<p>There were threads like this on other boards but I don’t see one here.</p>
<p>So what are the things you wish you knew about transferring when you were a HS senior/college freshman? This might be helpful to many of us!</p>
<p>a school should have a major that you are interested in…:)</p>
<p>Berkeley has pre-reqs; I don’t really like econ; Asian history rocks.</p>
<p>I wish I knew it would be better to graduate from an American HS, rather than from a HS in my homecountry.</p>
<p>I wish I applied to another university than MIT, I got rejected and I go to college in Saudi Arabia now. ALWAYS APPLY TO AS MUCH UNIVERSITIES AS U CAN.</p>
<p>Half of things things I didn’t know, others I started doing right away…but many other students were clueless about the process.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>KNOW YOUR MAJOR!</p></li>
<li><p>Plan your WHOLE transfer schedule up to the point you transfer - this is hard because multiple schools = multiple requirements</p></li>
<li><p>Use ratemyprofessors.com - some professors are just killer.</p></li>
<li><p>Start your classes in the summer, and don’t take any of the first semester off. Don’t take anything under a full unit load, unless you have to. Doing so will screw you in the last semester, when you are busy with essays, apps, rec’s, etc. Plus, the more units you get out of the way now, the more flexibility you have to spread out the difficult classes throughout multiple semesters.</p></li>
<li><p>look for transfer programs! </p></li>
<li><p>look at profiles of students here on CC, specifically the profile of admitted students. that’s how you can gauge if you’re on the right track, or if you’re falling behind, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>gonna go ivy or private? know your teachers…you need rec’s from them</p></li>
<li><p>know that you won’t always get the courses you want…so look into previous course catologues for guidance when planning a 2 year course sched</p></li>
</ol>
<p>more to come…</p>
<p>Well some of the things I wish I knew get more to do with not doing something… I’ll limit my transferring “mistakes” to UCs only.</p>
<p>1.) Don’t Kill Yourself over ECs. You do not need 500 hours of volunteering at hospital to get into UC Berkeley. You do not have to be the President/VP of Student Government to get into UCLA. You do not need to cure cancer to get into any of the top UCs. </p>
<p>2.) Make good balance between academics and activities, but put more weight into academics.</p>
<p>3.) IF money is not the issue, don’t even bother joining those crappy “honors program” at ccc such as AGS and PTK. Waste of money (but then, money isn’t the issue) and time. The only thing these will help you is getting some “club scholarship”, so unless you are in desperate need of money, use that time on doing some extra studying done.</p>
<p>4.) Economics Majors: TAKE AS MANY MATH COURSES AS POSSIBLE. Take beyond what is required. Quantitative skills are recommended when seen upon by employers. Do not wait till you transfer to take the math courses; it will not only take too much time but also be extremely hard. Cuz afterall, there’s a difference between a CCC and UC Berkeley/LA/SD/whatever.</p>
<p>more to come…</p>
<p>Wooooo. I made mistake number 4. I had to bail out on applying for UCLA because I didn’t take enough math, doh. I blame you dhl3!!!:D</p>
<p>For the Uc’s I wish I concentrated more on academics as when I was getting my letters back senior year, thought that was all they looked at. Of course I knew they didn’t but it sure felt that way…</p>
<p>i m an internationa student. i made a mistake of not researching about my transfer university, i.e. USC. It is in the middle of a ghetto. I should have visited the campus first before deciding upon. </p>
<p>I made a mistake of thinking about transfer right in my freshmen first semester. I should have given some time at my previous college to adjust and get adapted. </p>
<p>I didn’t apply to more schools. I should have done that- applied to atleast 10-12 different business schools on different georgraphic locations of the country.</p>
<p>PLUS, one more thing. I joined usc this spring. Apparently, it is not a right semseter to join college. Especially for internationals, it becomes all the way more difficult to adjust. USC offered me admission in spring 2007 instead of fall 2006, which was my intended class standing.
It’s very tough to make friends when you join a college in spring.</p>
<p>well said walnut well said
wish i knew all that 3 years ago.
i think good planning, knowing where ur headed & what u have to do to get there, is critical.</p>
<p>and yeah, I wish I took SAT scores more seriously, even though I’m a transfer student.</p>