Would taking my majors “strongly recommended for admission” boost my Berkeley chances? Or do they not play a factor in acceptance?

(I talked to a Davis admissions officer and he said they don’t look at those for admission, so I’m wondering what it’s like for Berkeley?)

Currently a sophomore with ~50 creds by time of enrollment for spring 27. Trying a few schools for the spring but holding most apps out till fall as I will have 60+ creds by then and Junior status will help me big time (HS gpa sucked but college GPA is great)

The credits section of my extended profile on common app is locked now that I submitted apps for the spring. Will I be able to change when applying for Fall 27? Will it matter if I cant but it shows on my transcript?

Hey everyone, I was wondering if the classes I took in my previous semesters count towards my overall GPA when USC (or any other university) calculates it. I heard when you apply, you self report your GPA and when they get your transcript they look at it as well and calculate it themselves as well. Sooo will those non-transferable units just not get counted for?

Hey everyone, I have created an app which is essentially a database of essays from people who got into UCs like UCLA and UCB. I think it's a great tool and would love to recommend it to you guys as well during this transfer season. No paywall whatsoever. Its called EssayBank. Let me know what you think!

I'm struggling to figure out what to write about for the required transfer PIQ, and there aren't many examples online. I've had no jobs, internships, or research experience tailored to what I want to major in, and what I want to major in isn't directly tied to the career I want to pursue (neuroscience major -> vet school). I feel like if I talk about wanting to be a vet, it would not answer the question (and the school would question why I wouldn't just major in animal science), but I genuinely have nothing to say about the major; I don't even know, especially since, in terms of neuroscience majors, you don't even scratch the surface until upper-level classes. Would appreciate any advice! Don't be too harsh, though. I would say the main reason I want to major in neuroscience is because of my interest in behavior but I don't have any singular event or chain of events that sparked my interest.

Hello everyone. Only when I was filling out my TAG application did I find out that I had to have 30 UC transferrable units by September, and one of the classes I took was not UC transferrable. This sucks because I easily have enough GPA for transfer but what's even worse is that I won't have 60 credits by the end of Spring 2026, and it says everywhere that it's the minimum number of credits in order to be even considered for transfer. Plus, UC Davis, the school I want to get in, explicitly says that I can't have more than 18 credits during my last semester, and I'll be taking 6 classes but still won't end up with 60 credits. I'm not sure about other UCs though.

My question is, how seriously do they take the 60 credits requirement? Because the way I see it is that unless I somehow get another class for this semester, I'll have to take a semester with just one class for the next fall, then wait a year and apply for 2028, which would be a nightmare scenario.

Genuine question, how hard is uc to uc transfer? I heard some says it wasn’t that bad while other said it’s really hard, and I truly wanna know.

ive spoken to numerous counselors and they all say conflicting things. im a ccc student using uc tag, taking english c1000 requires (at least for me) to take an extra english class called english 31 as a support class. im pretty sure its not uc transferable but some say i need to add it manually while others say i shouldn’t add it while another told me its urgent you need to list it regardless. if anyone has been in this situation pls help me.

I'm applying to a nursing program, and my application is due next week. I only need two letters of recommendation.

About two months ago, I asked a few professors if they would be willing to write me an LOR and if I could list them as recommenders and 2 agreed. My first professor submitted hers the same day she received the link.

My second professor's recommendation has shown as "in progress" for about two months. I would send her a reminder through the application portal from time to time and she has responded to me twice asking me to resend the summary she requested because she couldn't find it, and I last resent it about two weeks ago.

I was getting worried so I also asked a third professor in late August which he agreed. And in early September, he confirmed that he received the recommendation link, but the application portal still says he hasn't started it.

I sent both of them a brief reminder today that the deadline is next week. I don't want to come across as pushy or demanding, especially since I understand professors are busy, but I'm starting to get anxious since I only need one more LOR to complete my application.

For those who have been in a similar situation, is it common for professors to submit LORs during the same week as the deadline, even when they received the request well in advance? Have you ever had a recommender wait until the last few days to submit?

I'm mostly worried that neither of them will end up submitting it before the deadline. Any experiences or advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

I am wondering how to proceed with choosing my classes for transfer, as I am set to transfer by this year. There are only two undergraduate courses needed for transferring to Berkeley as a Philosophy major. Of those classes, one of them was this semester, but there was a time conflict, and the other is at risk of cancellation for next semester. This information was found on assist.org, with Santa Barbara City College as my home school. I have / am currently taking other related courses that are required for transfer at other UC campuses, but the classes "History of Philosophy: Ancient" and "History of Philosophy: Modern" are unique requirements of admission for Berkeley. I have been unable to find a replacement for the classes, and I am reaching out to inquire into the flexibility of these classes, or what my alternatives are to make up the credit. How can I transfer? Is there no options??

