I know GPA and taking the required courses are important for transfer students, however what about ECs? I’m currently a student at SRJC, and I’m hoping to transfer to a UC in 2016. I intend to major in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. I’m taking 18 units of credit and I’m worried that I won’t be a strong candidate due to my absence of pretty much any ECs. I’m not in any clubs, sports teams, etc. Should I be concerned?
Also, what are important ECs to focus on if I should pursue them? Is being a TA or joining a club really going to be a deciding factor in determining admission to a UC?
The short answer is no–they hardly matter. The #1 thing they care about is your GPA + major completion.
However, for way more competitive majors/schools like UCB EECS, it will help tremendously, and even with high GPA + amazing ECs it’s not a shoe-in given the competitiveness of that major.
That being said, having a high GPA + major completion is enough to be confident for most UCs up to UCSD, it’s LA and Berkeley that tend to be more “hollistic” (also because of how competitive they are) and where your essays + ECs will help you the most. In fact, most other UCs don’t even read your essay.
This shouldn’t discourage you though–you still have a year and a unique essay to make yourself stand out. To be honest, it won’t be like high school and like you said being a TA or joining a club probably won’t help much. Good ECs would be ones related to your major, like interning at an engineering company, and I suppose volunteering for neutral/misc ones–but for transfers the stakes are different, and a lot of people have work/jobs (which can be an explanation for no/low ECs)
Don’t worry though, I’m in the same boat as you, solid GPA, not many significant ECs, but I put a lot of effort in my essays (applying for transfer in fall 2015). I’m an applied math major (which is not nearly as competitive as engineering or CS), and as for how successful I will be in admissions, well I’ll know in a few months haha.
ECs are VERY important to Cal and UCLA and VITAL for the highly selective majors.
UCLA, Cal, Merced, and Irvine are the only UCs that use essays in the transfer process. So basically every other UC is purely gpa based.
Goods ECs aren’t simply ones related to ones major. In fact of plenty of people have been declined with just that. Good ECs consist of a well-rounded application full of student govt, campus clubs, work, volunteering, and finally a job/intership.
So to answer your question. Will TAing for a professor or joining a club be the deciding factor in admissions? Yes, if you are applying to UCLA or Cal.