Ask a current UCLA student anything!

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>As the deadline for UC apps is getting closer, I thought I'd pitch in to provide some insight as a current student/ former transfer. </p>

<p>I read a ton of these and imagined myself to be in their shoes--getting pumped up for games, studying all night for midterms, and the rest. </p>

<p>So let me know if you have any burning questions about anything and I'll do my best to answer. </p>

<p>It's sometimes good to take a break and find out more about the school itself than be buried in the app.</p>

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<p>Are there any bullies at ucla?</p>

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<p>^lol Alexandra Wallace?</p>

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<p>Is it hard to get classes?</p>

<p>How difficult was it transitioning from a semester system (assuming your a CC transfer) to the quarter system?</p>

<p>Have you made any friends/acquaintances? Do you feel its hard to meet people as a transfer?</p>

<p>What were your stats/your major?</p>

<p>Generally speaking, do you think UCLA is living up to your standards?</p>

5

<p>^^ lol Alexandra. You fear us Asians are going to bully you?</p>

<p>@hssenior: Thanks for making this thread. Could you provide some information about yourself, like GPA when transfer, major, and stuff, if you don’t mind :D</p>

<p>Based on your username, I guess you are a senior in HSSEAS? How is the computer science/computer engineering program at UCLA? Rigorous? I looked over their course web pages, and it seems like most lower division courses use only C++, right?</p>

6

<p>Basics for my cousin
~ Rising Senior, Female.
~ Resides in Castro Valley, CA- Bay Area
~ Half Filipino and Half Caucasian decent. URM?
~ Family income around $130,000</p>

<p>Academic Stuff
~ Unweighted - 3.87
~ Weighted - 4.20 (10-12 and 9-12) - Climbed Every Semester 10-12
~ SAT - 2000
~ SAT 2 - Not so good - Statistics: 670, Biology: 640
~ 4 on AP Biology, 3 on AP United States History, 3 on AP Statistics, 4 on AP Art History, 3 on AP Chemistry, 4 on AP Spanish
She took anatomy and physiology in her high school, and is currently taking microbiology at a community college right now
She plans to take pre-calculus, AP studio art, AP Enviromental science and honors american lit in her senior year. </p>

<p>EC and Awards
~ 3 Years Varsity Wrestling (Placed 10th in North Coast regionals)
~ 4 Years Catholic Church fellowship
~ Currently volunteering at a hospital. Her goal is to major in the humanities or social sciences and go grad school.
~ Tutoring Neighborhood Kids
~ Tutoring Club at High School - 2 Years</p>

<p>These are her target schools: UCLA, UCI, UCD, Umich, University of Wisconsin-Madison, SDSU, University of San Francisco, Dominican University, Boston University, Umass, CSU east bay, University of San Diego, San Francisco State, San Jose State, Sac State </p>

<p>She plans to major in asian american studies or philosophy</p>

<p>What are going to be her safety, match, and reach schools? </p>

<p>PS -if anything is unclear, feel free to ask! Thanks again!</p>

7

<p>@Ryan2136 </p>

<p>Regardless of where you go, there are going to be people like Wallace. But the general academic prestige of UCLA (as evidenced by the retaliation that ensued the Wallace video) counters any form of prejudice found commonly in HS or even in CC. </p>

<p>@tragicxeyes </p>

<p>Is it hard to get classes? For me (a history major), not really. I got all the classes I wanted for the following quarter. That being said, other humanities departments are going through deep cuts (not the least of which, Political Science) which might affect your class choices. However, most often you get what you want. </p>

<p>How difficult was it transitioning from a semester system (assuming your a CC transfer) to the quarter system?</p>

<p>Good question. It definitely was a transition in the beginning. As my TA says, the quarter system is designed for the faculty, not students. The pace with which the classes go over the material is noticeably accelerated than the semester system I was used to at my CC. It’s difficult to compare the two since the difficulty of the classes here are also measured by their advanced content (as opposed to general survey courses). </p>

<p>Have you made any friends/acquaintances? Do you feel its hard to meet people as a transfer?</p>

<p>It really depends on how much you want to get to know the people. Like I tell my other friends, you get what you put in. If you are willing to put in the effort to joining clubs and such, meeting new people is no problem–perhaps even a hindrance to your academics. For me though, given my intentions to apply to grad school, I decided to concentrate first on my GPA (which doesn’t mean those two things must be mutually exclusive). </p>

<p>What were your stats/your major?</p>

<p>Coming out of CC, my stats were 4.0. I applied to Cal, LA, SD, GTown, and Columbia. Didn’t get into Cal or Columbia, so I chose LA (GTown was my dream school, but cost too much). I applied to all as a Poli Sci major interestingly enough, but changed to History once I got to LA. </p>

<p>Generally speaking, do you think UCLA is living up to your standards?</p>

<p>Yes and no. To a certain extent, I guess I expected a more social environment. But then again, like I mentioned earlier, it’s really what you put in. It’s a great place to be, I have no regrets.</p>

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<p>Hey @sparkyboy </p>

<p>Sorry to disappoint, I made this when I was a HS senior–no relation to anything else but that. </p>

<p>My stats are listed above, hope they help. </p>

<p>A lot of my friends are in CS and they are people I’d want if I were using their software–if that makes any sense. They are willing to work extremely hard and are also passionate about what they do. </p>

<p>Regardless of the job market, I feel like the people who get most out of life are those who chase after their passion with undivided focus. </p>

