Extracurricular Activities for Transfer Students
Why Extracurricular Activities?
While completion of required coursework and GPA are the most important criteria for transfer admission evaluation, UCs prefer to see a demonstrated interest in your field of study and/or leadership potential. Having extracurricular achievements can also help you distinguish yourself from other highly qualified transfer applicants in competitive majors where completion of required coursework and high GPA are the norm. You can join college clubs or student government, volunteer with community, nonprofit, or faith-based organizations, or work as an intern or at a job related to your major.
If you need to work full-time to support yourself or your family and you are unable to participate in extracurricular activities related to your major, make sure you indicate your work schedule on the application and find other ways to show your interest in your field of study.
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What is Leadership?
So what exactly is leadership? This is how the UCLA Alumni Scholarship Program defines it:
Individual Leadership Qualities
- Shows initiative, takes charge, sets priorities.
- Displays intelligence, good judgment, confidence and self-knowledge.
- Accepts responsibilities willingly and eagerly.
- Demonstrates courage, resolution, and steadiness.
- Manages, decides, and sets priorities.
- Exhibits perseverance, ingenuity, creativity, and dynamism in solving problems.
- Seeks opportunities and surmounts obstacles, including challenging the status quo.
Group Leadership Qualities
- Sets an example through commitment and action.
- Works collaboratively with others.
- Guides changes and improvements.
- Makes plans, motivates, follows through and guides the participation of others so that all will benefit.
- Delegates, trains and shares the responsibility and the credit.
- Demonstrates selflessness and consideration of others.
- Assesses potential in others.
- Shows understanding of followers/constituents, and their needs.
- Skilled in dealing with people, shows social perceptiveness.
- Able to win and hold trust.
- Exhibits adaptability and flexibility in approach.
You don’t need to achieve EVERY quality, but be sure to MENTION every quality you did achieve in your UC Application!
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Activities and Programs
Below is a selection of activities and programs I have come across over the years. Broaden your search beyond the internet; check with your community college career center or transfer center for local opportunities and browse the library reference section for guidebooks on summer programs and internship opportunities.
- Educational Preparation Programs
- UC Transfer Programs
- Internships
- Summer Programs
- Community Service and Volunteering
Educational Preparation Programs
You may have heard about “educational preparation programs” and the UC Application even has a section for them. So what are educational preparation programs?
Well, according to the UCs, educational preparation programs are “programs or activities that have enriched your academic experiences or helped you to prepare for college. Such programs may provide information, counseling, tutoring or other service or offer academic enrichment, research opportunities or special study opportunities, such as study abroad.”
Below is a list of the educational preparation programs that are available to college students. Look for them at your school and do your best to participate in them.
Berkeley
- Boost (formerly Young Entrepreneurs at Haas)
Offered through Berkeley Haas School of Business and serves high school students, though community college students may volunteer as mentors. - Professional Development Program (PDP)
Serves current Berkeley students. - Starting Point Mentoring Program
Open to ALL California community college students. - Transfer Alliance Project
Targets underserved (socioeconomically disadvantaged) students at partner community colleges.
Davis
- C-STEM
Serves students from grades K through 14. - Transfer Opportunity Program
Serves students at participating community colleges in Northern California.
Irvine
- Santa Ana Promise Program (formerly ADELANTE)
Open to students who enroll at Santa Ana College within one year of graduating from a Santa Ana Unified School District high school. - American Indian Resource Program (AIRP)
Targets American Indian and Indigenous students. - Honors Transfer Program
Open to students enrolled in the honors programs at Honors Transfer Council of California member community colleges. - Summer Scholars Transfer Institute (SSTI)
Open to all students at Santa Ana College and Rio Hondo College. - U-Link
Open to academically qualified students at Santa Ana College.
UCLA
- CBOP (Career Based Outreach Program)
Likely discontinued. - UCLA Community College/SITE
Serves community college students. - Transfer Alliance Program
Open to qualified students attending member community colleges.
Merced
- Transfer Initiatives Program (formerly ERA)
Serves high school students going to community college and current community college students in Central California.
