Sneak Peek of Upcoming Book (outline)

You are not alone, and many are on this transfer journey.
- No one wants to talk about it because not enough support you would get
- Or you are still figuring out, and a quiet and non-disturbance is what you need.
If you don’t want to talk to anyone about it, this is the perfect book to read. I provide thought-provoking questions you need to ask yourself before starting your community college, during preparation for college transfer, and while applying for college transfer.
I provide guidelines you will need at every step of college transfer. We will assess your study skills, so you know what you need to equip yourself for college-level courses. We will talk about whether a 2-year transfer or 3-year transfer fits you. We will figure out the right sequence to fulfill your transfer requirements and special transfer programs, including the Transfer Admission Guarantee to one of the popular UC campuses. We will discuss extracurricular and campus involvements to enhance your later application. We will share and dissect successful transfer cases. We will walk you through step-by-step how to write college-transfer applications and essays.
This is not an ordinary college transfer counseling course. I am an immigrant from Taiwan. I entered Arcadia High School as a junior and was unable to meet college requirements. I was depressed and devastated. I was isolated and suffered loneliness due to the language barrier and culture unfitting. Going to a good university and having a good life was all my hope that carried me every day. Until “Sorry, but you are not qualified to apply for college in California,” my counselor told me. That was not easy for me to accept and made me wonder if my parents made the right decision and if my path forward to the American Dream was no longer available.
“You can still go to community college and transfer,” my counselor suggested.
“Who the fuck cares about community college. I am just a loser among my friends. They are all going to UCs or somewhere better.” I simply couldn’t comprehend what that meant. And, of course, that was all being told and nothing else. No more guidance. Just – “You can still go to a community college.”
I cannot say going to a community college and then transferring is better than starting as a freshman at a 4-year university.
I learned so much about myself and about life while navigating college transfer. I met my best friends who also strived for the best education. We started in a community college.
- They are doctors, dentists, and PhDs from prestigious institutions like Harvard and Caltech.
- The rest of us became entrepreneurs and strive in our industry like me.
- I transferred to UC Berkeley and studied Neuroscience. I earned a master’s degree in psychology and now consult Education companies to make learning experiences relevant and applicable to their student audience.
- You certainly become the mature one as the transfer student, and resilience is your strength because college transfer is an easy task, and if you can do it, you are certainly well-versed in dealing with life problems.
- It turned out it was a necessary step for me to reach the rich life I have now.
  - I wake up every morning with excitement to help more students and generate better ideas to make education useful.
  - I enjoy new experiences around the world, and I am an interesting person to talk to, so I have a lot of friends.
  - I am happily married to my dearest partner for life.
  - I make a decent amount of money. I accumulate more and more wealth and expect to earn more and more every year.
What I am saying is that you start with a community college, and you thrive. No one can stop you. Only yourself.
However, It’s indeed more complicated than going starting freshman year at a 4-year university. But I guarantee you that if you can figure it out, you are better off with your life than most freshmen in 4-year universities.
- This is not a talk down to 4-year university freshmen but addressing the lack of guidance from high school counselors and the education system.
- I am talking about the push and pressure for you to go to a college but never prepare you to go through colleges and get a successful career. That is like pumping you up to jump off a cliff and not telling you why to take the risk and what is down there.
- I did not figure out my career because I was busy getting a 4.0 GPA and joining clubs, so I had a good college application. Then what?

There’s no better time to start your college application than now

Many high school students don’t start to think about college applications until their Senior year. Combined with senior school activity and juggling with projects and tests in November and December, they don’t have adequate time to work on their applications and it results in poorly constructed applications that reduce their edges.

It’s also a big task. It’s the time to tell a story about all your sweat and tears. Take your time, make it good. Make it quirky. Make it unique.

