1-year hiatus

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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<p>Hi everyone. I have been lurking around here for about a year or so. I'm in an educational limbo right now and would appreciate anyone's perspective on my situation.</p>

<p>Here is where I am at: I was a UC transfer applicant last year for this fall, 2010. I applied to UCSB, UCSD and UCD. I got in all 3 and chose to attend UCSB. I SIR-ed with UCSB, sent my IGETC certification and all my other student paperwork needed to enroll in this fall 2010 quarter. I attended orientation. I had a room planned out near campus, signed up for 16 units, I was ready to go.</p>

<p>As the time slowly ticked down to Sept. 23rd, the start of the quarter, I knew I wasn't making a fiscally intelligent choice with my financial aid. Because of circumstances out of my control, I completed my 2010 FAFSA late (submitted it 3 weeks past the March 2nd deadline). Because of this, I was only offered a small, unsubsidized student loan ($5500 for the year -- ~$1800 a quarter) and an ungodly parental loan of $20,000 (~$6,600 a quarter) at a 10% APR, which needed to be paid back right away. I am a first generation college student from a blue collar family--I knew I couldn't put my parents in a position to take on a loan of that proportion; even though they would go bankrupt just to see that I received a college education. Ultimately, the student loan was way too little and the parent loan was way too much. </p>

<p>I made the depressing choice to stay home and postpone my education for a year. I guess why it's so depressing for me is because I'm not progressing and I am getting another year older--I'm already 22 years old (started my CC at 20).</p>

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<p>As I stated, I'm all done with my requirements, IGETC--I'm not enrolled in any classes. I've been keeping in touch with a transfer admissions advisor from UCSB, making sure there isn't anything I need to complete. Unfortunately, she has been out of the office for the last 2 weeks. UCSB also expresses they don't do transfer applicant transcript evaluations and she was willing to help me even though she didn't have to. So I really can't just go to someone else at the school.</p>

<p>It's frustrating to know that I was accepted into the school and everyone was so nice and pleasant to me as a student of their campus. Now, because of my situation, I have been placed back in with the transfer hopefuls and viewed again as another sheep in the cattle car. </p>

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<p>So that's where I am at right now. I have been staying on top of this year's admissions application. In the meantime, I have also been looking for internship work and traditional work to save money. But, around my area, there is no internship work for Econ/COMM majors. It's funny, I actually applied to my CC for my A.S., just to have. I indicated that I have an A.S. on my application to some retail job and it's looked at like toilet paper. I know it's only an associates degree, but it's just retail job, and while being interviewed by someone that has zero education is especially enraging. </p>

<p>Anyways, besides staying organized, I'm just waiting until I can submit my application for fall 2011 admissions and FAFSA for 2011. </p>

<p>I guess my question to all of you out there is, is there anything else I can do in the meantime while I wait out the application periods? Is there anything else that can enrich me as a student for the upcoming fall quarter? It feels like I am in this limbo where I have to wait, but there's nothing to do in the present.</p>

<p>:)</p>

<p>Thanks everyone.</p>

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<p>Well buddy, I’m sorta with you. I was here last year (as evident by most post count :P) and got royally screwed out of going to UCSD thanks to horrendous information I got from a CC counselor. A couple of us are in the same boat. I got into UCI, but I had no intention of ever going there. I ended up going and I’m there for this quarter, but I’m withdrawing after this and going back to CC for spring, and then I’ll be TAGging to UCSD in the fall. Confusing? You bet. </p>

<p>I could have stuck with UCI and just graduated, but I get one chance in life to do this the way I want to. You only do your undergrad once. I was set on going to UCSD since 10th grade and I’m now 23. Nothing was going to change that, including having to switch UCs and transfer all over the place. It’s confusing, but it’ll be worth it.</p>

<p>In the meantime, I would advise you get a job and stock up as much cash as possible. Trust me, as a guy who spent 7 years at a CC: UCs are MUCH tougher. You can’t dick around like you did at CC and still get high grades. The work is much more intense and the professors care a whole lot less. Don’t overburden yourself with a job.</p>

<p>Work as many hours as you can now, be as cheap as possible and save up all the money you can. Fall will be here before you know it. Also, maybe look into taking summer classes at UCSB. You’re eligible to enroll and there are two summer terms, so you can get a head start on your education.</p>

<p>Best of luck, and rest assured you aren’t the only one!</p>

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<p>Same thing here, most employers don’t even want to look at your resume without a bachelor’s + or several years of relevant (typically highly-specialized) work experience – or both.</p>

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<p>do something like volunteering. Show them that you’ve spent a meaningful year.</p>

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<p>@Grimes99 – Thanks, man. It’s good to know I’m not the only one out there in a strange position. I have a few job interviews this coming week, but I haven’t heard anything back from any of the local firms I contacted about interning. I told them I’d work for free, just as long as I can get in the door. No word yet. Anyways, best of luck to you leaving UCI and going to UCSD. </p>

