Chance me? [Transfer student from CSU-->UC]

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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<p>---TRANSFER FROM CSU--->UC---</p>

<p>Current School: Cal Poly Pomona (Pomona, CA)
Current major: Psychology undergraduate 2nd year
Current GPA: [cumulative: 3.56, Cal Poly GPA 3.47]</p>

<p>Applying for: Fall 2009
Applying to transfer: UCLA, UCI, UCD, UCSB, UCSD
School of choice: UCLA</p>

<p>EC:
- Martial arts for 16 years, assistant instructor for 7 years, black belt 2nd degree, volunteer
- Nikkei club on campus (member)
- Science Educational Enhancement service (student member)
- Worked at Knott's Berry Farm Summer 2007
- Work currently at market (dec 2007~present)
- Youth Buddhist Assoc. member
- Red Cross volunteer (2007~present)
- Rising Stars Youth Leadership (2007)</p>

<p>Until last quarter, I was an undergraduate undeclared student. I eventually declared as Biology, but found out that I did not want to do that after Summer 2008. I took classes at Mt. San Antonio College (PSYC and SOC) and realized that Psychology was for me. I changed my major over the summer. I fell in love with Psychology from the first day of class. I figured that if I wanted to continue with this subject, I should do it at an university that will provide me with one of the greatest education in the subject area (UCLA). </p>

<p>I had several hardships over the past year. My father died, 6months later my uncle died, and 6months later, my mentor (and last male role model) died. Since then, I had to take a break so during the summer after my Mt SAC classes, I headed for a spiritual renewal trip to Japan. </p>

<p>Essays: working on them, but I don't know if they will come out as strong as I want them to be. Still trying to organize everything and put my thoughts together.</p>

<p>Classes I have taken so far and planned:</p>

<p>Fall 2007- CHM121+Lab, COM100 (public speaking), FN203 (Health & Nutrition)</p>

<p>Winter 2008- CHM122+Lab, PHL202 (critical thinking), SOC201 (Sociology)</p>

<p>Spring 2008- CHM123+Lab, PLS201 (Political Science), HST202 (U.S. History), ENG104 (Freshman English)</p>

<p>Summer 2008 @ MtSAC - PSYCH1A (Psychology), SOC15 (Child Development)</p>

<p>PLANNED Fall 2008- ANT102 (Cultural Anthropology), BIO121+Lab, MUS101 (music appreciation), STA120 (Statistics), SPN151 (Spanish)</p>

<p>PLANNED Winter 2009- English 105 (Freshman English II), PSY202 (Psychology), BIO122+Lab
@Mt SAC- Physics1</p>

<p>PLANNED Spring 2009- SOC202, PSY210 (Mind, Brain, Behavior), ANT101 (Biological Anthropology), another GE</p>

<p>What do you think? Anything you suggest? What are the chances for those schools listed above??</p>

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<p>UCLA is gonna be pretty tough since your GPA falls below the admitted average this year and you come from a CSU. You look pretty good for all the other colleges though.</p>

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<p>thanks. </p>

<p>any other advice that can help me?
btw, what was the GPA that UCLA admits and do they look @ cumulative?
[hopefully i can boost up my GPA a little more this year!!]</p>

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<p>i have to diasagree jk_91.</p>

<p>she has above the average gpa for those admitted from a california 4 year school. </p>

<p><a href=“https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/Adm_tr/Tr_Prof08.htm[/url]”>https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/Adm_tr/Tr_Prof08.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>and yes, you get to count all your college classes that are transferable in your gpa, so if those are transferable then 3.56 is your gpa.</p>

<p>i think you have a good shot.</p>

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<p>True, the GPA is slightly over the 3.54 of other California four-year schools, but you’re looking at that from a very broad perspective. The most important thing to look at here is the major he/she is applying to, and the 3.56 falls below the admitted average of Psychology majors from all applicants (3.67).</p>

<p>Anyway, you still have a fairly decent shot I think because of the ECs. Just make sure to write a great essay.</p>

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<p>well. you’re doing psych. so it may be a little harder.</p>

