Coursework (AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))
Completed all lower division requirements (for CS) at my current school, and finished most GE requirements but do not have letter of reciprocity yet.
Extracurriculars (Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
Started a student led research lab where I taught a cohort of students ranging from freshmen to seniors about the full spectrum of CS research (literature review, proposal development, software development, paper writing), culminating in two research projects and a publication. The program also was able to be credited by the school.
Part of a research lab researching explain-ability for autonomous systems, worked under masters students and on my own independent research.
Hackathon coordinator for club, launched first hackathon and currently raising funding for second with top teir companies
Competitive programming club coordinator, design contests for rest of the club after being selected as a coordinator
2x winner of school wide AI project showcase, won from a prize pool of 550 dollars each time
A research publication, from the first ec listed, not sure if it should be mentioned separately as well
Selected to a pre-internship program from Nvidia
Essays/LORs/Other (Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
Don’t really have a legit reason for transfer other than wanting more research opportunities/prestige
Cost Constraints / Budget (High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.)
No budget in mind
Schools (List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)
Colleges I am going to apply to (open to recs):
Transferring to the other UCs will be pretty hard given the following.
You can certainly try but chances are very slim. UCSC is a very good CS school and you need to think really hard about the additional cost of going to those private schools you have on your list.
I can’t speak for the UCs but Stanford, CMU and Georgia Tech will want you to articulate a strong and specific academic reason for wanting to transfer.
Explain to me how going to another school will enhance your research opportunities.
Prestige ? It’s CS. Do you need to name drop at parties. You don’t need prestige or even a CS degree to be successful. My Poli sci u of Arizona nephew works at a big one you know in NY. He simply had to pass the hiring exam.
Can’t answer you but it seems like UCSC has given you opportunities you likely wouldn’t have elsewhere ahd will impress employers.
What is the timing of your transfer? Are you going to attend UCSC this coming year, and apply for Fall 2024 this late winter/spring? Or are you taking a gap year?
If the latter, your HS record will be a stronger admissions factor than if you have two full years under your belt. Since it doesn’t look like your HS record was that strong, I encourage you to complete another at UCSC.
Did you apply to any of the schools in your list senior year of HS?
Any budget constraints?
I can’t chance you, but the schools on your list are reaches. If you are sure you want to transfer you need to expand the list and include at least one affordable safety.
For some schools, you will have to explain why you want to transfer. That reason (or reasons) doesn’t have to be an academic one, but you have to focus on why the new school and how you will engage there if admitted.
If research is your goal, maybe consider UCSB CCS. While still a reach, that unique opportunity would at least provide a clear answer to why you are transferring between UC’s.
For the UC’s, the CA CC transfers have priority over the UC to UC transfers.
As a Junior level transfer, your HS record will no longer be considered so your College GPA, completion of the GE and major course requirements along with your personal insight essays will be the major factors in the application review.
I would make sure you get the GE reciprocity completed before transferring.
Here are the following GPA and admit rates for CS transfers:
Thanks for the response. I wrote prestige and didn’t elaborate much on it, which I realized I should have done in hindsight. There are a few issues that make me want to consider a transfer from UCSC. Firstly, while there are research opportunities, they are few and far between and the research labs themselves are very small. The research lab I made was not an opportunity given to me by UCSC, it was purely my own initiative. My main interest is research (as you can probably tell), so I’ve participated in academia for the past few years including high school, and most of it has been independent. I’ve joined labs here at UCSC, but the very few ai labs that I am interested in have little to no phd students or structured projects going on, at least to my knowledge. Other schools I look at, UCSD and UCB specifically have plenty of opportunities for students to work directly under phd students on their research, and that’s an opportunity I really want.
In terms of prestige, UCSC career fairs are abysmal and they offer 0 help for getting into the industry. Better universities offer more in this regard, but honestly this isn’t a top priority, I just mention because it is another slight reason for wanting to transfer.
Lastly, I’m not too sure about the quality of education here. Based on what my other friends at other schools say, the amount of rigor or even material taught at UCSC does not seem up to par with these other universities. This is the least legitimate reason I have because I have yet to take upper division classes/grad classes, which I hope improve upon this lack of rigor/material.
Regardless, those are my true motivations to try transferring out of UCSC to another school.
