How do I prepare for a transfer?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Since my GPA doesn't meet the requirements of UC Berkeley, I have to get my bachelor's degree at another school and transfer to their Law School as a grad student.</p>

<p>What GPA do I have to achieve while at my local JC to transfer into Berkeley's Law School?</p>

<p>Does Berkeley require any specific bachelor degree or any specific classes as prerequisites?</p>

<p>Could the school I transfer from hinder my chances?</p>

<p>Since I figured I am going to a JC and then transfer, I haven't taken any of the major tests such as SAT or SAT II or ACT. Should I take these tests?</p>

<pre><code> Thanks for your help,
TheCaliforniaLife
</code></pre>

2

<p>If I recieved a exceptionally high score on my SAT (if I did take it), my GPA isn't that great, and possibly a really good admissions essay, could I possibly make admission?</p>

<p>I want to get into a unquestionable law school in California. I was hoping it could be UC Berkeley.</p>

3

<p>I meant "...unquestionably great law school..."</p>

4

<p>Getting into Berkeley as an undergrad is far easier than any Berkeley grad program, and it's especially true for professional grad programs like law and business. What is your GPA at the JC? If it's high enough, you should look at going in as a junior level transfer. If the college GPA is already low, your probability at ever getting into Cal (grad or undergrad) is going to be very low.</p>

5

<p>I'm a senior in High School. I am thinking of going to a JC. My average GPA is really bad. It is a 2.8. I'm going for a 3.6+ UW GPA average for my senior year. I have been told by countless teachers in High School that I am the smartest on the material or I am one of the smartest. Even in grade school I was in advanced placement classes and excelled easily in them. Since I moved from out of state, slacking a lot (but I am still knowledgeable on the material, that is how I get really good grades on tests). This senior year and in the JC getting my bachelors, I am going to be putting a lot of effort into getting really good grades. I am in a Advanced Placement English Lit. class to try and bring up my weighted grades.
If I got a exceptionally high score on my SAT's and maintained a 3.6+ average, would I be able to get into Berkeley as a under grad? Or should I wait until going into my sophimore under graduate year to transfer into Berkeley. Or wait until I get my Bachelor's degree to transfer as a grad student to Berkeley?</p>

6

<p>When you apply to grad school, its not called a transfer. It's just an application. Transferring is when you go to one college (like a JC) for 2 years and then finish your bachelors at Berkeley. </p>

<p>Boalt Hall, Berkeley's law school, only offers graduate degrees, so you would not be able to transfer there. You would be able to apply after you complete your bachelors, either at Berkeley or at a different school. It is more difficult to get into Berkeley's grad programs than their undergrad, but you will stand the same chance of admission whether your bachelors is from Berkeley or not.</p>

<p>You should also know that you usually cant complete your bachelors at a community college. You will probably have to transfer somewhere, whether that is Berkeley or not. And you might as well apply to berkeley this year. It cant hurt, even if you dont get in.</p>

7

<p>I won't be able to finish my bachelors at a local college? How far along in my degree will I be able to go?
If I took my SAT's, got a excellent score, got into Berkeley. Would I have to re-apply to Berkeley to go to Boalt Hall School of Law?
Oh! I didn't know that where I got my Bachelors doesn't effect my chances! That's good to know. Thanks.</p>

8

<p>No, you wont be able to finish your bachelors at a community college. You could finish it at a CSU, UC, or private university, but not a JC. Generally speaking, you can finish 2 years of your degree at a community college and then you have to transfer.</p>

<p>As far as graduate school... undergrad and grad are 2 completely different programs at any school. Undergraduate students finish with a bachelors in 4 years, and then they can do what they want. If they want to go to graduate school (like Boalt) they need to apply there. It is just like applying to college from high school, you don't just transition into it after your bachelors. And yes, Boalt doesnt care where you got your bachelors, as long as you have one.</p>

9

<p>Oh! So I would be going to 3 different colleges if I got to a JC. I probably should go looking for a 4 year college to get my bachelors so I would only have to transfer 2 times.
If I went to a JC for 2 years, could I transfer to Berkeley if my GPA was high enough? Would they want a SAT taken if I transfered as a junior?</p>

10

<p>Your best bet is to go to a JC in California and then transfer to Berkeley as a junior. This is one of the rare few times in life that you can wipe your slate clean with a second chance. Your low high school GPA and zero SATs won't matter at all for Cal. Your college GPA and college course selection will determine your fate. Your chances diminish greatly if you stay out of California since Cal gives preferences to in-state JC transfers. As you enter JC, you should be aiming for 3.7 GPA or higher.</p>

