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hi guys
Good Feedback you all!
ok...i want to know more about the CAP program at UCB.. it sounds too easy...

what is the catch?

If you go to a JC, u have to complete the IGTEC requirements anyways..and doing well at a JC is NOT hard...i took classes there WHILE in high school and i got straight As...
I know for the UCSD TAG transfer requirements ...it will take you like 2.5 yrs to complete all the courses asked to take...and UCSD not THAT good...so i see how TAG works...but if for UCB all you need is 2 yrs of classes and 3.3-3.5...why is everyone not doing it?
What are the possible reasons students dont take it besides going to UCLA or whatever.
Is it true 33% of the students are Berk are transfers?
o god...help!!
o also...do you have to undergo one more selection process or when you get the CAP letter you in?
I am from Monta Vista and the nearest JC is DeAnza.

By 2132 (2132) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 07:15 pm: Edit

De Anza is a really good JC- third in the whole country as a matter of fact.
You need to finish 60 units before you transfer into UC- period. How you do it is up to you-TAG or IGETC or CAP. There are a million programs and the counselors at De Anza are really good and will set up something for you if you talk to them. They will help you get in wherever you want. There are also guarantee programs for Pomona(the Harvard of the west coast) and a couple other great schools too.

CAP is only for HS students who applied and were rejected. Then you take a curriculum and 60units and transfer. I think that it is hard to get a CAP though.
TAG is easy-it does not take two and a half years unless you are slow.
IGETC is harder than tag but still only two years.
People don't take advantage of these programs becuase most crappy JC's don't tell kids about them and instead try to funnel everyone into state. Alos, people seem tot hink UC is so much more expensive than state- YEAH, A WHOPPING 3K more a year
Good Luck- you can totally get in.

By L76 (L76) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 07:47 pm: Edit

CAP is intriguing me also. Neyha, did you get the offer of CAP from Berkeley (did you apply & get rejected?)?

I also couldn't figure out what the catch was. There'd be a difference if we were talking about Davis or Irvine here, guaranteed admission with a 3.3 gpa as a junior transfer if you were rejected as a freshman, but we're talking Berkeley here, the best UC which is in the league of Stanford... What I also don't know is how many people were offered this. I should get more information about it when I get the Berkeley letter.

By Neyha (Neyha) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 08:36 pm: Edit

ya i did get offered this (CAP)
the UCSD tag is IGETC and then much more.
IGETC is hecka simple and i can do it way less than 2 yrs. its pretty basic..TAG makes u take many classes over IGETC
i dont know..my mind is set on Berk and i dont mind doing 2 yrs and i dont mind working extra hard either but in the end i dont wanna be left hanging because i will be giving up some good schools here!
Thanks

By L76 (L76) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 08:38 pm: Edit

Sorry I'm just a little confused by your post. Your #1 choice is Berkeley, but you're considering others as well?..?

By Neyha (Neyha) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 11:34 pm: Edit

ya u got it...i really wanna go to berk but since i did not get in there directly...i will have to take the CAP to go there...that would mean giving up the schools i got into now.

so i just wanted to know what the catch is...why is this SOO easy?

Cuz if it is the way they make it seem (3.5 and IGETC) then ill prolly take it.
see?

By L76 (L76) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 12:09 am: Edit

I have no idea why it's so easy. But either way, it's good for both of us.

About you having to take CAP; you're going to have to decide whether it'll be worth it to go the Community College route and end up with your Bachelors degree from Berkeley (I think it is, it's so much more prestigious and will give you a better chance of being hired), BUT ... if you decide to go to another college you were accepted, you relinquish CAP (because you have to make the decision your senior year whether to do this or not). Make sure your local community college (or wherever you plan to go) offers CAP, because not every JC offers it.

Here's a link for further information:
http://www.ucop.edu/pathways/infoctr/at/atucbpg.html

Could I ask what your major is and where else you were accepted to that you're considering going to?


It's too bad UCLA doesn't offer this kind of guaranteed admission junior transfer program, because that's my 1st choice. UCLA, I'm mad at you.

By Neyha (Neyha) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 01:45 am: Edit

haha
ya i dont know about UCLA...if u wanna go to UCLA, go to a JC down south cuz they do have guaranteed admissions...with LA JCs..think about it!
my major is econ and international relation..
but i applied to berk as a science maj...cuz i was thinking about pre med back then..actually i am not sure...maybe premed (another reason to go to JC)
I am sorry but i am not gonna tell you where else i got in cuz everyone here got into Ivies and i feel stoopid..
i got into ok/good schools..they rank anywhere between #31 and #55...go look at the US News ranking!!
hehe
i know i am being mean.
o wellz..thanks for the link!!

