<p>Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum. I'm currently a sophomore at Los Angeles City College (a community college) and am hoping to transfer to UCLA in the Fall of 2010. My major is Japanese, so I am relieved that it is not as competitive of a major as some of the other majors at UCLA. Since I'm transferring in the Fall of 2010, I guess I'm just trying to think ahead and get organized with what I'll be doing. I appreciate your help!</p>
<p>I've taken 2 years of Japanese at my community college (in addition to a civilization course) so I spoke to the department chair of Japanese studies at UCLA. I found out that if I take an intensive Intermediate Japanese course (J10) in the Summer of 2010 before I begin my first fall quarter at UCLA, I won't have to take a placement test and can start my upper division coursework right away in the fall. My question is, if I hopefully get my acceptance notification in the spring of 2010, when is the earliest I can sign up for this summer course? I heard that Japanese majors get first pass for these courses, so will it be easy to sign up for this class in the summer even though I'm a new student?</p>
<p>Also, since I'll be taking a summer course, I won't be able to attend the transfer orientation. I've heard horror stories about transfer students going to sign up for their major classes and being told that eveyrthing is full. They then have to take a whole bunch of GE classes that they already have credit for! I'm hoping this won't happen to me, since the Japanese courses don't get as full as say Political Science or the English courses. If I don't attend fall quarter orientation because I'm taking a summer class, will I be able to sign up for the fall quarter courses by myself at any time during the summer, since I'll already be taking a summer Japanese class and will just be signing up for the next level for the fall?</p>
<p>My final question is, I've heard of 'PTE' and how spaces are reserved for students who are majoring in that particular course, so I'm hoping this will help me out for the summer/fall courses I'm signing up for. However, IF, hypothetically, some of the courses are full and they suggest that I sign up for GE courses, do I HAVE to sign up for them? Because I really don't want to have to take GE courses again.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your help and input! Sorry for rambling on like this. I know it's a bit early to be planning ahead like this, but as they say, the early bird gets the worm, LOL!</p>
<p>Thanks! :)</p>
<p>These all sound like follow-up questions that you should have asked the department chair. No one here will be able to give you answers that don’t involve “you SHOULD be able to…” or “I THINK so…” since most here are barely entering transfers. </p>
<p>If you don’t want to ask these types of questions to the department chair, then definitely call/email someone at UCLA directly.</p>
<p>If you have any general questions about transfering to UCLA you can ask me. I was accepted for Fall '09 and recently decided to stay an extra year at my community college to finish a few more math and computer classes so I can major in math/econ rather than biz econ.</p>
<p>Srjcstud, thank you for your reply. I appreciate the help!</p>
<p>Basically, let me simplify my questions above. If I am scheduled to transfer to UCLA starting with the Fall 2010 quarter, am I able to sign up for a summer course pertinent to my major, even if I sign up for it before orientation?</p>
<p>Also, I’d like to find out whether or not I’ll be made to take more GE courses. I’ll be finishing all my GE’s at the community college before I transfer, but in case a lot of the courses I need for my major get filled up, am I going to be forced to take GE courses instead? Or can I choose not to take any random GE’s and just take a couple of classes for my major during my first quarter.</p>
<p>I’d just like to hear anybody’s experiences with these kinds of situations. Thank you.</p>
<p>“If I am scheduled to transfer to UCLA starting with the Fall 2010 quarter, am I able to sign up for a summer course pertinent to my major, even if I sign up for it before orientation?”</p>
<p>–Yes. UCLA will send information in the mail about summer sessions. Attending orientation before summer sessions isn’t required.</p>
<p>"Also, I’d like to find out whether or not I’ll be made to take more GE courses. I’ll be finishing all my GE’s at the community college before I transfer, but in case a lot of the courses I need for my major get filled up, am I going to be forced to take GE courses instead? "</p>
<p>–I am not sure what you are asking. If you mean taking GE at UCLA, I am pretty sure you need to fulfill your IGETC before you transfer. If you mean finishing up your GE at your community college, then yes you should finish IGETC.</p>
<p>“Or can I choose not to take any random GE’s and just take a couple of classes for my major during my first quarter.”</p>
<p>–Yes, you can take only major classes your first quarter. This is the most usual case. IGETC satisfies your GE requirements. However, you can take general ed classes for fun or just for credits.</p>