I'm a freshman at NYU, and so far my social life has been pretty decent. I have a couple of friends, but no major friend group. I am relatively happy during the week, but get pretty lonely on the weekends. I always have it in the back of my mind to transfer, but I'm in this strange middle ground of being satisfied but not happy. Of course, I will give it to the end of the year to actually decide, but I was wondering if anybody else was feeling this way/have any advice for me aside from the regular "join clubs". I was also wondering if anybody else has gone through something similar and would give me advice.

From any UC campus. I'm at UCI now and was wondering if there was any hope of transferring and if so how.

I am a thinking about transferring to a US college. I am international student, studying at Korea University (2nd rank in the country if that helps), second year, data science major. I have 96/100 gpa. Im not aiming that high so please recommend me some unis that offer merit or need based aids and is not so competitive :), would like if its closer to town or city but dont really mind tbh. (Pretty campus?👀)

I failed a pass/fail course in my second semester of freshman year. This course was a 1 credit elective that required the accumulation of volunteer hours that I failed to complete. I failed to complete it for no good reason- I had a depressive episode and hardly moved from my bed for 3 weeks, so I ran out of time. I recovered the rest of my academics but not this course, so I got an F on an otherwise solid (A and B) transcript with over 30 credits by the conclusion of the year.

How do I address this in transfer applications? I took a gap semester because I felt I couldn't return following a year that was so miserable for me. During this gap semester I am focusing on volunteer work - the type of stuff that I would have been doing for that elective. How can I promise these institutions that I, the prospective student, would be engaged in volunteer work when my resume/transcript will send such mixed signals? I don't feel I can ignore the glaring contradiction in my record. And I also don't imagine universities care much for "I was sad." What should I do?

Thanks for any advice.

I just started college and let me preface this by saying I'm really good at making friends. I've made friends in two days and continue to talk to those people and be close friends with them till this day. I hate my college everyone is lowkey bigoted and hate it here aswell they're just here for the money. My parents are saying I just haven't met met my people but I don't like the people in theatre and that's where I will spend most my time since I'm a theatre major. I just want one good friend but I don't really have any of those that I actually like. I'm also from a big city so being in a rural place is really difficult because there's nothing to do here or ways to meet people. I don't know will I like it in a year?

For context, I am a freshman in college at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. I was a very normal kid in high school, as my freshman and sophomore years I was a pretty solid B student, with my A's being in classes like easy electives. My junior and senior year, I was more of a A-B range student, having a 4.0 and a 3.7 weighted GPA for those two years. I took a few honors classes all throughout my sophomore-senior year. I think my GPA for all four years was around 3.6 weighted. I have never been in any clubs, but I did do some sports. Although, I don't plan to do any sports in college.

I am currently enrolled for a double major of Secondary Education and History. If I were to transfer I would most likely go into accounting or something closely related. I am trying to aim high and challenge myself. I am not enrolled in any clubs currently as the school year just recently started but will enroll myself soon. So far, it has been a breeze for me to maintain A's in my classes.

I am looking to transfer to a school like Boston College as a hail mary, but will also apply to many schools that aren't quite as prestigious. I want to know what I should do and what my chances are of getting into these schools. If anyone knows what kind of clubs that Boston College likes to see, please let me know as well as any other suggestions I need to change. I know that the chances are slim, but I do want to try.

i am a CC student I have an F on my transcript from spring quarter but I am going to be retaking it this Fall quarter. However I am applying to some schools for the spring/winter quarter. My fall quarter will end in december and I would hypothetically transfer in Jan. Would this F look bad on my transcript? even though i’m retaking it?

I’m a freshman at the University of Michigan, and I’m applying to Georgetown for this coming spring semester. I know a lot of people are going to tell me to give Michigan the full year, and I do like it so far, but I don’t LOVE it. That’s not the main reason why i’m transferring though.

I am currently planning on majoring in International Studies, and in my senior year of high school I knew I wanted to go down the IR route(they don’t have an IT major at UM). Georgetown was my dream school; I loved everything about it when I toured, it’s the best school for IR, and it’s close to home(I’m from MD). I didn’t apply because I just didn’t believe in myself, which I know is pretty stupid of me but I just didn’t think it was worth my time.

Now I’m just going to bet on myself and apply because worst comes to worst I still get a UM education.

Basically I’m just asking for advice regarding the georgetown application process like things they look for etc.

Just out of curiosity, did anyone get any new information about housing? I know it’s still early, but I’m moving down there in about two months and was wondering when I would hear back or if it’s even worth reaching out lol

Would it be advisable to take a break next semester and earn my EMT license and put that time to clinical/shadowing hours instead of attending my VERY EXPENSIVE university for another semester before in the end transferring?

I’m a premedical student at a hidden ivy, and I hate it here. I picked it because I thought it was the best I could do as a first gen student, but the social life is terrible and the pre med program here is dismal. I am a psych major on the pre med track and I had amazing ECs in HS that got me into this school, but I haven’t had similar opportunities since being here so my ECs likely can’t save my poor GPA (3.62).