By Hautbois (Hautbois) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 02:06 am: Edit

fyi: My daughter applied and was rejected by both UCLA and UCB and both notified her of the CAP program.

By Neyha (Neyha) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 12:50 pm: Edit

So what did she do?
Did she take it?
Do they require you to do a lot?
Any info?

By L76 (L76) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 08:28 pm: Edit

Hmmm, interesting tidbit, Hautbois. UCLA never even mentions anything about any kind of guaranteed admission programs, whereas Berkeley does. Good for your daughter.

Update on the Berkeley CAP: I got the yellow postcard along with the rejection letter which you have to mail back by 4/15, Neyha, and then Berkeley will send you a list of community colleges which participate in the program and the program details, etc.

By Neyha (Neyha) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 10:25 pm: Edit

thanks! i mailed it back this morning!
i send two copies. hah..sad nah?
god i cant wait to get more info... i have asked around in school and all and people said that you should not apply to the program unless you are set on berk and ONLY berk cuz they kinda drill you!
what does that mean???
again...cant wait to get all the info.
IM me: Neyha17..we'll talk
ps. I tend to be rude if i dont recognize you...dont take it personally :-)

By L76 (L76) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 11:31 pm: Edit

sorry Neyha don't have IM ...

Wait, does that mean that once you sign a contract and you're *required* to go to Berkeley? If that's true, I'm disappointed because my #1 choice is UCLA & Berkeley is #2, and it would be kind of nice to have that guarantee in case I didn't get into LA.

By Neyha (Neyha) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 11:56 pm: Edit

i have no idea what it means...i am guessing its not binding..which would make sense but you never know..
man i hate being kept in the dark!
i am gonna go to my JC that offers CAP and i am gonna talk to them...i am also going to call up berk tomorrow.
so lets see what response i get.
Ill keep you informed.

By Hautbois (Hautbois) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 01:30 am: Edit

Neyha, you had asked what my daughter decided to do ... she opted for UC Irvine instead. Our local community college is quite excellent, but her father teaches there. (It's the CC you would be attending, actually! My husband has had several students who went to UCB after DA.) But I don't think she's interested in going to her dad's school. I teach at UCSC, so she isn't interested in that either. 8-)

(I'm not sure that's why she's not interested in UCSC, actually ... more likely she is just more attracted to Irvine because of several programs there.)

Anyway, that's what she opted to do.

By Neyha (Neyha) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 12:20 pm: Edit

would you recommend taking the CAP at berk?
Another reason i dont mind CAP cuz i like DA a lot...its nice there.
Thanks.

By L76 (L76) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 01:36 pm: Edit

OK, update:

I called Santa Monica College to inquire about the program, and here is what the counselor said -

1) The Berkeley CAP program is not binding. For me, if I applied to transfer into UCLA, and I had applied for CAP through Berkeley, I could choose to go to UCLA. Whew, is that a sigh of relief, that I'm guaranteed admission into 1 of the 2 elite UC's.

2) CAP was NOT offered to all freshman applicants who met minimum UC requirements and were rejected.
(I feel so flattered by this). The counselor said Berkeley offers this program for applicants who have potential, but feel are not quite ready yet, and so they should prove themselves by doing well in a college setting (the Junior College) before transferring over to an elite institution like Berkeley.

3) The catch, the counselor said, is that you are not guaranteed into a major in the College of Letters and Sciences (or the other 3 colleges which offers CAP). You're just guaranteed junior transfer admission to the college of your choice. However, the higher your GPA is (and we're not talking about the minimum 3.3 for CAP), the better chance you have of getting into the major that you desire.


On a different note, I asked her about extracurriculars and their importance in transfer admission decisions. She said that while freshman admissions are made with significant consideration of extracurriculars, transfer decisions are mainly focused on grades, IGETC, major preparation, etc., so if you don't possess "leadership" qualities just like me, don't worry.

By Neyha (Neyha) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 03:45 pm: Edit

o wow...u are waaay aheaad of me!
glad to know all that...so in other words even though the minimum is 3.3 we have to score way higher than that! crappers
CAP Is offered to all freshmen who apply to College of Letter and Science, but the other colleges are selective. (eg. college of engineering).
o wellz..i am gonna call berk today evening!
c ya

By L76 (L76) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 04:50 pm: Edit

Are you going to graduate school (i.e. med school), Neyha? Because if you are, you should maintain a high GPA in the first place, not only to get your major in the College of Letters and Science, but because Grad schools are so selective. And could I ask what you're calling Berkeley for, out of curiosity?

