Am I in the right track ?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Whats going on guys.</p>

<p>First off, I'm an international student and this is the first time I've been in US hence I don't have much clue about this transfer stuff.</p>

<p>I will start my college life this month in a junior college ( De Anza college - to be exact ) I definitely want to transfer out to 4-year college as soon as possible.</p>

<p>I've been spending sometime playing with ASSIST.org which I found pretty helpful.</p>

<p>So, I decided to start my 1st quarter ( my school does quarter-system btw ) with:
- Elementary Statistics and Probability ( 5 credits )
- Principles of Microeconomics (4)
- Principles of Macroeconomics (4)
- History of Western Civilization (4)
- Or if I have a chance to get Calculus I (5) I will drop my History class due to credits limit of 21 )</p>

<p>Those are all transferable courses to any UC campus according to ASSIST.
My major is (hopefully) Economics.So these courses are supposed to be in either IGETC ( GE pattern ) or major requirements.</p>

<p>My question is: If I want to transfer out next year ( to fall semester at UC ) ( and therefore I will have 3 quarters before I file my application - correct me if Im wrong though ) - do I have to finish IGETC during my first 3 quarters ? And, the word "prerequisite" is mentioned quite sometime in this forum. I was wondering what it really means. From my knowledge, it's like courses you will have to finish before take certain courses. But when apply to this case ( transfer ) - it doesn't make that much of sense to me.</p>

<p>Also, any advice or suggestions on anything else, like should I take part-time job, SAT, extracurricular activities etc. will be appreciated.</p>

<p>Sorry if I made my dumb question damn long :(</p>

<p>I just wanted to be clear hence make it easier to you to answer.</p>

<p>Anyways, thats it, if there is anything unclear, please don't hesitate to ask me.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Best regards,
Hian</p>

2

<p>Ok, I kinda figure out the "prerequisites" thing</p>

<p>But what if my school doesnt offer all prereq that an UC campus require me ?
* Introduction to Economics (one course or equivalent required) Economics 1 or 2 (at Berkeley these courses include both micro and macro economics in one course)
* Calculus: You must take both A and B of either sequence
Math 1A or 16A (or equivalent)
Math 1B or 16B (or equivalent)
* Statistics 20, 21, 25 or any upper division statistics course ----------> I dont have equivalent courses at my school
* Intermediate Economic Theory (one course required to apply) ---------> same goes with this ( it said one course required to apply does it mean I MUST take a course BEFORE apply ? What if I don't have that kind of courses at my school ? )
Economics 100A or 101A (or equivalent)
Economics 100B or 101B (or equivalent)</p>

<p>At least one math or stat prerequisite course must be taken at UC Berkeley. For transfer students, this is typically the statistics course. The prerequisite intermediate theory course must be taken at UC Berkeley.</p>

<p>If you do not already have completed a year of calculus and the introduction to economics courses, you must take these courses prior to starting at Berkeley, otherwise you risk not being admitted to the Economics Major.</p>

3

<p>People don't typically jump into a JC and transfer in one year. Especially not to Econ at Berkeley. To be competitive you should have a significant portion of the pre-requisites finished at the time of applying. Since you want to transfer by next fall, that means that you will need to be submitting your application this November. That's not enough time to have enough pre-requisites finished to be competitive. You also need to have 60 UC-transferable units by the end of Spring 2009. I think that some UCs might be lenient with the 60-unit rule (I'm really not sure) -- but Berkeley is definitely not one of those UCs.</p>

<p>Also, I don't know about De Anza, but at my JC, you can't take A+B or 1+2 courses concurrently. You would have to take (for example) Econ 1 in the fall and Econ 2 in the Spring. This is because Econ 1 is a PRE-requisite (not a CO-requisite) for Econ 2, etc. </p>

<p>Take your time and do two years at a JC. This way you will not only have the required coursework finished to apply, but will not be risking your GPA.</p>

4

<p>Okay I don't mean to hijack, but I just have to ask. Is it really a problem if you take micro and macro econ in the same semester? I've never seen a college that actually has micro econ as a prereq for macro econ, and it certainly isn't a prereq at my school (SMC).</p>

5

<p>I don't plan on taking both macro and micro so I haven't tried it out myself, but on the PCC schedule it shows Macro as a pre-req for Micro.</p>

<p>PCC</a> Schedule</p>

<p>eh, don't know...</p>

6

<p>I really appreciate all your concern.</p>

<p>I copy-paste the UC Berkeley prereq just because when I googled " prerequisite economics major UC", Berkeley happened to be on top. It didn't mean UCB is the college of my choice ( but it's still nice to get in tho :P )</p>

<p>Sorry for making it a little confusing.</p>

<p>So I basically should stick with my CC for a while, right? I was just wondering if it is POSSIBLE to transfer that soon.</p>

<p>Seems that i got the answer.</p>

<p>Thanks guys.</p>

<p>Have a fun week :)</p>

<p>Edit : it doesnt seem that my college require me to finish one thing before another ( if the subject descriptions are correct :P )</p>

<p>Edit 2: I still don't get the answers for my 2 questions
1, Do I HAVE TO ( or MUST if you might ) finish IGETC ( GE pattern ) before transfer somewhere else ?
2, If my school doesnt offer some certain courses that are required as prereq of a major, what should I do ? Does it hurt my chance ? Should I change my major ? Or should I go to other schools to take those courses?</p>

<p>Can some one who know about this stuff help meeee :( PLEASE ?</p>

7

<p>You have to finish IGETC by the spring semester before you transfer. </p>

<p>And schools won't penalize you for not taking a prereq that's not available at your CC. Which course is it exactly that's missing? All the econ prereqs are really basic stuff (calculus and econ).</p>

<p>edit: I see what you're talking about. The statistics requirement right? I wouldn't worry about that because just about no CC has those courses.</p>

8

<p>I was wondering whats up with people who apply for transfer after only 1 semester or 3 quarters .</p>

<p>Did they take like 7-8 subjects at one semester or something? Because from my very understanding, its just no freakin' way to finish both IGETC AND prereq only in 1-2 semesters or 3 quarters.</p>

<p>Is there any way to explain that?</p>

<p>Man ... this transfer stuff is stressful</p>

9

<p>It normally takes 2 years to transfer you need to have 60 units , required prereqs ( goto Welcome</a> to ASSIST check every school you want to go it might be slightly different), and have IGETC completed.</p>

10

<p>There are schools (mostly privates) that will consider SOPHOMORE transfers. Those people that transfer in a semester or whatever typically either a) don't enter as Juniors; or b) started taking community college courses in high school.</p>

<p>If you decide to apply as a sophomore to, say for instance USC, then they will make their decision based on your high school record and your college record. Whereas if you're applying as a junior, your high school stats will not be considered.</p>