START NOW

Register an account at UC Application, Common App, or whichever college application platform your college uses. You can see all the platforms here: What Are the Most Popular College Application Systems? But also read college websites and search the term “admission application” to find out. For example, MIT has its own platform.
Try to fill out the form to your best ability here are some tips:
a. Present yourself as a person, not a list of achievements
b. Reflect on your life experiences and how those shaped you as a person
c. Focus on the positives in your life, including challenges that have been overcome
Do not submit yet! This is just the beginning of the process. Look for the Review option and print it out for review (or download it as a pdf so you can annotate). Ask yourself the same question from 2. and your goal is to help colleges to know who you are and what do you want to do.
You can stretch your achievements a bit if you think you are able to achieve them before you submit your application. So you still have time to make it happen.

Why so early? Because it takes time and they ask tough questions so it’s better to get a preview before you start answering them.

Self-exploration is one of the hardest things a person can do and don’t expect to complete your application in days, instead, think about it in months.

The sooner you start the better so do not rush yourself or declare a deadline for submission.

It’s a good time to start your essays and write your responses to the short answer prompts so you have an idea about what does it look like when you sit down with a blank page, even though you probably have no idea how college admissions work.

You want to have your story prepared, you don’t want to start from scratch during the application process.

Good luck!

I failed my first semester, what do I do now?

You don’t do anything. Take the hit and move on.

Next semester, focus on getting a few things right:

Read the syllabus before the first class and understand what is expected as a student from the BEGINNING TO THE ENG of the class.
Figure out how you will meet those expectations and problem-solve as early as possible. Do not wait until the last minute, there’s no harm to ask, “I know this homework is due in 2 months but I know I need to start it now, where do I start?”
Make a schedule for the rest of the semester in the first week of class. Why? Because once you see the bigger picture, you would like to start some school work ahead of them because they are difficult or you simply are not good at certain types of schoolwork.

If it’s already tough and you are barely hanging on the cliff of your academic performance, go talk to your academic advisor or career counselor.

It might not be because the academic demand is difficult, you might be in the wrong pursuit. And the beauty is that you still have time, go figure it out!

Thinking about college transfer? Read this first

Aye! Not a bad choice.

I could speak more about when going to a two-year college is the optimal choice, but to boil down, it comes down to two things – finance and career.

Is a 4-year university too expensive to attend but do you need a degree?
Does your career choice require a degree?

There are plenty of jobs that ONLY require a high school diploma.

However, I strongly suggest anyone go through 2 years of college. Not for the degree but for the experience where you will meet a network of people with similar interests and learn self-management and independence.

Despite that some two-year colleges do not offer the same meaningful experience as most two-year or four-year colleges do, you should still go get an associate degree even you are clueless.

To earn an associate’s degree, you need to complete the general education (60 units; about 2 years) and academic grind. And the journey is going to prepare you for a better career with more career advancement potential.

More importantly, by doing so you will see the power of knowledge and the benefits of learning. Thus, you know learning will enrich your career and life so you will become a life-long learner and you will continue to grow to your fullest potential.

Check out this video to identify that which type of college experience works for you and how will each college experience help a student after graduating differently.

In general, 2-year college program has 3 main advantages:

It is more affordable:

In the US, 2-year community colleges cost a fraction of what 4-year universities do. For example, while tuition and fees at 4-year public universities average $9,650 per year, they average just $3,347 at community colleges. And that’s not counting room and board, which can add another $10,000 or more to the cost of a 4-year degree.

It is quicker:

Most associate degrees can be completed in 2 years, compared with 4 years for a bachelor’s degree. That means you could save yourself both time and money.

It may be more relevant to your career:

Employers are increasingly looking for workers with associate degrees, which is reflected in the growing number of jobs that require one. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the percentage of jobs requiring an associate degree or higher has increased from 38% in 1990 to 58% in 2010. That means there’s a good chance an associate degree will give you an edge in the job market.

So, if you’re looking for a more affordable, quicker, and potentially more relevant education than what 4-year universities offer, then a community college (or any 2-year vocational program) may be the right choice for you.

I am in 10th grade and what do I do to get into MIT

Hi, 10th Graders,

I am sure none of the answers that you have seen make sense to you or you already know because there’s no shortage of people telling you to get a perfect SAT, compete in D1 sport, or do something extraordinary including donating tons of money to MIT.

