<p>I’m a molecular biology major currently at UCSD so I should be able to help you out here. </p>
<p>First of all, the entire Biology department is impacted here and you can’t TAG into any biology major. You can TAG UCSD and choose a Biology major as your first choice, but all it does is guarantee that if you’re not admitted into the department that you’ll still be admitted to UCSD as undeclared. TAG will not guarantee that you’ll be admitted as a biology major. </p>
<p>Second, prioritize major pre-reqs over GEs. Major pre-reqs along with GPA are the two main things they’re going to use to evaluate you for admission here at UCSD. You don’t have to complete IGETC to be admitted, although you still should. But you do need to complete a significant amount of major pre-reqs to be admitted to any competitive major at any UC because they want to see you’ll do well in upper division major classes. Also, as you’ve already mentioned Biology has lengthy pre-req sequences so you should be prioritizing them early on in CC, so that you can get through as many as possible. </p>
<p>As far as whether to slow down or speed up, it’s pretty much subjective. It depends on the course load you can handle; it also depends on what level you start at in CC. If you start CC having passed a few AP courses and test into the highest courses on the placement tests then 2 years might be very manageable. Whereas, if you start out taking remedial science and math courses, it could take you awhile maybe 3+ years. If you feel like the course load is ever way too much then obviously you need to slow down so that you don’t negatively affect your GPA and ruin your chances at transferring to the competitive UCs. That said, if you can get through it and maintain a good GPA, for Biology you’ll want to have at least a 3.5+ for UCSD, then go for it. Also, you can be admitted without finishing every last pre-req. You’ll want to prioritize bio, math, and chem and get those done if you can. But I would encourage you to still apply even if you’re missing a few. As long as your GPA is high enough UCSD will still admit you even if you’re missing a few pre-reqs. I was admitted and I still had one physics course to finish and I know people that have been admitted missing as many as 3-4 pre-reqs, although they generally had pretty high GPAs when they applied.</p>
<p>So just an overview, TAG will guarantee that you get admitted into UCSD, but not into a Biology major. Focus on keeping your GPA up, above 3.5, and on completing as many major pre-reqs as you can as early as possible. And don’t be afraid to apply even if you’re missing a few pre-reqs. Also, complete IGETC if you can because UCSD has long GE sequences, although you can get admitted without IGETC it just means it may take you longer to graduate as you finish those GEs here at UCSD.</p>
<p>Edit:
I just saw your most recent post. Getting rejected from the UC’s doesn’t affect your chance whatsoever if you apply again the following year. They’ll evaluate you as a completely new applicant, so apply as many times as you want.</p>
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Anyway,Thanks for the reply!</p>