By the way, you should really take advantage of this program. Berkeley is still the most selective campus for junior transfer admissions, at 30.1% admittance (32.3% for UCLA, every other UC Campus is 61%+). If you compare the number of students registering compared to the number admitted, you have 70.5% of admitted students returning their Statement of Intent to Register, compared to 64.3% for UCLA and next highest, Davis at 44.6%).
Look at the bottom of this page.
http://www.ucop.edu/pathways/ucnotes/sept02/cconf1.html

By Neyha (Neyha) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 09:01 pm: Edit

gotcha!
i want to know (anything) more about the campus. Why do people go there, how good it is and so on. Here is the convo i had with them.
They said that the people who sign up for it usually make the requirements and very few actually don't. Fewer drop out. They said that the reason it is so hush hush is because students dont sign up for it.
They think they worked too hard. The schools i got into, took effort. Its like throwing it all away, and also many want the college experience.
I am not sure about med school...but i am gonna study further...like getting a masters or whatever.
UCLA is not hard to transfer into. I heard u need a 3.5 for LA.

They also said that if they promote it too much, everyone will be doing it soon, so they only tell people who are interested.

Whats ur major?

What schools are u giving up? Ucs?

By L76 (L76) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 11:08 pm: Edit

I think I'm going to be a humanities major: something like English or History, within, of course, the College of Letters and Science.
I'm giving up some of the "lower" UC's, like Davis and Santa Barbara. I was seriously considering Davis, but I don't think I would be very happy there; I always liked a big city (which LA is, and Davis isn't)...

Very interesting, what Berkeley said in your conversation.
"They also said that if they promote it too much, everyone will be doing it soon, so they only tell people who are interested."
You're absolutely right about kids thinking they worked too hard just to go to a JC, and unfortunately, I think I will feel the same way, that I will have missed out on 1/2 the college experience by focusing too much on transferring.

By Neyha (Neyha) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 02:18 pm: Edit

hiyas!
Dood i told everyone i am gonna do the CAP thing and gonna go to berk and i feel awful cuz i have not even enrolled yet!
o wellz...like they are gonna remember 2 yrs from now. I am STILL waiting for the info from berk...any day now...
did u mail it in?...did they send anything out..i am guessing they will either send something out now or soon enough.
O wellz..i guess thats it..I am the only person who is actually doing it in my school and i feel so ALLLONE!
aite me off
c yaz!

By Crackcorn (Crackcorn) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 04:02 pm: Edit

Regarding maintaining a high GPA with an eye towards grad school, that's one of the factors I'm considering as I weigh UCLA v UCSD v JHU. Which one will give me the highest GPA? Is a 3.3 from JHU worth more than a 3.7 from UCSD?

By L76 (L76) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 06:22 pm: Edit

Crackcorn, the answer is no. Believe it or not, grad schools don't really care what your undergrad institution is, they care about the GPA and the standardized test scores (and if you're going to med school, b-school, or law school, extracurriculars). A 3.3 from JHU is not going to get you very far, because regardless of the reputation of the university, it's still only a 3.3 . And, also, because grad schools are comparing thousands of candidates from hundreds of different schools which may all have different grading scales (and some may be more lenient than others), they look at your GRE/GMAT/LSAT/MCAT scores as a standardized measure to compare you objectively against all candidates, because a 3.9 from Berkeley may not be the same thing as a 3.9 from CSU Northridge.

If you've ever looked at the most prestigious grad schools, i.e. Stanford Law School, you will see the diversity of the undergraduate universities their students come from. There are people from CSU Long Beach, Penn State, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, etc. along with people from Harvard, UCLA, Berkeley...
But one thing all the matriculated students have in common is a high level of academic and extracurricular achievement.
Take a look at this link:
http://lawschool.stanford.edu/admissions/admiss.shtml

Just a little something to keep in mind...

By L76 (L76) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 10:32 pm: Edit

Neyha, I too am waiting for the info packet from Berkeley. I mailed it back the day I received the letter, last Thursday, so they should have or will be receiving the postcard in the next few days; we'll probably get the packet by next week...

By Neyha (Neyha) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 11:13 pm: Edit

o wow...so u say its better to go to UCD and get a 3.5 instead of going to berk and getting a 3.0?
i mean lets face it...berk is hecka hard...

