EOP Biographical Questions

Answers to the following questions will help us determine your motivation and preparation to
undertake college work. Please answer as precisely and honestly as possible. Use complete
sentences and avoid responses such as "yes" or "no".

Briefly describe your family's economic background. Include information about your financial
challenges.(Max 2500 words)

I am a first generation student who comes from a low income family. Both of my parents are
immigrants from El Salvador and never completed high school since their families forced them
to work at a young age. Without much education, it was impossible for my parents to get a high
paying job in the United States. Both of my parents work but my mother has never had a stable
job. She only worked sometimes when our family really needed money. My entire family of 6
used to live in a single apartment, but as time went by and as more issues became present in
our building, we moved to a better apartment with 3 rooms and 2 restrooms that was not as
expensive. Even though 3 rooms is significantly more space than a single, I still had to share a
room with both of my parents, and my brothers had to share a room, while my sister had her
own room. As more time went by, my sister had a child and left our household to live together
with her boyfriend, which helped our economic situation. I have 2 older brothers and 1 older
sister, I am the youngest child and the only one who will have a chance of going to a Cal State
University. For some issues with my mothers name, my older siblings weren’t able to receive
help from FAFSA and without Financial aid my older siblings had no choice but to go to
community colleges. Since my family is low income and my brothers are currently working, my
parents and I still receive health net. I live in koreatown, it is located west of downtown Los
Angeles, and south of Hollywood. As rent throughout my neighborhood has been increasing it
has also increased for us too. With my mother not having a stable job and my brothers currently
paying off their loans and personal expenses, it has become slightly more difficult to pay our
rent.

Why would you like to attend college? Discuss your career and personal goals. Are there any
particular circumstances, school experiences, or persons that influenced your preparation or
motivation to attend college (e.g., cultural/financial background, family, teachers, schools you
attended)? Please explain.(Max 2500 words)

Part of the reason as to why I want to go to college is because I want to give my parents and
siblings a reason to be proud of me. My parents sacrificed everything to be able to give me and
my siblings an opportunity to have a better life than the ones they lived, it is up to me to take
advantage of that opportunity that they gave me. I want to show my parents that their sacrifice
was worth it, that at least one of their children managed to graduate from a university.

My career goal is to become a civil engineer. The design, construction, and maintenance of man
made and naturally built environments has always fascinated me. When I was first introduced to
this major I began to research it in depth, I realised that Civil engineering was not only about
buildings and bridges, but also about the natural environment as well. It is a very broad major,
there are people who focus on transportation, environmental, coastal, and structural
engineering. It’s not like other fields where it’s just one subject you work on. I like the idea of
knowing that I will have other paths that I can follow and figure out what I like, figure out what
makes me happy and keep taking classes in that realm.

My financial background has been a major factor in my motivation to attend college, I want to be
able to support my family and myself in the career I want to study. One school experience that
has influenced me was when I received my first and only F in 9th grade, it was my turning point
in highschool. After realizing that I wouldn’t be able to get into a good college in the direction I
was going I realized that I wouldn’t get anywhere in life. I began to care more about my grades
and took the advice that my teachers offered me much more seriously. Almost every teacher I
have had has given me advice, personal experience, and sometimes motivational speeches to
succeed in college. The field trips to various college campuses provided by my school has also
influenced my motivation. My parents and siblings were the most motivating, they want me to
succeed and have a better career and job than what they currently have. My family has always
pressured me about my grades and SAT scores. If it weren’t for their constant support and
pressure, I don’t think I would be as motivated to go to college than I am now.

Briefly discuss your academic background. Did you utilize any additional support at your high
school, such as tutoring? Do your grades in high school and/or college reflect your academic
ability or potential?(Max 2500 words)

I have met with my counselor during my 10th grade year to sign up for a math class during the
summer so that I would be 1 year advanced in math. My grades in high school do not reflect my
academic potential, throughout my time in high school I have been progressively trying my best.
I was influenced by the wrong people during my ninth grade year and as a result my academic
grades ended up suffering . As time went by I was met with more challenges. My commitment to
my sports and extracurricular activities really influenced the outcome of my grades during my
tenth and eleventh grade year. I couldn’t manage to schedule my academic work with my
sports. I was missing class time for games and going everyday after school to practice and
coming home relatively late, and as our block schedule changed from having 4 periods a day in
tenth grade to having all of our periods everyday in eleventh grade, it became even harder for
me to schedule. When I decided to finally quit doing sports and focus on my studying in my
twelfth grade year, I noticed a drastic change, my grades improved significantly. My twelfth
grade year really reflects my academic potential. I am not justifying the fact that my grades
weren’t the best because of my involvement with extracurricular activities. I am accepting that it
was my own fault for not having the best grades because I was not able to properly adjust my
schedule between my academic work and extracurricular work correctly.
List any volunteer, extracurricular activities, or work experience in which you are or have been
involved in the past two years.(Max 2500 words)

I have played and participated in my schools cross country and baseball team for two years,
from 10th to 11th grade. I am catholic and have completed my confirmation on the 26th day of
May in 2018, during my 10th grade year. I have participated in the 2018 Los Angeles Peace
Parade as one of the taekwondo students marching. I was in the Model UN class during my
11th grade year and participated in 2 committees outside of school, BRUINMUN in UCLA part of
the UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) committee representing
the country Nigeria, discussing about the topic of Child Labour and SCMUN in USC part of the
ECOFIN (The Economic and Financial Affairs Council) committee representing the country ​Côte
d’Ivoire, disscusing about the topic of debt sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa​. I applied and
was accepted to the 2019 Summer Program in Korea funded by the Foundation for Korean
Language & Culture in the USA, where I got the chance to go to South Korea for 2 weeks during
the summer of my 11th grade. I volunteered for the Coastal Clean Up Day 2019, organized by
Heal the Bay, on September 21, 2019 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm where I helped clean up Santa
Monica Beach. I am currently participating in the Environmental and Red Cross Club’s during
my 12th grade year.

Is there any additional information you would like EOP to consider in determining your
admission to the program?(Max 2500 words)

I am capable of far more potential than what I have shown throughout my high school years. If I
am admitted to this program I will not waste my opportunity and I will make sure to do my
absolute best for the entirety of my time in college. I have faced many challenges, but every
time I have managed to overcome them. I believe that with the help of EOP, I will receive all the
academic and financial support that I will need to become one of the best students in the
university that I dream to be in, and succeed in accomplishing my career and personal goals.
As a first generation student, this program would be invaluable to me. I would highly appreciate
any type of financial and academic support that can be provided to me through this program.