Well I got rejected from my UC Berkeley and Stanford and waitlisted to UCLA but I did get into UCSD for Electrical and Computer Engineering and I’m not really convinced that I should be going there as its not my first choice. I hear its incredibly difficult to transfer between UC’s because of the high GPA requirement and the fact that the UC system considers all UC’s equal and thus transfers from UC’s don’t get priority.
My other option is to go to community college and apply to transfer into UC Berkeley’s EECS program which I really want to go to, but I’m aware that admission is not guaranteed especially with such a competitive major. I also understand that UCSD’s graduate engineering school is one of the best in the nation if not the world but that is a long way from now.
So I guess what my question boils down to is that can someone (preferably with experience) give me some compelling reasons why I should stick with UCSD for ECE rather than going to community college and transferring later? From what I have read online UCSD has a lot of great theoretical approaches but not as many for practical applications which is what I am more interested in. I think business and entrepreneurship is also going to be one of my focuses and without practical applications to my knowledge I’m not very convinced that UCSD as the right choice for me as of now.
Two years at a CCC would give you time to refine your academic goals, and you would apply for transfer with a better sense of what you do indeed want to do. So yes, there are clear advantages to that pathway beyond just having a second change for admission at University X.
Thank you for your input, do you think I will be missing anything out in terms of Gen Ed or opportunities in internships by going to a community college like Palomar?
UCSD ECE would be able to get you anywhere Cal or UCLA EECS would, so going the CC route (with such low oddsnof getting in to Cal EECS seems pretty crazy if you’re deadset on that field).
UCSD is your best option and it is a great program especially being placed into the Jacobs school of Engineering! Internships from UCSD will get you further in life than Palomar!
I would suggest looking at the curriculum map for ECE at UCSD, and comparing side-by-side with the courses that are available at the CC you’re considering. Also look at what the lower-division requirements are for EECS at Berkeley, and whether your CC’s course offerings fully cover those bases. CC’s are pretty consistently fine for meeting the lower-division requirements for the most common liberal arts and science majors, but for engineering and other more specialized programs, you might not be able to get started on much of your major coursework, leaving a lot of heavy STEM to cram into the two years after you transfer. It could turn out that the pathway looks great - just investigate it and make sure before you turn down what UCSD is offering. Also look into what research and internship opportunities you could potentially pursue in your first two years at UCSD, and what you would do instead at a CC.
Yep, it could be pretty frustrating to take the long way around and end up transferring into UCSD anyway.
There is nothing wrong with UCSD’s ECE program. There are many disappointed students who got into the University but not into Jacobs, and many more who didn’t get in at all. There is nothing about going to UCSD instead of Berkeley that will hold back your career prospects. IMHO sacrificing two years on a research university campus where you could be making inroads with faculty mentors in your field, just to take a long-odds shot at UCB, doesn’t add up. But JMHO.