As I am writing this, I am furious that all college advice has been lists of achievements that seem to be impossible to reach.

They are true but not practical so don’t let them crush your MIT spirit.

First of all, MIT welcomes all kinds of students and they are looking for you. However, there are so many YOUs who want to get into MIT and you have to show them why you NEED MIT the most (read their website and learn about the programs offered in MIT).

It’s about the FIT between you and MIT, the more you can show them that your conviction to contribute to solving a problem in our society.

Pay attention!

This is not a hard question to answer but you need to create “evidence” (that also means do something with your time) to show.

So, where do you start?

Before I go into the detail, remember this:

If a college doesn’t think that they can help you to elevate your future after graduation (assuming you can articulate it), they will not offer you admission.

So you need to not only show them that you are academically ready (GPA/SAT/APs) also motivationally ready (have an idea of what you want to do and how will the college help you).

5 ways to explore your career interests in high school:

1. What you do in your spare time: what exactly do you enjoy doing? Is there a particular activity that you find yourself interested in and invested in, even if at times it takes a lot of effort? This may guide you to your career or occupation. For example, maybe you like writing about certain topics (economics, the environment, social justice). You might look into becoming a journalist or working in public relations.

2. What you read: Do you like to read certain types of books?

Books about traveling? Then perhaps you should look into becoming a tour guide. If it’s historical novels you are interested in, maybe writing history books is your calling.

3. Where you look for information: do you prefer to learn about information online or are you more comfortable with books? If it’s the Internet, then you might be interested in computer programming or engineering. Maybe business interests you.

4. What people tell you: Listen carefully to what other people tell you. Your parents, teachers, friends, and co-workers might provide good advice about a particular career or occupation that interests you.

5. Your dreams: If asked to write down your five greatest dreams in life, what would they be? Think of this list as a filter through which you can look at what you most enjoy. Once you figure out what your dreams are, try to match them up with a career or occupation.

5 ways to involve in a community (or two) where you find people with the same interests as yours:

1. Your current school clubs or teams: You can join a club or team that encourages you to participate in an activity that you enjoy. If there isn’t one, then why not create your own? For example, if you enjoy writing poetry and short stories, perhaps starting a reading club is for you!

2. Sports or recreation you can do on your own: Think about what sports and activities you enjoy doing on your own. Are there any that require a high level of discipline or training? If so, then these may line up with some skills that could lead to the career or occupation you are interested in pursuing.

3. A part-time job: You can spend time collecting different kinds of job experiences and skills that can influence your career or occupation. This will help you to find out if the activity is something you really enjoy and want to keep doing.

4. Community service: Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community, try out different kinds of activities, and learn about new places that interest you.

5. A summer job: If you’re lucky enough to get a summer job, it can be a great way to earn some income and practice your skills in the career or occupation that interests you.

OK. You are probably thinking … “What if…(whatever you are thinking).” Shut that voice off and focus on getting involved and how to contribute.

No, you need to earn it so work hard for some time. And, yes, you are valuable as long as you work.

I wish you the best and hope you find your aspiration to achieve everything on the list. Besides, Ivy League is overrated and the journey is so much more interesting.

If you are to explore different options, you can do a college search.

GPA for UCLA. Let’s Talk about it.

GPA — One number that encompasses who knows what; one number that schools and parents obsess so much; one number that determines your chance to enter a prestigious college like UCLA.

https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses-majors/ucla/freshman-admission-profile.html

I struggled to raise my GPA because I did not know how did it even work. For example, did you know that an A earns you 4 GPA points and a B earns you 3 points? And did you know if the course is not credited, it doesn’t count as part of your GPA? Did you know if you simply add all your points and divide them by the total number of credited courses, you get your GPA?

I did not know the rules, and I couldn’t figure out a strategy to raise my GPA.

In this post, I would like to explore the following questions:

What does GPA represent?
How is it calculated?
How to increase your GPA?
Why care about GPA?

Grade Point Average represents the average academic performance of a particular period of time.

