<p>Hi everybody,</p>
<p>I was accepted a few years ago to UCSD as a TAG Psychology (B.S.) major, but I decided to take a job abroad and put off my studies for a bit. Now I'm back at my junior college and going in a different direction. If all goes well, I'll be applying to UCSD again next fall as a Biology: Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution major. My second choice on the application will be Cognitive Science, so I'm only concerned about getting into the department, not into UCSD.</p>
<p>I don't place too much weight on getting chanced here, but I'm just wondering if anyone (especially who has experience as a transfer student or just getting into bio) has any advice about whether I should be doing more to be a competitive applicant.</p>
<p>I have a 3.57 at the moment and unfortunately have a pretty long, dismal looking transcript. I've changed majors a handful of times and was a high school dropout, so it took me a while to get into the swing of things. There are four solid years of Ws and Fs from dropping classes without remembering to actually drop them. But from 2010 onwards, I've had mostly As. All of my major prep to date has been As, so I'm rocking a 4.0 there. I've calculated that if I continue with my current performance, my transferable GPA will be a 3.74 at the end of Spring 2015. I'm also a little embarrassed to admit that I will have seven associates degrees by the time that I transfer, good lord!</p>
<p>Aside from that, I'm tutoring at my JC in biology, statistics, French, German, Spanish, and ASL. I have also been a TA for Principles of Biology for one semester and just got hired as the Biology Lab technician (hopefully for the next two years) at my college. I have founded two clubs, one of which is the Biology club, and am a member of several others including World Languages and Cultures and Women in Science. I'm volunteering with a wildlife rescue organization, a climate protection organization, my county's regional parks doing outreach, a farm that works with at-risk youth, an animal shelter, and an adult literacy organization in my area. I have worked for the Aids LifeCycle for two years as a roadie and will be cycling for the first time this June, do bellydancing, and sing opera and in a Bach choir. I have six years of work history working with at-risk youth in group homes, and I have worked full-time since I was sixteen. I just returned from Germany, where I was working as an au pair and teaching five children English while I learned German.</p>
<p>I'm hoping to get a Roots and Shoots chapter of the Jane Goodall Foundation off the ground here with some other students, but I will definitely have to see how much time I actually have on top of all the current commitments I have. I'm also hoping to get involved with some research soon, and I've been contacting and chatting with professors at any university within driving range from me for possibilities. Next summer, I will be getting involved with the Bodega Marine Lab, either as a volunteer or (fingers crossed) as a visiting student for the summer. </p>
<p>My main concern is my academic history. I am hoping that the upward trend and solid GPA in all of my major prereqs for biology and anything even remotely connected to cognitive science (I've gotten all As in psychology, anthropology, languages, linguistics, and computer science) will save me. I'm <em>already</em> starting to brainstorm on my personal statement, and I'm going to be sure to explain why I was such a crappy student to the best of my abilities.</p>
<p>So, what do you think? Any advice or insight is much appreciated.</p>