Transfer to college of engineering?

ipajoneskk
Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:03:20 +0000

1. I can’t transfer at orientation: My parents insist that I start out as an engineering major, and I’m currently panicking. I had no clue about what I wanted to study, and picked Undeclared L&S just to be safe(!?).


I can transfer after one term: I’m alright about this, but I am worried about the GPA requirement! I heard GPAs tend to go down in the beginning, and I don’t want this to be a hindrance.




Switching into HSSEAS requires a completion of two quarters. Read the following from the website:

[Change of Major ? UCLA Engineering - Office of Academic and Student Affairs](http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/undergraduates/change-of-majord#for-ucla-student-who-2)


you will need a minimum 3.5 grade point average in courses which are preparation* for the engineering major
applicants must show that they have taken a combination of at least two (2) engineering/science/math courses per term, while enrolled in a minimum of 12 units per term.
Students who are interested in changing majors to computer science or computer science and engineering must also take a programming course** before change of major will be considered.


IF you are currently a freshman, you may request a change of major based on the following schedule: during your first year, you may apply after you have completed a minimum of two quarters, two required Mathematics courses, AND two other required courses (Chemistry, Physics or Life Science courses) at UCLA.



As far as GPA, 3.5 is the minimum requirement. However, some of the engineering majors, like Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering, are impacted and a 3.5 is certainly not good enough. That’s being said, only a near 4.0 GPA with a completion of course requirement can give you a high chance of transferring in (it is possible that you still get rejected for not having enough seats).

Regardless the GPA trend, it tends to go down over time, as one starts to take engineering classes. The intro physics/math/chem/cs classes tends to be easier at the beginning.



My parents say that they don’t want to pay a huge tuition for something that isn’t guaranteed. I’m pretty much losing peace over this, because I don’t have a backup plan that I want to follow.
For the record, I’m OOS, living abroad, and we pretty much study physics/math/chem courses that are first year level(from what I’ve heard). But I don’t want to take a chance…



It is really difficult to transfer into an engineering major outside of HSSEAS, and you should really have a backup plan if you fail. Still, don’t be discouraged. There are successful cases. One of my friends was a physics major and he became an EE major after two quarters (with a straight 4.0) in his first year.

My advice would be, don’t overload yourself with classes (engineering students tend to take heavier courseload) and try to keep your GPA high before submitting your petition. Good luck~