hopefully this Friday at around 5pm!
@lucidday staying calm has been really hard, luckily I’ve been able to stay mostly calm with some moments of complete dread lol. Staying busy has been a life saver - not with school stuff though that hasn’t worked. Just cleaning my room, going out with friends, if you can get on a roller coaster near you its a lifesaver. Spent yesterday at Disneyland and the adrenaline killed my anxiety, it was great! Anything to get your heart pumping, a good work out will do that too. I know that we have so much on our plate from school but our mental health is still important, and if you need to take a break from your paper to go for a run, it will help your anxiety and probably help you finish your paper without so many distractions…
I’m kinda in the same boat as you a couple years ago applying to the art program. Obviously its crazy competitive so I’m very nervous but these things have helped me.
@Ahmeda13 yeah it wasn’t required, but it was meant to enhance your application. I didn’t pass it up because my greatest strength is writing history papers and like I said I’m convinced it played a big factor in my being admitted.
To bad UCLA didn’t have that option, otherwise I’d feel so much more confident!
Has anyone received a regents invite yet??
Also, @iamnotrobert33 did they request the writing sample?? when?
@IAmNotARobot33 Ahh, I see. Yeah, UCSD is a fantastic school, but like I still want UCLA or even Berkeley. I am at a major disadvantage applying from a CSU tho haha
@IAmNotARobot33 the admit rate for history last year was over 60%, you’re correct. I got in with a 3.78, multiple W’s and F’s on my transcripts, and non existent EC’s. I’d say my statements were pretty strong, in my opinion.
I have spoke to many people who got into history with GPA’s around 3.5. If you’re a history major around that 3.5-3.6 mark, your chances are pretty good. Any history majors looking for tips, I’m happy to help.
@northremembers i live in LA and i don’t have a car so i depend very heavily on public transportation. it’s actually better than you’d think, even if it’s not the best in the world. just last year they added an expo rail extension that goes through the ucla area, so it’s just one rail ride to the beach or to dtla. also one bus to the beach and/or dtla from westwood village. there are subways, but only two lines. they’re currently building extensions, but as of now, none reach the ucla area. the best way to get all around LA would be by rail/subway AND bus combined. rail/subway to take you to the area of LA you wanna go, and then a bus to take you to the specific places. the bus system is easy here since there’s one for each major street. a college metro 30 day bus pass is $43, i read about bruintap though so it might be a different price for a different length of time, and it works for buses/rails/subways all through LA county. for the ucla area, though, you also have to get a big blue bus pass, but i read that there’s a bruin go flash pass for this that lasts the whole quarter for $33. i hope i explained this well even though it seems complicated, LOL. if you have any questions about specific public transportation things i’m filled w answers
You guys!!! So ecstatic! Can’t wait! :(( :-SS
@morocco123 i know it is. im from orange county originally but i moved up to LA for community college bc i can’t handle it there anymore, hahaha. i love the OC abd irvine though, it really is beautiful. i just can’t imagine relocating bc im so used to my life and everything here.
@myrideordie it’s not that difficult to find parking if you buy the permit.
Now, being able to buy the permit is a whole other issue. Passes are given out by lottery. I commute close to 80 miles round trip. Apparently that isn’t considered, because I didn’t receive the option to buy a pass last quarter. Finding day parking is ridiculously bad, and it’s $12 a day. In my experience, you need to get there a solid hour before class starts to find a spot in time. Even then, most of the time I gave up and ended up paying more to find a quick spot in the Anderson lot. At $20 a day that added up real quick.
@Oldhopeful hey that’s great to hear!
I have a 3.78, average ec’s (I volunteer at a local, small history museum, occasionally visit an orphanage in Tijuana, fundraise for my church, stuff like that). I also have 8 W’s on my transcript (5 of which I explained as adverse life events which forced me to drop a semester), but I think I wrote fairly strong personal statements.
I’d love to hear any general tips you might have, doesn’t seem like one finds other history majors often. Any professors I should avoid for example? I’m thinking of focusing on Latin America and applying to law school after graduating.