My junior GPA is 3.6.
My first-year GPA is 2.8.

It makes sense that schools and parents obsess with your GPA. That is an important indicator that if you are doing well in school and, maybe, just maybe, you will do well in life.

And that’s all I want to say about GPA for the extrinsic reason. What does GPA represent to a student like you?

I coach students and help them to overcome academic difficulties. They hate to look at their GPAs, and they hate when people judge them by their GPAs. I told them, people don’t judge you based on your GPA. People judged you before your GPA, and GPA results from that judgment on your academic performance. If you do not have a good GPA, it’s not 100% your fault but mainly your fault. Ask yourself these questions:

Have you asked your teacher how to fix your GPA?
Have you asked around and ask people how they raise their GPA?
Have you spent enough time and do your due diligence as an active learning member in each class?
Did you pick a class that you are not interested in or too challenging?
When you see a “D” on your assignment, do you talk to someone to seek improvement before the next assignment?

An athlete who spends time training might not be the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) but will certainly not perform poorly. Your GPA represents your ability to manage your role as a student in an environment where learning progress is being graded.

Nothing more.

GPA is calculated based on two numbers: Total GPA Points and Total GPA Hours/Credits

GPA point in a class= class grade point (A=4; B=3; C=2; D=1; F=0) multiply number of units for that class

*If you are in high school, then every class is just 1 unit.

Total GPA Points = sum of all GPA points from all course taken with a letter grade

Total GPA Units = sum of all the units that contribute to your total GPA points

GPA = GPA Points/GPA Units

Let’s raise that GPA mathematically.

A college student has a cumulative 3.4 GPA and would like to raise it to a 3.6 within a year.

Assuming he has earned 60 units — the total GPA points are 3.4 x 60 = 204, and he can earn 32 units a year this year.

Thus,

Current GPA = 204/60=3.4
Prospecting GPA = (204 + ?)/(60+32)>3.6 → (204+?)>331.2 → ?>127.2

So, if he is taking 32 units in the next year, try to get an average GPA of 3.975 or higher to raise your GPA to 3.6.

A high school student has a 3.4 GPA in Sophmore and wants to obtain a 3.6 GPA in Junior.

He has a 3.4 GPA in Sophmore that encompasses two As and three Bs.

To get a higher GPA, like 3.6 GPA, he needs to work harder on one of the three classes and boost that one B grade to an A grade.

But remember, GPA simply measures your academic performance.

Let’s raise that GPA strategically and behaviorally, or here are some actions to take and raise your GPA.

3 Best Practices

On Sunday, review last week’s progress and seek improvement and make mental notes on how to do better next week. Use the table below to do 3 weeks of checkups before you get into a habit.

Week 1	Are you satisfied with your performance last week? 1-10 What can you improve next week?
Week 2	Are you satisfied with your performance last week? 1-10 What can you improve next week?
Week 3	Are you satisfied with your performance last week? 1-10 What can you improve next week?

At the same time, preview next week’s class agenda and upcoming assignments and exams. Schedule your time to work on the upcoming classwork on your calendar.

Week 1	What are the upcoming assignments? How much time do you need for each assignment? When will you have time to do it? What are the upcoming exams? How much time do you need to prepare for each exam? When will you have time to do it? Mark those schedules on your calendar immediately.
Week 2	What are the upcoming assignments? How much time do you need for each assignment? When will you have time to do it? What are the upcoming exams? How much time do you need to prepare for each exam? When will you have time to do it? Mark those schedules on your calendar immediately.
Week 3	What are the upcoming assignments? How much time do you need for each assignment? When will you have time to do it? What are the upcoming exams? How much time do you need to prepare for each exam? When will you have time to do it? Mark those schedules on your calendar immediately.

Take notes in every class. Think that note-taking in class is a requirement, not an option. The amount and detail of the notes almost don’t matter. Just write something. Suppose you want to be more effective in note-taking. Check out Smart Note-Taking Tip Sheet.

