm getting SERIOUS mixed signals* 🤯

Based on that intro, your neighbors have heard more of your EP than we have

I'm 15 and my dream college has been UCLA since Conan got in. I told my mom. But she just laughed at me. I really don't feel like I'm good enough. But I have a few years to get my act together....

What i learned: 1. Conan has too much aestheticc for this world 2. Conan has an intense story from his senior year that he cant tell us 3. My parents need money ASAP 4. I need to suddenly become really good at something???? 5. I need an extremely tragic backstory NOW 6. My entire life is a lie???? So a normal youtube video

As someone who comes from a very low-income, disadvantaged background who also got into Harvard ‘22, I 100% agree with your key points. I want to preface this by emphasizing that to all of my peers growing up in similar circumstances: It IS possible. Here’s my story, followed by my personal thoughts. I graduated High School two days ago with a 3.238 GPA and a 33 on my ACT (9 on the writing portion). Extremely low GPA for Harvard, average ACT. I also had decently impressive softs. I attended a tiny public high school in rural Wisconsin (400-500 students total from K-12), from which only two other students have been accepted into an Ivy League school. I have lived with my dad for the last 8 years. He’s 76 (retired) and has a drinking problem. No money to his name. I had always worked hard and was going into junior year with a 9 class schedule in a 7 period day with a 4.0. To make a long story short, I ended up in a very toxic relationship. My dad’s health took a dive, my grandpa lost his leg and soon after passed away, and I forgot one assignment in my locker before class. I was told I wouldn’t be able to turn it in by the teacher and I had my first mental breakdown ever. I talked to my guidance counselor and lost it. It was the start of my undwinding. I started missing school very frequently. I failed half of my classes first semester. I took a semester off and failed all of my second semester classes. I got into therapy and started the healing process. My boyfriend broke up with me. I was an absolute mess. Yet I attribute my growth as a person to this time. I had spent my entire life ignoring what was happening in my personal life and instead spent it doing well in school. But now that school wasn’t a sanctuary for me, and that I had my personal life bleeding into my school life, I finally understood what it meant to be sad. As strange as it sounds, I love crying. I hadn’t cried in years upon years before any of this. Moving on to senior year, I returned and took a moderately difficult course schedule, while still taking it easy on myself. My GPA was at about 2.4 (tanked from 4.0) and I had a 30 on my ACT at the time. I applied to Yale; this was absolute first-choice school. I love everything about it. I got rejected. Of course it was a reach school, seeing as how I had below-average stats. I applied and was accepted into a semi-local school that I’m still in love with. I retook my ACT and scored a 33 and decided to apply to two other schools: Amherst and Harvard. I genuinely enjoyed what I knew about Amherst, while my Harvard application was a joke. To be clear, I applied to Harvard 6 days after the deadline. Fully expecting rejections, I forgot about both applications until decisions came back. I was rejected at Amherst, which held a ~15% acceptance rate. Very selective, but nowhere near Harvard. Wednesday came - Ivy Day. Having only applied to Harvard, and with no expectations whatsoever, I opened my results very casually. I started bawling in Domino’s. Somehow, after every failure I felt I went through, I got into one of the most selective schools with a non-serious application. Long-story short, I have decided not to attend Harvard. Here are my thoughts. I come from a very unrepresented area with an incredibly unique, shocking background and childhood. I wrote about my life and everything I’ve went through. Part of it was commentary about how school breeds us to be better students, yet being human is far more valuable. I had an average ACT given the school. My essays were incredibly strong. My letters of recommendation were probably decent (I didn’t get to read them). There are so many other intricacies to my story and my application that make it impossible to pinpoint why I got accepted. To reiterate, the odds are against people like myself, but these selective schools do see more than what’s on paper. It takes very personal, meaningful essays and something to make us stand out. To anyone out there who feels like they’re a failure or that they fell off track: You are not alone. You may not arrive in the fashion you expected, but if you stay true to yourself and never give up, I believe anything IS possible. If anybody wants a sounding board for essays or needs someone to talk to, I would be more than happy to be of service. It’s easiest to get ahold of me on Twitter @ Try_AgainSweaty or Snapchat @ logophobia

UCLA really predicted Conan would go places and that’s why they took him LOL

i love how he just casually paints his nails as he answers our questions

also legacys!!! if your parents went to the school, its very likely they will accept you too!!!

