Do I no longer have a shot at UCLA?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Hi! I’m currently at SBCC and it’s my dream to attend UCLA but due certain recent events I’m worried that I may no longer have a shot.</p>

<p>I’m going to be a sophomore in the fall and I started off well, with straight A’s in Fall 2013 (with one A-, so a 3.93 GPA instead of a 4.0 but I’m going to appeal it because I got 94% in the class). </p>

<p>Spring Semester is where things kind of fell apart right at the end. I had all A’s and a C the entire semester until right at the end. One of my classes was online and there was a miscommunication as to when the final was due and because of that I ended up not being able to take the final and ended up with a B. I also ended up with a B in English and A’s in my other classes (Animal Biology and Intro Sociology).
I ended up purposely getting a D instead of a C in one class (Human Physiology) and because of that I can no longer apply to transfer this fall and will apply next fall. I 100% intend on getting an A when I retake it.
Lastly, I’m currently in two summer classes online and I have an A in one (film studies) but something weird happened with my browser while I was taking a quiz for the other (American Government) so I ended up failing the quiz. Because of this it’s incredibly unlikely that I’ll be able to get an A in the class.</p>

<p>The major issue here is that my major at the moment is communication studies, which is incredibly impacted at UCLA. The online class that I ended up getting a B in due to the miscommunication about the final is Into to Comm, which is major and I feel like it looks extremely bad that I got a B in it. </p>

<p>I did some math and if I were to get straight A’s in all my classes for 2014-2015 I would be able to raise my GPA back up to a 3.89 by the time I would apply. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t say that I have extraordinary ECs - I’m in Phi Theta Kappa, plan on joining the Communication Honors Society, and I work about 20 hours a week during the school year as a lifeguard and 60 hours a week during the summer as a lifeguard/nanny. I plan on getting more involved in volunteer work this upcoming year and I will also have an internship through the school for communication in the fall. I have ADHD and chronic migraines as well. </p>

<p>So with all these factors I have three questions:

  1. Should I withdraw (with a W on my transcript) from the summer class (government) or try to get a B? ie. which one would look worse at this point?
  2. What are my chances for UCLA with comm as a major at this point?
  3. Would I have any chance if I changed my major to something that is easier to gain admission in?</p>

<p>For the record, I also plan on applying to UCSD, UCSB, CSULB, SLO, SDSU, maybe UCD, maybe NYU, maybe Pepperdine (applying in Fall 2015 for Fall 2016 admission, I’m going to take a year off in the meantime as to not change my standing from a junior to a senior)</p>

<p>Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to any input people may have :)</p>

2

<ol>
<li>For UCs a W is better than a B. For privates such as USC, a B is better than W. </li>
<li>I think your ECs are good enough to have a shot at UCLA. Diversify them a little more with an award, some volunteer service, etc.</li>
<li>Yes, UCLA recently said that they want people to apply to the less competitive majors more. </li>
</ol>

<p>If all your units are from CC then you will always be junior level standing. </p>

3

<p>It doesn’t matter how many units you take at the CC level, you will never reach senior standing. You must take upper division units in order to reach Senior standing, and that can only be done at the 4-yr level.</p>

4

<p>@bomerr Yes, UCLA recently said that they want people to apply to the less competitive majors more.</p>

<p>Where did you hear this?</p>

5

<p>@CollegeDropout1‌
<a href=“University of California Counselors”>University of California Counselors;

<p>“Nearly 62% of all transfer applicants applied to just 12 majors within UCLA’s College of Letters and Science. UCLA offers 125 majors – please encourage prospective students to look broadly at our offerings!”</p>

6

<p>@bomerr thank you! Your response was super helpful :)</p>

<p>And thank you to everyone for clarifying the junior/senior standing thing! </p>

7

<p>It’s going to be really tough getting into UCLA’s Comm Studies. The avg GPA is 3.9 or thereabouts. Plus, they just enacted more pre-requirements, including a supplemental questionnaire and a project that needs to be submitted with your application. Their homepage describes it. </p>

8

<p>As an aside, reading your post it seems you do not take responsibility or ownership for any situation where you got less than an A. It may not be the case at all, but you read as somewhat immature and “excusey.” I say this only so you can re-evaluate how your tone and writing reflect on you as a person. If you have this sort of tone in an admissions essay, they will very quickly lose interest, even if your specs are great.</p>

<p>For UCLA, I’d advise take the W then re-take for an A. Chancing anyone for such an impacted major at a selective school is nearly impossible. From what I’ve seen on here, there are always those who are accepted unexpectedly and those who are denied unexpectedly. Do your best to raise your GPA and retake the D and W. Show a trend of improvement. And please don’t address sub par grades as mis-communications and web browser errors in your app.</p>

9

<p>

It sounds like you’ve only attended a CC. As far as the UCs are concerned, there is no cap on how many classes you can take at a CC and still be eligible to apply as a junior. They cap the number of units they will give you towards your degree, but even if you took classes for 5 years at a CC you’d still be eligible to apply to UC schools. </p>

<p>Also you ought to look into the TAG program, which can give you an admission guarantee to some UCs.</p>

10

<p>Getting B’s in English and Intro to Comm are possibly deal breakers for the Communications Major at UCLA. It’s so impacted and so competitive. If your B’s were in math or science or something, that would better.</p>

<p>We can’t tell you your chance of admission, but IMO, you still have a shot at UCLA, but Communications may be too far a reach. Since you don’t have the option of an alternate major, it’s a big gamble to take. I think you’d do better off applying for a different major. Just my $.02 </p>