By Hautbois (Hautbois) on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 11:27 am: Edit

Just read this at my husband's De Anza College site:
Thinking of transferring to UC? This announcement from college president Dr. Martha Kanter should be encouraging:

De Anza has the top transfer rate to UC in the state. We projected that we would be at 518 UC transfers by 04-05. But, guess what? We're at 522 UC transfers this year. What a credit to faculty who teach our general education courses that prepare students for transfer and to counselors, advisors and our transfer center staff who make sure that students are on track to achieve their university transfer plans. You might be interested to know that of the 522 UC transfers:

104 went to UC, Berkeley
101 went to UC, San Diego
92 went to UC, Davis
84 went to UC, Santa Cruz
74 went to UCLA
33 went to UC, Santa Barbara
19 went to UC, Irvine
15 went to UC, Riverside

By Neyha (Neyha) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 12:03 am: Edit

WOW! A lot of students are going to berk! Thank you so much!

i am so glad i read this because i just got off the phone with one of my friends and she was telling me about the dorm she is going to live in and all my friends going to the same school. It's hard you know, knowing you have worked hard, got a good GPA but you are going to end up staying here...

thanks! I just really need to get through this school year...its a lot of pressure

L76..hi! long time!! have you heard from them yet? Don't you think this is taking forever? If you did...what did they say?
Thanks!

By Moreau1985 (Moreau1985) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 01:31 am: Edit

You could always look into going to DVC, its a pretty good junior college, and its pretty close to monte vista, i go to acalanes by the way.

By L76 (L76) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 01:47 am: Edit

hi Neyha - nope, haven't heard from them yet, but eagerly waiting. Today, Apr. 15 was the deadline for the applicants to submit the yellow postcard so they'll be probably start mailing the information in the next couple of weeks or so.

By Neyha (Neyha) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 01:00 pm: Edit

hi Moreau1985, Thanks for the advice! I was looking at other JCs for sometime but the thing is, i am really comfy at DeAnza. I have been taking classes there since 10th and i know my way around and i know the people. (Well some of them).
But its not just the commuunity college that bother me, its a lot of things. Like my sister's friends, they look up to me.
i guess im feeling better this morning...thanks!

By Wildchyld (Wildchyld) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 08:39 pm: Edit

If you're interested in doing CAP here's some information that you can't live without.
******
First, visit http://www.assist.org
they can tell you what classes will be accepted at Berkeley and what you need to take in order to transfer.

If you're transferring to the College of Letters and Sciences then you want to follow IGETC, it fills all of the lower division Berkeley requirements and is easier then Berkeleys "core" prgram.

Assist.org can tell you all of this stuff

******
Decide your major early! Some majors have only a few requirements but others have TONS. Psychology requires 2 years of biological sciences (w/lab), stats, anthropology, etc.
Know what you're up against and plan accordingly

******
If you want a good view of what your classes will be like, find a Berkeley instructor who teaches at a Community College in the summer. This might change with the budget cuts, but I've taken several courses w/ Berkeley instructors. They grade the same and even often use syllibi that say UCB on them. Its a great way to find out what teachers you like and what the courses are like at UCB.

*****

I'm currently in the middle of transferring out of College of Marin and I know several students who didn't research their major requirements in time and are stuck going to San Francisco State.

Community College counselors aren't always the most reliable people to plan your coursework with. Do the research on your own, visit assist.org before signing up for a class and that Berkeley transfer you're interested in will be easily within reach

By Neyha (Neyha) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 09:12 pm: Edit

Wildchyld..
Thanks..that was awesome...it's so nice of you take time and help...ill be sure to follow what you said...
i now plan to start college this summer...you saved me an entire quarter...
i will now also have to do something i have been putting off for the longest time...decide my major!
good luck...
where do you plan to go?

By Neyha (Neyha) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 09:15 pm: Edit

wildchyld..
i have another question...
whats the diff b/w "core" program and IGETC?
Why do some say core is better?
is it some guarantee?
Thanks

By Neyha (Neyha) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 09:15 pm: Edit

wildchyld..
i have another question...
whats the diff b/w "core" program and IGETC?
Why do some say core is better?
is it some guarantee thing?
Thanks

By Neyha (Neyha) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 09:02 pm: Edit

L76...
I talked to someone who tried for the berk thing last year. He said berk will send it after may 1st. He kept waiting for it till the last day and then thought maybe they did not get it and it might be too late, so he sent out his SIR, only to find the letters a week later.
Long wait huh?
You have to tell me as soon as you get it. email me
catch_neyha@hotmail.com
if you want to...

By L76 (L76) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 12:28 am: Edit

Thanks Neyha.

Regarding your question about the General Education options available for Berkeley, there are 2:

1) IGETC
2) the three College of Letters and Science "Essential Skills requirement"

1) If you choose to do the IGETC option (which you might consider doing if you might ever want to consider the possibility of going to another UC), you will have to complete:
*2 English classes
*1 Math class
*3 Arts & Humanities classes
*3 Social & Behavioral Sciences classes
*2 Physical & Biological Sciences classes
*Proficiency in Foreign language, waived if you have taken 2 years of a foreign language in high school with a "C" or better.

