I am currently attending Mt. San Antonio College as a freshman and did not do so well in high school. I had under a 2.0 GPA throughout most of my high school years so ive decided to start fresh and chase my dreams in community college. I know i am a very smart kid i just never cared enough to apply myself and work hard for what i want. i got tested for GATE in elementary school but failed the test on purpose so that way i could stay in the lower class with my friends, that gives you a little insight on my character these past years. But now i want to do a complete 180 now and change myself completely to achieve my goal of attending UCLA. i chose mt. sac because it had the honors program, i certainly dont have the high school requirements to join the honors program my first sem at mt sac so i will get a 4.0 gpa this sem that way i am able to join next sem. Once im in the honors society program should i join student government or clubs? Anything else that would help my chances in transferring? i am gonna work towards meeting UCLAs IGETC requirements and getting all of my pre reqs out of the way. i still do not know what i want to major in, i was planning on figuring it out this semester and having my mind set on one by next sem. If i maintain a 4.0 GPA, meet the IGETC requirements and am in the honors program what are my chances in getting accepted into UCLA realistically with my high school record? any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated from currents students at UCLA or students in general with some knowledge to share. i am nervous for this journey but also very excited. thank you guys!
Join clubs, volunteer, work, get near 4.0 if you want really, really good chances at UCLA. This is your chance to prove what you’re worth. Don’t let your past dictate who you say you really are.
Here’s a helpful link to find out your chances at UCLA https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
Good news! :-bd - When applying as a transfer, NONE of the UCs will look at your High School grades, SAT scores, or high school classes, the transfer application will only ask you if you received a high school diploma. So to answer your question - “If i maintain a 4.0 GPA, meet the IGETC requirements and am in the honors program what are my chances in getting accepted into UCLA realistically with my high school record?” your chances would be superb, almost guaranteed to get you into UCLA if you can maintain a college GPA as close to a 4.0, and complete IGETC and major prep. If you really want to increase your chances at UCLA even further, I suggest you look into majoring in one of the non-impacted majors like History, American literature & Culture, Philosophy, etc. as some of these majors can have roughly 60%+ acceptance rates and the GPAs of accepted applicants are not very high. (In contrast to the extremely competitive majors like Business Economics and Computer Science which have very low acceptance rates and it’s even common for 4.0 applicants to get rejected.)
Bad News - :-t Although the UCs will not look at nor consider your high school grades/GPA/SAT for transfer applications, almost all PRIVATE universities and colleges WILL look at your high school record including GPA and SAT scores, so your poor high school record will really only disadvantage you if you will be planning on applying to any private universities, which I am assuming you won’t be so this should not really be an issue for you. Another thing to note is that from now on, ALL of the grades you earn in your college classes will PERMANENTLY be a part of your academic record, so it is extremely important that you try your best and aim to attain the best grades possible in community college and later on at the university, since if you decide later on in life that you want to attend Graduate or Professional school, all of your college classes and grades that you earned in your entire life will be considered for the applications, so it is vital that you do not make the same mistakes that you made while in high school.
Good luck!
ahhh don’t worry there are plenty of people in your boat who managed to pull it off and transfer to prestigious universities.
I actually barely graduated HS… I had a 2.4 and it literally came down to me passing a pre-calc class or I wouldn’t have graduated on time. Much like yourself, I didn’t care about H.S… I skipped so many classes they had to keep calling my parents. I think it’s because part of your front brain, the section that is responsible for impulse control, doesn’t fully develop until your mid-twenties. Obviously some people are able to do well in school in spite of this, but some of us are really susceptible to this.