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<p>yes just remembered she was applying for psych lol. otherwise what i said was true.</p>

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<p>yes. just remembered she was applying for psych lol. otherwise what i said was true.</p>

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<p>thanks on above comments. i’m aware UCLA’s quite competitive on Psych! ):
any advice on how i can make my essays really good?</p>

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<p>Listen. You’re solid. Dont worry you will get into those schools. Psych is a big money maker for colleges and unless your going to med school be prepared to be unemployed after college. Yay!</p>

<p>There are more psych majors now days than there are aspiring actors so you will have plenty of company. </p>

<p>Piece of advice: </p>

<p>Wherever you go consider changing your major. I dont think the martial arts thing will impress anyone unless you consider joining the marines and can woop anyone in the fleet. Other than that you are considered fresh meat. </p>

<p>And another thing:</p>

<p>Consider staying at CAl Poly Pomona. That is a great school and highly respected in many circles. Engineers, Business majors and accountants make big bucks once they graduate from there. My sister transfered from there to CSUSB and regretted it big time.</p>

<p>If you get into UCLA or Berkeley I would say go for it. But Psych is a dead end major unless you go into psychiatry. I mean half the people I know are psych majors.</p>

<p>90 percent of the women I know are psych majors. Does this tell you something? UC’s have about a 1000 psych majors EACH OR MORE and they dont all get those good cushy job when they graduate. Sorry to bust your bubble but 1 friend works at Ikea, 1 at target, 1 was a roommate of my g/f and she looked suicidal last timeI saw her. She baby sat or “taught” special ed kids for 15/hr and was bitten and scratched every week. I mean dont go to college and blow 40k for a psych degree. lol. The world isnt a cozy and peachy place and people dont care if you have a degree and half the people dont care where you graduate from. Keep this in mind whereever you go. College is big business. Psych majors are easy to train. Psych teachers are plentiful, paid lower salaries than a chem or engineering prof. Its just one big business. This is how I know you will get in to most of these places. It costs them little overhead to train a psych major but costs you big bucks in the long run.</p>

<p>Why do you think they let you transfer?? Think about it.</p>

<p>Now contrast that with someone with an Engineer, Business /Accounting, even geology degree who are likely to get a job in this current job market, or consider those going into the medical field. Believe it or not they will make more money than you.</p>

<p>I had one year where 4 people in my family died. I mean this stuff happens. It sucks but it happens. Grades drop but that doesnt mean you are not good a t a subject. Trust me the misery of unemployment is waiting for you when you graduate. I suggest you get your act together and focus on becoming really good at something and specializing in something in demand and that you like.</p>

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<p>

Sorry to hear that. But of course this does not set very good precedence for…</p>

<p>

It doesn’t matter what you major in. Your ambition is what will determine how far you go, not what classes you took during your post-teen years. My best friend’s dad doesn’t even have a HS diploma and is now a senior project manager at a large corporation and is about to break the $200k/yr mark.</p>

<p>I vaguely remember reading about a study which concluded that something like 40-60% of college grads do not end up working in whatever they studied. Just like so many engineering grads go on to MBA programs, psych and sociology grads do the same. Again, it all depends on the individual.</p>

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<p>P.S… I’m tired of all these science majors arbitrarily coming on here and bashing on non-science majors like pretentious ****oles. Please, no one cares that you’ve forced yourself into a production line to become a commodity end-product.</p>

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<p>lol…owned</p>

<p>postbach is just mad cuz his BA in history cant bring in any real dinero</p>

<p>Maybe thats why he solicits advice from people on cc</p>

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<p>That is very true. That my BA is the source of alot of my frustration but this student needs to know that they are toast if they think that four years of your life and money will be going for a degree that will really not serve you in your post-college career. This really holds true for social science or humanities majors. Not that science majors are the absolute best thing in the world either. I personally know more than a few science majors who could use some history lessons but when it comes to making big bucks and living a lifestyle oyu want the social science and humanities dont cut it.</p>

