I never bothered to take SAT or ACT tests in high school because i had originally planned to go to college in my home country in The Philippines (which has a vastly different process of moving on from high school to college), but after almost 4 years i decided to stay in the country but i have absolutely no idea on how get into the college of my choice. I moved to the States in 2008 when i was just about to enter 10th grade. I got mostly A’s and B’s before the move but my grades started to slide down to C’s in my last 2 years of high school (I did extremely well on tests, but refused to do homework on any of my classes, due to not really wanting to go to school here). My goal is to to get into UCLA and be a film major.
So I guess a few questions i would have are:
Is it possible to take SAT and ACT tests even when you’ve graduated high school? If so, any tips on how to prepare?
What can I do to be able to present a better GPA before applying? (like, is going to community college first going to really help, or will it just be a waste of time/money?)
Basically, I would greatly appreciate any tips on bettering my chances of getting into UCLA asap. Thanks!
Yes, it’s possible. The best tip I can give is to buy the famous blue book or ACT prep guide and start studying. Here is a guide of UCLA transfer: https://www.admission.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/tradms.htm
Have you taken any SAT or ACT practice test?
What’s your UC GPA?
I’m not sure you need to go the ACT/SAT route if you are willing to start with community college. Many CCs have an automatic right to transfer into the State U if you meet the GPA and other criteria. I would start with a search for community colleges near you that offer this transfer opportunity. Then, after doing the research on what it takes to enroll, meet with a guidance counselor there to talk about your plans. Your status in the US will be relevant: citizen? Green card? Other?
Just by way of encouragement, we know someone who limped through high school, didn’t plan to attend college and worked for several years at a low skill job. He subsequently changed his mind about school, attended community college in CA for 2 years, where he aced his academics, transferred to one of the prestige UC colleges (and coincidentally majored in film studies). Did brilliantly there too. He is now getting his PhD at a top research university and is looking at a career in academia.
You don’t have to take the SAT/ACT. Just go with the community college route. It won’t be a waste of time or money. CC is a great place for students to boost their GPA, devote themselves to their studies, and ultimately give their academics a second chance. Since you wouldn’t have the SAT/ACT, you might have to take placement tests at the CC in order for them to figure out what classes you need to take.
You won’t likely get directly into UCLA if you didn’t have a good HS record. But CA is set up for Community College transfers to UC after years and you don’t have to take the SAT/ACT. You can’t be guaranteed UCLA though. Anyway until very recently the only way to get into the film dept was to transfer from another major but now they do have freshman admissions but I imagine it is extremely difficult, just as getting into UCLA is, but harder. You might look at a CCC like Orange Coast which has film/video/broadcasting and you can take the type of units to prepare for Jr transfer but also you could take some classes related to your interests. There is no guarantee you can get to UCLA but the stronger grades the better, and demonstrated interest in the major.
If OP starts at a CSU or a CC, he/she has a better shot of making UCLA (nothing set in stone though) than if he/she DIDN’T go somewhere else to work towards a degree.