<p>I'm entering my second year of Junior College and will have my IGETC completed by the end of spring 2013. Only thing is, I did not know UCLA had transfer prep requirements for their computer science major before I registered for my classes this semester so now its too late to go back and add the specified classes. I really want to get into UCLA! How big of a role do the transfer prep classes play? I took Pre Calc last semester and received a C, but the rest of my grades have been As. I have around a 3.8avg gpa and excellent volunteer work to place on my application. Anything I can do to increase my chances of getting into the Computer Science program at UCLA? Will the essay portion help me enough?</p>
<p>After talking with a UC counselor, I have been told that provided I finish all my IGETC requirements, I can get into any UC of my choice (besides UCLA or Cal). After reading UCSD's transfer requirements, from what I have understood, they will accept you and place you in a "pre major" type program where you can get those prep classes finished and then start towards your major. So either way those prep classes need to get done no matter where I'm at. </p>
<p>I guess what I am asking is would I be better off just staying at Junior college one extra year and getting all those prep classes finished so I can increase my chances of going to UCLA? Or should I just sign a tag and head to UCSD (Or any other UC) and take the transfer prep stuff there and finish my major there?</p>
<p>UCLA CS is super competitive - you have presumably zero chance of getting in without finishing prereqs. You really need to kick the math up a few notches, as for UCLA you’ll still need Calc 1-3, DM, LA, Diff Eqs… a C in pre calc doesn’t bode well for you, but just improve your study habits and do your best. </p>
<p>And yeah, you might as well finish all your prereqs at CC first, as it doesn’t make sense to have to finish them at the UC and spend more money for the same crap.</p>
<p>UCLA (& I’m pretty sure all of the other UCs besides Berkeley) offer computer science in their respective engineering departments, and if you have been on assist.org recently you would realize that they normally request that engineering majors NOT do IGETC and instead complete a rigorous load of math and science courses.</p>
<p>In some cases, the engineering division does not accept IGETC in substitution of its own breadth requirements because the engineering division’s breadth requirements are significantly different. For example, Berkeley engineering breadth requirements include two upper division humanities and/or social studies courses, which cannot be fulfilled with community college course work. But someone intending to transfer to Berkeley engineering may still want to complete all of the lower division breadth (2 English composition courses and 2 other humanities and/or social studies courses, preferably including at least one American Cultures course) so that post-transfer schedules will be less impacted.</p>