Ever since starting CC, I’ve went in with the mindset that this is my last chance at having a successful life, and have been able to keep a 4.0 and I just applied this year where I have a great shot at transferring to UCLA and UCB
Before starting out, what you wanna do is meet with a counselor who can come up with a course plan for you. If you dont wanna do that, go on www.assist.org and type in your community college, your planned major, then see what prereqs you need to take. Out of all the UCs, UCLA is probably the most adamant about prereq completion. They’ll reject a 4.0 student for missing one prereq class. Completing all those classes is imperative to your admission chances
You also wanna complete IGETC, which is a general education curriculum. Go to your counselor and there will be a detailed list of classes you can take to fulfill this. You wanna be IGETC certified to have the best chance of transferring
If possible, try to join the honors program. Once you complete the honors program, you receive TAP certification, where UCLA will give you priority consideration. Idk how much validity there is to this, but I’ve read online from a respected source (ms.sun) that TAP certification makes you 2.3 times more likely as a candidate for UCLA. Since you’re trying to aim for a 4.0 anyways, the honors classes really aren’t gonna be that hard. They’re pretty much just like the regular classes, the only thing that’s annoying is fitting them into your schedule
TAP is secondary tho. You don’t need it to transfer, it just makes the chance more probable. What you wanna prioritize is on prereqs and IGETC. Those are requirements
As far as ECs go, the UCs don’t care as much about ECs for transfer students as they do for HS. But if possible, try to find something where you can have a leadership position in. Just don’t focus on it so much that it’s getting in the way of school, cuz your academics are the most important thing, esp. for us transfers.
Wow, reading this just took the biggest weight off my shoulders. Very glad to hear im not alone on this and it isnt too late to chase my dreams. I also feel like this is my last chance for success, everything you said was very relatable and helpful to me. Im currently selecting my classes for this semester and have a meeting planned with my counselor this week to map out my next couple years at mt sac :-bd i also have the list of classes that satisfy IGETC requirements so basically everything you’re telling me to do im doing atm. Im gonna start by taking some pre req classes this semester and work hard to get that 4.0 that way i can join the honors program next semester. Does joining the honors program mean you have to take actual honors courses along with the program or are they two separate things? Congrats on applying hope you get accepted into your ideal UC. Thank you for your help i really appreciate it.
Thank you for the words of encouragement its just what i needed in this hectic time. I wont let my past hold me back anymore, its all up from here.
@ericbadmon Wow, reading this just took the biggest weight off my shoulders. Very glad to hear im not alone on this and it isnt too late to chase my dreams. I also feel like this is my last chance for success, everything you said was very relatable and helpful to me. Im currently selecting my classes for this semester and have a meeting planned with my counselor this week to map out my next couple years at mt sac :-bd i also have the list of classes that satisfy IGETC requirements so basically everything you’re telling me to do im doing atm. Im gonna start by taking some pre req classes this semester and work hard to get that 4.0 that way i can join the honors program next semester. Does joining the honors program mean you have to take actual honors courses along with the program or are they two separate things? Congrats on applying hope you get accepted into your ideal UC. Thank you for your help i really appreciate it.
@ImJustaPerson Thank you for the words of encouragement its just what i needed in this hectic time. I wont let my past hold me back anymore, its all up from here.
I don’t know how to delete replies or reply to specific people only hahaha sorry for the spam kinda still learning the ropes of college confidential 
“don’t worry there are plenty of people in your boat who managed to pull it off and transfer to prestigious universities.”
Exactly right. I know a couple of them, including one with a PhD from a very good university who is a full professor at a very good small university. I would focus particularly on keeping your GPA up as much as possible. You will also need to learn good study skills. Keeping ahead in all classes at all times will help a lot. This does involve doing quite a bit of studying starting early each semester. You can do this.
If you don’t get into UCLA as an undergrad, there is also the possibility of getting into a different UC for undergrad (they are all quite good, although not equally prestigious), then going on to UCLA for graduate school.
“i still do not know what i want to major in”
Perfectly normal at this time. You are right to be thinking about it while you pile up the A’s in community college.
@DadTwoGirls Yes it is comforting knowing that there are others like me. So right now just focus on getting that GPA as sharp as i can whilst thinking about what i want to major in.
Your CC is a participant in the TAP program with UCLA that gives preference in admission to majors in Letters & Science and allows you to specify an alternate major (subject to some limitations). See http://www.admission.ucla.edu/Prospect/Adm_tr/ADM_CCO/tap.htm Even if you are applying to a major not in L&S its possible this program could help since it will put you in touch with designated counselors that have a closer working relationship with UCLA.
