What are my chances of getting into Berkley, UCI, UCSB, or UCSD with only a good GPA?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

I have a GPA of 3.8 (4.0 being the highest) after being enrolled in a community college for over two years. I’ve been taking four classes each semester, which is full time. I have no club history, volunteer experience, internship, etc. Are my chances of getting in pretty slim? If so, I will not be taking six courses this semester and will just split the courses for three this semester and another three next fall. I am afraid of jeopardizing my GPA by taking six courses that seem relatively hard all at once (two econ, two poli sci, and two anthro classes). If I decide to just take three this semester and another three next, I can throw some volunteer and club involvement in there as well before I apply again next fall. My major is political science, by the way. I plan to become a DA by going to law school once I get a BA in poli sci.

Any advice?

Any other thing they might be looking for that would be good to have on my application that I didn’t mention?

2

Pretty decent chances, actually. ECs aren’t prioritized all that much by the UCs(Except Berkeley, and even then, not that much). A 3.8 will definitely get you in at every UC you’re applying to, but for Berkeley, a 3.8 is probably around the average for political science majors who get in. You may want to add some ECs to maximize your chances of getting in there.

3

Clayton, thank you for the response. What exactly is a good EC activity to add into my academic history? Is joining any club on campus a reasonable choice? Are there specific “academic” clubs that they’d like to see?

And oh, if I ultimately decide to stick with plan B and separate the classes for three this semester and three next semester, what would I do with the application that I’ve already submitted to the four UCs? Would I just email them and tell them that I stuck with another option and would rather apply next fall?

EDIT: I’d think that not taking a load of 6 classes this semester will guarantee that I won’t get below an A and that I can throw into my academic resume some clubs and volunteer work so I can be sure that I’ll be admitted for next fall that I apply. I’m still not sure on what to do.

4

If you want to go to law school, don’t jeopardize your GPA. It’s not worth it. CC classes will give your GPA a boost for your LSAC GPA, so you’ll want to do as well as you can in all of them. If you’re used to taking 4 classes, taking 6 will be shooting yourself in the foot. Your priority should be keeping your GPA high - if you can handle it, then you will be saving yourself time. If you take another year, perhaps it would be a good idea to take 4 classes next semester, 1-2 classes in the summer, and then potentially no classes in the Fall/Spring. Then, you could take a year off, and still have very high chances. You could use that time working, taking an internship, etc. - all of which are good to have (not entirely necessary, but good) for law school.

Extracurriculars are of little importance. They want to see that you are capable of doing well academically in your major. A 3.8 is very competitive - if you have completed all of your major prerequisites and general ed, you will probably get admitted into all of the schools you mentioned.

Also, it’s Berkeley*

Eh. It depends on what you want to do. If you will have all requirements completed, then you have very good chances for admission. If you feel that taking 6 classes is far too much, then it might be beneficial to wait.

You can also offset your workload by taking 1-2 classes online on the quarter system. The Spring Quarter starts around the end of March, and lasts 12 weeks. Your finals/exams would probably occur at different times, which makes taking an additional class much more manageable.

5

Do you need to take 6 classes for any reason? (i.e. to meet the unit minimum or complete requirements)

6

Goldencub, first off, nice Nietzsche avatar! Quite a philosopher he is.

Secondly, I think you may be right. Will the UCs have no problem with me taking three this semester, three the next semester, and maybe two in Spring of 2017 just so I don’t go a year without any academics in my life? I think you may be right – it is a shot in the foot; especially since they are not simple courses like an intro to art course or something similar.

You also mentioned that extracurricular aren’t of much importance. I do, in fact, have all of my general ed completed. Would you advise that I don’t focus on clubs on campus and just focus on an internship program? I know that my school holds this position in the student body, and I thought it would be a good idea looking into it.

7

Yes, six classes will get me the 60 units I need to transfer. Removing a class would be below 60 units.

8

Yeah, he’s fun. I disagree with him about pretty much everything, but I like him.

The UC’s do not care whatsoever about full-time enrollment (with some exceptions, probably, like Haas). If you have at least 60 units, all prereq’s completed, and all GE finished, you can take however many classes you’d like.

Make sure that all of your units are transferable. You probably won’t have any trouble transferring to a UC - you will, however, have to ramp things up when you transfer to a UC unit wise, while making sure that your GPA is high for law school.

If I were you, and knew I couldn’t handle 6 classes in the Spring semester, I would probably take 4, perhaps a Spring quarter class, and then a summer class - and then just take a year off, working full-time or gaining experience with an internship, probably travel a bit, etc.

Law school admissions is more or less a numbers game. You need to maintain a high GPA and get a good LSAT score. It’s good to have extracurriculars, though - I wouldn’t recommend abstaining from participation in any clubs or organizations, considering you know you want to go to law school.

It’s really up to you. Essentially, you should have no trouble being admitted to a UC, and getting 2-3 B’s in the Spring won’t hurt your chances of transferring this time around. However, it might lower your GPA a bit, which you definitely want to avoid. CC units will defend your GPA, as they will be considered in your LSAC GPA. So, it’s beneficial for you to make sure your CC GPA is as high as possible - and in that sense, taking 6 classes is shooting yourself in the foot.

9

@MetalOnslaught
Anything will do, but the closer the activity is to your major, the better.

Do take 3 this semester and 3 the next. If that means you won’t have 60+ units by the end of spring 2016, though, you’ll just have to apply for next year.

If you plan to apply next year, you can just withdraw your application right now.

10

@goldencub Really? Even what he has to offer in Twilight of the Idols? Great read, I must say.

If law school is all about number games, then I think taking 6 classes this semester and just having the risk of a B crushing my GPA is not something i’d like to risk. I like your idea, but summer classes aren’t really my thing; so I will just take 3 courses this semester, 3 more in fall (which will complete my 60 units needed to transfer), and then another three classes related to law and politics in spring of 2017. If I follow that route, I will then apply to a UC during next fall. I think this route will be a better option, since I really do not want to take a hit on my GPA and I can ensure that I won’t be getting anything less than an A with only three classes. I’ve only received one B, two B+'s, and 13 A’s and A+'s as of now, so I really do not want to risk getting another B at this point.

@Cayton I will definitely withdraw my application. I am a little concerned, however. Will the colleges I applied to be upset that I withdrew my application? Will it affect my future applications in those universities in the future?

11

It’s sitting on my bookshelf. I should be reading Beyond Good & Evil, but I’ve been lazy over break. I started it, though. I’ve only read Zarathustra fully, but I did so pretty painstakingly.

If you end up only taking 3 classes per term, you should definitely do some extracurriculars. Law schools recommend quality over quantity - joining 10 miscellaneous clubs doesn’t look as good as holding leadership positions in 3 clubs, for example.

A+'s are weighed higher than A’s in the LSAC GPA, so that’s good.

Go for it. A maximum of 70 units will transfer over, be aware - but all classes you take at CC will be factored into your LSAC GPA. The more the better, really.

They will not hold anything against you for withdrawing your application.

12

@MetalOnslaught
They couldn’t care less about application withdrawals.

13

Alright guys – thank you for the great responses! I will definitely stick to plan B and not risk bombarding my GPA. One extra year won’t make too much of a difference. I’ll be 23 by then. Hopefully I won’t be too old to dorm?

14

It’s up to you. Keep in mind, waiting an extra year would mean you would graduate college at 25, and law school at 28.

15

@MetalOnslaught
Plenty of people who are 22+ dormed. One guy on my floor last year was 26.