My UCSD Transfer Experience

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Decision time is approaching, if slowly. I remember seeing a few "transfer experience" threads last year, so I thought I'd share my own. I'm a Fall '08 transfer admit at UCSD, and so far I'm having a great time. I came in as a math major, but moved to cognitive science, so I can answer questions about either of those.</p>

<p>The campus has some draw backs, but I really like it. Yes, it's huge. This means that there's a lot of open area. I find it a really beautiful campus. It has several architectural styles, roughly divided by college, that manage to be interesting without going over the artistic edge. Yes, there's long walk times as well. It hasn't been a problem for me, yet, but I've got a pretty fast paced walk.</p>

<p>Social life has popped up as a big concern on this board. As a small aside, for anyone who remembers me or looks at my post history, I happen to be a single man now. I'll just say it was completely amicable. I go to a house party about 3 out of 4 weekends. About once a week there's some sort of other big friend event. Similar frequency for social group or school events. I've also got a recurring hang time with a big group of friends. Finally, I've got a date or two a week, sometimes on a pretty friendly basis, sometimes not. On the other hand, you can easily get away with just going to classes and not talking to anyone; it's pretty much what you make it. The key is Facebook and social groups. There are a lot of subsidized social groups on campus: they dish out a lot of free food and such. And anyone is free to join any group. In fact, you don't even have to be a "member" of a group to enjoy the bennies. I think there's a FB group that forwards you invitations to every free food event, and nobody cares if you come and dig in because group funding is based on event attendance.</p>

<p>The key groups, in my mind, are the transfer groups. Age aside, I think there's a certain maturity that comes with cutting your own path for a couple--or more--years like we've had to. Each college--or nearly each college--has its own transfer group. There's also an all campus transfer association(ACTA). I'd recommend joining TRES as well. While TRES is technically the Marshall transfer group, it has become a sort of umbrella transfer group for the whole university, and it's even bigger than ACTA. When I say join, all that you really have to do is join the Facebook group, receive event invitations, and go to whatever you want. The groups hold weekly meetings, but they're optional. So, I'd recommend joining at least ACTA, TRES, and your college's transfer group. In general the groups are very friendly, with older members making an effort to involve newer members in discussions and activities.</p>

<p>Academically I'm pretty pleased. Yeah, most of us transfers got rejected by Berkeley. But UCSD is still a "public ivy." Of course, the academic strength of the university varies by field. It has a very solid math program, a very solid comp sci program, and the cognitive science program is up there with the world's strongest. So, yeah, I've been very happy, but this will vary with what you're studying.</p>

<p>Housing is a little steep, although I'm not terribly familiar with that situation. Even if you don't want to drive, you can find cheaper housing along the buss routes, or even around the Hillcrest medical center, which has a direct shuttle to campus. People make a big deal about parking, but there are always spots available in the Regents/East lots, with shuttle service about every 4-5 minutes. All the nearby buses are free for UCSD students. There's a movie theater and grocery shopping pretty close to UCSD and accessible by shuttle/bus. San Diego water tastes a little weird, but it doesn't taste at all if you refrigerate it; I just keep a couple gallons of tap water in the fridge.</p>

<p>I did the '08 Summer Session. To enroll, I went to the summer session page on TritonLink, and went to the application for non-UCSD students. Rather than directing me to the application, it immediately came up with a page that said I was approved. Then I was able to enroll in classes. Mind you, this was after I had accepted my Fall '08 acceptance, and I don't know if the system will be set up the same for '09. Now, because I was a Fall '08 admit, financial aid told me that I was ineligible for most Summer '08 financial aid. I basically had to pay tuition out of pocket. The campus is much less active socially during the summer, but it gave me a great chance to finish up my major prerequisites so I could join the year long sequences that began in the fall.</p>

<p>I think that's it. If anyone makes it into Muir, I'm Joe in TMT(Tribe of Muir Transfers: TMTed Out! on FB). I might be a Muir transfer orientation leader.</p>

<p>Happy to answer any questions. And good luck with your applications.</p>

<p>--Joe</p>

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<p>I was there on Tuesday and let me say that I was overwhelmed by the immensity of the campus. I didn't even step onto it completely but just wandered near Revelle and then went to the Student Center for a meeting that was going to be held. I really didn't like the atmosphere at all with all the trees. I can sum it up by saying it was really overwhelming/stressful for me. It seemed like a maze from the spot where I was with so many trees. I saw a lot of people with bikes and frankly some of them almost ran me over lol.</p>