Hey there, I was accepted to UCLA and my high school record is definitely worse than yours. In fact, I dropped out of high school in the 9th grade. I had taken courses long enough to get a report card, but when I requested my transcripts for USC and a few other schools, I opened one copy and saw that it was completely blank, lol 
I literally had no high school credits, SAT scores, nada. I did get my GED when I was allowed to take the test. As has been mentioned above, your high school record means nothing to the UC’s. While I didn’t wind up at UCLA (I went to USC), I was beyond happy that they accepted me. It did take me two transfer cycle attempts though. In the end, I got my degree in computational linguistics and I felt proud given my background. I know you can do it if you keep yourself focused 
You have the right mindset. Understand that this really is your last chance. Too many people go into CC with the same mindset that they have in HS, and they naively think that they will magically get another shot. The CC system that we have in America is such a beautiful thing. No where else in the world will you get this second chance where you have a legitimate shot at the most prestigious universities in the world. Particularly in California, we have a “gateway” and get priority consideration for the best public schools in the nation.
The honors classes are what get you TAP certified. You complete a certain amount of units of honors classes, write a few research papers, and have to maintain a certain GPA. Like I said it’s not absolutely necessary to transfer, it just helps a lot. If you’re doing a tough major (like the sciences) you’ll have a lot of prereqs so you might wanna just focus on doing those required classes before thinking about TAP
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
the above link is a gpa breakdown by major for all of the UCs last year. You can go to UCLA and see what the avg GPAs of accepted students were for every single major. I know you’re shooting for a 4.0 but this breakdown still helps give an estimate on how well you need to do at your CC.
One kid I know well went to Santa Monica, didn’t even do all that well there and got around 3.3 gpa, and still transferred to UCLA in a non-STEM major. I found it interesting that if you don’t mind getting going to a CC after HS, you can still graduate from a great university. My neighbor’s daughter was an unmotivated student in HS and went to a CC and worked part time. Transferred to UCSB where she is in sorority and doing well. It can be done and not too hard, but you have to trudge along and not lose your focus. Another kid I know, he went to UCSC, got 3.9 gpa and transferred to Berkeley. Would not be surprised if the kid eventually makes it to top 5 law school. Sometimes a late bloomer is more motivated.
I also go to Mt. Sac and I’m transferring out this year. In terms of the honors program at Mt. Sac, during orientation they talk about how honors certification (15 units of honors courses) boosts your chances of getting to UCLA (and other top UC’s) dramatically.
In terms of my background, I also did poorly in high school (below 3.0 gpa) and had to work to get into the honors program. All I can say is work hard and do as many extra curricular you can. Meet with a counselor every semester or so to make sure you’re on track. I also highly recommend checking assist.org in order to make sure you’re taking the right classes for your desired major.
Best of luck!
You’re not alone. My lowest GPA in HS was an 0.7 (something I’m actually pretty proud of - I had to work to get it down that low!) - however, like you, I was motivated to do well in college and get into a top university. I got straight A’s for two years, transferred to Cal, and have been doing very well here.
For what it’s worth, I applied as a Philosophy major. I didn’t have many extracurriculars (part time job, chess club leadership position), and I wasn’t in an honors program, but I took lots of courses in my major, and I completed all of the major prerequisites available to me. I also had a well-crafted personal statement.
By far, the most important criteria for transferring to a UC is: (1) GPA, ideally 3.7 or higher (depending on the major), (2) IGETC (unless your major specifically does not accept it, in which case you should complete your general education requirements), (3) preparation for the major (generally speaking, you need to complete all of the major prerequisite classes available to you - check assist.org to see which you need to be accepted to certain UC’s as a certain major).
Are you a STEM person or a humanities person? It’s important to choose your classes strategically, because a bunch of STEM majors (engineering/CS in particular) end up taking three years in CC to complete everything they need to. So look at which majors you think you might be interested in, and see whether the courses you would need for those majors overlap at all. (History might overlap with Political Science, for example, and STEM major requirements often overlap.)
This really just means that you should take classes you’re interested in, but make sure they fulfill some requirements - either IGETC or major requirements. That will help you choose a major, and it will help you transfer without spending too much time in CC. (But it’s also fine to take longer in CC, and take fewer courses per semester - admissions committees actually don’t care if you aren’t a full-time student in CC, so long as you complete everything that you need to.)
Good luck! Feel free to message me if you have questions.