Thanks @chocstraw and @cmdchavezz ! I have heard before that LA public transit is terrible and that having a car is a must. However, I have a lot of anxiety with driving (never even got my license) plus a lot of apartments do not come with parking anyway, and I do plan to live off-campus for a couple reasons. If I get in of course… I know I am getting ahead of myself, but I am a planner by nature! I will definitely take into consideration living close to campus, even though it will be more expensive. That may be the best option, but it’s also good to know that I can get relatively inexpensive bus passes!
Shoutout to all the people that think they will get around L.A in a timely fashion without a car…whoever told you that…lied. lol That’s like somebody telling you that there won’t be traffic at 5 pm on the 405…not possible
@lucidday I think I’ve just come to terms with my chances. Unlike freshman admissions, which take so much into account, transfer admissions are relatively easy to predict. Admissions is like 90% based on GPA, and completion of major reqs. Assuming you completed all reqs, if your gpa is at or above the 75th percentile for your major, expect to get in, if its within the 25th-75th range, you’ll still most likely get in, if its just below the 25th percentile, its more of a 50-50 chance, if its well below the 25th percentile, expect to get rejected.
@MiniGrace11 I’m planning to live on campus, I don’t think I’ll really need a car and the hassle and cost to bring one when I’ll rarely ever use it doesn’t make sense. And there are Ubers if it IS indeed an emergency… idk I’m still contemplating it.
@UCLAorUCBTRNSFR I think you’re right. It’s just scary looking at past threads and seeing peoples 3.9-4.0s rejected.
@LynAmmo I have looked at past threads and totally freaked out too, but one thing people reminded me of is that there is so much we don’t know - like did these people fulfill all the requirements? Did they fill out the application correctly? Maybe their essays were poor or they didn’t have a lot going on besides their GPA. Digging into these threads trying to figure out if we’re good enough isn’t really a reliable indicator of if we’re going to be accepted or not… I would say that you seem like a really strong candidate, and just to remember that there’s so much that goes into the application that people aren’t necessarily posting on this site.
At this point, its best to come on here just to vent about our anxiety and try and help each other get to Friday. I am not allowing myself to look at past threads lol!
Also, you never know how impacted their major was. I have a 3.93, lots of ECs, and I feel like strong essays… but I’m applying to the art program, which mostly just cares about your portfolio, and has about an 8% acceptance rate. So if I don’t get it, it’s not really a good indicator for someone who is applying to a major with a much higher acceptance rate…
If one of our major requirement classes is currently in progress (we didn’t take it prior to the application due date), does that affect our chances of getting in, or as long as we are completing our major reqs prior to transfer?
@IAmNotARobot33 out of the classes I’ve taken, there’s no real professors I would say you should flat out avoid. Although, there’s a few I would be reluctant to recommend. Like Langdon for example, he teaches Roman history and Byzantine. Great lectures, killer tests. His grading scale makes for an easy B/B+, but a tough A. I definitely wouldn’t do like I did and take him during your first quarter here. I feel like during the fall quarter I had my toughest professors. Almost makes me think that they schedule it that way on purpose, so you get that rough introduction to the quarter system and then feel like everything is easier after that.
If you’re looking at Latin America, I’d highly recommend Summerhill. Great lectures, very straightforward tester. I took his Latin American economic history class and I loved it. I plan on taking his history of Brazil class when it’s offered. I’m even considering taking him for my senior seminar as well. I’d also recommend Urdank, although many would probably disagree with me. His lectures are a little dry/dense with info, but the readings are all great and his tests are very straightforward. He teaches European history, mainly Britain.
Quick tip, do the optional orientation day. It’s like $160, but it’s worth it. Only because you get to register for classes at the end. The rest of the day is a waste of time, honestly. Your typical “don’t drink too much” and “don’t rape people” presentations. Since you have to take two seminars for history, lower division and capstone, it’s good to get the lower division seminar out of the way early. They fill up fast, only 20 to a class, so the early registration during orientation helps a lot. Also try and get one of the early orientation dates. They tell you that they hold spots in classes for each orientation, but over half the seminars were filled up by the end of my orientation date. Obviously they don’t hold as much as they say, since I went to the first date offered.