<p>Hey everyone, I'd like to share something here that I wish I had known before I transferred to UCLA from community college. </p>
<p>For starters, I'm a biochemistry major, and it's a pretty competitive major to get into apparently. I guess a better way to say it is that it's impacted and that students with more pre-reqs completed are more likely to be accepted.</p>
<p>BUT</p>
<p>Don't blindly follow Assist.org when deciding on what courses you should take to satisfy your lower division pre-reqs. For those of you who can not get in contact with advisors of departments at UCLA, Assist.org is a great way to start, but try to contact someone who works AT UCLA. </p>
<p>Here's the reasoning behind it. As a biochemistry major transfer to UCLA, Assist.org showed me that I needed to take Math 280 (Calc III, Multivariable Calc with Dif and Int) to satisfy the Math 32A lower div pre-req, which is a course in MV calc that covers only the differential side. I took Math 280 at my community college, and it was one of the hardest courses I've ever taken in my life, much harder than any UCLA course I've been in so far, but I've only taken 4 (science major, a point that should be restated.) I passed the class, but it lowered my GPA significantly. </p>
<p>Anyways, a friend of mine who transferred from the same college did not take Math 280. This friend only took math up to Math 181 (Calc II, Integral Calc), but after talking with the chemistry department's counselor/advisor, managed to clear the Math 32A prerequisite with Math 181 by making an appointment with the department counselor/advisor. This friend is also a biochemistry major.
*Note, this friend transfered without the pre-req, and I had the pre-req. The friend cleared it AFTER being accepted, meaning it had no significant bearing on her application. </p>
<p>So, my friend was able to avoid taking that incredibly difficult class and still have the course requirement taken care of in the end, all the while not scarring her GPA. The point is, Assist.org is not the end all in UCLA course articulation; UCLA is.</p>