Hey guys, thanks for taking the time to look at this. Currently I am a community college student and my dream school to transfer to is UCSB. I want to stay on top of my game and really make an effort these next 2 years to get into UCSB as a junior transfer. I just wanted to ask you guys, do you have any information on what I should be doing these next 2 years to better increase my chances of being accepted when the time comes around? I know to get good grades, etc. But do you guys have any suggestions on good volunteering opps or what UC’s really look for when coming in as a transfer? btw, I’m majoring in psychology possibly minoring in business or something like that. Thanks!
Just in case, I’ve included stuff about major pre reqs, but since your question seems more EC oriented, feel free to skip:
assist.org will give you the classes you need to complete the lower division requirements at different UCs. Make sure you read it carefully, since some classes are REQUIRED and others RECOMMENDED. Also, it may list a ton of classes, but only say you need 1 or 2 of the ones listed.
IGETC is the equivalent of General Education at the UC level. It is not required, but it can be helpful to clear your GE requirements and allow you to start taking upper division courses right away.
TAG uses major requirements, a certain amount of units, and GPA. Will you have 30 units COMPLETE (not including in progress) and a 3.4 by September?
Here are some useful links:
assist: http://web2.assist.org/web-assist/prompt.do?ia=UCI&ay=15-16
IGETC: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/glossary/igetc.html
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/general-education-igetc/igetc/
TAG: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/tag-matrix.pdf
UCSB TAG: https://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/applying/transfer/tag
Also, a good thing to keep in mind when planning courses is Major Prep > IGETC
Re: ECs, any type of volunteering is good, related clubs, really anything to show that you’re not just studying 24/7
ECs, and even the essays, only apply to borderline students with SB. If your main aim is to be a Gaucho you should probably place everything else on the back-burner and work primarily on UC-GPA and completing your pre-reqs as SB is one of the more stringent campuses when it comes to completion of prerequisites.
Source: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/transfer-admission-matrix.pdf (Page 9)
Use the TAG framework. It will make you path much simpler.
^^^ This. If you can earn a 3.2 then you are guaranteed admission. See https://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/docs/default-source/PDFs/ucsb-tag-fall-2016.pdf?sfvrsn=2
They have periodic webinars where you can get more info and ask questions. See http://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/visit-ucsb/webinars You also ought to be working with a xfer counselor at your CC on this
BTW UCSB does not offer any degree in business as a major or minor.
@mikemac, thank you for your help, I went to talk to my counselor today and she said that UCSB does not have a TAG for psychology, and even with TAG you are not guaranteed admission (for UCSB), and that UCSB is pretty “wishy-washy” with TAG in general. Do you have any info on this?
Hmmm @kaylan, I wonder what your counselor meant by that. They have to guarantee admission, assuming you fulfill the TAG requirements. That’s the hard and fast rule, and UCSB follows it.
UCSB has a few specific TAG rules that other UCs don’t have, and counselors miss them a lot, thereby making an applicant ineligible. That does not make UCSB wishy-washy. It means the advisors weren’t on top of it and didn’t do a final verification TAG print out before submitting a student to the UCSB TAG. It’s unfortunate the advisor chose to word it that way. My take - get another advisor.
You can definitely TAG UCSB psychology! Just be careful to read and follow every step exactly.
http://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/docs/default-source/PDFs/ucsb-fall-2015-tag-criteria.pdf?sfvrsn=4
https://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/applying/transfer/tag
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/tag-matrix.pdf
^^^^ second strike out for the advisor.