<p>Okay, so pretty much I've been told (by my counselor and some teachers) that extracurriculars were not that important even for UCB and UCLA and because this CC is about an hour away, I decided that I would just focus on getting good grades. It wasn't until my last semester/second (trying to transfer in one year) when I talked to some transfers who said that ECs are actually really important. Currently I am and I have been taking an overload of classes (right now, over 24 units). With some family problems and the long commute, I barely have my head above water for As in my classes. My current GPA is 3.83 and I think I have 30(?) hours of volunteering. I was a home schooled student in high school so I don't really have any extracurricular that I can show through awards or paperwork (I did play the piano since I was 7 though but I quit as soon as I finished high school)
I really can't stay another year at CC because of some problems with family. Can someone give me their opinion/word of wisdom? Would I have a chance at these two schools? My major is biology.
Thanks!</p>
<p>Your GPA is excellent for both of those schools. They do care about extracurriculars, but it’s not as important for transfers according to what I’ve observed. The focus is still primarily on grades and on completion of major classes. Still, put any extracurriculars you have on the application; it can only help.</p>
<p>Yeah, focus on grades and don’t worry about the ECs. They can only help, not hurt you for admissions. The last thing you want to do is try to do more things than you have time for, and have your grades drop as a result. A lot of people get into those schools with hardly any ECs, including myself and people I know. And yeah, put like anything you do that you care about on as an EC, even if you wouldn’t think of it as a traditional EC.</p>
<p>May I ask why you quit piano? That would be a good one. Any other hobbies?</p>