<p>If you post a 2.8 GPA two years later after JC and ask about Boalt, the answer next time will be "too bad, so sad", so don't blow it.</p>

<p>Finally, don't be so fixated on going to grad school. Grad school is long, hard, and very expensive unless you have a damn good reason for going. The drop out rate in non-professional grad programs is very high. The professional grad programs are very expensive. Most people choose to enter the job market rather than stay in school after the bachelors.</p>

11

<p>Thanks for the answers!
Is Berkeley looking for specific classes since they are looking at my College GPA and my classes only?
I should rethink grad school? Why? I know I can become a lawyer in California without a law degree, but shouldn't I get one? I tought I have to go to law school to get my ABA. Or is that just after 4 years? I probably will want to go for my J.D.</p>

12

<p>Yes, you can try to pass the california bar exam without having gone to law school, but (1) you probably wont be able to and (2) california, as well as the rest of the country, is flooded with lawers already, and nearly all of them have law degrees, so without a degree you wont get any decent jobs. If you want my advice, dont even think about law school right now. Think about graduating highschool, then think about going to a ccc, then think about tranfering to a 4 year school, then think about graduating from that school, then, if you're still interested, go ahead and think about law school.</p>

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<p>If I go to a ccc without knowing what major I want to get into it can hurt. I want to take political science for a bachelors and then go to grad school for a law degree. If I go to a ccc, get a political science degree, then decide not to go to grad school, what use is a political science degree in the work force? I really want to become a lawyer. If I couldn't become a lawyer I would go into Architecture. But imagin going to get a BA then deciding to get a J.C. from Bloat. The architect degree wouldn't help a bit XD</p>

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<p>Okay, you have to know a few things. As was said earlier, transferring, as it relates to college, means going from one school and then switching to another for the same degree. You can transfer from a place to another while attempting to get a BA or BS, a JD or other law degree, or much less commonly, an advanced degree. You do not transfer from your BA or BS school to your JD or other advanced degree school. This is not transferring. Almost always, you reapply to the specific program.</p>

<p>To transfer from a JC to Berkeley, most students have very high GPAs, generally above 3.6. Berkeley does not require specific classes, but they require classes that have specific qualities, as in they transfer for UC credit. Your JC counselor should help you with this, and there is a website called ASSIST which does as well.</p>

<p>The school you transfer from could affect your chances, but there are kids from all over the place (from UCR and Davis to Oxford and Princeton) at Harvard Law. Granted, there are far more Princetonians (about 50 or more) than Riversidians or Davisians (about 1 each), but they are there. This example just shows that it is possible to go almost anywhere from almost anywhere.</p>

<p>Boalt and all other law schools require a BA or I think BS degree and the LSAT, in addition to a statement of purpose essay and a few other documents. Most admissions are determined by the GPA, LSAT score, and some minor consideration of both the statement of purpose and recs.</p>

<p>Should you take the SAT? Probably. You have to decide what is best for you, be that going to JC for two years, saving money, transferring to a school better than you can get into now, or going straight to a “lower” BA granting school. If you do well there, there are great chances of you getting into a good law school, too.</p>

<p>At a community college, you can get about two years done on your BA degree. If you got into Berkeley undergrad, you would have to reapply for the law program.</p>

<p>Everyone should partially rethink grad school. The best way for those thinking about law school to know if they really want to go is to talk to lawyers and get jobs in firms to see what lawyers do. There are many articles and websites with the premise, “So, you really want to go to grad school,” or, “So, you really want to go to professional school.” Find and read them. </p>

<p>If you want to be a lawyer, you essentially need a JD or higher, but do you want to become one? Do you really know?</p>

<p>Not knowing your major can hurt, but guess what- the BA is not a professional degree. MOST people do not end up doing anything related to the subject which they studied to get the BA. The BA is not a professional degree: it is a degree of the chameleon, one of flexibility and adaptability.<br>
The work force tends to just want any BA or BS degree. It shows you can jump through hoops and think. You basically have to decide what you really want, to become an architect or a lawyer, but not completely. Many people go to law school after taking significant time away from school after they have completed their bachelor’s degree. Find out about law school and the architecture degree, or decide that, for the time being, you want to do one and much less the other. Taking college level classes in arch will help you decide if that is what you want to do, but arch programs are a whole different story.</p>