he's just so rare? idk how to explain it

Conan, I am 25 years old and i'm a graduate student currently working on obtaining my Master's Degree in California at CSU Bakersfield. I just want to say as an older viewer, that you are SO inspiring and that I love your videos a ton. Whether I relate to certain topics or not, I always have a good time watching you. You are such a ray of sunshine and we are so blessed to have you. I hope you read this because honestly, you inspire me a ton and I love both you and your music. I hope that life presents to you with the finest of things and that you soon get that album of your dreams and that you also get that relationship you've been longing for. As a forever alone club member here, at the age of 25, I know how it feels to never have had a relationship and I want that for us both. Love you tons kiddo. Stay positive. We've got this. I hope we both get good things coming our way soon. Keep inspiring those high school students with advice and keep being awesome ❤️❤️

your intros give me life and make me wanna put more effort into being a morning person

you : it's sunday me, an intellectual : its C O N A N D AY

ur pjs match ur mug and ur backpack r u kidding me how is it possible to be this aesthetic

*Lori Laughlin has entered the chat.*

UCLA's been my dream school since freshman year and I got in last month. It still feels unreal. Also, I kept getting this video in my recommended because I was watching a lot of UCLA videos, so I finally decided to click. It led me to discover Conan and his music and now I'm obsessed

I always get so excited when cone posts

I love how your videos are so intimate and personable - as if I’m really sitting with you in that cosy corner of your home and we’re just catching up or you’re giving me some life advise 😭🙏💕 it’s so chill

I’ll miss this Conan (RU-vid) era forever but I’m so happy for the success he’s gained 💞

4.3 is a good GPA... I only have a 3.6 ( and i'm a junior) But thank you for this video it was super helpful.

Imagine living next to Conan and getting to listen to him singing FOR FREE

I’m already going to NYU in the fall lol, but I’m still watching this bc Conan. Literally everything you said is so true though. People think that colleges might favor minority students in admissions for diversity, but the one factor that really isn’t diverse about these top colleges is socioeconomic status. The majority of these students are very well off and having money has given them the resources and advantages to get into top schools.

damn conan really just spilt some scalding hot tea in his essay and got in.

I once did this program at UCLA and we met with an admission counselor and they said if you don’t have the opportunity to goin a club that you really want to tell them in your application. They want to know you want to be involved and that you will.

Don’t even wants to go to ucla but highly interested in whatever Conan talks about ❤️

Paramore has the best morning music 10/10

his GPA: 4.3 conan gray: i had a 3.2 gpa

Conan 3.2 was so off from 4.3 😂😂

the first 54 seconds is me after 3 CapriSun pouches 😭😭

I’ve always envied people who are talented in a specific field. For me, I am passionate about music, languages and culture but I’m not the brightest in it. I don’t have a natural vocation to do anything.

Sometimes I wonder what it’s like for someone who has no idea Conan was a youtuber and just casually sees this instead of heather or overdrive

omg i just realised i watched this video 2 years ago and back then he was just a youtuber to me and now like HES LIKE THE MOST PLAYED ARTIST ON MY SPOTIFY and i literally didnt know this was him until like oday????

conan never fails to inspire me

You should have a podcast...I would listen to it everyday

unpopular (?) opinion: personally, i am a hs student at a private school from what i would consider a middle class family. i come from immigrant parents and therefore have absolutely no legacy or connection whatsoever to any university/college. going to a private school means the students all have just as much if not more than you, and tbh it’s kind of terrifying. it goes from okay you’re pretty smart to okay everyone is a genius here. trying to stand out is especially difficult because everyone excels in their various fields so much. my academics are pretty good but like you said, it’s about more than academics. i have no legacy which is an important factor for many places. idk how i’m going to make it into an ivy/stanford/etc. but i do know that coming from my family, i am damn well expected to by my parents. tl;dr: fuck my life. i’m screwed.

Imagine having absolutely no fear in sounding bad when singing and hitting those notes perfectly, he can relate

Ok all I gotta do now is get something reaaaly crazy to happen to me

Just the notification for this vidro just made my morning 😭💛

wow almost 3 years. i hella miss these videos

God, I miss u :( but I'm so proud

Conan, this talk was so helpful. As I’m ending my Junior year, my college related stress is higher more than ever and it’s so easy to get consumed by the numbers. I really appreciate it 💕

so glad i found Conans channel, i get so many positive vibes off his videos. Living for it.

man i love how everyones sharing their stories, its so amazing the feeling this comment section is giving :' )) also thanks for the vid conan this was super helpful and enlightening!!

