<p>Would you encourage a student to go to a CSU (not a top one) or do 2 years at a CC and transfer to a UC for the best employment prospects?</p>
<p>I would say go the cc then UC route for employment prospects. I'm not sure where in CA you are but Santa Barbara City College has a good honors program and there is an agreement that some SBCC students can get into UCSB housing if living at home is an issue...
that is not to "knock" the CSUs...I think there is a lot to weigh in the decision, including whether the student would benefit from a four year, living away from home experience. I know kids who have done the CC route and those who have done the CSUs....</p>
<p>It depends on what the student plans to major in and do for a job afterwards. Plenty of CSU grads do quite well.</p>
<p>It kind of depends on what sort of employment the kid is looking for. CSU's tend to offer a more practical sort of education -- more likely to get a degree that is directly related to employment there. For example, I believe you can get a degree in accounting or in physical therapy at a CSU, but not at a UC. </p>
<p>The CC's track into the UC's for transfers though - the CSU's do not. So a good student at a CC has a guaranteed transfer in 2 years to the UC; the CSU student will probably finish their degree at the CSU. UC's are probably better for an academic focus - such as a kid who wants to go to grad school or is prelaw. </p>
<p>FWIW, back when I used to hire people for office work, I preferred students coming out of the local CSU to the UC grads -- I just found them more practical and reliable as workers. But then I wasn't hiring rocket scientists. </p>
<p>Also, the guaranteed transfer from CC to UC does require that a certain GPA be maintained, with a certain set of required courses -- so if this choice is being made because the kid is not that great of a student, it could actually be harder for the kid to stay on track at the CC.</p>
<p>She is a prospective business major.</p>
<p>** "SDSU" International business ranks tenth in nation</p>
<p>zagat:</p>
<p>only two UCs offer an undergraduate business major through the business school (Cal and Riverside), but several Cal State campuses offer strong programs. (Note that several UCs offer accounting or similar certificate program, but not an undergrad Biz degree; ucla has a biz-econ program which is excellent.) If your D is thinking about a MBA later, than a UC diploma will carry more weight with highly ranked B-schools, particuarly Hass or UCLA (both top 10). </p>
<p>Incidentally, transferring into Haas is extremely competitive; it is much easier to transfer into Letters & Sciences from a juco.</p>
<p>UC Merced has a business management major that's interdisciplinary - consists of a blend of courses from the fields of economics, management theory and the social sciences. </p>
<p>From UC Merced's website: "Real life management problems do not fit neatly into subject areas. Today’s managers and economists tackle issues that involve a number of management functions - so solutions need to account for all the areas involved. The UC Merced approach is to step away from thinking of management and economics as a set of simple, separate disciplines. Instead, the students learn to integrate key ideas from across subject areas to understand all the dimensions of a given issue. Creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are emphasized."</p>
<p>Re bizness--D of a friend double majored in accounting & business at USC and had no trouble getting a job with one of the big accounting firms after graduation. Of course, USC costs $$$...</p>
<p>zagat:</p>
<p>There is a program at select cc's in Socal that will "hold" a spot for a future transfer into the UC system for a student that meets specified criterion after two years. (Must take a full load and maintain a set GPA is part of the standands) I was told by an admissions officer that the perspective student MUST sign up for this program prior to addmission to the cc. They do not allow a retroactive addmission to this program. Check with the UC that interests you most and see if they have a relationship with a local cc. Good luck!</p>
<p>Ransom..yup some of them do. SBCC does, and I know some other CCs do...You start out with the setup that you are going to transfer into a UC and you take classes that are guaranteed to transfer in. Good post!</p>
<p>We're unfortunately dealing with fairly low stats. 3.3 GPA with 1 AP and 2 honors classes and a 1550 SAT (new). She has an upward trend and her parents have reason to believe she'll do better in college. The problem of course is that she wants to go away to college. Her brother who had similar HS stats successfully did the CC to UC track and socially enjoys the UC and is doing well, her mother also took this route so the family are believers. Yet convincing a 17 year old who really wants to go away that this may help her future is tough. Any thoughts appreciated.</p>
<p>There are a couple of CCs in CA that have dorms. Santa Barbara City college is one, and I believe there is one in San Diego too, that offers housing. It is possible to combine the "college experience" of living away from home, with the great attributes of the CCs here. I believe there is another in the Sierra Foothills too.