When you talk about why you want to transfer or attend X school, do not use any space to criticize UCSC. Not one word. Write about a specific prof you want to do research with at the new school, and/or a specific lab and how that fits with your experience and interests. Write about classes you want to take, the major you want, ECs/clubs you will be involved with.
I can’t comment on UCSC career fairs (which are dying off at many schools), but just like accessing research, the onus is on the student to find opportunities for jobs by networking, attending programs presented by companies of interest, creating a good resume, honing interview skills, etc.
School career offices aren’t going to get a job for you…good ones can help with resume writing, interview skills, programming, and listings of job opportunities…but you have to engage and do the work.
Among your activities I had some trouble distinguishing between what you did as a high school student versus what you are doing now as a university student. However, I picked out these two because they look like they might be things that you are doing in university.
These research and internship opportunities are very important. They will help you a lot when it comes to looking for a job after you graduate from university. If applicable they will help you in graduate school admissions. These activities are more important than the difference between a very good university (where you are now) versus a really top ranked university (such as UC Berkeley or CMU or Georgia Tech). Arriving at a top ranked university as a junior who does not know anyone will not help you get these opportunities – but you already have them where you are now.
Also, if you look at master’s degree or other graduate students at the really top universities, they will have come from a very wide range of undergraduate universities.
I think that your best bet is most likely to stay where you are, do very well, look for research and/or internship opportunities, and get a lot of A’s and not much else. When you graduate you will be able to get a good job, or you could get a master’s degree, or you could get a year or two of job experience and then think about whether or not you want to apply for a master’s. Your chances of getting into a top school for a master’s is better than your chances of transferring into a top university as an undergraduate student.
And I did get my master’s degree at one of the schools that is on your list of top schools to apply to. The other students in the same program had come from a huge range of other schools.
Thank you for the reply. All of the ecs I listed were only from college. I am definitely going to be looking at grad school as an option because my interests lie in AI and academia, so I’ll keep your advice in mind. I’m only looking at transferring as a potential option, not something I guaranteed want to do, so it’s good to have this opinion while weighing options in the future .
If so, they’ve already reviewed your record. They generally don’t backtrack unless you’ve done some amazing EC’s at your current school. Which professors can attest to what you’ve done at Santa Cruz?
To get into the schools that you want, the ONUS is on you to create the environment that you want at UCSC. That’s what they expect of “prestige”-level seeking students. Not happy there? Your high school record will be reviewed again if you choose to apply this fall. Apply to different schools.
Our son attended Caltech. Of course the school is considered prestigious, but those students, historically, have always taken the initiative when they want to create a change in their environment. (Cal Poly students are also of the same vein.) The students proactively arrange the job fairs throughout the year.
All it takes is one idea and students who will give 100% to that idea. The students consistently lobby for SWAG, before the fairs, to advertise fair dates and give online templates for resumes while announcing these fairs to alumni. Our son received bags full of freebies prior to each fair: sunglasses, blankets, sports equipment, bathroom caddies, office supplies, t-shirts, socks, and all manner of key chains and car accessories. If there is an idea and fills a need, those students react and create what they want.
Absolutely agree. They take a handful of transfers and most of them are former military, athletes, compelling second career candidates and full time Mom’s/Dad’s who weren’t in a position to attend a university out of high school. Stanford knows who they want.
All of your points make sense, and that in itself is why I would be a little hesitant to transferring. The research lab and the hackathon are part of this club at UCSC that I hope to utilize to grow a stronger CS/Software Dev culture at the university that I feel is a bit lacking. Wanted to keep my options open with transferring, hence the post, but I will certainly have to re-evaluate if it’s something I really want to do.
You, not your school, ultimately is responsible for your career. My kid’s school offers little. She’s loaded up 6 internship offers in DC for the Fall. How? She set up an indeed and fit daily listings and applied. My engineer son from Alabama had 5 job offers by Xmas.
Not saying UCSC is great. I don’t know. I assume you were turned down by the others the first time.
I wish you well but there’s zero reason you can’t be successful at UCSC. Some schools might do a better job with career fairs etc but in the end, good job fair or not, you have to sell yourself.
Perhaps look at OOS flagships for more options - Arizona, CU, Utah but don’t expect anything to be given to you. I assume by your setting up the lab that you are a go getter. Put that energy into finding a summer internship and you’ll be fine.