Hi everyone! I’m currently a first year undergrad student of UC Riverside majoring in Computer Science. I currently have a 3.85 GPA (Fall and Winter Quarter combined). So I wasn’t really planning on transferring but since I have been doing so well academically in UCR I feel like I could potentially open some new doors by transferring. Although i’m not 100% sure about transferring right now, one year from now I want the opportunity of being able to transfer.
Anyways, I have been trying to independently research about UC inter-campus transferring but there isn’t much information I can look through online. By looking at data for acceptances for previous years, I do know that with my current GPA, I will have a great shot at getting into most UC schools. However, I am confused about prerequisites. Do I have to finish most of my prerequisites before application submission at around November or can I wait until the very last Spring Quarter of next year? Also, the different UC’s also have different prerequisites so according to my knowledge right now, I won’t be able to finish all the prerequisites for the UCs that I am applying to. So I guess most of my issues comes with the prerequisites. It’s very confusing and a bit stressful because some prerequisites for the computer science major is not required as a cs student in UCR and by taking these classes to prepare myself for transferring, it will also become useless extra credits in UCR if I stay. I’m really leaning toward transferring however, I just feel like I need a helping hand through this process.
Thanks for reading and I hope I can get some help on this topic.
Hey, I’m currently an inter-campus transfer from UCSD to UCB for Computer Science (Fall 2015). The UCs give you until the end of spring quarter to complete your prerequisites, though I assume having good grades in them to show during the early updates might help. If you’re serious about transferring, I would definitely recommend taking as many as possible, even if they aren’t required at UCR. Since they’re pertinent to your major, I wouldn’t consider them useless extra credits. Differential equations isn’t a CS requirement at UCSD, but I definitely enjoyed the class and the knowledge that came with it. Who knows, maybe they’ll spark other interests for you.
Hi @soda4schrodinger thanks for taking the time to reply to me! First off good luck with getting into Berkeley!
I am actually really stoked that I have the opportunity to transfer into these universities. I never thought I would do good enough in UCR to become a competitive applicant in transferring.
So for the four UCs that I am planning to apply to, here are the prerequisites that I need to complete that I do not have to take in UCR (i think).
So only UCLA has chemistry as its requirement, but I still want to have a good chance at UCLA. So for next year I should take differential equations, linear algebra, and chemistry until the end of spring quarter…
I’m scared that after taking all these extra classes, I get rejected to all the UCs that I apply to and I will be stuck graduating late and behind the rest of my peers.
If it’s not too much work, is it possible if you can tell me what classes you took in UCSB before the transfer? Thank you. I hope all my information right now is correct as I don’t want to work so hard academically to forget a prerequisite here and there. Thanks!
@derprage I’m not sure, but inter-campus transferring has many benefits such as retaining the GPA from the previous UC and the Letter of Reciprocity for GEs.
Generally it goes CC students, UC students, OOS students.
I’m glad you are doing some research OP! Congrats on your GPA, it is very impressive for CS. It might be worth dropping an email to the schools you are interested in, and politely ask for their input.
You can do it but there are issues, like Reciprocity and the major req of the UC you want to transfer to. If you are doing so well GPA-wise it could work. It really boils down to the course load. But people have done it successfully.
BTW, UCLA is the most open to UC-UC transfers. They look at them more or less equally with CCC (supposedly).
You need to call UCLA direct and ask what courses you should plan to complete.
Hey there - another Fall 2015 intercampus applicant here. I agree with the above, the prerequisites might seem useless if you have to stay at UCR but it’s worth it if you’re dead set on transferring. Try your best to complete them ASAP, before the spring before you transfer if possible, and remember that computer science is a competitive major for the schools you’re applying to! Best of luck and I hope you find a place that feels like home
Haha, try not to worry so much! If you try writing out a precursory schedule for the next few quarters, you might find that you actually have more leeway than you might expect. I switched over to CS from biology and managed to catch up with my major and also complete the prerequisites for Berkeley. I’ll be done with my GEs this quarter as well.
AP Calc BC cleared a good amount of my math requirements, so I just had to take differential equations and linear algebra to complete the math prerequisites. I took comp. org./systems programming (assembly), discrete math, and data structures, and I’ll be taking the last CS requirement over the summer at Berkeley, since there’s no equivalent here. The supplementary form for L&S CS stated that we have the summer term to complete prerequisite coursework, but I’m not sure if this carries over to other UCs.
You’re doing great so far, and you’re already steps ahead of a lot of inter-campus transfers. I didn’t even realize that I wanted to transfer until the summer before the application was due, much less understand what the requirements even were (I owe a lot to this forum). I know this is true for a lot of my friends as well. Keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be fine.
@luckie1367 I already looked over those stats from UCLA haha. I saw that my GPA was around the average admitted GPA so I realized that I have a pretty ok shot at transferring
@lindyk8 Thanks for the information. I was already aware of UC Reciprocity but I thought it wasn’t required and it was more of a luxury if you were able to complete all your GEs in your current UC. I’ll try to get my GEs finished but I haven’t exactly planned out my schedule yet so I’ll have to see.
@fncrane Thank you! I’ll make sure to finish the prerequisites.
@soda4schrodinger Thank you! I’ll have to think about delaying my other courses next year to finish up my GEs for the letter of reciprocity.
