Are you still waiting to hear re: direct entry to UCSB?
I know that you’ve said that you spoke to a counselor at SBCC,
but I strongly recommend that you read the UC (not the CC) requirements for transfer.
The UC’s have requirements for TAG which could be an issue for you,
specifically that there is no TAG for Engineering majors at UCSB.
Additionally, many majors, including EE, have major requirements for admissio in addition to the general education requirements, which may be difficult to fulfill in a single year.
Even with your AP credits, note that most California students will need to take two years to fulfill the requirements.
You may not have enough units - 60 semester or 90 quarter - to make it work. Be sure to check what the policies at UCSB are for accepting AP and/or out-of-state transfer credits.
http://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/applying/transfer/tag
Although because of your major, you may not have to fulfill all of the IGETC requirements, you would probably want to check out ASSIST to look at what courses you’ll need to qualify for transfer into your potential major:
http://www.assist.org/web-assist/welcome.html
I sincerely hate to throw cold water on what could be a great plan, but you need to do more research.
Again, check with a transfer counselor at UCSB, rather than at the CC.
What this plan won’t overcome, however, is two-fold; confer you with in-state status, or help you with your sliding study habits. Be sure that life on your own at SBCC (no dorms, so finding housing and/or a room mate) wouldn’t be too distracting and divert you from your course of action. Note that housing in the area of SBCC is very expensive.
If you’re having trouble with your studies, a better approach may be to plan on spending two years at SBCC and then transfer over with a better GPA and without using any of your high school grades or standardized test scores.
Because you can’t do a TAG because of your EE major, note that at the end of your two-years you still may have a difficult time getting into UCSB at all, since you’ll be competing with lots of other in-state transfers taking the same route you are. There are no such things as ‘near guarentees’. There is only the TAG program and Transfer admission.
In-state transfer get a significant preference, and although you’d have attended SBCC to complete your requirements, you would still be considered OOS for admission purposes.
It could potentially work, but there are so many variables, including costs.
You’ve got some very good schools on your admitted list that would provide a lot less uncertainty,
which you may want to re-think, but you’re wise not to consider schools where you’re not direct admit.
Good luck with your decisions.