So I'm starting community college at the end of this month.

<p>I plan on transferring to Berkeley as a Statistics major. Any things I should keep in mind so I do end up getting accepted? For example, I plan on getting a 4.0 all four semesters across. IGETC is important right? Just general advice please. </p>

<p>I made this thead because I dug up a thread on acceptences for Fall 2006 and I found out many people who had high GPAs got rejected. I don't want to meet a similar fate after two years of hard work. Can't ever be too sure on things, especially when it comes to my future. Thanks!</p>

<p>Lol at the "I plan on getting a 4.0 all four semesters"... good luck with that. Finish a semester and see how you do then come back and ask for advice.</p>

<p>It's really not that hard to maintain a 4.0, just try and plan your courses out so that you aren't taking the most difficult classes in one semester. I threw in one or two hard courses + liberal arts courses (Econ,Hist,etc.) and have been able to keep it, but I've got one more year also :$.</p>

<p>I'd definitely suggest getting involved with student govt or some sort of EC and sticking with it, which is what I didn't do for the first year and now I have to play catch up. Good luck.</p>

<p>i do not think EC's count as much for transfer students; most UC's take into consideration the classes you take, your GPA, and how well-prepared you are for the major. </p>

<p>You should check Berkeley's website or consult someone with the university because each department want you to complete different classes before you transfer. For example, fulfilling the GE requirements are big for English majors, but its probablly much different for Stats major. <a href="http://www.assist.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.assist.org&lt;/a> may give you some help.</p>

<p>My only tip to you is to take ONLY the necessary classes, and don't stretch yourself out too much (it is easy to maintain a 4.0 at CCs, but don't overdo yourself). Don't take a Music class if you don't need it. Remember, UCs look a lot at how prepared you are.</p>

<p>well maybe not so much within the UC system, but if you plan on applying to private schools the most important factors are generally </p>

<p>1) Transcript (GPA, courseload)
2) Essays (why you want to transfer to X university)
3) ECs/recs (what you've been doing in college so far)</p>

<p>and sadly a distant 4th</p>

<p>test scores, if they're even looked at.</p>

<p>I plan on retaking the SAT not only in case private institutions ask for them but mainly for employment.</p>

<p>Good idea...many will disagree with me, but most private colleges will view your SAT scores (and some will ask for them) and even if it is not required, a good test score is always a great thing to use to strengthen your application. Good luck!</p>

<p>SAT is not required for transfer students at UCs Tiberius. Also, a lot of private schools (Stanford, Ivies, Caltech/MIT) HARDLY accept transfers from CCs, so unless you are applying to USC, i don't think you need to take the SATs.</p>

<p>"I plan on getting a 4.0 all four semesters"</p>

<p>yup. And that's what everyone had in their mind.
However, things don't always end up as you wish.
Just maintain GPA above 3.7.
One or Two B's is good enough.
Three B's, though, is not good.</p>

<p>pellman, you mean those elite schools mostly accept transfers from 4-year institutions? Oh and the SAT is for employment more than it is for private institutitons.</p>

<p>dhl3, that your advice isn't convincing me not to shoot for a 4.0 still.</p>

<p>lol, im not advising you to not to shot for 4.0
Here's the advice:</p>

<p>Don't FORCE it.</p>

<p>By forcing it, I mean by getting 4.0 by taking all those freebie classes like Art or Music and getting Straight A's. That means nothing. Adcoms would rather admit someone who got 3.5 in hard classes over someone who got a 4.0 with mostly easy classes.</p>

<p>"I found out many people who had high GPAs got rejected"</p>

<p>Yup, that is one occasion where ppl got 4.0 by taking mostly easy GE classes and not completing all of the required courses by the time they apply (meaning Fall, not Spring). You want to make sure you got all your major requirements done before your apply. </p>

<p>Also, don't be so discouraged even when you get a B.
Just aim to maintain your GPA above 3.7.</p>

<p>Oh yeah I don't plan on taking any of those courses. Just the breadth requirements and the major requirements. I also plan to join the honors program.</p>

<p>That's good.
and yup, honors program is a MUST for someone planning on transferring to a UC. </p>

<p>Good Luck Then :)</p>

<p>Tiberius, from what I know almost no one makes it to the Ivies, Stanford Caltech and MIT coming from CCs. However, lesser private universities like USC do accept a high amount of transfer students from CCs every year. </p>

<p>Since you are from California, I would suggest for you to aim for the UCs. Berkeley and UCLA are easier to get in, plus you still get the benefit of getting into a top-tier university.</p>

<p>don't plan to "get a 4.0"...if you do get ready to be depressed.</p>

<p>dhl3: that's totally BS...please get your facts straight and then write posts.</p>

<p>dhl3, are you sure you're giving correct advice?</p>

<p>"'I found out many people who had high GPAs got rejected'"</p>

<p>"Yup, that is one occasion where ppl got 4.0 by taking mostly easy GE classes and not completing all of the required courses by the time they apply (meaning Fall, not Spring). You want to make sure you got all your major requirements done before your apply."</p>

<p>As far as I understand, the type of classes you take to complete IGETC does not matter, in terms of ease. And also, I'm not quite sure these 4.0's were denied admission because they didnt complete their requirements by the time of application. I called Berkeley, and inquired about fulfilling requirements by the time of application. The advisor said you can take requirement classes and state them as "planned" on your application. They dont need to be completed on the application, and this will not affect your chances of admission.</p>

<p>^I was going to respond to what Tiberious said: "I made this thead because I dug up a thread on acceptences for Fall 2006 and I found out many people who had high GPAs got rejected." but basically socalgirl covered it right.</p>

<p>"Yup, that is one occasion where ppl got 4.0 by taking mostly easy GE classes and not completing all of the required courses by the time they apply (meaning Fall, not Spring). You want to make sure you got all your major requirements done before your apply."</p>

<p>Where do you get your info from? It's not like they stamp your transcript with notations like easy class, medium class, tough-as-**** gpa killer class. No adcom can tell the difference between one IGETC class and another. By all means, one should use the IGETC as a chance to explore their interests but they should not be pressured to take hard science classes if they are an artsy person for example. Point being, take whatever class will interest and engage you and do well in it...</p>

<p>I also disagree with dhl3 about the "rejected because of easy GE classes". Say for example instead of taking hard classes for the physical science requirement of IGETC such as general chemistry or physics, one takes a class like physical astronomy and receives an A. They aren't going to penalize you because you took astronomy and not chemistry or physics. The "difficulty" of IGETC classes means nothing to admission... all that matters is that you satisfy IGETC with their GE classes listed. I've confirmed this with the UC school, and various CCC counselors.</p>

<p>holy crap.
I play a lil round of counterstrike and then check the forum, and i see all these angry horde of "college experts"...</p>

<p>Anyway, I may be wrong about GE courses. If that's the case, I'm sorry. I apologize.</p>

<p>"The advisor said you can take requirement classes and state them as "planned" on your application. They dont need to be completed on the application, and this will not affect your chances of admission."</p>

<p>However, regarding your major requirements, it's best to get your major requirements done and have the actual grade by the time you submit your application. I know the college says "yeah yeah it doesn't matter if you don't get your major requisites done as long as you complete it by the end of spring semester prior to your enrollment at our school", but in reality, the Adcom gives more consideration to students who have their major courses completed at the time of submission of their application. This is one thing that I'm 100% sure of.</p>