As a student who is about to transfer to either UCLA or UC Irvine, will I experience a crushingly difficult first semester/quarter at either school?
I’ve read many student experiences at UCLA and more than 90% are about how extremely difficult everything is over there, especially during finals week. I even read some memes about transfer students who are proud to achieve a “D-” in UCLA because it is such a terribly difficult change.
I’ve been a competitive student by community college standards with a 3.85 GPA in the Honors system. However, I still fear that the transition to a UC will lead to a catastrophic drop to my GPA.
What factors should I consider in order to ensure the smoothest transition to the elevated difficulty of UCLA and UC Irvine? What can I do to prepare myself?
The coursework itself is probably not much harder than what you are used to. The competition and /or pace might be, depending on the class. Keep on top of things by going to office hours and discussion sections, even when you think you are doing well. If you’ve been living at home up until now, don’t go nuts partying your first semester away. Not to say don’t have any fun, but stay on top of the work-life balance. Good luck, I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Your being admitted is a reflection that the university has confidence that you are well able for the work, so really it’s just adjusting to the difference between CC & UC. A faster pace is reasonably likely, but I’m guessing that you are also moving from underclass to upperclass levels (from Sophomore to Junior). Be aware that the jump is a big one for most students, whether they started at CC or UC, so don’t assume that everybody else is handling it with ease!
Some practical tips:
=When you get your course syllabi, read through them to get a sense of the work flow (how often you have deadlines/ when different courses have overlapping deadlines such as tests/papers/problem sets/etc)
=Think about working ahead, not working to deadline.
=Especially in subjects that are not your strongest, do the reading before the class- the class will make a lot more sense.
=Start the homework immediately, while it is still fresh. Expect to do 2-3 hours of homework for every hour you spend in class.
=Find out what all the resources are: TA & prof office hour schedules, learning labs/writing resources, advisor, etc., and use them early and often- there is no need for pride here!
Don’t overwork yourself first quarter. Take as few courses as possible, and take a less-rigorous course load if you’re not used to the honors system. A 3.8 is an amazing GPA, especially in an Honors program, so you should feel prepared.
The fact that you are even worried about this is a great first step. So many of the bad GPAs come from people who transfer and are unprepared for the sudden culture shock. As long as you stay on top of your work and reach out to your professor, along with the tutoring offered on campus, you will be okay.
Back when there was UC StatFinder, it indicated that transfer students with 3.8-4.0 prior college GPA tended to earn 3.4-3.7 GPA at UCs after transfer, so there was typically some drop, but not a lot (unless you are pre-med where such a drop makes it much more difficult to get into medical school). At lower GPA ranges, the drop got smaller and disappeared at around the 3.0ish range (obviously at less selective UCs).