Riverside
- Puente Connection (UCRP)
Open to all community college students in the Puente Project. - Smart Start Transfer Academy (SSTA)
Now defunct.
San Diego
- UniversityLink
Targets underserved (socioeconomically disadvantaged) students at partner community colleges.
San Francisco
- UCSF Internships
Search “internship” on the UCSF website for available opportunities.
Santa Cruz
- Transfer Prep Program (TPP)
Open to all California community college students.
Most UCs
- CAMP (California Alliance for Minority Participation in Science)
Search online for “California Alliance for Minority Participation in Science” to find program locations. Serves students from participating 4-year colleges.
Other Available Options in California
- Cal-SOAP
Serves high school and community college students. - MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement)
Serves elementary school, middle school, high school, community college, and 4-year college students.
Other Programs
- Umoja
Targets underrepresented minority students attending community college. - Puente Project
Serves high school and community college students. - Study Abroad
Check with your community college for available study abroad programs or try one of these external programs:
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UC Transfer Programs
You may have seen a long list of programs in the “Student Support Program Participation” section of the UC Transfer Admission Planner or in the “Transfer Admission Programs” section of the UC Application. Wonder how you can get in on the action to better prepare for transfer? Check out the program list below and do your best to participate in the programs available to you. Some transfer programs are open to current high school seniors.
Berkeley
- Transfer Alliance Project (including all TAP-related programs listed)
Targets underserved (socioeconomically disadvantaged) students at partner community colleges. - Starting Point Mentoring Program
Open to ALL California community college students.
Davis
- AvenueE
Open to engineering or computer science students enrolled in partner community college districts. - Transfer Opportunity Program (TOP)
Open to students at participating community colleges in Northern California.
Irvine
- Santa Ana Promise Program (formerly ADELANTE)
Open to students who enroll at Santa Ana College within one year of graduating from a Santa Ana Unified School District high school. - American Indian Resource Program (AIRP)
Targets American Indian and Indigenous students. - Edison Scholars
Open to science, engineering, or mathematics students enrolled in a community college within the Southern California Edison service area and on track to transfer to a UC campus. - Honors Transfer Program
Open to students enrolled in the honors programs at Honors Transfer Council of California member community colleges. - Summer Scholars Research Program (SSRP)
Open to all students at Santa Ana College. - Summer Scholars Transfer Institute (SSTI)
Open to all students at Santa Ana College and Rio Hondo College. - Transfer Leadership Collaborative (TLC)
Open to students enrolled in partner community colleges. - U-Link
Open to academically qualified students at Santa Ana College.
UCLA
- CCCP Scholars Programs (including all summer programs listed)
Targets underserved (socioeconomically disadvantaged) students. - Student Transfer Outreach and Mentor Program (STOMP)
Open to all California community college students. - Transfer Alliance Program
Open to students enrolled in the honors programs at partner community colleges.
Merced
- Summer Transfer Academy & Resources for Success (STARS)
Open to all community college bound high school seniors. - Summer Up
Likely discontinued; may have been replaced by Transfer Academy. - Transfer Initiative Program (TIP)
Open to all community college bound high school seniors and current community college students.
Riverside
- Puente Connection (UCRP)
Open to all community college students in the Puente Project. - Smart Start Transfer Academy (SSTA)
Now defunct.
San Diego
- UniversityLink
Targets underserved (socioeconomically disadvantaged) students at partner community colleges.
Santa Barbara
- Transfer: Making It Happen
Open to community college bound high school seniors in the Santa Barbara Cal-SOAP.
Santa Cruz
- Transfer Prep Program (TPP)
Open to all California community college students.
All UCs
- EAOP (Early Academic Outreach Program)
Serves students from grades 9 through 12. - Educational Talent Search
Search for “trio talent search” or “educational talent search” at a campus near you (also available at CSU campuses). This program serves elementary school, middle school, and/or high school students.
