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You need to see your academic counselor AT LEAST once per quarter!!
Most new transfer students don't think about seeing a counselor until they have a problem. Establishing a relationship with your academic counselor NOW is the most proactive thing you can do to ensure your success at UCI. Don't spin your wheels, make sure you are on track to accomplish your goals by seeing your counselor at least once per quarter.
An A- is not the same as an A at UCI
For all you perfectionists out there, consider yourself forewarned! This is not community college where any type of A is an A, no matter where you fall in the grading scale for that grade. UCI's grade point system distinguishes an A from an A- (as well as B+, B, B- etc.). For example, if you earn an A, you will get 4.00 points per unit credited to your GPA, an A- will give you 3.75 points per unit, not 4.00 points. Unfortunately, there are no additional points given for an A+ (and some professors don't give A minuses because of that, but most do follow UCI's standard scale), so don't think that earning an A+ will cancel out an A- on your GPA (however, a B+ will cancel out a B-). Be sure you understand the grading policies in each class so you know what to expect. Being surprised after the fact is unpleasant if you expected otherwise. For a full description of the official grading policy at UCI, please look at the Academic Regulations and Procedures section of the UCI Online Catalogue.
Your GPA starts at 0.00 when you transfer to UCI
This can be a blessing or a curse for transfer students, but it is your reality. Watch out for those pesky A minuses, but be thankful for the helpful B pluses!
Note: If you transfer to UCI from another UC, your GPA will follow you to UCI.
There Are Graduation Application Deadlines
You must apply to graduate, it does not happen automatically. Each school has application deadlines for the quarter in which you will finish all of your requirements. Check out the graduation information web site for more detailed information. **NOTE** Graduation in the summer moves you ahead to the next school year's graduating class. This is especially important for students that believe they will qualify for honors at graduation. Please read the following section for more information.
Honors at graduation are not automatic
Getting information about honors at graduation requirements for your school is a perfect excuse for you to make an appointment with your academic counselor TODAY. The following is an exerpt from the UCI Online Catalogue "Students may graduate with honors, summa cum laude, magna cum laude, or cum laude. The criteria used by each school in selecting candidates for these honors are included in each school's section of the Catalogue. A general criterion is that students must have completed at least 72 units in residence at a University of California campus. The official policy declaration can be found here.
Transfer students are especially vulnerable to exclusion because those 72 units must be completed prior to their quarter of graduation (e.g. if graduating in spring quarter, 72 units must be completed by winter quarter). If you are taking twelve units per quarter and plan to graduate within two years, you will not meet this requirement. If you think you will qualify for honors, plan your schedule with your academic counselor so that these minimum requirements are met without considerable hardship in any one quarter.
Transfer students are eligible to be elected to Phi Beta Kappa if they meet all requirements for membership, including the residence requirement, which states that each candidate must have completed five quarters (75 units) of work in residence at UCI and must be enrolled at UCI for the sixth quarter.
For information about Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious undergraduate honor society in the United States, see http://www.due.uci.edu/PhiBetaKappa.html
Further, as mentioned before, graduation application deadlines are very important to honors students. For example, if you plan to graduate with the class of 2008, you must apply to graduate no later than your school's application deadline for spring of that year. A summer 2008 graduation puts you with the graduating class of 2009, without honors if participating in the spring 2008 ceremony. Be proactive and plan your schedule each quarter with an academic counselor to avoid unnecessary disappointment.
You have a membership to the UCI Anteater Recreation Center (ARC)
Whether you want to be a member or not, part of your UCI registration fees automatically go to the ARC for a student membership. Feel free to take advantage of this terrific facility. Check out all that the ARC has to offer you at their web site here.
Preparation for graduate school begins NOW
If you just transferred, you are probably breathing a sigh of relief thinking that you have some down time. Sorry, but if you want to go to graduate school and you plan on graduating in two years, start doing your research right now. Get online and research your options and be very familiar with what your programs of interest require of you as an undergraduate. Spend this year preparing for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and/or any other entrance exams required by the programs you are interested in. Get involved in research here at UCI to make yourself competitive. There are many resources available at UCI to help you in this endeavor, such as the Career Center. The TSCP can also advise you individually.
You can borrow a laptop computer for free as a UCI student
The UCI Library Multimedia Resource Center will loan UCI students a laptop computer for up to two hours free of charge! These laptops also have free wireless internet access. One of the most useful aspects of this incredible perk is streamlined researching capability. While using the Library's online research databases, you can carry the laptop with you while searching for what you need in the library. This can save you an enormous amount of time when deciding the relevance of dozens of research abstracts and book references within search categories. Additionally, if you already own a laptop, the library will loan wireless internet attachments to students for up to two days. For more information and contact information, visit the Multimedia Resource Center web site. If you already own a laptop with wireless capability and would like to connect to the UCI server while on campus, check out this site for more information.
Please contact the TSCP for individual answers to your questions. Your input regarding the information on this site is also greatly appreciated--please let us know how we can best serve your needs!
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