Chance Me UCB

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>I'm a CCC student hoping to transfer to UCB for chemical engineering. I'm currently in my 5th semester and plan on applying for Fall 2014. I'm worried about my crappy grades from my first year, and I'm hoping that the grade trend might help me a little. My personal statement is well written and gives good reasoning for the bad grades. I've really buckled down with school, apart from a B that I'm probably going to get in math this semester.</p>

<p>Overall GPA: 3.56
BCPM GPA: 3.56</p>

<p>Fall 2011 [4 units]
Pre-Calculus F
English 1 C</p>

<p>Spring 2012 [9 units]
Pre-Calculus B
Pre-Chem C
English 2 W</p>

<p>Summer 1 2012 [8 units]
Calculus I B
Humanities B</p>

<p>Summer 2 2012 [0 units]
Calculus II W</p>

<p>Fall 2012 [13 units]
Calculus II B
Physics I A
Philosophy A</p>

<p>Spring 2013 [21 units]
Calculus III A
Physics II A
Chemistry I A
History A
Art A</p>

<p>Summer 1 2013 [8 units]
Chemistry II A
Anthropology A</p>

<p>Summer 2 2013 [8 units]
Biology I A
History A</p>

<p>Fall 2013 (Current - Expected Grades) [18 units]
Linear Algebra B
Physics III A
OChemistry I A
Humanities A</p>

<p>Spring 2014 [10 or 15 units]
Differential Equations
Physics IV (maybe)
OChemistry II (maybe)</p>

<p>EC:
Internship at military research lab - 6 months
Math Tutoring - 10 hours/week
Volunteer - 200 hours over 18 months</p>

<p>I will have 89 units when I apply for transfer, and either 99 or 104 units after I finish. (I haven't decided on my schedule for next semester) I'm also a little worried that if I take both Physics IV and OChem II next semester I will get another C. Im finding OChem I to be very stressful, and even though I'm doing very well so far it was at the expense of an A in my math class. I completed IGETC because I'm going to TAG to UCSB as a back-up and I wasn't 100% sure I was going to do engineering until this past summer.</p>

<p>Are there are any private universities that I could get into that are better than UCSB? I'm leaning more towards graduate school at the moment.</p>

<p>Thanks for reading.</p>

2

<p>Your chances are really slim for UCB. UCSB I’m not too sure about, but from what I understand they have a great ChemE program so if you could get in there you should definitely consider it.</p>

3

<p>I emailed College of Chemistry transfer student adviser and asked her how College of Chemistry selected chemical engineering transfer students months ago. She replied, “We are looking for completion of most (if not all) of the lower division courses for the major listed on assist.org and preferably all As in those courses. Extracurricular activities that are relevant to the major are helpful as well.” Also, they do not review general education courses apart from the English courses listed on assist!
From her reply, I assume they do not review courses not listed on assist.org, such as Pre-Calculus and Pre-Chemistry. Try your best to get A in Linear Algebra this semester, and your chance will be better.</p>

4

<p>It’s going to be tough. ChemE at Berkeley is small. The undergrad group is tight-knit and the curriculum is highly-structured, even by engineering standards. </p>

<p>As a former Chem undergrad with a few friends in ChemE, I don’t recall ever seeing/hearing about transfer students in the major. There were a few in Chem and Chem Bio, but that was it. </p>

<p>I suspect one of these reasons it’s so hard to get in is because you would essentially need 3 years to graduate. Cal is overcrowded as it is, and not particularly amenable to keeping students around longer than necessary. </p>

<p>As you can see on this page - [UC</a> Berkeley, College of Chemistry – The Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering](<a href=“http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/degree_programs/cheme_major/index.php]UC”>http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/degree_programs/cheme_major/index.php) - the process engineering track starting with ChemE 140 runs from sophomore-thru-senior year and is essential to the major. A lot of Cal sophomores actually drop out of ChemE during the 140-150 phase due to the rigor of the courses.</p>

<p>Your upwards trend in grades is pretty spectacular - that much should be said. You can make a compelling sell to admissions if your entire package is top-notch, but there will be no guarantees that you’ll be accepted or that the program will be the right fit for you. The good news is - you don’t have to be particularly proficient at ochem to do well in chemE. So don’t let your coursework for this semester sway your decision. Just try to do as well as you can.</p>

<p>If you need any application packaging guidance - I do offer personalized services through my website - [College</a> Counseling Services - The App Style](<a href=“http://theappstyle.com/services/]College”>http://theappstyle.com/services/) . </p>

<p>You may also want to consider UT Austin and schools in the midwest, depending on what line of work you are interested in. Cal doesn’t actually send many ChemE graduates into the petroleum industry - we have much more of a pharma/materials bent. It’s reflected in the interests of student body as well as the specialties of the professors. </p>

<p>Responding to Lays’ useful comment - </p>

<p>While the adviser didn’t say anything explicit about non-lower division requirements, the UCs will still look at all of your grades. Completing the lower divs simply determines your eligibility in the program.</p>

5

<p>Thank you for the information SplashofScience and thanks Lays for taking the time to email an advisor!</p>

<p>@Integrant A GPA requirement of 3.4 by the end of spring semester is required to tag into UCSB’s school of engineering</p>

6

<p>Note that transfer students to UCB chemical engineering may take 5 semesters to complete the major, due to many courses that may not be available at community colleges:</p>

<p>[Alternative</a> Program for Chemical Engineering Transfer Students](<a href=“http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/policies/alternative.php]Alternative”>http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/policies/alternative.php)</p>

<p>However, you may be able to cover some of them before transfer, allowing you to finish in 4 semesters after transfer, by doing the following:</p>

<p>Chemistry 112A: complete organic chemistry at CC, take the ACS organic chemistry exam and score 75th percentile to get subject credit for Chemistry 112A and 112B.
Engineering 45: see if there is a materials course at CC that articulates to that.
Engineering 7: see if there is a computing for engineering with MATLAB course at CC that articulates to that.
EE 100: see if there is an electronics course at CC that articulates to EE 40.
Biology 1A: you may have that if your biology course articulates to Biology 1A.
Science elective: you may have that if your physics courses include articulation for Physics 7C.</p>