I am in my second year at a California Community College. I have about half of my lower- division coursework out of the way (I worked for a bit, took some “fun classes” that weren’t transferable in my first semester). I am looking to transfer to UCLA, Irvine, or Berkeley in Fall 2017, and to major in Film & Media Studies (I’m interested in pursuing screenwriting as a profession). I have a 4.0 gpa, though I’m not really involved in many extracurricular activities anymore, since my only clubs met during my classes this year and time just didn’t allow me to do both. I’m currently working on a series of novels and a short film, but I don’t yet have anything tangible to show for those endeavors, so I don’t know if they’re even worth mentioning until after I have completed them.
I’m really just looking for some idea of where I stand and what my chances are to transfer. I know Berkeley and LA (and, well, most of the UC campuses, really) are quite competitive, and I didn’t do so hot in my junior year of high school (life fell apart in pretty much every way possible, but I took 2 years’ worth of classes in senior year to make up for it). I still got rejected by every university I applied to, unfortunately. But clearly, I’m in a much better place now. I don’t know how much my high school grades and scores are going to matter, and that worries me still. I don’t know if I am a competitive enough student to get in.
I’m waiting until my school’s offices open back up after the new year before I can make an appointment to see a counselor and get a more precise answer, but I thought it was worth a shot to post on the forum and see what people thought.
I feel like I’m probably worrying myself over nothing, but I’d rather check to make sure, because I want to know I’m doing everything I can to ensure I get in.
I’m in the same boat as you. Except, life fell apart for me in SOPHOMORE year in high school. I attend Michigan State University and am attempting to admit into UMich. Quite frankly, i’d say you have a good chance at getting into Irvine. Your GPA is in shape, and it sounds like you’re a pretty good student. Since you attend a community college in Cali, too, you do have an advantage. Irvine’s transfer acceptance rate is 44%. Plus, they have a GUARANTEED transfer system! Check this out: http://www.admissions.uci.edu/applicants/tag.html. Read the qualifications and see if you’re set.
UCLA and Berkeley, i’m not really sure about. Aren’t they more competitive than Irvine? I don’t know, they may be all the same, lol.
Also, I know for a fact that as you go deeper into classes at college level, the college you are attempting to transfer lessens their glare at high school grades. In other words, High school tends to mean less as you take new classes in college.
Yup, I know about the TAG and I certainly plan to take full advantage of it. But the application for TAG comes out the right before the application does, so it’s not as “safe” a bet as maybe it seems. The requirements for TAG aren’t too bad, though.
As for Berkeley and LA, they are two of the best schools in the country (ranked #20 and #23 in the nation, respectively). Berkeley isn’t particularly known for its film program, so it would probably be pretty easy (well, easier than some majors like Engineering or Biology) to get into. But UCLA is highly- regarded as one of the best film schools (definitely in the top 5) in the WORLD, with an admit rate of 3% in their film program, so it’s more of a pipe dream, honestly, than anything else. It would be miraculous if I got in (I’ve been doing some research today because I really wanted to know).
Irvine is the safest bet of the three, with Berkeley in second (despite it being the better school) and LA being the “shoot for the moon” school.
Thank you for the info about the importance of high school grades, though. That’ll definitely save my skin on some level, because it was all bad.