When you see any assignments on a syllabus, you should start planning ahead immediately. Ask yourself:

Is there a sample work I can see?
Is there a rubric for the assignment?
What are the professor’s expectations?
Is there any obstacle? Where do I get help if I need to?
When to start? Where to start?

Use the mighty Google Doc to compile your class materials, notes, quizzes, and practice test in one place. Create a study guide before you start to study and add more content as you study more and more. Your study guide will serve as the last-minute cram before your exam. Take every schoolwork as a project and the class learning before the due date as preparation.

For more, you may visit UC Berkeley’s Strategic Learning Program to gain more ideas.

Why care about GPA? The answer is that you do not care about your GPA. Care about academic effort and optimize study methods according to GPA’s up and down.

I hope that this post resolves the struggle of raising your GPA and you can finally enjoy learning and stop worrying.

Missing Assignments

I feel bad that you have a lot of missing assignments and your teachers and tutors are not being helpful.

If you feel overwhelmed and don’t know what to do, you are probably feeling the symptom of analysis paralysis that you subconsciously know you cannot finish but can’t admit because they kept telling you that you could so you are looking for tricks to do so.

The truth is – you won’t be able to finish all the assignments and that is OK.

However, there is a lesson to learn and we all face this kind of challenge once in a while.

I personally experience analysis paralysis on the weekly basis and writing down all the tasks on a paper in front of me helps me to consolidate my time and resources so I know what to do to create an optimal outcome of the situation (note that I said optimal, not ideal, because I already miss the moment which is last week).

Whenever you face a big challenge, it’s always helpful to break it down and dissect the challenge a bit.

Once this project (complete all missing assignments) is broken down you will be able to execute and do as many as you can.

Here is, especially, how to break down each assignment:

each row is an assignment
columns are attributes of an assignment

I will suggest you start with the ones with LOW Est. Time of Completion or FEWER Obstacles because you can do it yourself.

Once you build up the momentum you may move to more challenging assignments. However, as I said above, you probably won’t finish all of them but try anyway.

How to avoid this fiasco?

You should never have any missing assignments by the end of the week.

Doesn’t matter what types of students you are or do you care about school, you should at least do this – complete all assignments and readings by the end of the week.

You can procrastinate all you want within a week but never until the next week, and here’s why – every week is a cycle and if you miss an assignment last week you might as well just forget about it and move on to the next assignment that is coming up next week.

Over years of coaching students, doing missing assignments is a lost cause because it’s likely that the student doesn’t have the knowledge for the missing assignments and they end up COPYING answers online.

Additionally, you probably also have other assignments coming up, and the missing assignment snowballs to a point that giving up seems to be easier.

So if you are already having a hard time keeping up the CURRENT school learning, focus on that first and work on the missing assignments after you have caught up with the current learning materials.

Want more technical skills and resources to manage your study better? Check out the student resource from UC Berkeley and start with Techniques to Manage Procrastination

Is 3.5 GPA Good Enough to Get a Job?

High GPAs mean very little if you cannot perform as an engineer, educator, writer…whatever -er you want to bo

Don’t mistake that school grades do not fully translate to your potential job performance (just a little bit). Most employers really care very little if you have straight As.

At the end of your college, if you have no internships then GPA is all you have, yes you need that 4.0 GPA to land a job.

But most likely you still won’t, I am sorry. Because, again, 4.0 GPA (or 3.5 GPA) means very little to most employers.

Forget about the GPA and go find an internship.

A good GPA merely means to employers that you are a responsible person and know how to manage your time well and get things done

A good GPA + internship means to employers that you are a responsible person and you understand the value of work experience. You are willing to get your hands on a problem and apply what you learn from school.

A 4.0 GPA and no internship means to employers that you are very good at studying and scoring in class and very good at following instructions and meeting expectations.

