<p>I got into UCLA's COmmunication department for this Fall. Can anyoen tell me the pro's and cons of it? Or what you think about the major? I'm stressing out because I dont' know if I should accept. How hard is it to get into the communications department?</p>
<p>comm is one of the most impacted majors in the school. usually around 15-17% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>deciding whether or not to accept depends entirely on you. if you want to do comm, it's one of the best programs you can do. if not, then obviously you wouldn't accept. but since you need to apply directly into comm, i suspect that you had an inclination towards doing a comm major. </p>
<p>since you DO need to expend specific effort to get into the program you'd clearly have to have some sort of expressed interest. so i guess that's a given. that said, i don't really know why you wouldn't accept.</p>
<p>if you're deciding between UCLA comm and comm at another UC, it just depends on what you intend to do with it. our comm department is much broader than others in the UC system, but it allows for more freedom when it comes to future career plans. but it is the most highly regarded comm program in the system and i've had nothing but a good experience with it. </p>
<p>because the program is entirely theoretical and really broad, it's up to you to focus on what you're interested in, to join things on campus that relate to that interest, to get internships for practical experience, etc.</p>
<p>I think what I'm worried about is not being able to do good in the classes. I'm not very good at verbally expressing myself, in fact i'm downright shy sometimes so I'm worried that communications is a major that will clash with these characteristics of mine. I stutter and my english isn't as advanced as others. But I love to read, I love to write (at times. lol), and I love to learn about people.thats why i considered communications. </p>
<p>should i still pursue it despite these flaws of mine? I mean, how hard are these classes?</p>
<p>i'll just say that it is much, much harder to get into comm than it is to succeed in comm once you're here. </p>
<p>take that for whatever it's worth. but yeah. </p>
<p>and communications doesn't equal speech, so don't worry about it. most of your classes will be lectures. being shy isn't an issue.</p>
<p>thanks allie, you dont' know how relieved i am to hear this. I've been speakign to so many ppl but no one seems to be able to help me, but your advice is one of the best i've heard, this includes that counselor rep. from UCLA i spoke with! LOL. </p>
<p>What are you planning on doing w/your communications major?</p>
<p>i'm in advertising/business development. </p>
<p>and don't listen to counselors too closely. they're never too terribly helpful.</p>
<p>I agree. They confuse me & never give me all the information i need. And whats worse is when they give me advice as if theyre' 100% confident they know what theyr'e talking about, and then it turns out they're wrong!</p>
<p>Communication is good for people who are interested in learning a little about everything right? I dont' think I want to specialize in one field...i'm a very curious person.</p>
<p>this is generally why ucla's comm program is so cool. it pulls from a ton of different areas. i've taken classes in film, comm, english, law, and soc. there are other choices, but you basically have a pretty wide choice of classes in a bunch of different departments that go towards graduation requirements. this is pretty unique to UCLA (other UC comm programs are more strictly communications based).</p>
<p>awesome..this is actually getting me excited.I should've spoken with a UCLA student before! I regret not doing all this research beforehand, but i'm glad youre telling me all this now.</p>
<p>I've looked at several Comm classes, and yeah there is a huge range. The only class I ever ended up taking the department was Comm 101, which to be fair was a very difficult class, though highly enjoyable class.</p>
<p>i didn't find 101 difficult at all but i did it during summer and she's much, much more lax during summer. </p>
<p>it really depends on who's teaching the classes, but that goes for all departments.</p>
<p>are there any upper div comm classes you can take, say, if you're not a comm major?
and when are you supposed to apply for the major (i'm wondering whether to try to switch from psych to comm... or just dabble in it since there's no comm minor)
and does anyone know if a person can apply for two majors at the same time? (they make us psych students apply spring soph year now) xD</p>
<p>to clarify: i'm not trying to become psych AND comm...
i just want to keep my options open :)</p>
<p>I'm a sophomore that got into Comm last year when I applied as a freshmen, and now I'm thinking about pursuing a double major in Political Science. My experiences as a Comm major have been somewhat mixed. </p>
<p>It's true that the department is extremely broad: you can take classes in just about anything that interests you, but it's so broad that sometimes the classes are left totally up to the whim of the professor, with classes titles like "Entertainment as Implicit Pedagogy" and "Criticism of the Public Arts" - there's no set curriculum like you'd find in other majors. </p>
<p>I've personally had a few bad Comm professors, and have left a few Comm courses realizing I hadn't learned much more than I could've by watching MTV or reading the news online. You won't learn a lot of useful information about journalism or advertising in these classes - that's left to your internships.</p>
<p>It's true that it's much, much harder to get into Comm than to do well in the classes. I've found most upper division Comm classes to be a breeze.</p>
<p>Anyway, hope that helps. I think it just depends on what you're interested in and the experiences you want out of college,</p>
<p>liyana- im sure you can apply to both at once. theyre different departments so i don't think they'd even know you were applying to everything else. it's all contained within their own offices. </p>
<p>and im pretty sure there are several upper div comm classes that are open to non-majors. </p>
<p>you apply in the spring of either first or second year. the vast majority of comm majors are accepted second year though.</p>
<p>sweet! a year to figure it all out.
thanks allie!</p>
<p>compare/contrast the communications department of UCLA to those of private and smaller schools such as USC. I have only a few more days to decide.</p>
<p>I've put my deposit for UCLA but my parents are still wondering if UCLA is the right decision (they are from USC) haha. You've prolly seen me in other posts and I hope you can tell that I'm vacillating btwn the 2 schools..The depotsit for USC is $300 so I won't do that unless I really wanna go there.</p>
<p>I also wanna study biology/pre-med besides English/writing. Would that be suggested/encouraged at UCLA? How is that combo at UCLA?</p>
<p>What is the "minimum" gpa to get in communications? Is gpa the only thing considered?</p>
<p>there IS no minimum GPA... they look at "overall academic proficiency" and "courses relevant to the major"
which could be good... or bad...</p>
<p>idk. i applied (half not really trying to) because i clicked the online application form, filled out my name and address, clicked "next" and it turns out that was the whole thing. i was just trying to see what the application form LOOKED like lol.
...guess i'll be hearing my "decision" next september (in other words, a "no, duh, stupid, what were you thinking")
although i THINK i meet the minimum requirements. idk. you need 2 prereq courses. i'm in stats 10 now, and i have psych 10 credit from high school, but i'm not sure if that counts?</p>
<p>Liyana- actually, there kind of is a minimum GPA. they won't consider you below a 3.5. this is an explicit, hard and fast rule for transfers and a pretty strong rule for 4-year applicants. the further north you are from a 3.5, the better your chances. literally. GPA is the biggest factor, course completion is the other factor. But gpa is a big deal. Any expressed interest in the field also helps. </p>
<p>dawritingmachine- comm is not a writing major, so if that's what you're interested in, comm isn't for you. its a broader mass media focused program with very little focus on writing instruction. some comm classes don't even require papers. so eh. yeah. comm at usc is more specific and is more vocational in nature. you can take classes with on-the-job kinds of training. at ucla, you still have those opportunities, but they're extra curricular. if you go to ucla and want to write, i suspect you'd fit better into English with a creative writing focus. </p>
<p>and i can't speak for combining any majors outside of comm.</p>