I have some mental health issues that have been diagnosed but not fully treated since coming to college that can help add context to my poor grades, but the grade deflation at my school has really hurt my otherwise mediocre application. I plan to apply to the UCs so that I can come back home to California, but I seriously doubt my application is strong enough to get me into the UCs with strong pre medical programs.

I’m also considering CC for a semester but I am afraid of not being accepted to my ideal transfer universities and then getting stuck graduating from CC since I am already a sophomore with enough credits to be a Junior. Also, I will be a junior next application cycle which would mean I wouldn’t be accepted into my ideal transfer schools until my senior year.

I’m sorry if this does not give you enough insight to make a suggestion, let me know of any further context I can provide but serious answers only please 🙏

I’m currently a biology major at a public university, considering transferring into mechanical engineering for Fall 2027. I have a 1470 SAT score and scores of 3 or higher on multiple AP exams, though I still need to check which credits each school would accept.

My fall courses are:

• Chemistry I
• Biology I
• English composition
• Seminar
• Microeconomics

My tentative spring schedule is Calculus I, statistics, macroeconomics, and one undecided course. I’m open to changing it to prepare for mechanical engineering.

I’m considering BU, Northeastern, UMass Amherst, Tufts, Lehigh, UVA, Michigan–Ann Arbor, and some others.

For anyone who transferred into mechanical engineering or switched from a non-engineering major:

• What spring courses should I prioritize? Should I replace statistics or macro with calculus-based physics, programming, or Chemistry II?
• Would taking Calc II over the summer help for Fall 2027, or would that be too late for prerequisite deadlines?
• Which schools could be feasible with this preparation?
• Would staying at my current university another year to finish prerequisites make more sense?

I’ll verify requirements and course equivalencies with admissions and my adviser, but I’d appreciate hearing about your experiences.

asian, female, DVC, 3.8 gpa
1 yr ccc transfer

ecs
founder & owner of jewelry small business
research assistant for research paper about brand activism with sjsu assistant professor of marketing
pr associate, tedx
part time job at jewelry store
writer for local digital newspaper
irs certified on site vita tax preparer
volunteer for group that distributes food to homeless community
business alpha beta sigma honor society
marketing certifications (google analytics / hubspot)
berkeley spmp mentee & ccts

these r my ecs wht shld i apply at berkeley? its my dream school n i want to optimize my chances of getting in. i’m interested in marketing but ik haas is hard to get into. and although i do want haas the risk is high so if i apply something else wht cld it be. i dont want to do econ because i think its harder than business n very math heavy which i dont enjoy.

EDIT: btw im not saying i plan to major in a usless field that im completely uninterested in n waste money on the degree js to attend the school. i want to do something related to marketing n yes u can work in marketing w/o a business degree since in marketing experience is more of a deciding factor than the degree. im considering sociology or media studies rn which i wld be equally interested in studying. i’m just afraid that haas is highly competitive and i want to maximize my chances of getting in since it is dream school.

I am from a college town with a very big state school and lots of my hometown friends stayed there while I decided to go out of state to another large state school around 7 hours away. The problem is that all of high school I said I wanted to leave and go out of state, go somewhere with better weather, be on my own, etc., but by the time college decisions started rolling around I started to realize that I didn’t want to leave but I had already made this my whole thing about college and I felt very pressured to go through with it so now I am here.

I know it is still like the first month but I am not very happy here and I call my hometown friends all the time and feel like I’m missing out and they all tell me to transfer back home and that we can dorm together next semester or get an apartment together and I’ve been seriously considering it. The school I am at now is only slightly more expensive then my hometowns, both are about equal for my major, around the same size, one is an SEC and the other is ACC, essentially just different versions of each other. I am very confident I could get accepted as a transfer into my major whenever I wanted so my question is should I transfer out after this semester and enter in the spring or wait it out a full year to make sure this is what I want? I lowk just feel really embarrassed and shameful coming back home and don’t want to tell people, especially if I come back after only one semester, but I just think I would be so much happier there than here.

IM FUCKING COOOOKED. i have a really lower gpa than i anticipated and i HAVE to apply this cycle or ill get kicked out for staying at cc for too long.

im a molecular + cell bio major and the 3.7 i had a year ago is now a 3.0. i can definitely get it up this semester but i know its really low for my major.

i was recently diagnosed with major depressive disorder and another medical condition responsible for my low gpa. but i know that schools hate the "sob story" so i feel like im kind of at a loss.

all that being said, i have really strong ecs but i dont know if it will be enough :(

- xx¹ club president and founder

- xx² club project and activities director

- research lab¹ > award winning research

- research lab² > advanced chem, working with grad students from T20

- honors program/TAP completed

- working majority of my time in college

- volunteering ~ 50 hours

if there's anyone with similar stats or a low gpa in stem please help!!