<p>I graduated in 2012 and was rejected from USC. I went to another top college for a year where I got terrible grades due to being immature, so I cannot transfer out directly from there. This year, I would like to go to CC at home and try to transfer out to a dream school like USC (or UCLA, UCSB, UMiami). But I do not want to be stuck at home for two years. </p>
<p>I have like a 3.66 weighted from high school and an 1850 SAT score. I am smart and willing to work hard this year.</p>
<p>I've always heard community college is ridiculously easy, so I am wondering if taking double units (30 per semester) is possible. I know it won't be easy but I am wondering if it is possible and helpful in getting admission to universities. I could take a bunch of online classes and just lock myself in my house studying. I don't care if it's hell if it will get me into a dream school faster.</p>
<p>Advice?! Is it possible to transfer will just 15 units a semester?</p>
<p>IMHO - nothing is impossible, but in this case not likely given how competitive USC is. At this stage your high school grades and scores are irrelevant. Even if they were not the SAT score would raise flags. If you combine that with the fact that you went on to a competitive college and performed poorly academically, it suggests you aren’t going to do well with USC’s rigor.</p>
<p>The CC option makes sense for those students who do it directly from high school. Many of whom were well qualified but there wasn’t enough space. But if you apply as a transfer they’ll expect to see all your grades from college, not just the ones you want them to see.</p>
<p>One more thing to think about. If you didn’t do well at the “top college” don’t assume you’ll do well at Community college. They’re not as “easy” as you suggest. And certainly, taking double units proves nothing. Because if you can handle that load, the question will be why weren’t you able to handle the load at your original college? Dropping down in rigor isn’t a good way to prove you are suddenly able to do USC work - especially if you were rejected the first time around.</p>
<p>Your best bet is to stay in your current school and improve your performance. Or go to community college and then apply to a large range of colleges as a back up.</p>
<p>I never say never, but I do admissions for another competitive school (my child is at USC) and I don’t think the odds are good that your plan will work. Just too much competition coming in with much stronger - and consistent - applications.</p>
<p>You say you got terrible grades this year? Were you put on academic probation? Many colleges have freshman forgiveness programs where you can retake courses you did poorly in and the new grade can replace the old grade. If your current school has a similar program, you would be very smart to contact your advisor and arrange to make up those grades. </p>
<p>You mention that your poor performance last year was due to immaturity. You would certainly not be the first who made bad choices their freshman year. But if you truly want to learn from that mistake and gain maturity, it means you may not simply run away from a bad year. It also means you might want to have a healthier respect for the level of work required to get A’s, even in a CC. There are always distractions, parties, drinking, friends, video games, and so on which every student must face. Frankly, you have not yet proven you have a handle on those elements so it would be wise to fix what you can at your current university. If you are certain you can do well at a CC, and at USC or a top UC, you should be able to do equally well where you are now.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>the reason i do not want to stay at my current college is that i do not really like it socially at all…it’s also a ton of money for i’m not sure what. i was hoping i could hide my first year of college</p>
<p>I flunked out my first semester of college then went back for a year to get decent grades and I was just accepted to USC. You can also retake the SAT, I didn’t even take it until after I submitted my application.</p>
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This you cannot do. When you apply to any college (including community colleges) you must submit transcripts from all college work attempted (even if you received no credit) and attest that you have submitted all transcripts. In addition, by applying you give the college to which you are applying permission to look you up on the [National</a> Student Clearinghouse](<a href=“http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/]National”>http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/) where a record of all your enrollments will appear. Grades and GPAs will not be displayed, but you will be required to submit transcripts from all colleges that appear. I assure you, your first year of college will be very apparent to any college to which you apply.</p>
<p>All that said, it does not mean that your one bad year will forever keep you from being accepted at another college. As madbean says, there are many freshmen who have the same experience. Whether you attend a community college or stay at your present college, the thing to do is demonstrate the maturity you feel you have gained and achieve excellent grades. Depending on how “terrible” your grades were, you may find that it takes two years to regroup, or, like Seratonin2A, you may find that you can turn things around in a single year.</p>
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In my experience, registrations at most (semester system) colleges is limited to 20 or 22 units without special permission. It is unlikely that students with self-described “terrible” grades in their first year would be advised to take a heavy load in their second year. You would be best advised to take a moderate load of 15 or 16 units to be sure you can accomplish your goal of excellent grades. The worst-case scenario would be to take a heavy load and get sub-par grades and/or withdrawals in all.
In a post from last year you mention that you received excellent financial aid from BC. Did that not work out as you hoped? Your best plan of action is either the community college route (I would suggest one where you can live at home rather than your plan of attending a community college in Santa Barbara to enable you to participate in the SB social scene you mention in another thread) or staying at your current college (if it is affordable) and proving that you have gained the maturity to do well at a 4-year.</p>
<p>Seratonin2A is a great example that you can be successful (and be accepted to USC) even with a difficult start, so don’t give up hope. But DO make a sensible plan to get there.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Short answer: yes. All you need is a few A’s and you’ll coast right in. USC has more transfers than virtually all private colleges in America. We four year grads call it back door admissions. It’s USC’s dirty little secret we don’t like to publicize, kind of like that embarrassing relative at Thanksgiving dinner…</p>