<p>Hey all, I've got a question that I'm sure you guys can answer.</p>
<p>I know someone who asked me how they can switch into communications. I told her that the chances are slim, but I would like to affirm my suspicions.</p>
<p>Here is her situation:</p>
<p>3.45 CC GPA, not honors
philosophy major</p>
<p>She was admitted to UCLA under the major of Philosophy to LS. However, she plans on switching it to communications. Yet she is missing two pre-req's, which she plans to take over summer. But I don't think this will help because you have to finish the pre-req's BEFORE Spring is over.</p>
<p>So she can just wrap it up in the fall and then switch it during winter quarter? Then hopefully she can be a communications major by Spring 2009? Yet what GPA does she need? I imagine she'll need a GPA of 3.5, at least, by Spring 2009 to switch into communications. But this is just a guess. If she competes with entering communications majors to UCLA, she'll need a 3.9 GPA to be at least competitive.</p>
<p>But, by Spring 2009 she'll be competing against other UCLA students, whether they once were transfer students or not.</p>
<p>Basically, i told her she has a lot of stuff she needs to get through and don't start calling yourself a communications major yet.</p>
<p>What she's doing is basically what the UCLA representative to my CC warned me against. Not to be a phil major just to get into UCLA. Is she going to get backlash for this?</p>
<p>Lots of questions, I hope you guys can share your thoughts! Thanks in advanced.</p>
<p>I'd doubt it. Comm studies is hard enough to get into AS a UCLA student. A 3.45 CC GPA isn't impressive by any means.</p>
<p>Your friend has to complete 36 units AT UCLA and apply at the end of the Spring Quarter in 2009. You can't just switch into the Comm major, you need to apply and can only switch if and only if you get accepted.</p>
<p>i'm pretty sure your friend has missed the boat. </p>
<p>it's (almost?) impossible to switch into comm if you're admitted as a transfer. in fact i don't know of anyone ever doing this, and i worked pretty closely with people in the department office. i seem to recall that there's a rule against switching into the major if you've already been accepted into something else and if there isn't a formal rule, it's pretty widely understood that this doesn't happen. your friend is mistaken if she thinks she can get into the school with philosophy and just randomly slide into comm. she'll definitely be able to switch her major, but it won't be to comm or even psych. and it's just a bad idea anyway. why spend 2 years working on lower divs for a major you don't want. not the best course of action. </p>
<p>her plan falters because she doesn't seem to realize that comm is unlike any other general college major in the school. whereas admissions for every other L&S major are decided in the general admissions office, transfer applications for comm are sent directly to and decided exclusively within the comm office by comm department heads. admissions are very carefully weighed and you must be admitted directly into the major- there's no such thing as "pre-comm". you either are or you aren't. </p>
<p>even if they did allow it, it'd be almost impossible to get a seat in and complete all 11 upper divs in a year based on the way they schedule and offer classes within the major. and because the chances of being accepted in general are pretty low as it is, most people don't risk taking the time to prepare during third year (their first at ucla) to apply to a major that denies a majority of its applicants. it would seriously suck to prepare for comm by finishing lower divs only to be rejected right before 4th year when you could be working on upper level work for another "safer" major. </p>
<p>anyway, 3.5 is an absolute minimum to be considered. it takes closer to a 3.8 to have a strong chance of admission in any circumstance. </p>
<p>really though. i can't think of a single instance of a 3rd year (since you can't even apply for the major until spring) applying to comm after being admitted as something else. let alone applying and being admitted.</p>
<p>wow, that was a lot of information! thanks. i don't think she'll like it nor will she take it, but i guess this is what she's going to end up finding out. thanks again!</p>
<p>3.9 soc major wanting to switch to comm ... chances - denied! :(</p>