<p>My ultimate goal is to attend UCLA, and then hopefully continue on to UCLA School of Law. </p>
<p>My first year, I attended a 4 year University in Minnesota (where I'm currently finishing up my 2nd semester). Next year, I am studying abroad in England for the entire academic year. </p>
<p>The problem is, to transfer to the UCLA Psychology department, there are certain classes that you need to have completed, and you need to have at least 60 credits. But between the GenEd courses I took this year, and the classes I need not being offered at the overseas institution, would it make sense to apply to a community college for my third year? </p>
<p>If I am able to go to a community college, will it ruin my chances of being able to transfer to UCLA? Or to get into Law School? Is there a better alternative, or a way around this? Or did I royally mess this and everything else up by taking the chance to study abroad?</p>
<p>Sorry for so many questions, I am just really freaking out about this..
Thank you!</p>
<p>Questions are good! XD I’m also in minnesota to (Attending a community college XD)</p>
<p>Okay so here’s the dealio. When transferring to another college, especially out of state it is really important to check on what type of classes there looking for and what will transfer (for example a language requirement or two semesters of college math). Now here are your options:</p>
<p>Option 1: Go to the study abroad. Take as many classes as will fufill with UCLA transfer requirements (Even if its only one class). Enjoy yourself. When you return the following year stay one more year at the university and finish any other class you need, then transfer. This will add to your expenses as well as time but you should be fine in the transfer process.</p>
<p>Option 2: Go to the study abroad. Come back and transfer into a community college. Most of your credits SHOULD transfer (some might and this may mean some repeats hence the positive of staying at your current school). Finish classes at C.C. (may take two+ semesters) then transfer. But also note if your pulling a 3.8 GPA at your university, that does not transfer with you when you switch colleges. So when you go to the community college you start over. So don’t bomb your first semester. Although when you transfer they will look at BOTH GPA’s and calculate a “cumulative” GPA which is a combination of the two. </p>
<p>Option 3: Cancel your study abroad and finish the classes you need to transfer next year, then transfer. This option will save you time and more money then the first one. Although you won’t be able to study abroad. (Although depending on your major in UCLA you may have more opportunities</p>
<p>Option 4: You CAN transfer to another university, but whats wrong with staying in your current one? </p>
<p>Things to note. When calculated your cumulative GPA for transfer. UCLA’s policy is they only count TRANSFERABLE credits towards your cum. gpa. For example if you semester looked like this:</p>
<p>English: C
Bowling: A
Creative Writing: B
Math: C</p>
<p>Bowling and Creative Writing WON’T transfer so the only grades that will factor into your transfer GPA wil be english and math. So when you go study abroad you may get all straight A’s but if there not transferable they WON’T count for your cum. GPA at UCLA (This policy is different depending on the school.) So MAKE SURE your transferable classes count.</p>
<p>Wow, that was seriously incredibly helpful. Thank you so much!
So after talking to an advisor, my parents and thinking over some long term goals, here’s the next million questions I have…</p>
<p>This study abroad opportunity is a once in a lifetime kind of deal. A full year abroad, and I can fulfill the majority of my Film Studies Minor credits, and few GenEds as well, even though it doesn’t have Psych-specific courses. I definitely could not keep myself from this experience. </p>
<p>So, after realizing I have to let the dream of completing my Undergrad degree at UCLA, since I won’t have the courses I need to transfer, is there another good University that I could transfer to (assuming everything transfers correctly and neatly)? Any that might allow me to successfully go on to ideally UCLA School of Law, if your undergrad school even matters that much to potential law schools? Do law schools even consider potential students based on where they did their undergrad work? Do transfers jeopardize acceptance in anyway?</p>
<p>I suppose if I absolutely had to stay in Minnesota, I could man up. But being a Southern California girl through and through the snow and cold is something I’d like to avoid entirely if possible ;)</p>
<p>Money isn’t a HUGE deal, the mainpoint is to get into law school. Academics are really important to me, so I’m assuming I will obtain around a 3.7 GPA at the very least… UCLA is my first choice, partially because their Entertainment Law program, which I am hoping to get into… </p>
<p>Your biggest problem is that transferring to UCLA from OOS is really difficult right now because in-state community college transfers students have first priority and fill the majority of the spots. Be sure to have a Plan B that doesn’t rely on transferring to UCLA that you like nearly as much because the odds are against you even if you have a good gpa.</p>
<p>If you look at the stats, the transfer admit rate for Psych at UCLA was a mere 21% (ave gpa of admits 3.81). HOWEVER, even that 21% admit rate is misleading because UCLA is <em>mandated</em> by the state to accept in-state community college transfer students first, filling up most the spots. An OOS applicant has a much much lower admit rate–while note broken down by particular majors, the overall transfer admit rate last year for OOS students was 10%.</p>
<p>Ok, that makes more sense.
