<p>Since I am deliberately trying to procrastinate studying for a midterm, I thought it's a good idea to create a thread that contains lots of UC admissions/application facts I wish I knew before starting the whole application process. During the application process, I spent a lot of time looking for some of the bits of information I'm about to share. </p>
<p>Here are some things I can think of right now:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>AP units count! You can use them to meet the TAG unit-minimum (30s/45q units) and the unit minimum to qualify for junior-level transfer (60s/90q units).</p></li>
<li><p>You can use AP test scores of 3 or higher to fulfill IGETC requirements.</p></li>
<li><p>You can use an AP score of 3 or high to fulfill the "UC-transferable math course" requirement or the first of the "2 UC-transferable English courses" requirement (I used an AP English Literature score of 3 to fulfill the first English course requirement).</p></li>
<li><p>You can take your IGETC math course and the second English course during the fall you apply to the UCs and you still qualify for TAG (I did this). </p></li>
<li><p>You dont need to be done with pre-reqs and IGETC by the time of the application. Just finish them by the end of your spring term.</p></li>
<li><p>If you do TAG and change your coursework, you don't need to update the TAG application or withdraw and resubmit it before the deadline. Updating changes in the application in November is totally fine (I was so worried about this one).</p></li>
<li><p>Making changes to your planned coursework in the winter update is OK (I did).</p></li>
<li><p>You can resubmit the winter update form and the UC Berkeley supplemental forms before the deadline (I had to call in to clarify this issue).</p></li>
<li><p>For UCSD you can change your major during the application process and your TAG is still valid. Don't change your TAG major for the other UCs though, before you get admitted. Your TAG will likely be voided. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>I'll definitely think of more later. I'll post everything on this thread.</p>
<p>Fall 2011 transfers: Please add things to my list, so this thread can be valuable for future transfers!</p>
<ul>
<li>the UCSD colleges have additional course requirements </li>
</ul>
<p>The CC counselors told me that a few colleges do not have any.</p>
<p>As an engineering major, I’d like to add:</p>
<p>-Most schools don’t want their engineering majors to do IGETC</p>
<p>As a CCC student, I’d like to add:</p>
<p>-assist.org ALWAYS knows best. Do what it says, no matter who tells you otherwise. It is by far the most dependable source of information. And yes, it is MUCH more accurate than the counselors at your school, which leads me to:</p>
<p>-double-check everything that your counselor tells you. They give out wrong information ALL THE TIME!!! This is even more important if you’re an engineering major, because our course path is very peculiar.</p>
<ul>
<li>start writing your essays in the summer before you apply, and have atleast 2 people look over them. although i didnt think they were that great, i think my essays actually put me over the top for Berkeley/UCLA…not to mention that i got in everywhere i applied :D</li>
</ul>
<p>woo GO BEARS!!</p>
<p>good luck applicants of 2012. may the force of college apps be with you.</p>
<p>edit:</p>
<p>i would like to add to Wacker’s post and say:
- Be your own counselor. check everything twice, and NEVER hesitate to call the schools themselves for clarification. but then check that information too. Basically, take charge of your own lives.</p>
<p>haha. this site helped me a lot. </p>
<p>as an engineering major, to engineering majors</p>
<p>you dont need to finish IGETC, for admission, but for graduation, you will have to take anyway later or sooner. take GE courses to fill in your schedule, but never take them over your major pre-reqs. the most important thing schools look at when making decision is your completion of major pre-reqs. i was rejected from cal because i didnt complete some recommended courses, most of them engineering classes. if your school doesnt offer the classes, you should find another colleges that do. this is especially important if you are aiming for cal or ucla engineering.</p>
<p>also, the best people to ask questions about admission are the students who actually transfered or the admission people at UC’s. i never asked questions to my counselor at my college except minor things.</p>
<ul>
<li>If a course is NOT listed on assist.org, but you think it meets a certain major requirement, email the major adviser at the school you want to transfer to. (I did this. The adviser told me that a specific course from my CC can be used to fulfill a certain major requirement, after I sent in a copy of the course syllabus.)</li>
</ul>
<p>I would also like to add that certain schools, namely Berkeley and potentially UCLA, will not accept a score of below 4 on AP tests for most majors. Ask your counselor about this. Also, take the easiest classes including your pre reqs the first year, since these are the grades that count.</p>
