<p>Hi CC</p>
<p>My life is miserable and it's all because of the college I'm going to!
I absolutely hate it at UCLA and I've had to suffer here for 2 years already. No one gives a damn about your existence. Not your professors, not your TA, not your fellow classmates. Being an engineer here especially sucks.
So you can imagine how terrible it felt when I got rejected by the school I applied for, UC Berkeley. </p>
<p>After a lot of thought I've decided that I can't take it at UCLA anymore. I'd rather be anywhere but here, even if that means going to community college for awhile. And this might sound desperate, but there's only one school I want to go to: UC Berkeley. It's the cheapest place for the best engineering education. </p>
<p>My end goal is to get into EECS Berkeley, but I'm in an awkward spot. I've already been rejected, I already have senior standing (w/ membership in UPE&HKN LOL), I already have all the requirements to transfer. So if I do go to community college for awhile, I'd be at a loss for classes to take. My GPA has also been slipping lately because I've been so unhappy, dropping down to a 3.4 (even failing a class). So I have that weighing me down if I need to have a 4.0 to be admitted.</p>
<p>Sorry for the rant, but I'm at my wits end here. I can't take it anymore at UCLA and I feel this great need to be at UC Berkeley. Is there even a path for me to get there now? I don't care if it takes me a year or two, it's that important!</p>
<p>Wayne</p>
<p>The odds are stacked way against you. Since you’re a senior, there probably aren’t any CC classes you’ll be able to take that will transfer at this point, your GPA isn’t high enough to get into Berkeley engineering and you’ll be stuck behind all the potential CC transfers.</p>
<p>Suck it up, finish out your last year at UCLA and apply to UCB for grad school.</p>
<p>It’s not another year of “sucking it up”… It’s at least 2, maybe 3. If I don’t drop out now, I will later when I’m failing all my classes from emotional stress. </p>
<p>Aren’t there ways for working adults who get back into college later in their career? I’ve heard about a 29 yo who worked IT before going into EECS. My friend studies with this guy sometimes.</p>
<p>you’re a senior, how is it going to take you three more years to graduate?</p>
<p>Senior standing in units. Sophomore as in 2 years here.</p>
<p>There ARE other schools-for example, check out the University of Cincinnati (engineering co-op programs are fantastic. AND, it is not huge after 70% have washed out of mechanics of engineering) Also, RIT (Rochester), Since you are a resident of Calif, you might be able to appeal. RIT is also smaller and friendlier. Both schools award massive financial aid.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley is not some magical fantasy land that’s going to solve all your problems. If you’re really having that much trouble at UCLA, and it really is due to the campus more than it’s due to personal issues you would be going through no matter where you are, then getting out of UCLA is far more important than getting into UC Berkeley and you would be a fool to put all your eggs in one basket rather than taking any opportunity to transfer.</p>
<p>I recommend you speak with an academic counselor at UCLA about the possibility of taking a break from school. You can use the time to either figure out if you could possibly finish at UCLA, or to work on some more transfer applications. However distasteful the idea might be to you, you have to admit it would be better than flunking out.</p>
<p>So what happens if when you graduate, you can only find a job that you don’t really like? Or in an area that you’re not really into? You need to learn to suck it up now because sometimes there is no way to control aspects of your future and you need to learn to be happy with what you can get. I can guarantee you that the reason you’re probably not happy at UCLA is because in some way, you haven’t reached out to people there or you haven’t found your place yet. Try taking a new approach to your academics, get to know a different group of people, and actually put yourself out there to your classmates. Think of UCLA as a challenge. You’re an adult now and two more years of your life is SO minimal in the grand scheme of things. You even have the opportunity to go home for holidays, weekends, the summer. Have you thought about studying abroad? Or transferring to a UC that ISN’T arguably the hardest one to get into? A different related major (science, math, physics, whatever you’re interested in? You’re only a sophomore so you still have some leeway with your major. But do you know how many people there are out there who are dying for a chance to go to UCLA? The fact that you’re starting to fail classes seems mildly selfish. Part of growing up is about making tough decisions and it’s not like you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere. You’re in LA! If you really hate your school, there are SOOOO many new things to explore and I’m confident that you could find something you’re interested in that can help you get by. If you really feel the need to apply to some other schools next year, by all means go for it, but under no circumstances should you choose to drop out and go back to school later in life. Like the above person said, take a semester off if anything. It’s also almost summer! Maybe you just need a break.</p>
<p>If you can’t get through this, you’re going to need to extensively prepare yourself for the real world. Right now you have the opportunity to pick yourself back up and work hard to graduate with some dignity. You’ve had a bad semester, but you can return to UCLA next year and get your act together. The reason I can say all this is because I was in your situation and I chose to drop out of my school. It is SO hard to go back to school when you are severely limited because of senior standing everywhere you apply. Believe it or not, jobs and life experience doesn’t even help on most applications. You’re at arguably one of the best schools in the country. Be proud and take advantage of it.</p>
<p>I agree with bakemaster, do not put all of your eggs in one basket and talk to your counsellor about taking a break from school. </p>
<p>And, to be honest, it seems like you would be happier at a smaller school where you will receive more individual attention than at Berkeley or most large state schools (where you will likely encounter the problem of professors not “giving a damn about your existence” as well). I’d suggest looking into Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>I doubt that the dissatisfaction you are feeling is really due to you being at UCLA and not UC Berkeley. Both are large state universities and I do not think you would find much, if any difference in your academic experience whether you were at UC Berkeley or UCLA. In fact you would probably find the same environment at the University of Washington, Oregon State University, the University of Michigan or any other large state university.</p>
