Changing Majors in Engineering!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

Hi,

I was just wondering if I am admitted as a Materials Engineering major, how hard it would be to switch to Mechanical Engineering as a freshman. Also looking for people who have switched majors before! Thanks for your help! Also, it would be cool if you guys could chance me!

Objective:

SAT: 2120 (CR-660, M-800, W-660 Essay:10)
SAT II: 740 Math II, 710 Physics

UC GPA (Capped at 8 Honors) -4.0
9-11 UW- 3.68
9-11 W- 4.16
10-11 UW GPA- 3.69
10-11 W GPA (Uncapped)- 4.23

UPWARD Trend:

Freshman (8 A’s 4 B’s)
Sophomore (6 A’s 4 B’s 2 C’s)
Junior (13 A’s)

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (Not sure exactly how I made it LOL, maybe course rigor?)

AP (12 AP’s total (rigorous):
Chemistry (3)
European History (3)
Calc AB (5)
Physics 1 (3) (LOL)
Spanish Language and Culture (4)
US History (4)

Senior Year Courses:
AP Literature
AP Gov
AP Physics C
AP Spanish Literature
AP Psychology
AP Statistics

Major Awards: None are major, but OCMC 5th place (math competition for my county).

Subjective:
Extracurriculars:
Summer@USC Summer Camp
CSF (3 Years)
Key Club (3 Years)
Taekwondo 3rd Degree Black Belt (13+ Years)
1st Place Cal State Open Taekwondo Tournament
Junior Leadership Team for Taekwondo
Taekwondo Instructor Experience (200 Hours)
Volunteer as Taekwondo Instructor (50 Hours)
Intern at Social Security Office
OC Math Circle Competition-5th Place
Love 2 Read (Library Reading Program)
Teen Advisory Board at Library
AP Scholar With Distinction
600+ Community service hours

2

Switching to majors within the engineering department should not be difficult. It does not jeopardize your admission, and also upset your goals of completing a degree as many courses in Engineering are common to more than on engineering major.

3

call ucla admissions and see if you can change the major on your application. Otherwise it looks like you’ll have to wait until you’ve been a student for a few quarters, according to the FAQ that I’m sure you’ve already read. The latter is a bit chancy; if you slip up in a class or two then you might not have the GPA for them to let you change, so entering ucla with your desired major is probably a preferable approach.