Can you transfer to UCLA with a Philosophy major?????? help please.....

[premedstudent1]

Hello everyone,

I am currently a freshman in a community college. I am almost done with all my General Education requirements.

The problem is that I want to be well prepared for the MCAT, and I have been told that it is better to take the premed prereqs in university instead of a cc, plus it looks good in the adcomms' eyes.

So I thought about picking a major with minimum prereqs such as Econ or philosophy to transfer to UCLA and then change majors once I get there to biology instead of declaring a biology major now which would force me to take all the premed prereqs in my cc before transferring.

I like biology and I wanna be prepared and challenged as much as possible before I take the MCAT and also med school.

Is that possible to do? Has anybody done this before?

Thanks for your contribution in advance,👍👍
Premedstudent1.

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[paranoid_eyes]

no don't do this PLEASE!

1) Let's assume you are interested in biology. Take the lower div (premed prereqs) at the community college. The transfer and MAKE SURE to do well in your upper divs. It will not matter.

2) trying to complete a biology major at UCLA in two years is impossible

3) the lower divs at UCLA (and at other universities) are KILLERS. get a good gpa at a community college. upper divs are hard too, but not so cut-throat.

 

[DrZaius]

If you want to major in bio, just do bio. There's nothing wrong with community college, especially if you take upper div bio and get good grades.

People look down on community colleges, but if you have good instructors you will get a better education at a CC rather than a university. You benefit from small class sizes, plenty of time to talk with your instructor and get to know them, and you can pretty much study with any or all of your classmates.

The downside is that you miss out on a lot of things unique to college campuses, like the dorms, college parties, RESEARCH, etc. You can do all of this, really, it's just a lot more accessible at a 4-year school.

 

[paranoid_eyes]

People look down on community colleges

this is a misconception. yes, if you started as a freshman at a four year university and you take orgo and physics at a community college, it looks bad.

on the flip side, transferring is not a problem. i know PLENTY of community college transfers who have made it to excellent medical schools (top 10's even). if i could redo college, i would definitely start at a community college 👍

 

[DrZaius]

Yeah, I should say people unfairly look down on community colleges. I think for a lot of GE type classes, they're probably pretty easy. But my math and science classes were top notch, and I was better prepared for upper division than my friends who attended a 4-year since freshman year.

I did take ochem at a 4-year, though, and I would suggest that because curves make it easier to get an A, rather than having to get an 85% or even a 90% to get an A at a community college.

 

[pagemmapants]

3) the lower divs at UCLA (and at other universities) are KILLERS. get a good gpa at a community college. upper divs are hard too, but not so cut-throat.

This is crap. The classes themselves suck no more at UCLA than they do anywhere else. It's your CLASSMATES that suck. Ignore them and do your own **** and you won't have a problem.

Plus keep in mind that UCLA has more medical school applicants per year than any other school. The cut-throat atmosphere is ridiculous, especially in PhySci courses - people telling other people the wrong rooms for exams,people stealing notes, etc. Maybe consider txfering elsewhere where the environment is less obnoxiously pre-med if you don't want to deal with that kind of bullsh1t.

IMHO if you can't hack it ACADEMICALLY in LS1-4 and Chem14ABC you shouldn't be applying to med school anyway - this is because, as I said, they are NO HARDER at UCLA than at CCs. The prereq classes are NOT that bad despite the legendary status some of the professors have attained; Chem 153L sucks, but you don't NEED that to apply to med school. You only need it if you're in a major that requires it, and, if you can follow directions, you can at least PASS it. Plus Dr. Kim rules. Chem 153 (biochem) sucks but that's just the way it is. If you're willing to stick to schools that don't require biochem, don't take 153. LS1 is boring but if you can memorize, you can get an A. LS4 is cake if you know how to draw a box. LS3 is crappy and annoying but at least there's a lab grade involved that's partially based on participation. The physics 6 series is basically Physics for Poets (except for electromagnetism which sucks no matter where you take it) and everything in 6A you covered in AP phys.

Best of luck to you. Don't listen to these naysayers that say CC prereq grades are going to keep you out of med school. If you do prereqs at a CC and do well, then go to a university like UCLA and do well in upper div, you're golden.

And lastly, don't feel like you HAVE to major in biology anyway. One of my best friends at UCLA was an english lit major and is now in his 2nd year at med school in Chicago.

 

[SketchLazy]

People look down on community colleges...

this is a misconception.

Unfortunately, this is not a misconception. Most people DO look down on community colleges and the students that go there. It's usually the ones who attend 'ranked' universities and have never taken one class at a community college.

