Torrancecali

yah sure... my friend @ berkeley is working at the book store!part time.

BanditGirl

Thanks for starting this thread, OP. I'm a Cal spring transfer student waiting to move in next week. Sounds like I'll have to step it up a notch...

luvtoolearn

For any of you who are older students (over 25) and considering transferring to Berkeley here is my experience:

I am not going to lie to you. It was very difficult my first semester, but you have to remember I am not only an older student but I worked full time and I am a parent. I did well in most of my classes but I did poorly in one of them, whick is difficult because you start your UC GPA w/ a 0.00 and whatever you get for your first semester there starts to shape your UC GPA since CCC GPA does not transfer. It was very difficult switching gears and I would have to say that the biggest change that I am still having a hard time adjusting to is having GSI's & sometimes just graders grade all of your work instead of the professors. One of my classes, more than half the class failed and was in the professor's office complaining about the grading policy of the individuals grading the papers. I can see why Passionate's experience as a math major went well because math is universal..I am in the social science (L&S dept) so all of our work is very subjective.

Although it was a rough the first semester, I have to say that I absolutely love Cal and do not regret my decision to go there. They have plenty of classes including evening classes, really fun decal classes (student taught classes), fantastic transfer programs (I practically live in the transfer center), fun clubs and groups, a great student-parent program and always plenty of things to do around campus and the bay area. I am never bored. They have a fantastic family student housing program which is where I live. Get on the waiting list now even if you haven't gotten accepted yet. You can sign up up to 2 years in advance.

my suggestions:
1.) really check out the professors before taking a class (this makes a huge difference)
2.) try to take one fun or decal class a semester.
3.) do all of the readings in your readers (trust me there is allot of reading!)
4.) if you can, go to all the lectures even if it's not required
5.) try to limit the amount of groups or clubs you join the first semester. They are allot of fun so I suggest getting involved but they are also time consuming.
6.) try to get into study groups w/ your classmates. I noticed that the classes I did well in were the classes I exchanged email/phone numbers w/ other students and worked on assignments together at the coffee houses or student lounges.
7.) like passionate said...have fun on the weekend ...there is plenty going on around campus and just a BART ride away from The City.
8.) try if possible to reduce your work hrs. I burned out working full time and at the very end of the semester reduced my hrs to very part time & am now sane.
Oh and btw no one cares what year you are or if you are a transfer student so that was never an issue.

Good luck everyone!

KGZotU

luvtoolearn,

Thanks for letting us know.

I've got a question. I'm an "older student", and I'm not a parent but I am a husband. The one thing that we're really not sure about yet is housing. Family housing seems pretty expensive, as well as most of the places right next to campus. What's your experience with regards to housing?

--Joe

zemookmook

I guess it has been a while since I posted, and I just wanted to kind of provide a recap of my experiences so far. I dont know why, I just felt compelled to vent and thought that this would be a good 'forum'(get it?) to do it in. I wanted to convey some of the thoughts and feelings that i've been experiencing over the past couple months, and maybe talk about some pre-perceptions.

1) Community College makes getting into a UC much easier.

This is, for the larger part, becoming more true. However, that actually depends on what you mean by 'getting in'. Since the majority of colleges admit purely by community college GPA and not by major, yes, doing decently well enough in community college gets you a ticket in a little easier then it was in high school. However, with the increasing competitiveness of the field from CC-to-UC, indeed, that this entire forum even exists, is testament to the fact that this very quickly will no longer be the case. This isnt even mentioning the majors that are impacted, the majors of which actually admit based on not only GPA and extracurriculars and essay as well. These majors are often more difficult or easily just as difficult to get into from community college as high school. As a person applying to the same competitive program with the same level of difficulty from high school to college, the entire dual process often takes a toll on the person involved, even if it is a second chance. My personal experience was with Haas, and although I had-in my belief, at least much better statistics then I had coming out of high school, I was rejected.