Can we just call this new series Conan’s Kitchen corner

Conan is goals in every single way!💛

wow what a skinny legend

such a comforting video, ily conan

CONAN AND PARAMORE BY TWO FAVOURITE THINGS

Thanks Conan this is going in a “motivation for college playlist” that I’m going to watch every time I want to procrastinate

scream that paramore you beautiful boy

Conan reminds me of a friend, that's probably why it's so cozy to listen and chill to his videos

Your videos relax me so much, you have such a cool and chill vibe in your videos, maybe its just your editing, your personality , your calm voice or your apartment or just everything about your videos makes me feel so happy and in peace with myself. Thank u so much

Idk how but this video gave me the biggest motivation boost I've had in years. Throughout the years I started to ignore all my hobbies and passions in order to try to keep up my grades, which has left me with mediocre grades and no sense of purpose. I thought this video was going to make me sad since I thought I forgot what my passion was, but to my surprise it actually really motivated me to start writing again and to follow my dream of making my own comic book/series! Thank Conan for making such amazing content that never fails to inspire people, keep being your beautiful self!

You're voice is so beautiful!! (I repeated the intro like 10x) I almost cried😭😍❤️

this is the first video I’m watching from your channel and honestly ...I’m hooked.

I want to hear his essay so baddd Wish he does vids like this and reads his college essay

Thank you so much for posting this, my love 💓

or... you can just pretend to be on a rowing team and pay 500k!! 😤🥵😵

i miss this kind of conan, i rewatching all your videos to bring back the old memories when i watched your videos:’)

Cone ilysm, this video rly made me feel more calm about graduating this year & the stress that'll come with applying for college, hope u have a good day ♥️

I literally just searched conan gray and You just uploaded a video 39 second Ago!!! 💞💞💞

You are so precious I swear that laugh can cure any disease

ur so full of light and hope

we love an informative queen

Not to mention, where you go to college isn't as important as the connections you make. Of course, the chances of meeting big shots in an Ivy league are higher than in a public university, but it's still possible to meet them in a community college of you religiously seek out the opportunities that allow you to make these connections. Like they say, don't give up.

my ucla bighead boi

this really helps me a lot! thank you conan! hope to see you next year in ucla ❤️

You have nooooo idea how much this has helped me. Like seriously, you are amazing!!!

ugh u inspire me so muCCHHHHHH

I'm going to UCLA!!!! also rewatching this now, I still love the moments of dark humor in these videos. so vulnerable. so genius.

This is the most honest best college video I've seen. Thank you! you're amazing.

this is so aesthetically pleasing

That intro was everything I ever wanted in life

i love you so much p.s. i watched the first seconds of this vid and i just immediately burst in giggles of i love you so yeah i love you so much please keep making videos.

I rmbr being subscribed with you since 70k. I am so happy that so many people have discovered u and appreciated you ❤️❤️

I've been watching your videos since you were in mid school, and it's just such a blessing to see you grow up. ily ❤

“with a grain of salt...don’t even know what that means.” me with all my words lol

hi cone I love you and your fancy chair 😍💙

tysm conan, i really needed this 🤧love your videos so much~

I love your funny fly-on-the-wall style intro's to these chats! It makes me want to sing along

AN EARLY UPLOAD WHEN IM ACTUALLY AWAKE 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

i'm a 15 yr old high school student from a not so developed city in India. UCLA is my dream school since I ever got to know it. TBH I didn't understand a word about the SAT and other things you talked about but I still have hope left in me and Imma do whatever it takes to get accepted. thanks for the tips. lots of love

Thank you so much for making this video Conan. It's so inspirational, and somehow its given me hope for my own application!

Conan please do more of these videos :) they always brighten my day

side note: this video LITERALLY doesnt apply to me as i live in Australia but i don't even care cause i need *my weekly dose of conan🌟*

its crazy how different the system is in the us than australia. here we do at least 5 subjects in high school, which are graded half internally, and half through a state-wide test (for the most part) and the guaranteed way to get into university is to do well in those five subjects, regardless of what they are. then we get ranked throughout the state and get an ATAR. then we submit our ATAR to the University Admission Centre and they send out our info to the universities that we want to go to. basically each course has an atar cutoff - if you get above that cutoff, you’re in. that’s it. some courses have non-atar applications, but its mostly arts

this was actually so helpful bless your soul, conan

*those stars are EVERYTHING*

ucla my dream school! howwwww you genius

and i thought my dad was bs-ing everytime he said that when i apply i need to focus on 'My sTOrY' .........

i actually really needed this talk, thank you conan

I LOVE YOUR GENUINITY AWWWWWWWW PERFECTION