So lets say I get into UC Irvine and I’m either majoring in European Studies, Arabic Studies, or Middle Eastern Studies. How hard would it be for me to maintain a 4.0? How much time would I be spending on studying, and how heavy would my course load be?
Second question, on my application, I put that I would be majoring in European Studies, but now I really want to major in Arabic Studies. How hard would it be to switch?
Thank you!
Getting a 4.0 at any school will depend upon your work ethic and study habits. Assume that no major will be easy at a UC, but if you have high enough grades in HS to get an acceptance then you should be able to succeed.
Change of major criteria:
http://www.changeofmajor.uci.edu/CoM_Hum.html
You can change your major in the beginning of May. You can submit a change of major request through your admission portal. If you decide you want to change your major later, then you can change it when you go to SPOP (orientation for new incoming students in the summer).
Eyes set on law school?
Maintaining a 4.0 in anything is hard and requires a good amount of luck. Something like catching the flu can make you fail an exam. You can write excellent papers and still end up with low scores if it’s not what the professor was looking for.
Less than 1% chance of maintaing 4.0. http://www.undergrad.socsci.uci.edu/graduation.php
"Latin Honors at Graduation
The campus policy specifies that no more than 12 percent of graduating seniors will receive academic honors: approximately 1 percent summa cum laude, 3 percent magna cum laude, and 8 percent cum laude. Students must have completed at least 72 quarter units in residence at a University of California campus. Students who have on file recorded incidents of academic dishonesty are not eligible for Honors at Graduation.
In addition to this campus criteria, the School of Social Sciences uses cumulative GPA as the criterion for the awarding of Honors at Graduation. The Commencement program will list candidates for Honors at Graduation who qualify based on cumulative grade point average through Winter quarter and who have applied for graduation by the March deadline. The official designation of Honors on the diploma and transcript will be based upon the candidate’s cumulative GPA and total units completed at the end of the final quarter. The re-calculation may result in your Latin Honors distinction being moved or eliminated.
Information for Latin Honors for the 2016-17 Academic Year are not yet released. Below is the information from the 2015-16 Academic Year.
For students graduating Summer 2015 through Spring 2016, honors will be awarded based on the following GPA tiers:
Summa Cum Laude (top 1%): 3.932-4.00
Magna Cum Laude (next 3%): 3.813-3.931
Cum Laude (next 8%): 3.633-3.812"
Top 1% starts at 3.932 and 88% of students at this school have a GPA below 3.633. You will be “competing” against very smart and hard working students.