Schools Admission into UC University from Australia

[Sirsh]

Hey all,

Due to circumstances, I have been researching into universities within California to attend after I complete my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering (B.Eng) to pursue a masters degree in engineering.

I am under the assumption that it would be more difficult for myself to get admission than an American UG due to the nature of AP classes that people can take in high school, and EC they can do in college etc.

I'd idealistically like to attend UCLA or UCSD but do not believe that I would be a strong candidate in comparison.

Does the requirement of a tuition waiver significantly decrease the chances of acceptance to UC universities? Would paying full tuition as a non-resident increase chances of acceptance? or is it an 'even' playing field in regards to these conditions for all applicants.

If anyone could lend me a moment of their time to help me out with advice and understanding, it'd be really appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[phyzguy]

On the second point, I believe that acceptance is unrelated to financial considerations. You will be accepted or rejected based on your academic qualifications, and then how you pay for it is a separate conversation.

 

[SteamKing]

Hey all,

Due to circumstances, I have been researching into universities within California to attend after I complete my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering (B.Eng) to pursue a masters degree in engineering.

I am under the assumption that it would be more difficult for myself to get admission than an American UG due to the nature of AP classes that people can take in high school, and EC they can do in college etc.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but if you get an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from a school in Australia, all that stuff about AP classes and whatnot is a dead letter: you've got an actual college degree in hand. Now, whether the UC system will accept credit for your college coursework in Oz is a separate issue which must be addressed with the admissions officials at UC. You might have to take the GRE and provide the score from that exam as part of your application for grad school.

Now, if you want to enter the UC as an undergrad before completing a B.Eng degree in Australia, the AP classes and stuff is a means where entering students can skip some of the introductory classes in math and science, because they've essentially studied this material in high school. If you don't have any AP classes on your record, it just means you have to take the course work as an undergrad at UC.