Every year, UCLA Undergraduate Admission hires application readers to help with the Holistic Review of freshman applicants. The application cycle for Fall 2024 is now closed. Please check back in the summer of 2024 for the next hiring period.
Criteria for Application Readers
Following are the minimum requirements for becoming an application reader:
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- Able to attend mandatory overview and norming sessions
- Able to successfully complete training and certification process
- Able to fulfill a weekly reading and scoring commitment
- Access to a computer with an internet connection
- Available for training and reading from November through late January
- Willing to read freshman applications exclusively for UCLA between November and January
Evaluation Process for Application Readers
We expect the competition for the few available slots to be extremely high. The following criteria will be used in our evaluation process of potential application readers.
- Work experience in the area of college counseling; extra consideration is given to counselors currently working at a high school, especially those from low API schools
- Experience or employment in areas or programs that promote or prepare prospective students for post-secondary education
- Level of affiliation to UCLA (e.g. alumni committees, volunteers for various UCLA events, former/retired UCLA Undergraduate Admission staff, etc.)
- UCLA employment status; consideration given to current UCLA staff who have extensive interactions with large numbers of students or student organizations (e.g. outreach programs, orientation programs, yield activities, etc.)
What’s Involved in Being an Application Reader
If you’re hired to be a freshman application reader, you’ll be expected to participate in the following ways:
Early November: Training Process
Familiarize yourself with the Holistic Review overview, guidelines and other training materials. Participate in training sessions and complete homework following each session.
Late November: Certification Process
Review and score additional training applications (approximately 5–10 hours worth). During this time, we’ll review your progress and provide you with feedback.
Early December through late January: Application Reading
Once you’ve successfully completed our training and certification, we’ll provide you with real applications to read and score. All applications are to be read and reviewed online.
Compensation Rates
If you’re selected as an application reader, we’ll do our best to fulfill your chosen level of participation. However, in some cases, we may need to adjust your numbers based upon our needs. New readers are generally assigned 500 applications to start off.
Please note that the rates below represent the compensation for training and reading. The “Number of Applications Read” refers to real applications reviewed after the training and certification process has been completed.
| Number of Applications Read | Amount Paid |
|---|---|
| 500 | $1,350 |
| 600 | $1,595 |
| 700 | $1,840 |
| 800 | $2,085 |
| 900 | $2,330 |
| 1,000 | $2,575 |