Would it be a good idea to apply to UC Berkeley as a transfer student?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi everyone! Had a very rough time deciding on my career path. Will be applying as a philosophy major. Am attending a California CC down south. I've attended for three and a half years, and will be taking a year off to work as an intern. </p>

<p>Starting with the weak spots:
- 3.64 GPA.
- Second semester, gotten 4 Cs and a B. The rest of my classes are As. The trouble is, also have 11 Ws.. from switching from class to class, deciding what I want to do with my life, spread fairly evenly throughout all my semesters. Didn't really previously know they'd be such a detriment.</p>

<p>A few months ago, am quite grateful to have realized teaching would be something I'd find a strong calling and passion for. </p>

<p>Strong suites: </p>

<ul>
<li>Managed the money of all the club programs and allocation processes on campus. </li>
<li>Student Trustee of my college district for a semester. </li>
<li>Participated in student gov't for 6 semesters in a row, was in all of the committees there (budget, sustainability, diversity, activities, PR, rules). Connected with an incredible amount of people.</li>
<li>President/chair of the organization that manages all aspects of the club programs. </li>
<li>President and Organizer of Philosophy Club.. we wrote a book together as a project. </li>
<li>Will be representing my college's Model United Nations at UC Davis and UCLA.<br></li>
<li>Regularly participating in 8 clubs: Chemistry, Psychology, Poetry, PBL, Consulting (VP and project manager), Muslim Student Alliance, MUN, and Horticulture.</li>
</ul>

<p>If it all matters - SAT Biology: 750/AP Biology: 4 (dropped a few bio classes here, thought it may cover for it). In AP Calculus BC and Psychology a 5. Most of the classes that I dropped were in first semester Calculus and introductory Biology, along with other courses I haven’t really needed.</p>

<p>I've heard the average GPA of transfer students in Philosophy for UCB was between 3.6-3.7.. but am just very concerned about the Ws.. especially being all over the place. Am seeing whether I could also apply to UCSD, UCLA, and TAG into UC Davis. It would be very much appreciated for any advice or insight on this. Thank you very kindly! </p>

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<p>@findyaus1 Google this topic and you’ll find several threads where posters have been admitted as a transfer to many UCs with excessive Ws. You will need to have a very good explanation for them- such as “I was busy being a campus leader” rather than “I don’t know what I want to do in my life.” </p>

<p>I’m all for internships, but why do you need to take a year off? Unless it’s in DC or somewhere extremely unique away from campus, most schools would prefer to see how a student handles an internship while taking classes. </p>

<p>Your GPA is not horrible for transfer into a UC. I assume you have looked into their online transfer planner to determine that you have the right classes to be eligible to transfer?</p>

<p>Good luck! </p>

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<p>@Osserpusser, really appreciate this. Will incorporate the leaving-out “I don’t know what to do with my life” advice. And try to emphasize the positives over the drawbacks then. Already looked at the eligibility of the courses for transfer. As for the break, was hoping to intern and self study some subjects that I’ve always wished to learn, fairly outside of philosophy (absolutely love biology/chemistry), and help out my family with some things. I’ll see if I can take one semester off instead, and have at least one online course during that break. I’ve taken many classes at CC, and am close to exhausting the philosophy and psychology department.</p>

<p>Will also take a further look through searching. Your input is very helpful. Thank you so much!</p>