Newbie Here! UCLA help please!

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hey all, this is kind of my introduction and semi-dilemma thread. I'm currently finishing my first quarter at a community college as a psychobiology major (hoping to be a doctor!). I have just enrolled into the honors program and am going to school part-time while working part-time as well. I have a 3.5? GPA with only 10 units(A and B). My grades are very subject to major change since I have so little units. The problem is that I'm looking particularly at UCLA and Stanford. I know it's a stretch, and back in my high school days I've really fooled around. The only reason I have a B at the moment is because I picked a really strict English teacher (currently only 2 out of 34 students have an A in the class) by accident. I spend days working on the assignments but to no avail. I was wondering what I could do from now that could help boost my chances at both of these schools. I have a TAP agreement with UCLA so that's fine, but I really wanted the Regent's scholarship. It states, however, it traditionally only allows people with 4.0s, which is now impossible for me to get. I figured I have lots of time before transferring and before I embark on my studies, I might get some feedback. Oh by the way, I think I'll be taking around 21 units next quarter since I didn't make it into my chemistry class. I heard that it's better to take all pre-med classes at community college. Can anyone elaborate on that? That's a lot of science classes in 2 years...Anyways, I know what I want is a long shot, but I believe that with enough preparation and dedication I'll achieve it. I just need some sort of grasp on how.</p>

<p>Current Ideas to make myself stand out:
-Volunteering at a hospital
-Volunteering/Studying Abroad in South Korea or other Southeast Asian Countries
-Becoming a tutor/T.A.</p>

<p>Thanks all in advance!</p>

2

<p>See the UC Transfer subforum for information about UCLA.</p>

3

<p>Stanford takes about 20 transfer students per year (1.5% transfer rate) and seems to treat the process like filling an exotic zoo… most the students have a very unusual hook: US Marine, award winning hip-hop DJ, 50-year-old mother of 4 boys, a male cheerleader from the Phillipines. </p>

<p>I’m not saying Stanford won’t take a gosh-golly pretty darn good student with some nice (but not truly outstanding) ECs… but the numbers are against you because only 20 per year have been taken lately. </p>

<p>UCLA posts extensive information on transfer student rates and lists it by major – give you the ave. GPA of applicants and the ave. GPA of accepted students. You can pretty much track if you are in the zone or not. It isn’t hard to find on their website. </p>

<p>Note that for UCLA TAP helps but be aware it is not a guarantee… shoot for TAP <em>plus</em> having a GPA that is way over the ave. as posted by your specific major. Basically, if you see your major’s ave for accepted students is 3.8 and your GPA at time of application is a 3.5 – well, you need to rethink your strategy…</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>