<ul>
<li>You will probably spend a lot of time lurking/posting on this forum, lol. Be prepared for this. College Confidential will always be there for you when you feel the need to procrastinate ;).</li>
</ul>
<p>Using F5 is easier than CTRL R to refresh College Confidential threads.</p>
<p>lol, killmyentourage!</p>
<ul>
<li>Start doing quality ECs early! (I didn’t have many quality ECs and I seriously thought that this would keep me from getting into UCLA and Cal.)</li>
</ul>
<p>Putting non-transferable courses in the academic report history, not in the additional comments section.</p>
<p>Good one Pinoiako!</p>
<ul>
<li>DO NOT (I stress this) forget to put all of your non-transferable courses into your TAG and UC applications!</li>
</ul>
<p>deanza-i had to notify UCLA, Berkeley and UC Davis about the error. I spotted the error in late march!</p>
<p>LOL I wrote my personal statement a day before it was due, and submitted everything on the 30th. Yes, there were a couple errors; nothing related to spelling, but I used the same word, “vital”, twice in the first essay (sounded stupid) and I also was very liberal with the commas in the second. Also, chose a potentially taboo topic for one essay. Despite these potential problems, they were both well- written. And in the end, I got into Cal. So take from it what you will. Would having some folks read, edit, and make suggestions have helped? Perhaps… but the end result of that, vs. me just doing it myself, would have ultimately been the same. I think it was that one part of my story that got me accepted, so my advice would be no matter how you write it, write it so it carries weight and stands out in the reader’s mind. It’ll get you in with even a marginal GPA. Or it did for me, anyway.</p>
<p>@santacruzstefan: I want to read your personal statement now.<br>
“Potentially taboo topic”… sounds interesting!</p>
<p>I started thinking about/writing my personal statement ~6 months before application time, but I also let no one read or alter it before I submitted my application. I recommend not letting anyone go over your essays ONLY if you are confident in your writing. It’s OK to let someone correct your grammar and so on. Just don’t let someone tell you what to write/write it for you!
I found it helpful to read though Berkeley’s “Personal Statement Topics for Transfer Students” while I was brainstorming.
Here’s the link (“Personal Statement Topics for Transfer Students” is on page 4): <a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/files/Admissions/12626_5.Info_TransAdm.pdf[/url]”>http://students.berkeley.edu/files/Admissions/12626_5.Info_TransAdm.pdf</a></p>
<p>Oh, one more tip for the essays: Try to engage your readers. Don’t just list things off, if you want your personal statement to stand out.</p>
<p>@ deanza I’ll PM it to you. Promise I’ll leave in the errors, too :)</p>
<p>Take the personal statement seriously. As I think back, mine was not as good as I thought it was and most likely spelled out my rejection from Cal, among other things. Get your proofreaders to be brutally honest in their critiques. Ask them tons of questions and revise them as needed.</p>
<ul>
<li>If you change your mind about your major shortly before the UC app is due, apply to the major you have been pursuing until then anyway (unless you have lots of completed pre-req, etc. for the major you want to switch to). MOST UCs will let you switch majors AFTER you’re admitted/arrive at campus.
BUT also remember that it is nearly impossible to switch to one of UCLA’s impacted/capped majors and into HAAS at Berkeley.</li>
</ul>
<p>UC Policies for switching to MOST, not all, majors (specifically for Letters and Sciences):</p>
<p>UCB: You’re admitted to the College you apply to, not a specific major. As long as complete the requirements necessary for declaring a specific major, you should be able to do it.</p>
<p>UCLA: You can switch to non-impacted majors at orientation or after your first quarter. I emailed a specific department, and they told me that you don’t even have to finish all the pre-reqs before you can declare one of their majors (not sure how it is for other department, though).</p>
<p>UCSD:It’s very easy. You can change your major at any time in the application process, after admission and after coming to the campus. </p>
<p>UCSB:For all but a few select majors, you can email UCSB and ask for a major change after you get admitted.</p>
<p>UCD:Davis allows you to switch majors after your first quarter there. </p>
<p>UCI: You’re able to submit a Change of Major Petition after enrolling at UCI.</p>
<p>UCSC:You can change your major as often as you want before the end of your second quarter at UCSC.</p>
<p>UCR: You can switch majors after enrolling at UCR.</p>
<p>UCM: Didn’t find any info, but I’m pretty sure they’ll allow you to switch.</p>
<p>hahaha I like how you forgot to put a space between : and the D so it came out as a smiley face</p>