2) 3 College of Letters and Science "Essential Skills" Requirements
*2 English courses
*1 Quantitative Reasoning Course
*Foreign Language Proficiency equal to 3 years of high school language with "C" or better

Keep in mind these course requirements can be waived by AP scores, etc.

For me, the essential skills requirement seems much easier, as I might end up taking 0 courses, because if I received a "5" on the IB English HL exam that I'm taking in 2 weeks, my 2 English course requirements would be waived. I have achieved a score of more than the minimum 570 on the SAT II Math IC exam, which waives the quantitative reasoning requirement, and I have taken more than 3 years of Spanish, those 3 years with grades of A or B, which waives the foreign language requirement.

I might be wrong, but I think IGETC can only be waived by AP scores, or at least, Santa Monica doesn't seem to tell me online that there's anything else that can waive those requirements.

I, myself, will do the IGETC, because I'm trying for UCLA, and their GE requirements are substantially different than the "Essential Skills" at Berkeley, while IGETC is accepted at all the liberal arts colleges within the UC system.

By L76 (L76) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 12:32 am: Edit

All the information is in this Berkeley transfer file:

http://admissions.berkeley.edu/pdf/Transfer.pdf

By Militarygrade (Militarygrade) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 12:52 am: Edit

Hey guys....

I am three weeks away from finishing IGETC at Mt San Antonio College in SoCal.

UCLA and Berk will notify me of their decision in less than a week. UCSB has already accepted me.

I should get into both LA and Berk, as I have IGETC completion, a 4.0, and have won numerous honors and awards while enrolled in CC.

Ask me about it! I can give you great info!

By Wildchyld (Wildchyld) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 03:11 am: Edit

For some reason my last post on this didn't post!

This link
http://www.ucop.edu/pathways/infoctr/at/atplan_trans.html

explains both IGETC and the general requirements.

I also did IGETC, although I haven't decided whether I'll be attending Berkeley or going outside the UC system.

I'm the president of Alpha Gamma Sigma honor society at my college currently and its brought me tons of wonderful scholarships. You might want to look into joining that as well.

By Lethalfang (Lethalfang) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 03:36 am: Edit

On Graduate School Admission, I have to refute L76.
Where you went for your undergraduate school is CRUCIAL for your chances of getting a admission offer from a competitive graduate program. Graduate admission commmittee, which consists of solely faculty memebers, are well aware of the discrepancy in grading schemes in different undergraduate institutions.
A few examples of my friends from UC Berkeley:
A guy with 3.5 is going to MIT for mechanical engineering;
A guy with a 3.4 is accepted to Princeton, Johns Hopkins, and UCLA for biology;
I only have a 2.996 myself, but still it was good enough to get accepted to UCLA and Northwestern in chemistry.
There are many other examples of Berkeley graduates heading to highly competitive graduate programs with less than steller GPA, because graduate admission committees are well aware of the fact that the average science and engineering GPA at Berkeley is about 2.7.
Tell me you can go to MIT with a 3.5, or UCLA with a sub-3 GPA, from a lesser undergraduate institution.

By L76 (L76) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 09:48 am: Edit

I didn't say you can go to MIT with a 3.5/UCLA with a below-3.00 GPA from a less known state school. You can't. I think your overall GPA and your major GPA is very important, so if you had a 3.9 from any school, it would look very good. If undergraduate university reputation was so important, I doubt that those from sub-Ivy league schools would even get into Ivy leagues for graduate school. Plus, a lot of factors are considered, including extracurricular involvement (if you're applying to med, law, or b-school), your GRE/GMAT/LSAT/MCAT scores, your letters of recommendation, your statement of purpose. Perhaps your other components of you/your friends' applications were very strong.

By Lethalfang (Lethalfang) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 11:21 am: Edit

Unlike undergraduate admission, graduate admission committee is consist of the departmental faculty. Each department makes its own decision. For that, they only care about your potential in this particular field of your choosing. Extracurricular activity is a non-factor for graduate admission. Letters of recommendation is crucial as is GRE scores. Statement of purpose is also a factor.
If you are in a average college wanting to go to MIT, you better have a GPA close to 4.0. More important, you need to be ranked top of your class.
If your undergraduate college is ultra-competitive, then your class ranking can be relaxed a bit.
Personally, I don't think it really makes a difference. It's a lot easier to be ranked top of your class in a easier school, then to be ranked top 40% in a ultra-competitive one.
The department is looking for good students for the specified field, not looking for someone to "enrich the campus community."