<p>Let me know if you have any other questions about my stats.</p>

9

<p>Hey @Pinoiako916, this is a transfer thread, but since my sister is in HS, I can shed some light if that helps. </p>

<p>I’m from the Bay too! She might not quality for a URM, but since I have no expertise in that field, I’ll just focus on her stats.</p>

<p>Academic Stuff</p>

<p>She plans to take pre-calculus, AP studio art, AP Enviromental science and honors american lit in her senior year. </p>

<p>Her academic stats might be a little on the weak side, but I think her personal statement might provide the balance. In other words, I’d suggest she really focus on articulating her influence on those EC’s: the schools look for how she can be a leader, not necessarily a laundry list of everything she was involved in. </p>

<p>That’s a lot of schools to be looking at; I’d narrow down to perhaps about five or six. UCSD is a viable option as well. And given that this is a UC section and I’m partly biased, I’d say you can’t go wrong by choosing to narrow your focus to only UC’s (unless there are good reasons to expand). </p>

<p>To be honest, her stats are good enough to get her into all the schools you’ve mentioned. Granted, I have no idea what schools she’s considering as reach, but it doesn’t hurt to try one or two of the reach schools (to allay any “what-if” moments). </p>

<p>I’d also add that she shouldn’t worry so much about the major itself. Sure, it’s helpful to know which schools are “good” for, but at the end of the day, you are 18 years old–there’s plenty of time to figure out what you want to study. </p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

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<p>hsssenior814- UCLA is the only what if reach school she is looking at. she is also looking at ucsd as well. She goes to castro valley high</p>

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<p>@Pinoiako916</p>

<p>Yeah, I think considering UCLA is a reach is a good idea. With her stats, if she’s considering BU and USF, I’d also look into USC as well.</p>

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<p>hssenior814- university of southern california?</p>

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<p>@Pinoiako916</p>

<p>With tongue-in-cheek, yes.</p>

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<p>Oops, sorry abt that, I thought “HS” in your username stands for Henry Samueli, which is the name of UCLA’s Engineering School :D</p>

<p>Thanks for the response, but there’s one point that doesn’t make sense to me. You were rejected from Cal with a 4.0? O_o As far as I know, history/poli sci at Cal should not be super-impacted like EECS and other similar stuff, right? Sorry to ask so much, but did you miss a certain pre-req for Cal? That seems really, really unimaginable, for me at least.</p>

<p>And how is the community/surrounding area at UCLA? Is it safe to walk alone at night? Are there thiefs and some similar minor crimes in the dorm? :D</p>

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<p>@sparkyboy</p>

<p>No problem. To answer your question, no–I met all the pre-req’s for Cal. What’s ironic is that since I had my mind set on going to cal, I missed one for Ucla. In any case, I didn’t get in despite meeting all the requirements.</p>

<p>As far as the surrounding area is concerned, it’s fantastic. The Westwood area is one of the nicest in Socal–trust me, the housing prices reflect that quite well. The students got an email from the chancellor saying how proud he was that our camous did not blow-up with protests amdist the whole Occuoy fad. Say what you will about solidarity around the issues, but I found the peaceful campus conducive to my studies and other activities. </p>

<p>I’ve walked around the campus any time from 2 to 5 A.M. with little sense of danger. The small campus adds to the level of comfort and safety. </p>

<p>And please, feel free to ask any questions. Like I said, I benefited a ton from these and I hope to contribute a little.</p>

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<p>Awesome! That’s all I have for now tho. Really feel sorry for you about getting rejected from Cal :(. At the same time, I felt even more anxious than ever after hearing a 4.0 student in a not-so-impacted major rejected last year.</p>

17

<p>How crucial is a college level math for transfer students? I have a medical condition recognized by my school. </p>

<p>I hoped on taking a college level math in the Spring but I’m not sure I’ll pass algebra two. I’m really trying hard but I’d say I have a 50% chance of passing. </p>

<p>My major is totally not math related, IGETC will be done by Spring except for math. Am I screwed at UCLA?</p>

18

<p>@sparkyboy</p>

<p>It was a bummer, but I wouldn’t be so caught up in an anomaly like my case–my fellow CC’ers with far lower stats got in no problem. Just work on what you can control. </p>

<p>@SanFranciscoKid</p>

<p>May I ask what major you’re intending to apply as? I took elem. stats at a CC for my Poli Sci major so I’m not sure what you’ll need. Never hurts to double-check at assist.org. Per your med. condition, it’s gotta be significantly debilitating and it has to be something that you expect a college to recognize it as such. But for more info, it’d be wise to talk with your CC counselor or contact the school individually.</p>

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<p>Global studies. </p>

<p>counselor’s not very helpful - always getting mixed responses. </p>

<p>[ASSIST</a> Report: PALOMAR 11-12 UCLA Articulation Agreement by Major](<a href=“http://web1.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=2&sia=PALOMAR&ria=UCLA&ia=UCLA&oia=PALOMAR&aay=11-12&ay=11-12&dora=GLST]ASSIST”>http://web1.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=aa&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=19&dir=2&sia=PALOMAR&ria=UCLA&ia=UCLA&oia=PALOMAR&aay=11-12&ay=11-12&dora=GLST)</p>

<p>however - only UC’s I’m applying to, like UCSB, does not list any math. I know this is a UCLA only thread, but does this imply a college level math is not necessary to transfer?</p>

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<p>@sanfranciscokid</p>

<p>Doesn’t look like you need any math. I wouldn’t worry about it.</p>