I was admitted to UCSB last year as a freshman and back then it was my best choice since I was waitlisted at almost everywhere else and didn’t get pulled out. However this school is just not right for me as a person and I didn’t make too many friends who click with me either. I plan to transfer next fall, preferably UCLA (or Cal if possible), and I don’t see a lot of inter UC transfer trends here for my major (biology) and the whole process seems really confusing.
I am a pre-biology major at UCSB and I’ll be finishing up gen chem series and physics series by the end of this year and plan to take summer school and get all my GE done by next year.
I currently have a 3.45 GPA ( hope to get it up to around 3.65 after the summer, maybe higher after fall) and some extracurriculars: volunteering at cottage hospital, member of pop orchestra, Lab assistant, etc. I didn’t spend too much time doing ES’s so the list looks a bit thin. I plan to be a pre-med/pre-pharmacy at UCLA.
Can someone who has done this before give me a rough idea of how likely will I be admitted to UCLA or Cal? And what else should I be doing now to increase me chance/prepare myself for UCLA/Cal? And which major should I be choosing to be on the right track to grad school? ( I heard UCLA is a GPA killer). Thank you so much!
plz help!
The GPA will be a reach for Berkeley or UCLA. Beyond that I don’t have much insight. Perhaps others can be of assistance. @mikemac @ucbalumnus ?
This seems mathmatically impossible. If you have 48 units at a 3.45 gpa now, even if you take 12 units over the summer and get straight A’s then your gpa becomes 3.56; if you take 12 units this summer and 16 in the fall, then when you submit a grade update in the spring it looks like you can have a 3.65 by then if you get all A’s. Sprinkle in a few B’s and its even less.
I don’t know about Cal, but you can look at admit xfer rates at http://www.admission.ucla.edu/Prospect/Adm_tr/Tr_Prof18_mjr.htm which shows that admitted xfer students into Biology at the 25th percentile had a gpa of 3.74 and it was similar for other bio-family majors. Add onto that the UC preference for CC xfers means the 25th percentile for UC-to-UC xfers was likely even higher. GPA percentiles are not chances, but knowing that 80+% of admitted applicants had a higher gpa is not an encouraging sign.
Yes, the strongest UC applicants end up at Cal and UCLA, so if you’re fighting to get a 3.45 now then figure the competition just gets tougher at these schools. I understand wanting to xfer for a better college fit, but you need to consider the tradeoff. Is it more important to you to enjoy your college years or to end up as a doctor? If the latter then you’d xfer to either Merced or Riverside. I know a guy who got into all the UC’s he applied to, including Cal. He wanted to be a doctor, chose Riverside, he is a doc today.
If you’re thinking going to these schools is going to help in med/pharm admissions because of the prestige, where you got your degree is not a factor. They care about gpa and MCAT for med school.
UCSB is not a fit for everyone, some people prefer a more urban environment. But it is the 2nd part that gives me a bit of trouble. It isn’t like Cal or UCLA pull from a different pool of applicants; college students are going to be pretty similar at all UCs so if you aren’t making a lot of friends now it may not change as much as you hope when you xfer.
If your heart is set on UCLA then you should consider going to a CCC and taking part in the TAP program. CCC students get priority admission to the UCs, and TAP students get priority among these applicants. See http://www.admission.ucla.edu/Prospect/Adm_tr/ADM_CCO/tap.htm Not all CCC have TAP, you need to look at the list, and then for schools you might consider look further into their rules. Generally you get priority enrollment (so you will get all the classes you need and get out in a year), trained counselors, etc. If you are thinking of Cal they have a similar program but you need to belong to certain “underserved” communities to be eligible; see https://cep.berkeley.edu/transfer-alliance-project-tap
why bio grad school? (there are a ton of premeds who go that route so the job market is limited.)
I agree completely with @mikemac (I typed this before reading his full response 
). If you didn’t fit in at UCSB, what makes you feel like UCLA or UCB will be better fits? Hopefully you can explain it, but from the outside looking in, it seems like you’re just climbing the prestige ladder, rather than looking for a radically different environment.
This would make more sense to me if you were asking about Claremon Colleges, LMU, St. Mary’s, etc. even some of the Cal States, but UCLA and UCB have me scratching my head.
Seconding everything @mikemac said. In addition… have you met with a pre-health advisor at UCSB? What is your GPA for just the specific premed/pharm courses? If that’s the lower end of your 3.45, you may really need to have a conversation about what it is going to take to make med/pharm school admissions viable. Also discuss whether you’ve been strong in terms of standardized testing in the past, and as such whether you’re likely to knock the MCAT/PCAT out of the park, which would help to compensate for a “softer” GPA but only to a certain degree. And do discuss your choice of major as well. Are you thinking biology because you genuinely love biology, or are you one of the many students who think they’re supposed to major in bio as a pre-health student? Because bio isn’t necessarily the most advantageous major for med/pharm school admissions, and it’s far from the most advantageous if you end up looking for employment after undergrad. Depending on your interests, definitely consider options like math, stats, physics, public health, or really anything that you’re truly interested in. There’s a terrible glut of former-premed bio majors, and little about an undergrad bio degree that prepares you for anything but grad school. Take advantage of all the advising that’s available at UCSB - they have worked with hundreds of students in your position and will give you an honest appraisal.
Thank you for your help! Reading of what you said I think I’d put myself in an awkward academic standing even tho, say, I made it into UCLA. Most of my friends who are thinking about transferring are Econ/accounting/business major who would probably benefit way more than a bio major from a UCLA diploma. I will rethink about it and thank you again for enlightening me : )
@JaqueBear . . . if you don’t mind, I’d like to comment contrarily to the others. I don’t see it hurting to apply as an xfer student. Is UCLA a gpa killer in relation to SB? It could be, but it’s not necessarily the case with respect to yourself. Where you are happiest => better study habiits especially in your case => better grades; and a 3.45 is very good at the moment.
I liked that you listed pre-pharmacy besides your premed aspirations. This is a good fallback and you’ll undoubtedly be a good pharm candidate with your current grades.
In any way as you noted, you’ll have to wait until you’re a soph in standing to apply as xfer, so UCLA should know your soph winter’s grades to figure out if you’re a good candidate for acceptance.
@JaqueBear. . . one other thing, if you wouldn’t mind…
Your 3.45 as a freshman is undoubtedly pretty substantially above the other frosh at UCSB. I would guess that the average SB student would end their first year with ~ 2.9 gpa, So you’re solidly > by a good five-tenths of a grade. The others will ascend by a good two-tenths by the end of their senior years, and if you ascend accordingly, you’ll be in a pretty good spot. Many find upper division easier, less hurried, and covering less study material because it isn’t trying to cast a wide net on material as lower division does. In addition, one’s frosh year always encompasses adjusting to University. So you’re on the right track at SB.
Best of luck…
How did you know when classes to take for your GE requirements? I am currently a freshman at UCSB.
@gaucnco you should post your question in the general UCSB forum.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/