Other Transfer Support Programs
- BOG Waiver
Serves economically disadvantaged community college students. - Cal-SOAP
Serves high school and community college students. - CalWorks
Serves economically disadvantaged students. - EOPS
Serves socioeconomically disadvantaged community college students. - MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement)
Serves middle/high school students and community college students. - Puente Project
Open to all students. - Umoja
Targets underrepresented minority students attending community college. - Upward Bound
Serves high school students.
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Internships
Check with your college career center for local internship opportunities and browse the library reference section for guidebooks. Most large companies will post internship opportunities on their company website. If you are interested in a particular profession, you may also consider calling businesses in your neighborhood and inquiring about internship opportunities.
Here are some resources and ideas to help you get started with your internship search:
- Search Online
Search for “college internship [city and state or zip code]” for local internship opportunities. - Internships.com
Great free way to find internships by field, location and pay scale. - State Assemblies
Most state assembly members offer internships. For California, visit the California State Assembly website and click on “Find My Representative.” - Local/County/State Courts
Most courts offer internships. For California, try your local Superior Court. - ASTC-member science centers
Science centers all over the country offer internships. Not sure if there is a science center near you? Search science centers by location. - Community College Internships and Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships
Run by the Office of Science at the U.S. Department of Energy, the two programs place community college students in paid internships at Department of Energy lab locations all across the nation. Internship appointments are 10 or 16 weeks in duration and offered during Summer, Fall, and Spring terms. - California Highway Patrol’s Explorer Program
Designed for young men and women, 15 to 21 years of age, to develop skills and knowledge needed to serve the people of California through assisting the CHP both in office and out in the field.
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Summer Programs
Here are some summer programs I have come across over the years.
Berkeley
- Summer Research and Enrichment Programs for Undergraduates in STEM Majors
UC Berkeley’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences has compiled a long list of programs open to community college and transfer students.
UCLA
- Undergraduate Cancer Research Training Program
Charles Drew University has partnered with UCLA to offer a 12-week summer internship program designed for outstanding minority and underrepresented undergraduate students who are contemplating a career in biomedical-related sciences and working with underserved communities. Participants receive a maximum award totaling $4,000. Deadline: beginning of February. - UCLA PREP
Program designed to provide premedical and predental students from disadvantaged backgrounds with a means of strengthening their ability and readiness to study medicine or dentistry. Deadline: beginning of March. - CCCP Scholars Programs
The goal of these programs at UCLA are to motivate, inform and prepare students to transfer from a California community college to selective Top Tier Research institutions such as UCLA. Deadlines vary depending on the program but are usually between late spring and early summer. - Summer Programs Outside UCLA
A long list of programs open to community college and transfer students.
Santa Barbara
- STEM summer programs
Programs targeting community college and transfer students.
Other Colleges
- Stanford Science Outreach Programs for Undergraduates from Other Schools
Updated list of opportunities from self-initiated learning (free online courses) and residential programs (free Stanford Summer Community College Premedical Program.
Need-Based Financial Assistance Available
- Disc* [Design & Innovation for Sustainable Cities]
An intensive five-week summer program that explores an interdisciplinary and multi-scalar approach to design and analysis in the urban environment. Deadline: mid-May (financial aid deadline: early April).
Free Summer Learning Experiences
- Transfer-to-Excellence Summer Research Program
The Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science offers a 9-week residential research experience for undergraduates who are enrolled in community colleges (participants receive a stipend, plus room and board). Available opportunities include Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, and Robotics. Deadline: beginning of February. - Summer Health Professions Education Program
Aims to strengthen the academic proficiency and career development of students underrepresented in the health professions and prepare them for a successful application and matriculation to health professions schools. The program is offered at 13 sites, including Columbia, Rutgers, UCLA, and University of Washington. Deadline: mid-February. - King Hall Outreach Program
A unique initiative that helps college students from underrepresented communities prepare for the law school admissions process. Deadline: early June.
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Community Service and Volunteering
You can search for volunteer opportunities using the vetted volunteer matching service providers below. Sign up to receive email notifications when volunteer opportunities in the areas you are interested in become available. Most of these are national listings with opportunities in every interest area you can imagine.
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Other Ideas
- Science Project Ideas
Conduct independent science research using step-by-step science project guide provided by Science Buddies.