 

[evandavidson]

I agree with pagemmapants. The classes at UCLA are not that bad, material wise. What makes them crappy are the "curves." You are competing with a class where the average SAT score was >1300. In some classes, the number of A/A- grades are limited to less than 20% of the class (I know for a fact that LS limits As to 17%), which can lead to some pretty nasty competition. However, if you learn the stuff, you'll do well.

As far as the Physics 6 series being referred to as "Physics for poets," it really depends with whom you take it. Two of my classes had exam averages in the low 40s.

 

[169817]

This is crap. The classes themselves suck no more at UCLA than they do anywhere else. It's your CLASSMATES that suck. Ignore them and do your own **** and you won't have a problem.

This must have been why I had such an awful time trying to make friends from class.

To the OP: realistically, you should talk to somebody from admissions. Don't expect too much help from counseling once you get there. The competition at UCLA is fierce because of the curves and the lack of grade inflation (i.e. Dr. Pang was temporarily suspended for failing too many students), especially in the lower division classes. I would suggest that you take your bio major prereqs at your current school and transfer as a bio major. This is assuming that you are committed to Biology as your major. If you plan on pursuing a north campus major, maybe it would be better to take the med-school-required classes at UCLA to demonstrate that you can hack it in what could only be described as pre-med hell. 700+ applicants a year, people who say "Ignore them, do your own ****," adjusting to a huge campus from JC, and inevitably taking an extra year or two to get where you want to be. Good luck!

 

[Snake Doctor]

This must have been why I had such an awful time trying to make friends from class.

To the OP: realistically, you should talk to somebody from admissions. Don't expect too much help from counseling once you get there. The competition at UCLA is fierce because of the curves and the lack of grade inflation (i.e. Dr. Pang was temporarily suspended for failing too many students), especially in the lower division classes. I would suggest that you take your bio major prereqs at your current school and transfer as a bio major. This is assuming that you are committed to Biology as your major. If you plan on pursuing a north campus major, maybe it would be better to take the med-school-required classes at UCLA to demonstrate that you can hack it in what could only be described as pre-med hell. 700+ applicants a year, people who say "Ignore them, do your own ****," adjusting to a huge campus from JC, and inevitably taking an extra year or two to get where you want to be. Good luck!

Really, when did Pang get temporarily suspended? Well, he deserved it for not answering my email! I never had him though, but I am aware of his reputation.
I know one guy who had to take LS2 as a junior transfer after he got in even though he received credits for LS 3 and LS 4 from the JC.

Hey, anyone get the "who the heck are these people" feeling while sitting in lecture? I don't see them at the library, on the hill, in the dining halls, at any of the football or basketball games... NO WHERE at all. Anyways, going back to the topic, I would recommend going with bio if that's what you really want to do. 1.) You can show that you can hang with the "big" boys (and girls) in upper division science courses. 2.) Bio is prob. the best major in terms of tacking on a minor or double major. In your case, I think it would suit you if you major in Bio and minor in Philosophy (I think we have a philosophy minor).
The pre-meds here is extremely competitive, but it's still better than Berkeley (from what I hear). I tried to explain the competitiveness of south campus to my north campus friends... and they couldn't comprehend the nature of UCLA pre-meds lol. Last year, there was this one guy in office hours for LS2 who asked answers to questions he obviously knew so that he can simply get the professors approval. All I can say to that is, wow, you got to be kidding me. I mean, the professor knew too since it was (pretty obvious). It's really annoying, especially since it was right before a midterm. I'm sure others here have their share of stories...

 

[paranoid_eyes]

IMHO if you can't hack it ACADEMICALLY in LS1-4 and Chem14ABC you shouldn't be applying to med school anyway

first off, i know they aren't that hard. i've taken them. but if you compare them to CC classes, it is harder to get an A. honestly, who cares how hard the material is. if the material was cake and the professor gave out 1 A, that would be hard. if the material was REALLY hard but the professor gave out a lot of A's, that class is still easy.


btw, i agree with you 100% (even 153A wasn't that hard IMHO). And yes the 6 series is a joke (literally, even EM)

 

[bruinator]

first off, i know they aren't that hard. i've taken them. but if you compare them to CC classes, it is harder to get an A. honestly, who cares how hard the material is. if the material was cake and the professor gave out 1 A, that would be hard. if the material was REALLY hard but the professor gave out a lot of A's, that class is still easy.


btw, i agree with you 100% (even 153A wasn't that hard IMHO). And yes the 6 series is a joke (literally, even EM)

Yeah, none of the classes at ucla are unbelievably difficult--the curves suck occasionally ( i remember in LS1 I had over a 90% and got a B+...) but generally, once you get the hang of how to study at ucla, you can do really well. And upper divs are wayyy easier than lower div, simply because you don't have as many cut-throat people. And the 6 series is pretty simple, especially if you get an awesome prof like wang.