By Neyha (Neyha) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 12:20 pm: Edit

Lethalfang...
That was good to know. I really don't want to throw my acceptances away for the wrong reasons or lack of knowledge. That information really helped me get things in propective. Thank-you.

L76...
Thanks for the information. I should be able to waive a few of these classes too. IGETC seemed easy but people says it takes a while to complete. I have also taken several CC classes, while in high school, but still i think it will be a while by the time we are done.

Militarygrade...
hi! wow...good job. I heard getting a 4.0 even in a JC is hard!! how did u manage? was it a struggle?
ok get ready, here comes the questions!!!

Do the classes you take at the CC while in high school also count towards the calculations of your GPA? Does only the IGETC or the 3 College of Letters and Science "Essential Skills" Requirements calculate your GPA or also the classes you took outside these requirements?
what honors and rewards have you won? (i don't mean to pry...i just did not think that JCs would have much, you would have to be involved outside).
I know the "official" ave gpa for transferring to berk is a 3.7 but some say even a 4.0 wont get you in...is that true?
Did you look at schools like Stanford etc? Why wouldn't a person? 4.0 is as high as you can get!

Finally (yay!) how long did it take you to finish the IGETC? I heard it takes forever!! Do ECs like job and all play a role for UCs? I'm sure high school records don't right?

I'm sorry for bombarding you with all these questions. Thank-you.

Wildchyld...
thank you! I will definitely look out for leadership positions. I had a lot in high school and i hope i can keep it up. I still have a lot to explore...ahh lonng way!
i heard transferring to a school outside the UCs are hard, or even impossible.
What schools are you looking at? What schools besides UCs look at transfer students (i know a lot of schools that hate transfers and i thought this would be the same throughout). How is the IGETC, easy to get a high GPA? I have no idea why i am so stressing out, i had a 3.7 unweighted in high schools and i took several honors and APs and still** i did not get into the schools i was hoping for...i think it was SAT 1 score (1300).

Once again, thanks you guys!!

By L76 (L76) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 03:39 pm: Edit

Extracurricular involvement is a factor for the professional schools. It's not a factor for Ph.D. programs in say, Literature or Languages or Math, but for professional schools it is.

By Lethalfang (Lethalfang) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 03:48 pm: Edit

Extracurricular activities are certainly very important for med school. Lots of my friends who apply to med schools have lots of extra activities.
But as far as graduate school goes, extra activity doesn't matter. Also, to get accepted into a good graduate school in science and engineering, it is almost required to have some kind of research experience, either on campus with a research professor, or with an off-campus research institutions.

By Militarygrade (Militarygrade) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 04:02 pm: Edit

Neyha -

I'm more than happy to answer questions! Keep them coming!

1. About CC classes during HS - can't answer that one, as I didn't take any classes during HS. I do know, however, that regardless of where you "officially" are attending school, CC courses taken will always be on your record, unless you get it expunged. So, if you took a class during HS, as long as it was a relatively normal class (english 1A, Math 110, etc etc), it should transfer to just about any other Cali CC and probably a Cal State or UC.

2. I worked *VERY* hard to maintain my 4.0. Contrary to popular belief, CC is not easy. In fact, Mt. SAC is known for being tougher than UCLA and Berkeley in lower division courses. I really put a lot of effort into my schooling, but it was definately worth it.

3. The only classes that UCs look at are those that are transferrable to a UC system. In Cali CCs, there are three types of classes: Two-year classes, Cal State Transferrable Classes, and UC transferrable classes. The IGETC is simply a list of all the classes offered by cali CCs that are tranfserrable to a UC. So, therefore, any class that is NOT on the IGETC would not be transferrrable to a UC, and the grade received in that class would not transfer as well. Beware, though, as while a two-year class may not transfer, a bad grade can hurt your chances of acceptance.

4. The honors I have received in CC are:

a. Various Debate awards (2 semesters of debate)
b. Dean's and President's list
c. Honors Program completion
d. Member of Phi Theta Kappa
e. PSCFA All-State Academic Team
f. All-California Academic First Team (top 20 CC students in the state)
g. Academic Student of Disitinction (top academic student at Mt. San Antonio College out of 42,000 students)
h. A bunch of other tiny awards and scholarships.

I was also the VP of the student body, and I started a veteran's organization on campus.