<p>But think about it. 4 yrs of your life for a degree that wont really get you a decent job after college. 4 yrs of potential income and study for what? You need to get something in return other than critical thinking skills. All I am saying is that you better be able to eran soem money with that degree by specializing in something or seriously consider the entire venture. Middle class students and JC students especially dont have the options rich kids have at universities where their parents are footing the bill. They must follow SAP guidelins and this determines their financial aid and in turn the time they can figure out what they want to do at a univ.</p>

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<p>Econ is actually a VERY marketable social science major. Anyway, you have to realize that many people don’t even end up working in a field related to their major. Your career is only what you make of it, not your degree.</p>

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<p>That’s true. I am talking in general. There are exceptions</p>

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<p>There are exceptions to both sides, always. So given this, can you really make heavily abstracted claims and generalize anything without being, like I said before, arbitrary?</p>

<p>The BA/BS in general doesn’t cut it anymore. If you want to make some $ you need to get ready for grad school. I myself get a lot of crap for majoring in Philosophy (or Rhetoric for Cal woot!) but I really really really do not plan on conforming with a BA degree. I plan on going to law school – Philosophy is just what I love and that’s what’ll get me my competitive GPA. Not forcing myself through a major that I don’t love, destined to be a complacent 23-year-old stuck in a crappy office at a crappy job (trust me I already know what that’s like). Granted, life as an attorney isn’t the most joyous, but at least I’ll be doing what I love. And will likely have a decent salary to boot.</p>

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<p>Btw I actually have a BA in history and Political science. So I can kind of say that although my education is something I would never give up in hindsight it would have been more beneficial to double this up with a degree in the sciences.</p>

<p>Econ majors are good as well. My friend has an econ degree and got a decent marketing internship and entry level position.</p>

<p>Listen I am just telling all of you and especially this student that seriously consider your major before taking the plunge. We don’t have unlimited resources to go back and change careers (this includes myself). Although I love history if I could do it again I probably would have majored in something else or at least minored in history. Grad school is almost a must for alot of social science and humanities majors.</p>

<p>It makes no sense to be quoting some random statistic (who knows where you got it from) without backing it up either with a valid source. The reality is that there are alot of grads unemployed or struggling simply because what they learned in college does not directly lead to employment in their field of study or makes them a weak candidate for another entry level position. This student will find this out. Sorry I am kind of passionate about this. Alot of undergrads need to wake up and realize what the job market is like when they graduate and examine their choices. I hate to see people (many that I know) who go heavily in debt in loans for degrees that simply dont compensate them for the time they spent in college. Alot of us are told that we need to major in what we like when in reality we need to major in something that we can support ourselves with after college.</p>

<p>Thats about all I have to say. I know many will object but frankly many of you will discover this once you graduate and I hope many of you dont experience this. And Im not some pompous science major prick.</p>

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<p>Grey,</p>

<p>Law school just like half the pol. sci. majors at every UC. Woopy Doo. Your argument just validates my point. You are going onto grad school because your philo degree isnt cutting it. Try not going to law school and see how that Phio. degree benefits you in the job market. See how difficult it will be without getting a graduate degree. Btw I think you will find your way back into that cubicle soon enough with a Law degree. Dont get offended just because I am telling the truth. </p>

<p>The reality is that BA/BS’s are fine degrees if you specialize (i.e. Enginnering., a foreign language, accounting, business/marketing and many more). I agree that the trend is def. towards grad school. But to say BA/Bs’s don’t cut it just because you are going to go to grad school because 4 yrs of college to get a Philosophy degree doesn’t get you anywhere is ridiculous.</p>

<p>Tell that to the econ major who posted earlier that his degree doesn’t cut it. Btw economics is a social science in demand in addition to a few others.</p>

<p>All I am saying that there are a ton of degrees that just don’t adequately compensate you for the time you spend in college so people need to seriously consider their major and what it may lead too. Unfortunately psych and philosophy are some of them.</p>

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<p>I just have to add that many people do make good money with simply a BA/BS (especially a BS if you’re talking engineers). </p>

<p>Boy, this argument came out of the nowhere. Isn’t this supposed to be a harmless chances thread? Poor guy.</p>