csboy1

Hey guys, thought you could help me out on this one. I applied to ucsd as a mircobiology major, and I just received my letter congratulating me on my acceptance. However, it states "you have been admitted as an "UNDECLARED" major since your choice was impracted...yada. yada...So there is no way I can take biology @ ucsd now? There has to be some way....btw, I'm pre-med so I want to focus more on the science-majors...even though humanities has a high percentage etc etc...thank you for your input...I just need to know what I have to do know to declare that I want to do something related to biology.

Frosting

Hello hon! I'm in pretty much the same position as you (undeclared), except i don't want to do bio, because after a lot of researching, i was like "holy crap this bio schedule is rigorous." It's not that i want to be pre-med or anything, so I'm just going to major in human development and hopefully become a nurse later in life...
ANYWAYS in your case, you want to do pre-med, so yes, you should major in bio. It's kind of tricky to switch into the bio dept from undeclared because like you said, it's impacted.
here's a tidbit from their website:

Beginning fall 2009, all continuing students will be affected by the impacted major status. Continuing students interested in changing to a biology major must complete an Exceptional Admission application.

The admission policy for continuing students is:

(a) complete at least one year/three quarters in residence at UCSD

(b) complete all lower division requirements for the requested major

(c) students will be ranked based on overall UCSD GPA and admitted according to rank

(d) students who have completed more than six full quarters at UCSD will not be considered

Yeah, it's going to be hard, but it's doable. For me, After seeing the "ranked based on GPA" i was like okay hell no i can't do this (i absolutely suck at chem). If you are good at chem, bio and physics, you should be fine though. From (b), the lower division requirement's for microbiology (all the bio's are pretty much the same..) are

Microbiology Major Requirements

Lower-Division Requirements

BILD 1 & 3

Mathematics 10A, B, 11/10C or 20A, B, C

Chemistry 6A, B, C, and 6BL

Physics 1A+1AL, 1B+1BL, 1C+1CL or 2A, B, C and one lab (2BL, 2CL, 2DL)

You would need to take all those classes ^ not to mention pass them with flying colors to be admitted into the biology department.
Most of my info was found here:
enrollment management
majortable

goodluck!

astrina

those freshmen already admitted to the biology major have shown exceptional competency in the field, so the department feels that they're ready (and capable) of handling the workload of the biology major. those who either didn't show such competency or change their minds later on have to show that they're worthy -- hence the requirements given.

there are lots of closely related majors, and a lot of people need time to figure out what they like. i was admitted directly to bioengineering: premedical, then changed my major to chem/biochem at the beginning of my sophomore year. never looked back.

konakai27

If I was admitted as a general biology major and eventually decide I like a specific part of biology, is it difficult to switch?

Frosting

^ no. (from their website)
Current Biology Majors

If you are currently a biology major, these requirement do not affect you. You may transfer within biology majors as you wish.

Students who transfer out of an impacted biology major may transfer back, one time only without meeting the full requirements of Exceptional Admission, provided they are in good academic standing.

csboy1

So basically, to get into a biology-major I have to spend time completing those prerequisites as an undeclared for a couple of years and then, only if they accept me, I can change my major to microbiology>? Correct me if im wrong, but what the hell am i supposed to do?

astrina

do well in the classes listed ... and possibly change your username.

i dunno, i thought the link was pretty helpful and clear.

Frosting

sighs, yeah, this whole thing is new for fall of 2009 so i guess it's best to just call them and see whats up. But to answer your question, yes.
but the REAL question is, how small is their acceptance rate, and how easy is it to get admitted to bio.

csboy1

By enrolling in SD and completing the required prerequisites, there is still no official guarantee though, right?

-What's wrong with my username?

Frosting

yeah, from what i read, there IS no guarantee, which seem's TOTALLY absurd because it'd be such a waste of time after taking like a million classes in physics, chemistry and biology. Like..then what are you going to do...
I think maybe Astrina thought your username is like...computer science boy or something?
I'm guessing it's counter-strike boy, though.

csboy1

You're correct Frosting....I last played that game about 4 years ago. However, this is complete B.S in my opinion. I have been admitted to UCSD, however, I cannot even get my 1st, nevertheless, even my 2nd choice majors. Is there any possible way that I could switch colleges and see if they have any open spaces? Or is this a holistic process? Still, I am not sure that many people applied to mircobiology....I personally know at least over 40 people who applied for regular biology/bio-engineering/biochemistry....but only a handful when it came down to my major.

* I was even accepted to my first college choice...

csboy1

Also, UCSD's website states the following:
Impacted majors for freshmen:

* Bioengineering
* Bioengineering: Biotechnology
* Biology

I don't see microbiology....

Frosting

What this means:

All biology majors will be considered impacted beginning fall 2009.

Seriously, read the first link i gave you. You can also call them and ask for more deets. That is all.

astrina

"The division will limit the number of freshman, transfer and continuing students that are admitted to ANY of the biology majors. "

(capitalization was added by me for emphasis)

yeah, i thought CS meant "computer science" -- but then again, i'm not up to snuff on the news in the gaming world.

i dunno, having impacted majors just seems like a subset of the college admissions process. some schools have all their majors as impacted -- so if the hosting department doesn't like you enough, you don't have a shot at anything else. at least ucsd allows you some wiggle room, and hey, you'll probably find something else you like along the way? (and likewise, someone who's getting better grades in those classes than you probably has a better shot at success in biology ... maybe?)

csboy1

Thanks for the input guys, really appreciate it.