<p>Hey guys, I NEED CRUCIAL ASSISTANCE. This is a matter of going to UCI or UCLA. How difficult is it to switch to computer science from the college of letters and sciences?</p>
<p>It depends now how well the student is doing and which major they want to apply for. I think right now all the majors are pretty impacted, probably with the exception of Materials Engineering. But I’m pretty sure right now you can’t change any earlier than before the end of the winter quarter.</p>
<p>Hi Flopsy - my son will be a freshman Comp Science major in fall and is deciding between Cal Poly SLO and UCLA. They both have reputable engineering depts and are great schools. One theme we’re hearing however, is that the CS instruction at HSSEAS is more “theoretical,” while at other schools like Cal Poly it’s more practical/hands on. Do you have an opinion about this? Any firsthand information would be really helpful.</p>
<p>[Re: All questions about being able to change majors]</p>
<p>It’s hard to say “how hard” it is to switch majors because it all depends on the student. I will say that I have never met anyone who has been unable to switch from one engineering major to another. I know less about letters and science to engineering, but I don’t think the requirements are terribly difficult. As long as you maintain a reasonable GPA and put good effort into your classes, the major switch process more or less takes care of itself.</p>
<p>
While it’s probably true that UCLA teaches more theory than Cal Poly, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In my opinion, the best software engineering jobs put that theory to practice in very cool ways. Besides, you can learn a lot of the so-called “practical” stuff on your own, while a classroom setting is probably more beneficial for theoretical work.</p>
<p>Besides, despite the theoretical nature of some of UCLA’s CS classes, I would say more often than not, the typical class has a very real programming project, and there are plenty of opportunities to take classes that lean more towards traditional software development. In all, I think UCLA gives a more well-rounded CS experience.</p>
<p>In terms of recruiting, Cal Poly is certainly solid, though I believe UCLA is stronger. Another thing to keep in mind is that as badly as the UC system was hit by budget cuts, the CSU system was impacted even more.</p>
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<p>I’ve seen every one of those companies recruiting at UCLA, plus many more.</p>
<p>Thank you Grapesoda, that was helpful. I guess a lot of programming is theoretical anyway.</p>
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<p>There are hundreds of schools with CS programs. Recruiters aren’t going to talk to person A because he’s at the #5 school and ignore person B because she’s at #15 – there will be plenty of people at #15 who are better than a lot of people at #5. Companies will cast their nets out to perhaps the top 30 or 40 schools, depending on their recruiting resources. They have to go at least that far down the ladder before they don’t find enough really good people to make the recruiting trip worthwhile. (There will be good people at all schools, but not in the concentration at a lower-ranked school that would cause many non-local companies to send someone.)</p>
<p>Hi Flopsy (or whoever can help me),</p>
<p>I just want to know how stringent the UCLA Engineering change of major requirements are right now. I am currently in the Chemistry (2nd year) department trying to change to Chemical Engineering with a 3.1. I understand that the required coursework GPA minimum is now a 3.5 (all the lower div coursework in these two programs overlap). Do I still have any chance of getting in?</p>
<p>If I do have any scant but fighting chance, what advice or suggestions would help me do so?</p>
<p>hey flopsy. Hi, I am a newly admitted student for the school of engineering and I was wondering how well UCLA helps its engineers in finding jobs and careers after they graduate and if there are any tutoring programs specifically towards engineers. Thank you!</p>
<p>hey flopsy 
I am Aayush Sharma from India and i will be attending UCLA this fall.I will be majoring in Aerospace engineering. I wanted to know about the possible options for financing my education in UCLA, about the scholarships, internships and any aids if they are available. Also could you please highlight the possible job opportunities while you are in school and once you graduate. Thanks for your help in advance and looking forward to your reply :D</p>
<p>I heard that they are being very strict with L&S change of majors, and if you don’t have a 3.5 then you don’t have a chance. There just isn’t room to take everybody anymore.</p>
<p>