On a side note, for all the people who message me about Haas; there's really only one thing that has seemed to matter or make a really serious difference, and that's GPA. so if you're just starting out and in doubt, get a 4.0. that will get you the best chance possible.

2) Community College people are not as intelligent as people from the UC.

This has, for the larger part, been a very, very, serious bungling of intelligence. Too bad there's nobody to point fingers at. This is something I was told in CC consistently, and as I was being looked down from my high school peers for being at a CC, (coming from a competitive HS), I realized that the people around me who were being berated were really a lot more intelligent then they had been given credit for. Indeed, the one thing that I think is missing from the UC that really needs some attention is the absence of 'brilliant' people. I have met a great deal of smart people at UC, but it seems as though the brilliance of the people that I met at CC came from the harsh realities of real world experience, and determination to change their life and make it better. I think that the problem that we have is the whole 'they accept everyone so they cant be good'. Arguably, there isnt as great a focus on the traditional career aspirations that come with being at a 4-year school, but that doesn't necessarily meet the brightline of people not being 'as intelligent'. I think that some of the people I met in CC, like for example, the people that came to America after surviving total genocide in Sudan and Serbia, showed a great deal more heart and strength then any of the people who have the privilege of being at a UC. I think that these people, although they do not meet the 'intelligence' and 'prestige' standards, take brilliance to a whole new level altogether.

I guess I must just be spoiled. It's so weird to say that, but when you're around people really fighting for a better future using whatever resources they have, instead of being around people simply taking advantage of the resources that are present whether by a stroke of luck or placement, you tend to get a little cynical.

3) Community College to UC lacks the freshman experience, and is therefore a bad transition.--And/or it's so hard to transfer because you dont know anyone.

This I something I heard so ridiculously often from people that I was talking to about my experiences in community college that I just accepted it to be true. Looking back, I dont necessarily believe that the 'freshman experience' was really worth anything at all. The hard realities of community college forced me to grow at such an exponential rate beyond what I expected, like for instance-how the counselors are ALWAYS wrong and will never help you, how you have to seek out career advice on your own, how you need to be responsible entirely for your own education, since there is no external impetus to actually 'leave', or 'graduate' community college at a certain time, and notwithstanding the people that you meet, the people who have had exposure to things that you would never normally find at a traditional 4-year college who really begin to shape your life(if you choose to seek them out)...all of these things combined I think provided a much more enriching ''freshman'' experience then anything else I have encountered here at my UC. People here, for the large part, are sheltered. I don't mean that to be derogatory, just its the reality that most people at UC have their educations paid off for by thier parents. Student loans are significant, but the majority of the people you meet arent paying rent or electric bills on their own, or have jobs to solely support their eduction.

On another sidenote, the people that do, even at UC, are the people that need to be sought out. These are the gems in the rough. (more often, however, these are also community college students.)

But, I digress. The last thing I really wanted to address is the whole 'It's hard to transfer from community college' thing. Well, that one was right on the money. Reintroducing yourself entirely into a community where you have very little connections is a really difficult process. Sure, if you have friends there, it would be easier, but after 2 years those friendships often break down-and your friends have developed on a different level then you have. you come with different experiences, and different bondings-unless you have spent a significant amount of time with them, which I believe is a waste of the community college experience. It's a serious trip outside your comfort zone, and it is not easy if you dont have an established social and/or professional community. When I first asked the question in my orientation "Do people look at transfer students differently?" the whole auditorium kind of snickered. I guess the joke was on them. There is a de facto difference in the way that people from community college have developed and access opportunities, simply by thier exposure to a radically different environment and/or process. This, across the people I have talked to, has stayed consistent.

This is not to discourage, but it is to make a point. Those who come from community college into some of the more difficult UC programs tend to be far more successful and developed then people at their same stage of development when they transfer. This is natural. But that very transition, that very process is transforming, and if you are, like I was, experiencing transfer at a very different level of your comfort zone, it's going to be difficult.

