<p>The UCSD psych page says the honors program is strongly recommended for anyone intending to continue onto the graduate level. Unfortunately, the program requires all of the lower division coursework be completed by the time of application, which is October 31 of junior year. I’m missing quite a few courses and cannot possibly finish them all even by the end of fall quarter, since things like the calc series build. Does anyone know if I’m screwing myself over when it comes to applying to grad school if I’m not in the honors program? </p>
<p>Being in the honors program will help, but what matters more for getting into graduate school is doing well on the GRE, forming positive and substantial relationships with your professors at the upper-division level(So they can write you excellent letters of recommendation), and, if possible, publishing research. It goes without saying that grades matter too, especially in upper-division classes.</p>
<p>Here’s what they look for according to current UCLA grad students that ran a workshop at UCLA STOMP:</p>
<p>GPA
Personal Statement
Statement of Purpose
Networking
CV
$$$
Research</p>
<p>You are not hurting yourself by not enrolling (as is the nature of honors programs), but I think you’ll be missing out on quite a few research opportunities and networking opportunities, which the grad students say are the most important. I don’t know about UCSD but UCLA requires only a 3.75 GPA at the time of transfer. If you keep your GPA at a high level and complete your lower level courses, you’ll get in and it won’t even be a concern. There are some required honors courses you have to take at UCLA but it’s never too late to sign up if you want.</p>
<p>@Cayton are you doing honors program at UCLA too?</p>
<p>@onehandedred </p>
<p>Nah. I’ve read that it’s a waste of time. </p>
<p>The intellectual experience of studying philosophy at UCLA(which is actually ranked better than Cal in!) will be enough of a challenge. It’ll also be very rewarding.</p>
<p>For grad school, you need experience in conducting RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. </p>
<p>So important if you’re looking into psychology grad programs. If you can’t get into the honors program, you won’t be screwed. </p>
<p>I heard the same thing, but I’m doing it anyways. I think I’m looking for more direct guidance that the honors program gives. at IVC the honors program students get a special room to study in; I’m hoping we get one at UCLA :)) </p>
<p>@UCxDreamer Are you pursing a BA or BS at UCSD? I believe the BA only needs one calculus course. Their BS Honors program seems very good though, you get two research opportunities and a presentation.</p>
<p>@oongaboonga I was actually trying to figure that out today. I would much prefer to pursue a BA because of the lesser calc requirement. Not only could I take two logic courses in place of the other two calc, I could also do the calc 10 series instead of calc 20 series. I’m a little worried a BA won’t look as good for grad school though, do you know if a BS is preferred? </p>
<p>@onehandedred does networking just refer to getting involved in research and forming relationships with professors for letters of recommendation? What does the $$$ refer to? I’d always felt like I had so much time before grad school since I was putting all of my energy into the first step of transferring, now it seems like it’s coming up quickly and I have no idea what I need to be doing. </p>
<p>yes networking means letters of recommendation. I’m just reciting what I saw on the board from memory so it might not have everything. I saw $$$ but no one asked, and they didn’t talk about it. I think you’re expected to bring in some research grants possibly. I’m looking to apply to the fulbright program so I can call myself a fulbright scholar for the “$$$” part. I’ll email the guys I met for clarification and I will report back.</p>
<p>@UCxDreamer Well, the UCSD psych page says that completion of lower division courses are recommended. So there seems to be more leeway to apply to the Honors program. I also applied to UCSD as a psych major. Their program seems very interesting, but the lower division courses for psychology are pretty crazy to be honest. I don’t know if a BS is preferred when applying to grad school, but the research experiences may make you a more interesting candidate. How many major prereqs have you completed so far? Have you at least completed calculus 1? </p>
<p>@oongaboonga I agree that the lower division coursework is pretty crazy. One of my professors told me it’s because the program is really science based and is designed for people who want to go onto med school to become study psychiatry. It seems like the BA at UCSD is probably equivalent to a BS at other schools due to the science and math requirements for all psych majors. I haven’t completed any calc, I was holding off until I knew for sure I was going to a school that required it. I also had to focus on finishing IGETC in a year, since I transferred from an out of state university and hadn’t started any specific coursework for UC transfer really. I’m taking a refresher math course at my CC this summer, since the only math I’ve had in the past 7 years is stats for psych majors and I don’t remember anything from high school. I need two more science classes since astronomy, nutrition, and my conservation courses don’t count toward the psych requirement (which is super annoying), all 3 calc/logic, and the computer programming course. </p>
<p>@UCxDreamer To be honest, I’m mad at myself for considering UCSD because now I’m stuck taking calculus 1 and java, which many UCs don’t require for psych majors. Are you set on UCSD? It seems intimidating to enter UCSD with 6 prereqs missing.</p>
<p>@oongaboonga yeah I’m pretty mad at myself for not taking some of those courses this year. I took two psych courses in part because I needed one course per semester that I actually enjoyed for my own sanity, and in part because I didn’t understand that lower division psych courses would get me absolutely no closer to my degree and were basically a waste of units. I figured out that meeting the basic upper division and lower division requirements for psych along with the two other courses needed since I’m in Thurgood Marshall, I could technically take 3 courses per quarter if I do summer session. I expect I’ll take 3 this fall and 4 per quarter after that, so I should be able to graduate on time. It definitely still sucks though, I would love to just focus on psych and not worry about calc and bio. I considered looking into doing some of those at my CC to lessen the workload, but I’m worried that would look really bad on grad school apps and it would be weird taking a semester long course while the rest of my courses are on the quarter system. </p>
<p>The only other school I’d really consider is UCSB, but UCSD’s psych program is so much better that it would probably be a poor decision made for the wrong reasons. Have you decided on UCSD for sure?</p>
<p>@UCxDreamer I’m actually deciding between ucb, ucla, and ucsd, which are all very good schools for psych. I’ll probably not attend ucsd, because I would have to petition a genetics course I took to be recognized as psych lower division coursework, which I’m not 100% will go through. In addition to that, I’m missing calc 2 and 3 given that I will apply to the BS program. I’m not terribly excited about the math. I totally understand the part of you taking an elective psych course for your own insanity. So jealous of you, been a long time since I took an elective. It really brings positive feelings to the semester to just have one class you’re taking for enjoyment not for a requirement.</p>
<p>Are you only taking a math class this summer? Maybe you can add another class. I wouldn’t be too worried about cc classes looking bad to grad school admissions.</p>
<p>@oongaboonga Congrats on all of your admissions! My top picks were UCB and UCSD, but I didn’t get into UCB most likely because I was missing a bunch of their required lower division courses.</p>
<p>I have to take the initial math course as a pre-req for calc, so I can’t take a calc course concurrently. I might try to knock out a science requirement, but the CC courses largely have lab requirements, which is way more of a time commitment than I’m looking for in a summer course.</p>