I have helped hundreds of students to get over impostor syndrome. Here is the advice I give:

You are just as good as you can be and there’s a place for you. Identify what YOU WANT to do and apply. You won’t land a job until you have applied for a few hundred open positions and really understand what you need to land a job you want.
Don’t apply for jobs as you apply for college. They don’t need you to work for them but that doesn’t mean you don’t qualify for the job. It’s often because you didn’t present yourself in a way that the company needed and many college newly grads lack such skill.
Stop paying attention to the noises. No one talks about not getting a job, so what you hear all day is probably good news on social media. Head down, apply, and find out why you are not hired until you are.

My lesson learned:

When I was in my undergrad at UC Berkeley, the only thing I was thinking is to get a 4.0 GPA and that got me nowhere.

I am now working as an education consultant and I got the job because I made an online course (over 200 hours of work and made ~$200). I am now working at my dream job – helping organizations to make information more accessible to their audience with learning theories and technology.

My point is that you need to pay attention to the right things, and doing stuff for free is not a shame. Don’t ask for money, contribute what you can first and people will find your value and hire you one day (expect to put out the work either applying or contributing for at least 10 months before you get noticed).

Almost half of 2020 college grads still looking for work

“I should be out of the house by now” – 2020 college graduates

According to a survey in 2021, more than 40% of college graduates and do not use their degrees. They take on a $50,000 student loan for a degree that will not earn them back for the investment.

Source: https://infogram.com/uspr-degree-not-worth-it-men-v-women-1h7j4d98g5ex2nr

Because they don’t have goals after college.

Most high school students’ end goal is – getting into an Ivy League. That’s it.

Let me elaborate.

That means their goal is NOT becoming a NY Best Selling Author, A Machanic at Tesla, or A Software Engineer at Google, or whatever their potential career can be AFTER graduating from college.

Inevitably, they won’t do anything after graduation because graduating is all of it.

With the pride they have in them as “Ivy League Graduates” and unfortunately that’s all they have, they are lost and unable to move on. They are unable to break out the fear of people finding out they are a fraud because they only know how to “get into Ivy League” and nothing else beyond.

“So, what are you gonna do now?” is the scariest question to them.

To Fearful Ivy League Graduates:
You have to face your fear because when things are scary, it’s usually because it’s important. I understand it’s scary to learn about who you are, what do you stand for, and what is your value.
Don’t be.
Spend 1-2 years exploring and talking to people.
You will find what you want to do.

Not a single student is able to fully leverage the resources they have on any campus. So, if you have no clue what you are going to do and think that colleges will set a path for your career, you are going to be lost.

For students who don’t set goals beyond getting into college, they pick the major that get them into college but not the major that elevates their personal and career development.

Here 7 mistakes you want to avoid when picking a major:

1) Not considering your passions or interests: You should never pick a major because someone tells you it’s a lucrative field or because your parents want you to study something. You should pick a major based on what you’re passionate about and what you would love to do for the rest of your life.

2) Picking a major because it’s easy: Just because a major is easy doesn’t mean it’s the right one for you. You should challenge yourself and pick something that will make you work hard. It will be worth it in the long run.

3) Picking a major based on salary: Don’t be motivated by money and don’t pick a major just because you will be able to make a lot of it. It’s not the key to achieving success. Money may buy happiness but it won’t bring you satisfaction from what you do.

4) Trying to find the perfect major: There is no such thing as the perfect major. You will have to make compromises and find something that’s a good fit for you.

5) Picking a major because your friends are doing it: Just because your friends are picking a certain major doesn’t mean you should too. You should pick something that you’re interested in.

6) Not having a backup major: You don’t want to have the “what if I pick this major and it doesn’t work out?” feeling. But your plans might not go as expected so you should have something else in mind just in case.

7) Not thinking outside the box: You don’t have to pick a traditional major like business or engineering. There are many other options out there that you should explore.

So, if you want to avoid making any of these mistakes, start by talking to your guidance counselor and doing your own research on different majors. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

Websites for Career Research

Think about what you’re passionate about and what would bring you personal satisfaction. Lastly, you should always do something that will challenge and push your limits. Choose the major that will allow you to grow and learn more about yourself. Don’t make the mistake of choosing a major because it makes others happy or if it seems like a safe option.

Grade Point Average