5. My school does not have a guaranteed admission policy with Berkeley, so I could be denied admission for any reason. My school does, however, have a guaranteed admission policy with UCLA. That policy states that is a student finished IGETC, completes at least 60 units, maintains at least a 3.5 IGETC GPA, and completes the honors program (at least 6 honors courses), then that student is guaranteed transfer admission. While Mt SAC and Berkeley do not have this agreement, Berkeley does have the same policy with CCs around it. De Anza, I beleive, has a program with Berkeley. So theoretically, with my 4.0, Berkeley could still turn me down. Funny things have happened that like: for instance, I was denied admission into UC Satna Cruz...go figure!

6. As for Stanford, I planned on applying to Stanford, Harvard, and Yale, but then I looked at the money issue. UCLA and Berkeley will probably give me a free ride: Stanford would cost me close to 40k per year. Not worth it, in my opnion, for my BS. I will, however, apply to Harvard and Stanford for my law degree.

7. Finally, the IGETC took me three semesters. This was much faster than most student, but I took anywhere from 18 to 24 units each semester...which was HARD! But I'm 27, and I didn't want to duilly-dally around any more.

Sorry for any typos...I'm at school now and late for class! Don't have the time right now to elaborate or correct spelling, but ask me any other questions and I'm happy to answetr them for you!

By L76 (L76) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 05:18 pm: Edit

Lethalfang,

do you mind sharing your GRE test scores, and who did you get your letters of recommendation from (and why did you pick them?)?

By Lethalfang (Lethalfang) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 05:38 pm: Edit

My GRE score:
Quantitative: 800
Analytical and Logical Reasoning: 770
Verbal: 410 (My vocab is thin, but I managed to have my academic advisor explaining the score on my behalf in the recommendation letter. Besides it's chemistry department, some chemistry professors didn't do all that great in verbal sections themselves.)

I got my 3 letters of recommendation from a seasoned biochemistry professor who is also my academic advisor (I've talked to him extensively with regard to grad school), a young chemistry assistant professor (I got an A in his class, and the TA for the discussion section co-wrote the letter), and the researcher from USDA for whom I've worked for 1 1/2 years (if you have worked in a lab, you need a letter from him, otherwise they might think your performance must be poor).

By Neyha (Neyha) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 06:22 pm: Edit

Militarygrade-
omg...congrats and wow u sure worked hard.
is this your first undergrad degree or second? Either ways, you have done extremely well (i am sure you know that aalready).
i dont think a 4.0 is possible for me cuz i have taken several classes at the local CC and i already have 2 Bs!
but i hope to maintain a gpa of over a 3.8..
Is the honors program time consuming or is it just hard?

i want to go for it but i dont know if we are going to have it because if the budget cut.
You have pretty much answered all my questions.
thanks!

By L76 (L76) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 06:25 pm: Edit

Thanks Lethalfang

By Militarygrade (Militarygrade) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 06:44 pm: Edit

Nehya -

Don't worry about your two B's. Unless you are competing for UCLA's or Berkeley's Regent's Scholarships, two B's won't hurt you at all. As long as you hook up with a CC that has a guaranteed admissions politcy with Cal or UCLA, then all you need is a 3.5.

As for the honors courses, each CC does them differently. At Mt. SAC, the honors courses are taught by professors that (usually) have a phd or some serious real-world experience in their field, and the classes are no larger than 15 students. There is more work involved, usually in the areas of essays and compositions. For the most part, there is a lot more analytical and critical thought required, as most are conducted in a round-table environment and there is a lot of discussion. Your CC might be different.

I can't stress how valuable my CC education has been. I am very happy that I opted to go the CC route rather than jump right into a Uni. It has saved me tens of thousands of dollars, and the education has been top-notch. While some people may have reservations about going to a CC, keep this in mind: In two years, I'll have a law degree from an Ivy league with *maybe* 10k in school loans. Most people leave law school with almost 100k in school loans, 60 - 80 of which was accrued during their four-yuear education.

It may not be as glamorous as attenting Swathmore or Harvard, but damnit, it's a hell of a lot cheaper and just as good, in my opinion, as a lot of 40k/year schools.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do, but I hope you seriously look at the CC option.

By Wildchyld (Wildchyld) on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 04:04 am: Edit

neyha,

I also have a 4.0 with 70 total graded units ( 7 of those are from Harvard summer school), although I'm currently taking Anatomy and that might be the first course to marr my GPA.
From my experience, keeping a 4.0 is a reasonable possibility if you're aware of who the teachers are and what their grading structures are. For example, I'm really strong in independant studies and debating but horrible at memorization based tests. I try to stick with instructors who grade heavily on class participation and research projects. That way whenever I had to take prerequisite classes that were harder for me (Anatomy, Statistics etc), I knew that the rest of my scheduale was filled with courses that I could handle easily.
Its actually much easier to transfer outside of the UC system then you think. These days returning students and those working their way up from CC's are very popular with schools.
I've had recruiters from Wellesley, Smith, Brown, Mills agressively pursuing me as an applicant during visits to our school. I'm either going to be attending Berkeley, Reed or Brown ( depending on my financial aid transfer package)
They seem to love student leaders from community colleges!
I personally strayed away from any college that had a SAT prerequisite. I'm 28, I need to be studying for the GRE's not the SATS!
Hope that helped

By Neyha (Neyha) on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 01:21 pm: Edit

thats encouraging! thanks

By Neyha (Neyha) on Thursday, April 24, 2003 - 05:45 pm: Edit

Wilchyld:

thanks for your post!

i have a few questions (3 actually)

Were you in the honors program?