<p>Any questions?</p>

15

<p>Wow, that really helps!
The school I transfer from could hurt my chances? I am going to transfer from Mt. San Jacinto College. I wonder how badly it will hurt my chances. What should some good safety schools be?
Lets say I got a 3.5 this year in HS. My overall GPA would be between 2.9 - 3.1. If got an awesome score on my SAT's, would Berkeley still not accept me because of my low GPA? (more than likely a 3.0 overall HS GPA.)
Would transfering from a JC to Berkeley hurt my rank at Berkeley because of the transfer?
I checked up on assist. I want to check in legal studies as a major, right?</p>

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<p>The school you transfer from, as in the community college to Berkeley, could have a small, but potential effect on things. If you transfer from a strong JC, and are a medium student, chances of you getting in are slimmer. If you transfer from a weak JC where you are a top student, you have very good chances. It's not that big a deal either way, as most people go to the nearest JC to their house.</p>

<p>Chances of getting into Berkeley with stellar scores and essays and EC's and that GPA are slim, but possible. The possibility is quite small, however, even if everything else is perfect. It might be worth a shot, but don't expect too much. I would agree with the poster that said going from a JC to Berkeley is probably your best bet. You get a clean slate and doing well means the ability to go almost anywhere.</p>

<p>As to your rank in Berkeley, I do not know, but as far as law school admissions goes, a high GPA at the JC means the law school sees a high GPA. For every A+ at the JC, you get a 4.3 on your law school GPA (calculated by the law school admissions council (see <a href="http://www.lsac.org))%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.lsac.org))&lt;/a>. This is huge! Most would say that getting a high grade at a harder classes at the average JC is easier than getting a high grade in an average class here. So, junior transfers interested in law school start with high GPAs from their JC, but it still depends on their performance here. It's a nice start to begin with a 3.7 or better, though!</p>

<p>As to the legals studies major, most law schools want to teach you their way. Many people would agree with me in saying that the legal studies major is viewed as and considered less demanding by the Berkeley populace. Now, it has distinct advantages. In few if any other majors will you find the Law Professors teaching upper and lower division classes! To have your law school recs from a law school prof is huge. However, I do not think law schools look too highly on the major in general. This is just what I've heard, though. You might want to consider double majoring in both this and Poli Sci (if it is possible). This issue, however, isn't of too much importance at the moment.</p>

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<p>Is double majoring really that hard? I don't think Mt. San Jacinto College has political science as a possible major. I sure hope they do :)
I just started learning about transfers from a CCC to a University. Do they look at ECs (like Republicans united club or something?) like they do when going for HS to a University. Do I need to take the SAT's? or is that not needed?</p>

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<p>As far as I know, transfers find it hard to double major because of the time restraints put on them as students at the second, four year institution. Perhaps it is possible, particularly with summer classes and a less requirement-filled group of two majors.</p>

<p>I don't know about community colleges, but I am pretty sure that you don't "major" in something at one. You might take classes geared a certain way, but the understanding, as far as I understand, is that you get your "breadth requirements" finished and, in addition, take a few classes geared towards your major, and probably a few general interest classes. I could be wrong as I'm not very informed about the particulars of CCs.</p>

<p>I'm sorry, but I also don't know about ECs. You should really, really talk to someone at the cc to which you plan on going asap, just to see the possibilities and understand as much as you can.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your help!
How are current students toward transfer students? Are they resentful that they didn't get in during freshman year or do they not care? Are people friendly? I don't want to be a loner and not have anyone to hang out with (in 2.5 years).</p>

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<p>My floor has mostly transfer and second year students. I live in one of the new mini-suite buildings completed before the summer of this year. They are just like regular students, but they tend to be a bit more mature and or more experienced. This is not always the case, though, but it is usually noticeable. They have simply lived more life.</p>

<p>The average trasnfer is about 20 years old, but there is at least one 13 year old and one 56 year old that came this year. The age varies, but is in the 20's. A good freind of mine is 25. He's a transfer and I'm a freshman. </p>

<p>I haven't heard or felt any animosity to the transfers. It's actually a really smart move in many ways.. Think about it. You save money, get the same presitge, and an easier admiission. If you apply to law or med school, you already have an established GPA that was probably harder to get than the equivalent classes here.</p>