Living in LA or Orange County, you might hear this phrase at least once.

All the smart kids go to UCLA.

This has almost become an official saying among Korean parents.

It's close to home, it's a public university with a good reputation, the weather is nice, and it seems like a more realistic choice than a private elite school.

When you look at tuition, it's about $15,000 for residents, so California parents think they can send their kids to UCLA.

However, the reality is that this assumption is a huge misconception.

UCLA is no longer a school for local high achievers.

It is one of the most difficult public universities to get into in the entire country, with over 150,000 applicants each year.

This number alone is already unrealistic. There are more applicants than Harvard or Stanford.

The problem is the expectation that California students will have more opportunities just because it's a public university, but that's not the case at all. There is fierce competition among top students within California.

A GPA of 4.0 is now the standard at high schools in LA or OC. Just taking a few AP classes won't cut it.

It's not just about how many AP classes you've taken, but what level of AP classes and how many you've taken that matters. They also look at the trend of your grades.

They check if your grades have been consistently rising since 9th grade and whether you've had any dips along the way. Being a diligent model student is not enough.

It's not just a battle of test scores either. Nowadays, UCLA admissions are more about storytelling. The essays relentlessly ask why this student should be at UCLA and what they can bring to this campus.

Volunteer work is evaluated for context, not just numbers. Simply filling hours of service is obvious.

Leadership is assessed by actual influence, not just titles. It's not enough to have been an officer in student government.

Many parents are mistaken here. They think, "My child studies well, doesn't cause trouble, plays sports, and has done volunteer work."

They ask if that isn't enough. In UCLA admissions, that kind of profile is shared by thousands of students. Really, thousands.

To stand out, something has to be exceptional. It could be a deep involvement related to their major, a unique background, or a level of consistency that others can't easily replicate.

When you hear stories from students who gathered for UCLA cheerleader tryouts, it's no joke.

There are hardly any students who just cheered in high school. Each one was either a cheer captain at their school or a key member of a team that competed nationally.

Some students come from state teams, while others have competed in cheerleading for years and have national rankings. When you gather under the name UCLA, you realize that here, 'having cheered' is not the standard; 'having represented' is.

Thus, UCLA is a school in LA, but it is not a school for LA students. The top students from around the world compete for the same spots. Being born and raised in OC is not a bonus. In fact, the competition pool becomes tougher because all the surrounding friends have similar qualifications.

So, when you look at the students who got accepted to UCLA, there is a common trait. They are not just students who studied well; they are students with a clear direction. They have built a consistent story throughout high school and often figured out what they like and what they are good at relatively early on. Luck certainly plays a role. But there is hardly any luck without preparation.

The moment UCLA seems easy just because you live in LA or OC, your judgment is already off. UCLA continues to raise its standards, and the competition becomes fiercer every year. If you think of it as just a local elite school and then face the reality, it will already be too late.

Becoming a freshman at UCLA is a much tougher process than you might think. I believe that acknowledging this reality is the beginning of a proper college admissions strategy.