Advice for future Transfer students

Transfer Students
21

<p>
[quote]
yeah, i see that admission is a game to you...but what the hell does selecting an easy professor gonna help you when you move onto a UC?
i had some hard professors before i got my letter from berkeley...and getting an A in those classes was more rewarding than getting an A in a class where the professor was easy. does anyone else agree with me?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>First of all admissions is a game for EVERYBODY. A high GPA is generally required to be a competitive applicant at top schools. Take a look at some of the Fall 2005 statistics for UCLA or Berkeley, notice how the average admitted student has a GPA above 3.55. These schools are in the top 15 rankings every year for a reason, they admit students with a high GPA (SAT’s). If they consistently admitted students with lower GPA’s they would lose their high ranking on US News Report. Though US News Report may be highly inaccurate, it is frequently mentioned on each of the UC websites, thus proving how highly regarded these rankings are. These rankings sometimes determine the private donations and funding received by the university. At this point we should agree that is important to have a high GPA to be competitive in the admissions process.</p>

<p>Now onto whether or not taking a hard class will benefit you more than an easy class. I think people would like clarification on which is more important, the grade or the (temporary) extra knowledge? </p>

<p>As I stated above, the GPA is crucial to becoming admitted, which is determined by your grades. That said if the main purpose is to be admitted into a top school, then getting an ‘A’ should be and IS more important than learning more material in a hard class at the price of a lower grade. Remember you must be admitted before you even get to use what you learned at your community college. </p>

<p>The average admitted GPA for transfers into engineering @ UC Berkeley is 3.75.
Say you decide to take engineering classes that are equivalent in difficulty to classes at UCLA. Almost nobody gets an A, and you come out w/ a 2.85 GPA. 2.85 is the average GPA in the engineering dept. at UCLA. You received a great lower division education that is more rigorous than most colleges in the country, at the price of a lower GPA. Although you worked much harder and are more likely to succeed at Berkeley than somebody who didn’t take harder courses, I ask you this:</p>

<p>How will UC Berkeley even know that the reason you have a 2.85 GPA is because you took the most challenging teacher in your junior college? </p>

<p>How will UC Berkeley even know the reason that another applicant has a 3.75 GPA is because they took easier teachers?</p>

<p>Truth is, Berkeley will not know the difference between a hard or an easy teacher. All they care about is a high GPA. Although the person with a 2.85 GPA is more likely to succeed at Berkeley, he or she will not be perceived as successful, but as unsuccessful relative to the person with a 3.75 GPA.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/Adm_tr/Tr_Prof05.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/Adm_tr/Tr_Prof05.htm&lt;/a>
<a href="http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:JKWRQPE75TMJ:osr2.berkeley.edu/Public/STUDENT.DATA/PUBLICATIONS/FACT.SHEET/factsheet.pdf+average+transfer+gpa+for+uc+berkeley&hl=en%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:JKWRQPE75TMJ:osr2.berkeley.edu/Public/STUDENT.DATA/PUBLICATIONS/FACT.SHEET/factsheet.pdf+average+transfer+gpa+for+uc+berkeley&hl=en&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Now I did not discuss in detail the benefits of having taken a hard class. A hard class will force you to learn more information at a quicker pace, again at the risk of a lower grade. </p>

<p>Logically you may assume that if you take easier classes, you will not become as proficient as someone who took harder classes. There is a way to mitigate this problem. I call it independent study. You will be doing a lot of independent study at the UC level, get used to it. So because I took easier classes, I did not run the risk of getting any B’s in my math, physics, or engineering classes, not one. However I am certain that I am just as proficient in mathematics, physics , and engineering as someone who went to a harder community college, i.e. De Anza. I spend extra time and energy going above and beyond the curriculum required at West Valley college, where I used to attend. I have looked at tests & quizzes for math and physics at De Anza, where my buddies attend, I am able to do almost if not all their problems. (my knowledge & competency will not be lacking even though I took an easier class, because I spend time reviewing and tutoring my subjects)</p>

<p>Now after reading my lengthy post, you may get the impression that taking a harder class automatically results in a B, that is not true. However taking a harder class has a higher risk of not receiving an A. So if you can have the same level of competency in a subject by taking a hard class as taking an easy class; Why take the risk of receiving a B in a harder class? It just does not make sense.</p>

<p>Keep in mind, if you read my previous posts, I explicitly stated that besides taking an easy teacher, you should go beyond the required curriculum</p>

<p>
[quote]
choose an easy teacher, but make sure to study more than required as well, else u'll be very unprepared for the top UC's after transfer

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Hopefully I have shown to you that college admissions is indeed a game. The best way to play this game is to get a high gpa via easier classes, and still maintain high proficiency in your subject via independent study and tutoring.</p>

<p>The same theory of GPA before difficulty of curriculum applies to law school and medical school as well. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the medical school forum. Sakky has many threads dedicated to the admissions game to medical school.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=83132%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=83132&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=34912&highlight=sakky%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=34912&highlight=sakky&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Lastly mling, your incorrect judgement of my advice, only shows your naivety and lack of analysis about the college admissions process.</p>

22

<p>dude....now you got my post all wrong. it sounds like you were getting defensive.
dont even try to tell me i'm naive and non analytical about the admission to berkeley. cuz i went through the whole process and thought about every angle and corner to get into berkeley. and i got in. with hard classes and all. perfect GPA too.
i do see your point about risking not getting an A if you sign up for the harder classes, and yes, that's what the colleges see. i in no way ever said that was false. in fact....that crossed my mind while i was thinking about every angle, thank you very much.
and fine, if someone really just wants to get into a good school, by all means go for the easiest class. and yeah, outside research will go great to expand that.
i'm just saying that i found it more satisfying that i not only got in, but i got in with choosing a lot of the more challenging courses. i wasn't afraid of risking my GPA...and well, i didnt even see it as risking my gpa. i just knew i was just gonna DO IT. this kind of thing would be for people with more intrinsic rewards in mind rather than external rewards.
oh, and i did not mean to type "i see the admission is a game to you." i agree, it is a game in general, and it would be nice if it wasn't like that. </p>

<p>just dont be calling a student who got into UCB naive about the process....trust me, i dont think a lot student who wanted to get into UCB as badly as i did really was naive to any of it. if anyting, we thought about every imaginable option out there.</p>

23

<p>good stuff here</p>

24

<p>lol one of my professors in the site ratemyprofessor.com got like 1s for everything from 10+ students ...</p>

<p>damn i wish i wasnt so happy when i was accepted off the waitlist for this course T.T</p>

25

<p>damn that ratemyprofessor site is totally cool. thanks guys.</p>

26

<p>How about some advice for those of us that are NOT at CC? =)</p>

27

<p>bump again</p>

28

<p>I used ratemyprofessor to pick this semesters classes. Picking the right professor is very important. My Calc 1 prof knows his stuff and speaks english and relates the material to real life. My Physics prof... She has lived in the US for 20 years and still cannot speak English. I could go on venting her but it is unneeded.</p>

<p>My advice is keep a high gpa, give rec letters to your profs early, get everything situated, and pay attention to deadlines!</p>

29

<p>Thanks for all of the advice. Keep in Commin!!!!! Also, Keep this thread alive for those of us that are still @ a cc. THANKS!</p>