She might take a look at U of Oregon, also. My S goes there, and has similar stats. I don't know about it's business school, but it has been listed on some rankings as a best buy, and there are many students from CA there. It has been a great fit for him.</p>
<p>Oops- I just looked at a list of CCs with dorms and Santa Barbara and San Diego are no longer on te list. Here is the link:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cccco.edu/find/dormitories.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.cccco.edu/find/dormitories.htm</a></p>
<p>Is that new or old SAT?? If you mean 1550 on math + CR, that's great, and with the GPA she is UC-eligible. Are the UC's totally out of the question?</p>
<p>1550 total with a 990 cr and math. We looked at UC averages today, the lowest, Riverside and Merced had average GPAs over 3.6 and average SATs of about 1200. I'm trying to find the stats for CSUs if anyone has a link. From what I've learned here, it seems even the top CSUs, SLO and SDSU, are probably out.</p>
<p>Merced and Riverside had 39% and 45% respectively with GPAs > 3.5, according to collegeboard.com - I just looked it up today. </p>
<p>Both campuses admitted students this last year that met the UC minimums (which is a matrix - at the lowest eligible GPA, which was 2.8 last year, it took something like 1650 SATs - the higher the GPA, the lower the SATs could be. Next year, the GPA minimum is 3.0).</p>
<p>You don't need to look at UC averages -- you need to look at the minimum criteria, which is a formula derived from GPA + 5 SAT I & SAT II scores. With a 3.3 GPA, if she were to score 500 on each of two SAT II's, she is UC eligible. She can use the link under "Eligibility in the Statewide Context" on this page to quickly determine eligibility:
<a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman.html</a></p>
<p>If she scored 400 on each of the SAT II's she would be eligible. (I'm not kidding - I just ran the calculation) </p>
<p>You can see how the scores correlate to GPA here:
<a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html</a></p>
<p>Technically, if she scored 200 - the equivalent of -0- on the SAT II's, she would still be eligible, because her 1550 score is enough to put her over the top for UC eligibility standards. It translates to 158 points, and she only needs 157 points with a 3.30 GPA. If she were mistaken about the GPA and it ends up a 3.2, then she would need 175 points, which could be met with scores of 260 on each SAT II. </p>
<p>She also has to have taken the requisite courses for UC admission, but if she has taken one or more AP courses, then she probably is on a college track at her school. In many districts, the high school graduation requirements parallel the UC requirements, so it is likely (though not certain), that she will have met them. If for any reason she doesn't know what they are, you'll find them listed here:
<a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/subject_reqs.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/subject_reqs.html</a></p>
<p>If she is eligible -- as a California resident, she is in. It doesn't matter what the average numbers are -- she will be admitted to the system. This is a guarantee. In the entire history of the system, there is only one year that they did not meet that guarantee, and that was due to overcrowding that has been alleviated with the opening of the Merced camps. She won't get into Berkeley or UCLA of course, but she is very likely to get into Riverside or Santa Cruz, and very definitely to Merced (which is underenrolled so they essentially will take all comers). </p>
<p>Whether she wants that or not, or whether that is the best fit for her, is another question entirely. But if I were advising her, I'd tell her to take the SAT II's, and not to stress out over the score, and go ahead and apply to the UC system. She can always change her mind later on.</p>
<p>Zagat, I tried to PM you on this, but your box is full. Let me know when you clear some space and I will send it.</p>
<p>Cleared lalady, thanks.</p>