<p>@WrenchFries – I think it’s silly. I’ve held management positions in retail jobs in the past and now I have the experience, plus a small two-year degree that’s business related. In the past, it seems that when I listed highest education earned as high school, it translated into more employers interested in me. Now, it feels like listing my A.S. in my resume is more hurting than helping. </p>

<p>@minilemon – That’s exactly where I’m at right now. I have been looking for organizations that I can feel passionate about and will also help me in the Econ/Comm. field. </p>

<p>Thanks again for your input everyone. :)</p>

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<p>@D1GITAL: Thanks man! You’ll be fine; next September will be here before you know it.</p>

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<p>why not join the army reserves or national guard? :P</p>

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<p>Wow… I’m not alone. I was all set to go to UCSD, was signed up for physics, chem, circuits and calc 3; had my room in the dorm and then finally faced the fact that I had been forcing myself to do something I didn’t really want to do (for various reasons I won’t get into) all summer and that it wasn’t the right place for me to go and I ended up withdrawing a few days before my move in date (luckily my FA hadn’t been disbursed do I didn’t have that mess to deal with).</p>

<p>It sucks not being in classes right now (especially since I was ineligible to TAG since I’m not an enrolled CCer so I get to be nervous). I’ve decided to switch majors to economics (or maybe applied mathematics) so I can graduate in two years after transfer. I really want a shot at UCLA and CAL (it’s iffy, I have a 3.87 and all pre-reqs done with A’s but Econ is competitive as hell) and hope my semester off won’t kill any chance I might have had. The job hunt hasn’t been going so well but luckily my father has had work for me to do for his new company so I can write that I did SOMETHING on the application. I’m really looking forward to getting back to school and back into math (I like math, and if I decide to go applied math or a math minor I need the classes done as pre-reqs) next semester.</p>

<p>It’s kind of nice to see I’m not the only one in this situation, I wish you guys luck. It sucks not doing anything right now… but keep your head up and be ready because the right opportunity should present itself when it’s the right time for you to grab it.</p>

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<p>Is this another one of your insults at the OP or are you just feeling like some overprivileged snob with an undeserved sense of self-accomplishment?</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064934987-post29.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064934987-post29.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>LOL. its funny cuz I logged in yesterday and saw that comment and was trying to remember why I posted that.
Anyway, no you sensitive ****** bag, why the **** would that be an insult or me feeling like some overprivileged snob with an undeserved sense of self-accomplishment?
If you were stalking properly, you would know that I got rejected by SB… So why the hell would I feel accomplished and insult a person who got into a school I didn’t?
And why would you assume joining the military is an insult? <strong><em>, i’m not telling him to give up school and go to the Middle East. I suggest it because that’s what I’M doing and I feel like its a good thing. And if he has a year off anyway, why wouldn’t serving your country look any better than volunteering or working?
OP was asking for others’ opinions. Instead of being a little </em></strong> why not offer some help</p>

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<p>@UCeric: If you don’t get into UCLA/Cal, where would you go?</p>

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<p>^ UC Davis, just gotta hope I get in… not having TAG is a bummer.</p>

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<p>Why can’t you TAG?</p>

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<p>^ You need to be a currently enrolled CC student to TAG. Since I decided not to go to UCSD at the last minute it was too late to enroll in even the late start classes. I figured since I had all the requirements completed now and not in progress I might still be able to, but unfortunately not.</p>

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<p>That’s weird, my CC’s late start classes start this week and UCSD started a month ago.</p>

<p>Where does it say on the TAG that you have to be enrolled in fall/spring in order to TAG?</p>

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<p>Eh, some started classes recently but they were all full a long time ago, and none were relevant classes to what I want to learn either.</p>

<p>I just grabbed this off Davis’s website.</p>

<p>"Who is eligible for a TAG?</p>

<p>Students, both domestic and international, who are enrolled full time at California community colleges are eligible for UC Davis TAG. Exceptions are possible for part-time students."</p>

<p>I was hoping I could be a part time exception since I have all the requirements done, thus there is no risk that I will become ineligible for admission. But I guess not</p>

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<p>Gotcha.</p>

<p>Hmm I don’t think that’s the case for UCSD, I wonder why UCD is different?</p>

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<p>I don’t think that means you necessarily have to be currently enrolled…but then again I’m not too sure.</p>

<p>A quick call/email to each campus will do the trick!</p>

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<p>I just received an email back from the UCSD admisions counselor I’ve been speaking with since last year and she said that as long as the last college on your record was the school from which you’re applying to TAG, you don’t have to be currently enrolled. She said summers don’t count, but if you took a class in spring of 2010 (for example) you don’t have to take a class this fall/spring if it’s unnecessary to be eligible for TAG.</p>

<p>UCD apparently has a different program.</p>