Transferring to UCLA from LAVC - give up or try something else?

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I'm completing my requirements for transferring to UCLA and I am a Computer Science major. I am in TAP, have a website for my projects (I do arduino and devices in relation to medical devices) and do freelance coding and writing projects on the side (4 papers and 1 game), and I have won an ATMEL contest for design on hardware and the inner workings of a device using their products. These are all things I plan on mentioning (somewhere? any advice on how and where?). Last year about 5 people in my family died and I got a C in one of my classes (I don't know if I should mention this however?...seems inappropriate...I don't want to come off as excusing anything).</p>

<p>I have 2 missing prerequisites, PHYSICS 38 + 39 (I am taking 37 this Spring). These are the only prereq's I am missing (I read that Chemistry is not required?). I took AP physics in HS, got a B but did not pass the AP test.</p>

<p>a) Can I and b) Should I :</p>

<p>1) change my major so I can use my TAP towards the Letters and Sciences
2) forget about UCLA completely
4) Go to UCI or UCSB (if accepted) and then transfer to UCLA
3) apply to UCLA and also to other campus's</p>

<p>Thank you all for any and all help, I really appreciate anything</p>

<hr>

<p>*edit to overall</p>

<p>I am going to apply for Fall 2015</p>

<p>*edit to 1)</p>

<p>1) change my major <em>if I can ? what can I change it to?</em> so I can use my TAP towards the Letters and Sciences </p>

<p>PS: apologies about the double post in the other forum, I hadn't seen this one yet.</p>

<p>I’d say apply to couple different schools. If UCLA accepts you, hooray! If not, well, you’ll have options that aren’t CC. After you see where you stand, re-evaluate your options. Of the ones that accepted you, which is the best fit? Are you still in a position where applying to UCLA makes sense/is possible (probably not, all UCs want junior transfers). It’s not completely unheard of for students to apply again the next year, though I’m not sure how well that usually works out.</p>

<p>What class did you get a C in? If it was in your major, and the family members were close (directly family, not a 2nd cousin’s wife’s sister), you might want to try and make a note that you had personal problems which affected your performance that term. If it was in a GE class or they were more distant relatives, I think it’d be kinda odd to try and explain it in the comment section.</p>

<p>For the apply to L&S idea: It looks like CS is in the Engineering College? I’m not super familiar with UCLA policies, sorry. <a href=“http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/undergraduates/change-of-majord”>http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/undergraduates/change-of-majord&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>“Due to the competitiveness of admissions, students admitted to UCLA as junior level transfers to a major outside of HSSEAS (e.g. Math) are not eligible for change of major consideration into HSSEAS.”</p>

<p>So, no, applying to a different major and changing probably won’t help you. Even if you find a major that allows changing, it’ll be competitive to switch.</p>

<h1>4 doesn’t really seem like an option to me; Inter-UC transfers seem to be rare, especially for those who transferred to another UC in the first place as juniors.</h1>

<p>I say apply to UCLA, Berkeley, UCI, UCSD, and UCSB, and see what happens. If you don’t get into a school you have your heart set on, you could always do another year at community college wrapping up your prereqs, and programming part time to build more projects, gain more experience, acquire more american currency, etc. The UCs don’t seem to care about how long it takes. From what I’ve noticed for competitive majors, like CS, is that prereqs and GPA seem to be the most important factors.</p>

<p>@failure622‌ Thanks for all the advice! My family members were all pretty close people, like…Kind of like aunts? Not my mom’s sister, but my mom’s aunts but my family was pretty close knit. The class /was/ a Major class so thank you for that, you’re right, if it had been just a regular class then explaining it might’ve seemed weird to them since they would not have even considered it an important class. Thank you for all your advice I really appreciate it!! I actually had no idea I couldn’t switch majors into a HSSEAS major … that really helps! jeez, thanks a lot!</p>

<p>@derrpy‌ Hm! I didn’t know I could do another year at a CC to complete my pre-req’s … thank you! I appreciate that note. And yes, I will just apply for now, probably not for my major as CS since it seems a little … too competitive and I should be realistic first, hopeful second. Thanks a bunch :-)</p>