<p>does anyone know anything about the major communication studies at UCLA? i know its an impacted major but how hard is it to get as a junior transfer? avg. GPA? advice on classes and in general?</p>
<p>Generally, to be considered for comm acceptance as a transfer you need around a 3.8 (at least). The absolute minimum is 3.5, meaning that they won't even consider you without that. However, because it's hugely competitive, the higher the GPA, the better. 3.8 is a general cut-off. While some people have gotten in with slightly lower, including one or two people who post on CC, the vast majority are usually over. All the comm admissions people really consider are the numbers (gpa and # of lower div classes completed). They then take the top GPAs, usually amounting to ~80 acceptances. </p>
<p>The only real advice is keep your GPA as high as possible and complete as many lower divs as possible with high grades (your gpa in major related classes will be considered). Demonstrated interest in the field might help (journalism experience, internships, clubs, etc), but it won't make or break you.</p>
<p>Because they take the top grades, the difficulty varies with each year. If there are a ton of people applying with 4.0s and you have lower than that, it'll be more difficult than if the majority of people applying have lower gpas. It's hard to predict. Acceptance rates usually hover around 15% (in my year, there were about 79 accepted out of 600). Also, TAP doesn't apply to Comm Studies since decisions are made within the Comm office and not in the general admissions office. It will obviously show that you worked hard in honors, but it won't award you the extra point that it would for other majors. </p>
<p>*sorry if this comes off as kind of scary, but it's really the way it is. The earlier you realize how important GPA is for transferring into this major the better. Some people don't like to hear that GPA is really the main deciding factor, but it is, so you might as well know how to play the game. *</p>
<p>wow thanks so much allie. Your advice cleared up a lot of things. So when it comes down to the major communication studies a higher GPA is more important than how many honors courses i take? So is it better to take non-honors classes to keep my GPA high. Would they accpet someone with a 4.0 who've taken no honors classes or someone with a 3.8 who've taken honors?</p>
<p>A high GPA is more important than God to the Comm department. </p>
<p>However, I found that honors classes (both at my CC and at UCLA) REALLY aren't that difficult in relation to non-honors classes. I would suggest taking one (maybe in English or humanities or one of the basic requirements for your school's honors program) and seeing how it is. I suspect that it won't be as hard for you to get an A as you think. </p>
<p>It's hard to tell whether they'd take a 4.0 without honors over a 3.8 with honors, but my guess is yes. However, even a 3.8 with honors will most likely get you into the program. </p>
<p>Like i said before, being TAP certified won't give you the extra point for comm that it will for the other L&S majors, but it does reflect highly on you. I'd say (based solely on observation and people I know) that maybe half of the 79 transfers in my year were TAP certified, even though it's not officially recognized in Comm. </p>
<p>Your biggest concern is obviously completing your IGETC and your 7 or so lower divs with the highest grades you can muster. If you can supplement your IGETC completion with honors work (honors english, humanities, psych, whatever), it will be even better. Obviously, though, don't overload on honors classes because that would be pointless. If you do decide to do honors work, take only as many classes as are needed to complete your school's TAP certification. Anything over that is pointless.</p>