Advice on Winter 2013 UCI classes? And should I transfer to USC?

<p>For the Winter Quarter, I am planning to take as a First Year:
Bio 94 with Loudon and Aguilar
Bio 194S
Chem 1B with Blake
Anthro 41A with Douglas
Math 2B
and working as a Lab Assistant on average 8 hours a week. </p>

<p>I am doing very well in Bio 93, Writing 39B, and Chem 1A while working. I'm not struggling as much. How is that for my schedule?</p>

<p>I also have another thought on my mind, should I try to USC to enroll for 2013-2014? Is it possible for me? How can I do so? I can't transfer to UCLA for 2013-2014 since they are only offering Arts majors, and the deadline is coming up in 5 days.</p>

<p>I feel that I can do better at a different school, and maybe this can help me in the long run for physical therapy school or optometry school. I know that GPA matters and it doesn't matter where you go, but I have a small feeling that there is some bias in what school you attend. If I succeed at UCI, and I'm confident that I can do just as well at UCLA or USC, then go there instead? (I made the mistake of not going to UCLA due to parents and distance and money but now I don't care for that anymore.)</p>

<p>Any thoughts? Anything will help! Thanks!</p>

<p>USC is not a UC so they might not give you credit for some of your classes…which means you might have to repeat some classes if you go there. Also, funky things can happen when transferring credits from the quarter system to the semester system and vice versa. As a private school, USC does not do the hierarchy thing for admissions that the UCs do (CCC>UC-UC>Others) so they can be much more selective…and it might cost you more money to attend. I don’t know what you mean when you say UCLA is only offering Arts majors but the UC application deadline is in a few more days. USC does take Sophomore transfers whereas UCLA does not, so unless you have a ton of AP credits from HS, USC might be your only option. Since you are a first year, USC will look at your high school grades and SAT scores when making a decision. If you wait a year and then apply, you might have a good shot at USC and UCLA. </p>

<p>As for your schedule, Bio 94 and Chem 1B are both super easy classes. You should be fine. Math 2B is really hard if you are bad at math. If you took Calculus in HS, it will be super easy. I know nothing about Anthro. 41A but it should be okay. Bio 194S is barely even a class. It might annoy you a bit but it’s no problem. Lab Assistant work is really meaningless imo, but if you can handle it, it’s a nice addition to your resume and might help you when searching for jobs in the future. If it gets to be too much, you should quit that job or drop Anthro.</p>

<p>If PT/Optometry school (or Med, Pharm, ect) is your ultimate goal, I think staying at UCI and getting that high GPA will help much more than going to a “better school.” A 3.5 GPA at UCI looks much better than a 3.0 at USC, or UCLA, or other “prestigious” schools. I mean if it comes down to two applicants with the same GPA and similar stats, then prestige of the school might come into play…but even then, they will consider many other aspects of the application like activities and such. Prestige is far from being one of the most important factors.</p>