UCLA has engineering-specific career fairs and various company infosessions. There are also some on-campus interviews. As for actually getting interviews and offers, that pretty much depends on how much work you’ve done on your own. Work on side projects, get involved in research, and practice interviewing, and you should be able to find something eventually. Definitely don’t expect to get your hand held through the process, though.</p>
<p>TBP, HKN, and UPE (the engineering honor societies) run a joint tutoring program for the School of Engineering. It’s pretty effective.</p>
<p>
You can use Google to find scholarships, and contact the UCLA career center for options there. Internships depend entirely on your background. If you have past work experience or research experience, you may be able to get a summer internship. These are competitive and I wouldn’t say that you should rely on getting one.</p>
<p>While you’re a student, if you are able to, you can work for a company in the area (assuming that you can find a company that hires non-citizen aerospace engineers) if you have the background to be hired, or you can work on campus doing something unrelated to your major (like work at the computer lab). Definitely don’t expect to get a research or teaching assistantship; my friends who are still at UCLA have told me that even graduate students have difficulty getting those.</p>
<p>After you graduate, you might be able to get a full-time position at one of the companies that offers internships. Again, not being a U.S. citizen will somewhat limit your options as an aerospace engineer.</p>
<p>hey flopsy,</p>
<p>Thank you so much for this thread. </p>
<p>I got admitted into UCLA and CMU for material science and engineering. I am currently trying to decide between the two. My main question is, what is good about UCLA and if you had the choice, which college would you pick?</p>
<p>Additional questions
- How are the professors here for engineering? for physical sciences? I looked at the rankings and it seems that UCLA tends to be well balanced. And because engineering is tied with physical sciences, I want to be able to go to a school that gives me solid foundation in physical sciences. So what do you think?</p>
<ol>
<li>Internship and research opportunities for an international student like me?</li>
</ol>
<p>Hi Flopsy, and anyone how can give me good advice, </p>
<p>I applied to Samueli this year as both an Aerospace and EECS major. I thought that if rejected by those two majors, I was hence rejected by UCLA overall. I don’t know what happened, but I am glad that in my case I was accepted to the college of arts and sciences. However, I did not get into SEAS, and don’t know how hard it is to transfer? Any thoughts on that? </p>
<p>Here is some background: I already have the Calculus series done (LA and ODE left), and did some research at Samueli the summer before my senior year. I really want to be an engineer at UCLA, but people tell me achieving a 3.5 for transferring is next to impossible. Can you tell me the honest truth about it? </p>
<p>My issue: I got into UCI and UCSD in Aerospace. I am considering UCSD extremely because out of the two, UCSD seems better. However, I cannot find how to compare Jacobs vs UCLA’s Samueli. How do they compare? </p>
<p>I lived at UCLA over the summer before senior year, and loved it. But I do not want to make a decision based on just me being stubborn. I am honestly confused and don’t know what to do. Any advice is welcomed. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I don’t know why people would describe getting a 3.5 as “next to impossible.” Is it easy? No. But “next to impossible”? I wouldn’t go that far. To get a 3.5 you have to be one of the “better” students out there, but it’s not like you’re being asked to get a 3.9.</p>
<p>so, go to UCLA?</p>
<p>Hi, I got accepted as a transfer student for electrical engineering and I was wondering if I could take CS 31 (I think that’s the fist C++ course right?) in the fall even though I fulfilled it at my previous school in order to transfer?
I took it about a year ago and I’d really like to refresh my memory on the material and take it with a good professor at UCLA, especially since I hear CS 32 is pretty tough.</p>
<p>Also, is it possible for me to switch to CS or CSE after my first quarter if I wished to?</p>
<p>Any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>If the C++ course you took at your previous school is listed on assist as directly equivalent to UCLA’s CS 31, then it will very likely post to your record as CS 31. If that is the case, then you cannot re-take CS 31 at UCLA, since it will be classified as a duplication of credit.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response, in that case do you happen to know if CS 32 does a quick review at the beginning of the quarter or anything like that?</p>
<p>They review pointers for about an hour. So, you really should review on your own.</p>