Am I a lower division transfer or freshman? Is there a difference?

<p>Hey ya'll,</p>

<p>I spent one year at a private 4-year college and then dropped out 5 years ago, do I just apply to UC's when November comes as a freshman? I couldn't find a lot of info on this topic and some of it was conflicting. But it looks like most of the UC's don't have any such thing as a lower division transfer?</p>

<p>Also, does anyone know if I would be penalized for how old my grades and exams are if I just applied as a freshman to UC's? And if my year at college is calculated in as part of the GPA that UC's would care about then if I go went route?</p>

<p>I’m pretty sure UCs will not let you apply as a freshman (high school) applicant, if you’ve taken any college courses after graduating. You’ll need to apply as a transfer, and will need to include all of the college courses (and grades) you’ve ever taken. They generally do not accept lower division transfers, so you’ll need at least 60 UC-transferable semester units.</p>

<p>They probably want you to attend a community college so that you reach 60 semester units (but no more than 80 semester units for some UCs since you have units from a four year school) including prerequisite courses for your major by the time you transfer.</p>