Did you have any other EC like awards and all besides being the president of Alpha Gamma Sigma?

What is Alpha Gamma Sigma?

thanks and good luck. You have some really good schools to choose from!

By Neyha (Neyha) on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 08:53 pm: Edit

L76!
I got the letter today! Did you get it too? If you did not, tell me and ill tell you what was on it..
I don't understand one thing though, why do we have to apply to Berkeley anyways (AGAIN!!)? The program does promise guaranteed admission anyways, right?
Also, what was your minimum GPA? I thought it would be a 3.3....like it matters...
c ya!

By L76 (L76) on Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 12:03 pm: Edit

Neyha,

No, didn't get it yet. I should probably get it next week though. Can you tell me what was in the packet as I'm so curious!
The minimum GPA is 3.3, it's guaranteed admission, and you have to apply to Berkeley again because every application goes through the review process (they have to check your grades and GPA to make sure it is 3.3+), and on the application, there is a little spot where you note that you were in UCB's CAP program, which would signal to them that this person should be accepted.

By Neyha (Neyha) on Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 03:19 pm: Edit

the package contained 2 letters, the first is all the information while the second is the enrollment form.

The enrollment formed asked you to select your school (CC) and asked for your name/address and so on. Its a one page form. They said that once you send it in, they will send you more info on CAP and the names of all the counselors you should be talking to. (berk and the CC).

The minimum GPA is 3.5 (for me atleast. not a 3.3
i guess thats it...also they asked to send the info in 10 days and they will send all the info by the end of May for everyone.

By Wildchyld (Wildchyld) on Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 03:37 pm: Edit

D'oh... it double posted

By Wildchyld (Wildchyld) on Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 03:37 pm: Edit

Neyha

Alpha Gamma Sigma IS the honor society for community colleges in California. Many UC's give extram weight to it because of the strict requirements for maintaining an active chapter in this state. Its been the source of many of my scholarships and I took home its top state award a few weeks ago.
I pretty much do everything on campus here ( kinda similar to military grade) student government, volunteer work, keep the doors open budget cut committee, student leaders association and I brought a production of the Vagina Monologues to campus and produced it myself.
I haven't had a lot of free time lately but its definately been an interesting few years!

By Pasific (Pasific) on Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 10:24 pm: Edit

UCLA does not have a guaranteed admissions program, does it??? It just has a "priority admissions" program.

And how do you find the top rankings on community colleges?

By L76 (L76) on Monday, April 28, 2003 - 06:09 pm: Edit

Neyha, received the green enrollment form & the info letter today and mailed it back!
You were right about the 3.50 minimum GPA requirement. They raised from 3.3 and a couple years ago it was 3.0 or maybe even below that. I guess more people are interested in the program, and they have less space. Actually, this way, it's better for the Berkeley transfers, because then, they will have to put more effort into their studies, since Berkeley is so known for its difficult classes.

Pasific, no, UCLA does not have a guarantee admissions program, obviously because there are just way too many applicants, and they don't have enough room. The priority admissions program is TAP, Transfer alliance program, which you can find more info about on their admissions website.

As for top rankings on JC's, hmmm...there are none. Generally, people say very positive things about Santa Monica College, because they have had the most # of transfers to UCLA, more than any other CA CC, and also the most # of transfers to the UC system period (of course, they also have substantially more students than the average CC).

By Neyha (Neyha) on Monday, April 28, 2003 - 07:02 pm: Edit

L76,
i better mail it out today or by tomorrow.

Pasific:
De Anza (in norCA) ranks 3rd in the nation...where are u?

By Chris17 (Chris17) on Friday, June 20, 2003 - 03:51 am: Edit

hi guys, well yea..im giving up UCSD to complete this program..so yea, im hoping that its not a joke...newaize i dont think that it will take 2 years to comoplete the IGETC requirements, im hoping that you can complete it in one year, with summer credit from this summer and ap credit..aite ..yea juss wanted to tell u guys that..so u guys can consider taking summer school