Unfortunately, you cannot switch to communications, as it is highly impacted (selective). It is not allowed. There is also no minor in communications. If you really want communications you should apply directly to that major. The avg. admitted GPA is about 3.93, however.
^Yep.
You will not be allowed to switch into Comm
here is a list of UCLA minors:
http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/majors/lsminor.htm
In general, it’s worth noting that most impacted majors don’t offer minors in the field either(e.g. political science is very impacted, and there’s no minor in that subject either, although there used to be some years back). They probably do this to save space in the classes for people who are admitted to the major—they have enough trouble getting the classes they need as it is.
Hey guys!
I am hoping to go to either UCLA or UCD with regents scholarship.
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering
IGETC: Done by Spring 2016
TAG at UCD
Major Prereqs: “Required” courses will be done by the end of Spring 16. However I won’t have 2 out of 7 engineering courses that are strongly recommended.
GPA: 4.0 (106.5 semester units before i transfer)
Major GPA: 4.0
EC’s: Tutoring math and physics, interned for one semester at an environmental non profit organization, member of PTK.
Im still working on my PS. And Im really worried about my lack of ECs and the two strongly recommended courses that i will not have…
@goldencub Thx for the reply! I didn’t mention what the project grade would be for Spring, the 4.0 is just what I think I’ll get for this fall. I’ve tagged to another campus so we’ll see how it goes.
@nidalee cool, good luck!
@cayton @lindyk8 @luckie1367 okay cool. Thank you for the insight guys
Hi! I’m new with college confidential so please forgive me if I mess something up.
Intended Major: Communications (possible minor in creative writing but not 100% decided yet)
IGETC: will be completed by the end of Fall 16
GPA: currently 3.79, not sure what will it be after Fall though since it’s still pretty early in the semester. I think I might get a B in a non-major class (Ecology, for IGETC requirement).
Major Prereqs: as long as the classes don’t overlap I should have all of them done by the end of Spring 16
ECs: no major volunteering, but in high school I was the president of a club, did peer tutoring, and have job experience. I’m currently working part-time.
Other: I’ve also submitted a TAG for Davis.
In terms of GPA though here’s where things get kind of weird. I’m technically in my first full-time year of CC but because I took a lot of APs and did concurrent enrollment in high school, I actually will have enough units to transfer as a junior (a year ahead of the rest of my high school graduating class.) As a result, I only have 5 classes with a grade that contributes to my GPA. Obviously this is a different case so I’m hoping the UCLA admissions readers will be understanding of that, but I’ve also heard that UCLA is a very numbers-oriented school. Also, if I do end up getting a B this semester (assuming I get all As in the rest), and it’s a non-major class, will that really hurt me, especially since Comm is an impacted major?
Thanks so much!
Hmmm, I certainly cannot tell you what UCLA admissions will do, but with just five actual classes (after fall?), I would hazard a guess that it will be tough. Average admitted GPA to comm is about 3.93 and you don’t have many classes.
@yasou14 Wait - do you have five classes completed for grades right NOW? or will you only have 5 completed by the end of the Fall?
If it’s the former, then you should be fine - but realize that the Fall is very significant. You should aim for a 4.0. Admissions only considers your GPA as it stands at the end of the Fall term - and for you, getting a 4.0 would make a pretty big difference (they like upward trends, it shows you can handle it, etc.)
Write an excellent personal statement. Revise, edit, ask counselors for help, etc.
@goldencub sorry if that was unclear! after the fall semester I would have taken 10 classes (a grand total of 15 by the end of spring). do spring semester classes count at all?
do you happen to have any advice for the transfer personal statement? I’m a bit stuck on trying to write the one regarding the major specifically… mostly because there are too many directions I’d consider taking it in.
I am going to slightly disagree about the possible ease of getting into Comm at UCLA as a one year transfer. While I am a big supporter of one year transfers in general, I think it’s fair to say no one knows how the comm dept will react. It’s extremely impacted and finicky. Plus, you really need that high GPA. I have seen several 3.9s not get in, for whatever reason.
My daughter got in twice (she withdrew from UCLA one year before attending, and reapplied). While it’s not clear what may have helped with that, I think her PS had a strong impact. What she wrote about was her interest in PR (specifically for social change) and how it started when she was young. She connected it to social causes because that is her interest.
Whatever you write about, I suggest you try to bring in a broader community angle - not just marketing or advertising. This is just my opinion but I’m not sure they’d be as jazzed about someone who just wants to market products (or people). So my advice is to tie-in how you would hopefully aid in making the world a better place in your small way.
Definitely a good idea to take precautions for a major as impacted as Communications. Shoot for it, definitely. If you were to get a 4.0 in the Fall, you would have a 3.895 (assuming you took the same amount of units before Fall and in the Fall, actual stats could be different)- which is competitive, but make sure to do well on the PS.
@lindyk8 's advice is well-substantiated.
I might add, in your situation, where you will have 10 courses completed, rather than the standard 15, any major-related ECs would surely help.
We also don’t know how many courses taken have a communications angle to them. Hopefully, a fair number. 
@goldencub @lindyk8 thank you both so much! in terms of the types of classes other than the assist.org list and GEs that aren’t at all relevant to major, I’ve taken a mass media class and some Asian American culture related classes. in spring I’ll be taking an additional communications course and may take behavioral psychology.
my angle would probably either be something international (I have several years of study in Japanese and Korean language and am heavily interested in studying abroad), have something to do with interpersonal counseling, or some type of journalism/writing. I know those are all very broad and not particularly connected with each other but I actually do have interest in all of the above.
another thing actually, do you happen to know how much UCLA cares about other factors (i.e. first in family to go to college, low income, etc) when it comes to transfer students? with freshman admission it seems to be a big thing, but is it also that way for transfer? I ask this because I do not fall under that category (Chinese American, both parents are college educated, too high income).
Well, they do take low income/first gen under consideration, but they also take high income and those with a family history of college. It’s hard to know their exact thought process. Since you only have one mass comm class completed, that isn’t necessarily showing them your interest. Maybe re essay, connect journalism (communication) with your language chops = global communications/cultural angle.
I really would try to add some comm-related ECs. Can you volunteer to handle the social media acct for a company for a few months? Or be a guest blogger somewhere?
@lindyk8 that seems like a pretty good starting point essay-wise. I’ll definitely take it under consideration.
in terms of ECs I do currently run my own blog but it’s focused more on creative writing than communications-type things; I had a very brief stint as a guest blogger on a friend’s website but he eventually dropped the whole thing so I don’t really think that counts. in high school I was on the school newspaper but quit due to time constraints and the fact that the environment in there was just awful. unfortunately I have zero connections in terms of companies or anything else I could do PR-type things for.
@goldencub I just realized that my CC goes on a semester system, not quarter, so my fall '15 grades would not be available at time of UC application submission. will I be prompted to edit those grades in later? I know for high school freshman admission they don’t count senior grades at all except in the situation of your acceptance being rescinded…
edit: I just looked it up, sorry for the unnecessary notification.
@yasou14 Totally fine. Yes, we input our Fall grades into a Transfer Academic Update by the end of January, I believe.