<p>Hi everyone,
I’m thinking of going to California for college, and then transfer to a university. the problem is that I’m lost with all the information that I’ve been read lately, can anyone explain to me how it works? i mean about majors and minors and units and GPA. just any information you can give me to understand the education method in the U.S. colleges.
many thanks!</p>
<p>Wikipedia is your friend:
[Education</a> in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States]Education”>Education in the United States - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>A “major” is your intended field of study (e.g. “mechanical engineering major”), in which you work towards your degree.
A “minor” is another field of study you are involved in, but is not a major. Also different from “double major.”
“Units” describe how much work is in the course, how difficult is, etc. For example, a 12-unit course here at MIT means that the average student spends 12 hours a week on that subject (by lectures, homework, etc.). The definition of “unit” is pretty vague though.
“GPA” or “grade point average” is the numerical average of your grades. It is usually defined as</p>
<p>A = 4.0
B = 3.0
C = 2.0
D = 1.0
F = 0.0</p>
<p>Sometimes an “A-” can be 3.5 or 3.7 or something. Grade points are averaged in order to compute GPA.</p>
<p>What exactly are you confused on? Also, the words university and college are pretty much synonymous here… what do you mean by going to college then university? </p>
<p>Major is what you want to study. A kid who wants to be a biologist will take a biology major.
Most of your classes are in your major. So that kid who wants to be a biologist might take evolution, genetics, & cell biology as part of their major.</p>
<p>A minor is something else you’re interested in, but not as much. You have a lot of classes in this subject, but not as many. So, if you’re a biologist who wants to study in China, maybe you’ll get a minor in Chinese. </p>
<p>GPA basically combines the grades you got in all your classes into one number, so they can compare students not taking the same classes. Typically, the highest is 4.0.</p>
<p>Start here: [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info%5DEducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info)</p>
<p>Then get in contact with the counselors at the advising center closest to where you live. They are expert at helping students in your country find good places to study in the US. [EducationUSA</a> | Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/centers.php]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/centers.php)</p>
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<p>In some other countries, “college” refers to what is more like a community college in the US, while “university” refers to a bachelor’s degree granting school.</p>
<p>If that is what the OP meant, then s/he is asking about doing two years at a community college, then transfer to a UC or CSU to complete the bachelor’s degree in another two years. This is the ideal case; many community colleges in California are overflowing, so it may be difficult to get the needed courses to transfer in two years.</p>
<p>A major is a specified set of courses, including in-depth advanced courses, in a particular subject; these courses typically make up 35% to 75% of the courses you would take for a bachelor’s degree. A minor is a smaller number of courses.</p>
<p>In California public universities, a unit is an amount of credit and workload; a nominal full time course load is 15 units. Some schools are on the semester system (two terms per academic year) and some are on the quarter system (three terms per academic year); units at semester system schools are worth 1.5 times as much as units at quarter system schools. 120 semester units or 180 quarter units is the usual number for a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>The community college to UC or CSU route is documented on [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) .</p>
<p>First of all I want to thank you all for this great information!
Now I understand a lot better, now I now what is major and what is minor,
and yes I want to go to community college and then transfer.
College and university are different, and “ucbalumns” got it :)</p>
<p>so the thing is that I really want to go to USC or UCLA because I have that
dream since I was 12 to become a Director, but the problem is that I can’t afford
4 yeas in USC because I don’t have lots of money to spend on it so I thought maybe I’ll
Go to community college and then transfer to UCLA or USC.</p>
<p>Last week I met guy called George Beers and he’s a dean from foothill college,
he told me that it is possible to transfer to UCLA and USC because they have
all the E.G. requirement in foothill.</p>
<pre><code>But now my question is, I want to attend UCLA or USC for Film and TV production
It is possible to get major in psychology in the community college and not a major in
fine arts? I really like Psychology but still want that Film program after transferring.
</code></pre>
<p>
</p>
<p>Be very careful what classes you take at the CC level. Not all classes transfer, and not all are useful for your desired major.</p>
<p>UCLA’s Film, Television, and Digital Media degree program says:</p>
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</p>
<p>More information at [Quick</a> Facts | UCLA School of TFT](<a href=“http://www.tft.ucla.edu/about/quick-facts/]Quick”>http://www.tft.ucla.edu/about/quick-facts/) .</p>
<p>For USC, the transfer application requirements for the film majors should be listed at [Degrees</a> offered at USC Cinematic Arts - USC School of Cinematic Arts](<a href=“http://cinema.usc.edu/degrees/index.cfm]Degrees”>http://cinema.usc.edu/degrees/index.cfm) .</p>
<p>Thank you all!
You are far too kind.
I’ll talk to the dean of Foothill and see if I can complete all these courses there. Thanks again.</p>
<p>For UCLA and other UCs and CSUs, IGETC is described here: [ASSIST</a> Help Pages](<a href=“http://web1.assist.org/web-assist/help/help-igetc.html]ASSIST”>http://web1.assist.org/web-assist/help/help-igetc.html)</p>
<p>The list of courses at Foothill and their corresponding IGETC categories for 2012-2013 is here: [ASSIST</a> Report: FOOTHILL 12-13 IGETC Course List by Area](<a href=“http://web1.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=tca&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=27&ia=FOOTHILL&ay=12-13&arc=N&dora=]ASSIST”>http://web1.assist.org/web-assist/report.do?agreement=tca&reportPath=REPORT_2&reportScript=Rep2.pl&event=27&ia=FOOTHILL&ay=12-13&arc=N&dora=)</p>
<p>For USC, check its web site or ask for its requirements.</p>