<p>I am currently a first year student at a ccc and have a 4.0 gpa. Unfortunately i started attending cc without any plans for my future and so i never focused on having any extra curriculars (i figured i'd just go to the csu in my city, but now i have an actual goal). So my question is if you guys think i can get in if i do maybe a summer's worth of volunteer work before applying (i will be applying this fall)?</p>
<p>fyi: my goal is to get into either ucla or ucb.</p>
<p>Extra curriculars are more something to write your personal statement on rather than do solely for the sake of having ecs. I would suggest doing it if you genuinely think it’ll benefit you and your understanding of your major. What’s your major, by the way?</p>
<p>That depends on your major and whether or not you fulfilled all your preqs. ECs are more of a supplementary thing, so if any area of your application is lacking, ECs should make up for it. With a 4.0 GPA, it’d be pretty hard to reject you unless you either missed some preqs or applied to a really difficult school like Haas (this coming from the Berkeley representative that came for my Transfer Day). I recommend doing volunteer work (as you suggested) plus joining a few clubs (or join community service clubs, 2-for-1). Although it does look suspicious if you do all your ECs the summer right before you apply.</p>
<p>Yeah, that was my main concern…that it would seem rushed.</p>
<p>As for my major, I am quite undecided at the moment, but am leaning towards either anthropology or philosophy. (I’m doing lower division classes for both, just in case.)</p>
<p>Second question (I hope nobody minds)…How many units have applicants completed (on average) by the time they apply (not counting the units in progress)? Does it even matter? As long as you complete 60 by the end of Spring?</p>
<p>A 4.0 in philosophy or anthropology makes you MUCH more competitive than the average applicant, so ECs would play far less of a role. In terms of average units, using quarter units, the average during the fall of application is about 50-65ish (I applied with 70). As a note, you need at least 45 quarter units to apply. In addition, when you apply you list all the courses/units you PLAN to take as well. Factoring that in, the average reported is about 90-100 quarter units. Use the 2/3 rule to convert that into semester.</p>