<p>1.) How big is UCSD? Is that how it is on the entire campus? </p>

<p>2.) How many classes did you take during summer and what was the cost? Also, if I am only going to have 61 semester units (plus 8 quarter units from AP) should I just take summer courses at my CC instead? I think I should probably try to take calculus since I know UCSD has a lot of math requirements to graduate.</p>

<p>3.) How do you feel about the quarter system? I believe they recommend four courses per quarter if I'm not mistaken...that seems a bit much. </p>

<p>And for the record, I didn't really find the student body to be as appalling appearance-wise as is often believed. I'd say it's just relative to the average population (with a lot of Asians, of course).</p>

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<p>I know you're on a science related field, but what do you think about UCSD's English program? Also, do you think UCSD is a great school if I wanted to prepare myself for med school - are there volunteer opportunities (hospital or otherwise) not only within the campus but the city of San Diego itself? How lively is San Diego in terms of personal leisure and in academics compared to someone who lives in the Bay Area? Thanks in advance!</p>

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<p>1) So, it's pretty big. (: What I'd call the actual campus is about 6-7 times the size of Revelle College alone. I'm not really a fan of the Revelle area, but for me it's because it feels more densely packed and concrete. I'd like to say that the area around the student center is a little more representative of the campus as a whole, and Revelle has relatively few trees. I was just as confused starting out, but things eventually do start making sense. Another thing that happens is that as you start focusing on your major, you'll find your classes getting closer together, and you'll stick mainly to one or two colleges.</p>

<p>In addition to the campus proper, there's a lot of undeveloped land, housing, fields, etc., and the whole east campus, which in practice you won't visit regularly. All told this probably triples the size I stated above.</p>

<p>2) I took 4 summer courses, two per session, for a total of 16 credits. I forget exactly what I paid, but as a Fall admit you pay the UC undergrad rate which looks like $158/unit. I took two courses that I couldn't take at a community college and two I could have, but I was in a pretty complicated situation involving GI Bill funding, a marriage, etc. In the general case I'd suggest that you take what you can at the community college, because I didn't gain anything socially from the experience. Of course, your mileage may vary, and I was married at the time so I wasn't seeking anything out. If you're at all concerned about getting thrown into senior status, or any similar admissions issue, just contact admissions--perhaps by e-mail so you have a record?--to get their approval, but IIRC there should be no issue.</p>

<p>Oh, and your requirements will vary with your college. Muir, for example, has no math requirements other than what you get with IGETC...just assuming you're IGETC.</p>

<p>3) I like the quarter system better than the semester system. This will come down to personal taste, but the quarter system fits me just right. I've gotten bored out of my mind on the semester system. Objectively speaking, it also gave me a little more flexibility in my change of major. Specifically, I had only "wasted" a third of a year rather than a half when I decided to move to cog sci. Circumstances had me taking three classes this quarter and last. That's a full time load, although a light one. Some classes can be done in fours, and some can't. There are some classes that are just inherently much more painful than others, a phenomena I didn't find much in CC.</p>

<p>As for the women, yeah, no complaints there either. That's all I can say without risking some trouble. :P</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I know you're on a science related field, but what do you think about UCSD's English program? Also, do you think UCSD is a great school if I wanted to prepare myself for med school - are there volunteer opportunities (hospital or otherwise) not only within the campus but the city of San Diego itself? How lively is San Diego in terms of personal leisure and in academics compared to someone who lives in the Bay Area? Thanks in advance!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I'll do my best. :P</p>

<p>I actually know nothing about the English department, though I do have a friend who's a literature major. I do know that UCSD is a HUGE med-school feeder. A significant portion of the student body is pre-med. UCSD actually has two hospitals on campus, one of which is a VA center, and I'm sure there are opportunities at both. Whatever other opportunities there are probably take a bit of driving to get to, as the area surrounding UCSD is pretty upscale. Outside the immediate area, though, I'm sure similar opportunities exist as you'd find in any other city.</p>

<p>I don't quite understand the question about liveliness of personal leisure and academics. Compared to the bay area, there's a lot more beach to take advantage of, and perhaps more accessible low desert/mountain recreation. We do have a decent downtown area, but it takes at least 20 minutes of driving to get there. Other than that things are pretty spread out, which is another difference from the Bay Area. Academically I'd say that it's easy to fall into any crowd you want to, whether they're focused on learning or partying. Not sure if this answers your question. (:</p>