<p>It seems you are unhappy with your major or with being a college student in general. You need to see a counselor and try to determine how you can better cope with UCLA. Alternatively, it sounds like one of your problems with UCLA is the impersonality of the place, which you would find at any large state university, and you might be happier at a smaller school with fewer engineering students and an environment that is not so impersonal. Your guidance counselor should be able to give you some direction there.</p>
<p>I’m going to have to agree a bit with killmyentourage here. I don’t want to put you down or belittle your problems, but if your main concerns and strifes truly revolve around the fact that you feel unimportant or that no one cares about your existence then you might want to prepare a bit, because a lot of life is going to be like that. A lot of companies out there will view you no more than as a number and a paycheck. The answer to that is to reach out and create a network of friends and support for ourselves. That being said, it doesn’t sound like your problem will differ anywhere else you’ll go unless there’s something going on at UCLA in particular that you’re not tell us.</p>
<p>Yes, some people drop out of school to work and return to school, but usually not of their own choice; often times, they must do this out of necessity. Once you drop out, it becomes extremely difficult to go back to school not only because of your senior standing, but also a loss of momentum in your studies. I was so burnt out at the idea of school right after high school that I quit college and started working full-time to support myself and can tell you right now that not having a degree closes a lot of doors. Many people would kill for an opportunity to go to college, let alone a top university such as UCLA. Ultimately, the choice is yours; this will be one of many crossroads in your life. You can choose to either grin and bear it for a year or two and have free reign after to choose whatever path you want or if you feel you truly cannot deal with it, speak to a counselor to evaluate your options. </p>
<p>Either way, I do hope you the best of luck in any decision you make.</p>
<p>before reading the thread i thought you were talking about community college, but UCLA? O__O COME ON people would kill to be you. suck it up and work hard!</p>
<p>Its amazing how many people get in to ucla and cal and lack fundamental spelling abilities…</p>
<p>@whong09:</p>
<p>Huh? If you’re at senior standing in units, you’re a senior…</p>
<p>Yes, there are schools that people go to later in life, but not Berkeley AFTER they’re a senior in standing with a good-but-not-great GPA coming from another UC.</p>
<p>If you want to go to one of those tech universities on late night infomercials, I’m sure that can be arranged, but you’re not getting into UCB at this point. </p>
<p>Finish at LA, then go back to Berkeley. If you seriously have as much of a problem with the relative short distance between Berkeley and LA, lord help you when you’re applying for a job and have offers from Boston/New York/Miami.</p>
<p>Whong09- when you applied at berkeley, did you get denied?</p>
<p>Pinoiako - Yes I got denied applying out of High School. I also got denied on transfer.</p>
<p>I hear what you guys are saying and I would agree, but I actually know firsthand what I’m experiencing. I wouldn’t believe myself either if I heard that a school like UCLA just isn’t diverse, that it just doesn’t have a variety of people. But after going to all the engineering clubs pertinent like HKN, UPE, IEEE, ACM, ACT, etc. etc. I have not found a single club where people have formed a community. I’m not really asking for much. Just for a group of friends who hang out regularly, maybe to study with, maybe to do programming competitions with, etc. etc. I just want a community I can fit into.
I’m not antisocial by any means. I had lots of friends in high school and middle school and I still keep in touch with them. But there’s just something about the people you meet at UCLA. Trying to get a study group is like pulling teeth. I think everyone has this mentality where you have to study alone and not share information to be better than everyone else. I’m not even friggen premed, the EE classes I’m in shouldn’t be that competitive.
On the other hand I have friends at UC Berk who study together all the time, who got a house together, who just seem to have a kickass time. Some of them branched off to form a hackergroup, to get VC funding (and ycombinator coaching), and now they have a startup. </p>
<p>Forgive me for ranting, I’ll get back to the point. Different schools have different cultures just like different cities have different cultures. UCLA culture is like that of greater LA. You have infinite freedom and no one cares what you do. [BLDGBLOG:</a> Greater Los Angeles](<a href=“http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/greater-los-angeles.html]BLDGBLOG:”>BLDGBLOG: Greater Los Angeles)
UCLA must be great for some people, but it’s not my cup of tea. There are other schools out there I’d be much happier at. Not necessarily UCB, possibly Harvey Mudd or maybe something else.
The point is I can’t cut it at UCLA and I’ve come here for advice on how to transfer to another university. If that’s absolutely impossible fine. I’ll forfeit two years of my life to being absolutely miserable. But if there’s any hope at all for someone in my situation to be somewhere else in higher education, that’s what I want to do. </p>
<p>So tell me CC, what’s the damage?</p>
<p>hey. i am little concerned after reading your threads since i am considering transfer to UCLA as an aerospace engineering student. i am still debating between UCSD and UCLA. like you i wanted to go UCB, but was rejected.</p>
<p>could you tell me more about what you have experienced at UCLA? i am familiar with individualism in America(im from Asia), but it seems like people there are just indifferent to others. im little older than most students, so I can stand less sociable campus life, but i wouldnt want to attend school for 2-3 years where i feel isolated.</p>
<p>So UCLA isn’t working out for you because you’re unable to make friends? I’m more inclined to believe this is a problem that is exclusive to you rather than your reasoning that this is a problem exclusive to LA somehow.</p>
<p>I’m a decently social person, never went to UCLA and even I managed to meet friends at UCLA on my own. I worked up north of the 101 and would stop by UCLA to kill time during rush hour once a week. I met a half dozen or so people that I regularly kept in contact with. Hell, I dated one for a short while.</p>