Tagging @CAtransplant who might be able to help with this.
Hi - @Seabass927 yes I have a daughter at UCSD and youāre right, there are several FB groups. I joined them all when my daughter started at UCSD and some are more active than others but I think all have been helpful at one time or another. This one has had a lot of parents of newly admitted Tritons joining and asking questions UCSD Parents | Facebook and after that one, this one was active most recently UCSD Parents Group | Facebook
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Thanks a bunch @CAtransplant!
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I hear UCSD is one of the worst in this regard. Isnāt CS even by lottery, even if you meet the requirements? Iāve looked at this a lot and most everyone says a direct admit somewhere (another UC or similar) is preferred to UCSD without admission to the major.
Same for my son. Applied CS and Data science and accepted undeclared.
Does transfer to bioengineering also happen via lottery system?
Hey! Does anyone know if Human Biology major is capped?
Bio in general is capped
Bioengineering is not lottery but also not easy. You can only apply as a Sophomore if not originally admitted as a Freshman.
Continuing Students:
Each fall quarter, a certain number (determined on an annual basis) of ācontinuingā sophomore students who apply will be selected to enter the capped bioengineering (BS), bioengineering: biotechnology (BS), bioengineering: bioinformatics (BS), or bioengineering: biosystems (BS) majors. Interested continuing students must not be past sophomore year, as time to graduation would be delayed since departmental upper-division courses are currently offered only once a year.
Continuing students will be required to complete the following courses prior to applying, depending on their major of choice:
Bioengineering and bioengineering: biotechnology: BILD 1; CHEM 6A-B; MAE 8; MATH 20A-C; PHYS 2A-B.
Bioengineering: bioinformatics: BILD 1; CHEM 6A-B; CSE 11 (or 8A-B); MATH 20A-C; PHYS 2A-B.
Bioengineering: biosystems: CHEM 6A-B; MATH 20A-C, PHYS 2A-B.
If students have met some of the above requirements through Advanced Placement course work, they should be advised of the following: A minimum of three courses listed must have been completed at UC San Diego. If students cannot meet this three-course minimum due to prior credit, students must offer grades for MATH 20D, MATH 18, or MATH 20E until the three-course minimum has been met.
Students will receive email instructions from the Bioengineering Student Affairs Office concerning completion of an online application at the beginning of fall quarter of their second year. Online applications must be submitted by Friday of the first week of instruction in fall quarter. Continuing studentsā applications will be ranked according to the GPA obtained in the required courses only.
Applications to a capped major will be approved, starting with the student having the highest GPA in the required courses, until the predetermined target number is reached. The Bioengineering Student Affairs Office will notify students in a timely manner who are successful in transitioning into one of the capped majors.
Continuing students who apply and are unable to transition into one of the capped majors will also be notified of their status in a timely manner by the Bioengineering Student Affairs Office.
It seems quite challenging for a transfer. Weād better pick another school where a preferred major is offered. Itās not worth the risk at UCSD, especially considering the high tuition for OOS students.
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Hi Gumbymom, my D applied for CS but got Sixth College Undeclared.
Comparing with a CS Waitlisted applicant, would you say she is more qualified or less qualified? How do UCSD decide who to waitlist or given undeclared major acceptance? Your advise is much appreciated.
I had a general question? Is it possible to switch colleges? I got Eleanor Roosevelt College ( ERC) and while itās amazing, I preferred Muir simply because of the type of GEs they had which focused on social justice, equality or soemthing along those lines. Itās something Iām incredibly passionate about and I was just wondering if there was any way to switch?
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I believe it is; however, I donāt think your description of Muir is accurate. Are you thinking Marshall?
I have heard that it is incredibly difficult to switch. You would have to have a very good reason to switch, and usually the request is not granted.
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Oh yes, sorry. I got confused. I did mean Marshall !
Oh ok. What would be considered a good reason to switch?
No one can compare applicants since no one except admissions can see the complete application. The issue is that are more highly qualified applicants vs spots.
I think a good reason would be that you could graduate earlier if you switched colleges. Even then, I am not completely sure. I suggest looking up Reddit posts. Iāve seen a few UCSD students post about it ^-^
My son is accepted into sixth for data science, and ME at UCSB. Heās currently at a fork road where the two majors are so different from each other and heās interested in both yet he needs to choose one.
The data science is more up his alley and he may have an easier time since itās what heās good at. ME is purely out of curiosity because he is interested to learn how things work physically in the back end, but he never had a chance to discover growing up. Heās always been more theories and not much of hands on type of kid.
As parents, we can only tell him to go with his heart and havenāt been able to offer much more advise beyond that.
Iām here trying to get a different perspective and see if I can find a good piece of advise to give him.
Besides the major differences of each campus, heās leaning more towards UCSD because it seems more Stem focused.
Thank you for reading and I would appreciate any advise you can offer.
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Sounds like Gumbymom repeatedly offers sage advice on such matters. It may well be that UCSD will allow all but the lowest GPA applicants here, but it seems far from guaranteed and unless you are a total genius, who loves the UCSD scene, why bother if you have other reasonable choices? As for the CS lottery system, if you know you gotta have the CS experience and label on your resume, if you have any other decent alternatives it seems crazy, to me, to go a school that employs a lottery and not an entirely merit based system with previously set standards whereby if you meet them, congratulations youāre in! It seems like at UCSD to switch into CS you must first meet guidelines, then stand in line and watch as someone else spins a wheel to see if you qualify for a prize. While fun for some at county fairs and casinos, I have always thought of such activities as being for suckers. It hurts when that wheel stops spinning and it doesnāt end in your favor. If it is for a couple of bucks, no big deal.
I think most college students with other reasonably decent offers have way more than a couple of bucks on the line and if after a year or two of hard work at UCSD your turn at the wheel ends up not in your favor, you might well feel very bitter. Not that you should though, if youāve read such warnings, it will largely be on you. Your other choices may not be the beautiful and highly prestigious UCSD, but whatever is to become of you is going to be, by far, most determined by the choices and efforts you make (aka your attitude) wherever you are and not so much bestowed upon you by the magical luster and power of a UCSD CS degree.
Not getting what you want is a bummer, but you will probably soon get over it and shortly begin seeing the value and comfort in what you do have. The ability to do so is one of the keys to a good life. Life is already enough of a crapshoot, donāt fall for this type of game. Frankly, I am surprised UCSD even set it up like this.
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