For the most part, I think, transferring is not for the faint of heart. The majority of the people on this forum that I spoke to, that helped me, are 'determined' individuals, who seek out opportunities and become naturally different then most of their peers. I may be wrong on this, but if you are reading this, then you are a different kind of person then the masses at the UC, and you should remember that the time you spent at CC is not just time in the grind that you waste away, but time that you can really use to make a sincere and significant difference to your personality and ambitions and approach to education-setting yourself apart from the rest of the crowd.

And after you have transferred, be proud. One thing I can tell you for sure is that for the large part, the difference between you and high school students is that you did it absolutely 100% all on your own. Either out of necessity or choice, the accomplishment is 100% yours.






...I also reserve the right to delete this post in case I later feel it was some type of insane discourse driven from the bag of M&M's I just ate.

dragondawg

great post mook, i agree, i often wonder what it was like to have the freshman experience and what living in dorms would be like. My first semester at a CC i was envious of all of my classmates who were saying they were enjoying dorm like and partying. Most of the students at a CC are older students who are trying to get an education again for whatever reason they didn't do it the first time, or students from out of the country. Most students i knew had a goal to transfer or get a job and also had jobs and kids to take care of. So being exposed to people of all ages and their different backgrounds also gave me some new perspectives. People at 4 year colleges i guess are mostly all the same ages and party more. I also heard how its harder for a transfer to adjust, fit in, and make friends since people from the previously 2 years already have their groups. And you were right about the counselors, i knew more than they did in some cases.

El Barto

Good insight zemook, I too think the community college experience can be enlightening and educational in it's own right.

Dam Its Johnny

zemookmook-I registered just to thank you for your words.

nancie

someone mention about GSI what is that exactly?

AllyGO

GSI Graduate Student Instructor
same thing as TA teaching assistant or TF teaching fellow

nancie

^^ oh okay, thanks!

UCLAhopeful5211

if people rush a sorority/fraternity during thier junior year, do you think that would help out socially? or does the greek system not accept juniors? is there ANY way to be social at UCLA? how was/is the party scene?

Malishka31

If you are outgoing you will have NO Problem being social at ucla

BDS

What I write here is from my experience with fraternities, but should be equally applicable to sororities.

The Greek community is a great support base for new transfers. I transferred to UCB this past fall without any plans of joining a greek organization. I ended up pledging a fraternity after I saw the many benefits. I am living in a residence hall and am close with my floor mates and friends I've met through clubs and classes, but the truth is that there are no college friendships stronger than those in fraternities. Living together, working together, and partying together creates lifelong friendships and true brotherhood.

In the shorter term, fraternities provide an instant community of friends who are willing to go to great lengths to help you. I have to admit that it was very tough during my pledge semester, having to adjust to a new environment, take upper-division courses, and participate in time-consuming pledge activities, but I can say that joining a fraternity is one of THE BEST decisions I have ever made. One thing the experience will teach you is time management and efficient study habits. Fraternities and often have many members of the same major, and they are able to give practical advice on what courses to take, who to take them with, and what you should focus on in your studies. I took two classes with brothers from my fraternity during the fall semester and we often studied together, to great success—my fall GPA was much higher than I anticipated.

Fraternities and sororities are not for everyone, but members of the Greek community are the most well-connected people on campus.

PS - I am of the same age as my junior class and I fit in fine, but I can see some awkwardness for older transfers joining a fraternity of primarily 18-22 year olds.

dhl3

ACADEMICS:

UCLA is LOT LOT LOT HARDER THAN CC COURSES.

IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DO AS WELL AT UCLA JUST BECAUSE YOU GOT 4.0 IN CC AND STAYED TOP OF THE CLASS WITH 125% FINAL GRADE, THEN YOU SHOULD RECONSIDER WHAT YOU ARE GOING INTO.

Basically:
At CC: You study hard day and night 3 days in advance of exam, you will most likely to get an A.

At UCLA: You study hard day and night A WEEK in advance of exam, you will most likely get average (B-/C+), or if you are lucky, a B/B+.

Just a warning.

or maybe I just had hard profs.