<p>And something I forgot for veterans: You might know that the new GI Bill is paying out allowances based on the zip code of your school. Specifically, you get the E5 w/dependents rate. Looks like SD is going to be $2018. Given the school's zip code, you can look up the rate here: Basic</a> Allowance for Housing (BAH)</p>

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<p>Hey, nice to know you're having a good time. We should gather up a group of old UC-transfer CC members. I actually am curious about everyone's experience.</p>

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<p>hey! what's your major and your gpa?</p>

<p>UCSD is my dream school, but i dunno if i can get in with a 3.347 GPA :( [human biology major]</p>

<p>also, i wanted to intern at one of UCSD's hospitals over summer.. are internships easy to find?</p>

<p>THANKS!!</p>

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<p>@Ektaylor: Totally. I think there was a FB group, but I can't seem to find it.</p>

<p>@turkeey: My major's in there, but I'll give it again. :P I'm cognitive science, and I got a couple B's last quarter, so my UC GPA is a 3.7. I got in with a GPA of ~3.8 to the math major, if that's what you're interested in.</p>

<p>I'm afraid I don't know much about hospital internships.</p>

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<p>is philosophy any way related to cognitive science or are those fields completely apart from each other? I mean in terms of metaphysics or epistemology</p>

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<p>do you also learn about language with cognitive science?</p>

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<p>eptar- I know that Cognitive Science at UCSD has I think 3 emphases. I'm pretty sure that one of them has to do with linguistics. My girlfriend is a CogSci student at UCSD but her emphasis is Clinical Aspects of Cognition. It's not writing-intensive like Philosophy at all. Not even close. She took Calculus I, II, and III before declaring. She also took Chemistry and Biopsychology but I don't know if those were pre-requisites.</p>

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<p>Linguistics is one of the fields that comprise cognitive science. It's pretty much an overlap of linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, and computer science. The most elegant definition I've heard of cognitive science is that it's the study of how the brain, a physical object, gives rise to the mind. I haven't encountered any metaphysical discussion; as with brain sciences in general, I think, the default assumption seems to be materialism. There's some overlap with epistemology, in that you could hypothesize and test for the physical mechanisms of knowledge in the brain. There's a class I want to take, that isn't offered regularly, about how we manage to conceive of mathematical concepts like infinity and mathematical induction.</p>

<p>UCSD:</a> Cognitive Science - Home</p>

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<p>do they offer those overnight tours where you can spend an entire day in school + sleep in one of their dorms? </p>

<p>I might be applying to UCSD but i want to get a feel of the place if ever I decide to go there.</p>

14

<p>glamfairydust-</p>

<p>I have had my share of tours/sleepovers with my girlfriend at UCSD. (;)) and can say a couple of things about the campus from personal experience:</p>

<p>1) The campus itself is really nice. There are a lot of new buildings and everything looks very well upkept. My girlfriend lives (I think) in Muir college (the one by the Pangaea parking structure) and there is a dining hall that is just steps away from her suite which is amazingly nice.</p>

<p>2) The campus isn't very alive on the weekends. This might be, according to my girlfriend, because many people go home on the weekends. I'm not sure how true this is, but I suspect that the large size of the campus and the types of students that go there have something to do with it aswell. </p>

<p>3) The city of La Jolla is really nice and upscale. The beach is beautiful and there are lots of great places to eat. This brings me to my last, and arguably most compelling point...</p>

<p>4) The weather is unbeatable.</p>

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<p>I'm not sure about overnight tours. They might exist, but I don't know. There is transfer admit day, which precedes your latest response date.</p>

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<p>Was there a big jump in difficulty from cc to ucsd and if so did it take long to adjust?</p>

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<p>What do you plan to do with a cog sci deg</p>

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<p>yea im wondering the same thing</p>

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<p>Hey guys, sorry for the late response.</p>

<p>I've found that the difficulty is more of a lower division/upper division thing, rather than a CC vs UC thing. I'm sure my lower division classes have been a bit tougher, but not too much more so. I did have a bit of a hard time adjusting to the upper division math courses, but the coursework in my new major doesn't seem to be nearly as painful.</p>

<p>And, I think I'm going to be a scientist. I have a research assistantship lined up for next quarter, and I seem to be pretty good at this stuff. There are things that you can do with just a Bachelor's, though. Human/computer interfaces comes to mind, for those who focus more on the comp sci side.</p>

<p>Cheers,
Joe</p>

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<p>How did you line up your research assistantship?</p>