Re-evaluated AGAIN. </p>
<p>Say I don’t study abroad, but decide to go to a school like Pasadena City College instead. I complete the courses I need, I maintain a good GPA and everything. Would my credits from there transfer? And would I have a slightly stronger chance of possibly being able to transfer successfully? None of this would affect my chance at law school, right?</p>
<p>Going to a California Community college will help your chances. But it will still show your previous college. I don’t know whether or not they will count you as a California CC student even if you graduated from there. But it can’t hurt, and going to a California CC, they probably have programs for smoother transfer to the UC’s like how we (in minnesota) have the MNTC (minnesota transfer corrilulum). They also have TAG ([University</a> of California : Transfer Admission Guarantee](<a href=“http://uctag.universityofcalifornia.edu/]University”>http://uctag.universityofcalifornia.edu/)) but not sure if UCLA participates? But it seems like our program. Also C.C.'s DON’T have room and board so you would be providing that yourself which is expensive in California. I would call/e-mail a councilor for more details. Many share my sentiments in that you should have a back up plan. If you DON’T get into UCLA what is your next plan of action. A friend of mine graduated from Metro State (political science) and is now transferring to Wake Forest. He also got into UCLA. He graduated with a 3.9 GPA and high LSAT score. Why did he choose this school. Wake forest was willing to give him a significant amount of grants and scholarships (even though its out of state). While UCLA barely covered the 1/3 of the tuition. Sure he could of gone but he would of been in huge debt and Wake Forest is still #25 according to USN. And he wil graduate with a decent degree and barely any debt. Names matter, but there not worth 80,00-100,000 dollars in debt. If you are successful after graduate you COULD pay it off in 6-7 YEARS!!! (or more). So really think about if the debt is worth it. So make a list of three schools. A reach school (UCLA) a possible school (<strong><em>) and a safety net (</em></strong>_). Also make sure all three schools are schools you WANT to attend. Worse thing is being miserable in your safety net school. Also after you graduate with a B.A. you can always try UCLA again for your Masters.</p>
<p>Ignorant… First off, who told you that going to a community college will hurt your chance of getting accepted into a great university? I come from a community college in the Bronx and there were plenty of students who got accepted into universities way more respected than UCLA (Harvard). It’s not about which school you came from, it’s about how you apply your self. Why are people so ignorant?</p>
<p>Ignorant? I am not sure who you are addressing that too, but your name calling seems excessive. Applying yourself and doing great are all great and valid points. Going around calling people ignorant is not. Yes, many CC students excel, get good grades, honors, etc. and get into GREAT colleges. Its a great system. Especially if you didn’t do so well in high school. But here are some facts. Freshman NORMALLY have priority over transfer students. Also one must make sure there community college is accredited to make sure of the validity of ones credits. Next, community colleges within the system of the school you wish to transfer to NORMALLY have priority over out of state community colleges. Especially if they have transfer agreements with in state C.C.'s. Now will going to a Community College hurt his chances? Probably not, but one has to make sure the level of education he will be getting form one’s C.C. is the same quality education one is getting now. NOT all C.C.'s are the same. Some are excellent and prepare the individual for college while others pale in comparison and grade inflation runs rampant. So its good to think about all these things before just jumping ahead. Even if it stems from a misinformed or misguided advice such as “community college will hurt my chances?”</p>
(Attending a community college XD)</p>