<p>I'm a high school senior right now and my dream has always been to go to UCLA, but I messed up in high school. My GPA is 3.6 weighted, I'm in my high school soccer team and I don't have many community service hours. Should I just go straight to a CSU or should I go to a CC and try to transfer to a better school?</p>
<p>3.6 is hardly a GPA to apologize for. That represents a lot of hard work and an accomplishment you ought to be proud of. </p>
<p>With a 3.6 and solid SAT/ACT, probably 21 of the CSU campuses are within your reach. (SDSU and CalPoly are probably out). You’d probably qualify for a couple of UCs.</p>
<p>Transfering to UCLA is hard. As you’d imagine, it’s a popular destination and as competitive for Jr transfers as is is for Freshmen. It is probable you won’t be able to transfer to UCLA in 2 years. (their transfer acceptance rate is just over 25%)</p>
<p>It is also worth noting, CSU graduates get jobs and lead productive lives. It’s not the land of the loosers.</p>
<p>A LOT is going to change for you in the next 6 months. I recommend you apply to a variety of schools, see where you are accepted and make the call in April. </p>
<p>In the interim, visit some campuses and really think about what you want from your college experience.</p>
<p>Post a bit more about your scores and interests so people can point you to campuses to consider.</p>
<p>I agree with NCalRent that 3.6 is still good, and you can get into a fine school.</p>
<p>What will your major be? Depending on your interests, a CSU may be a better fit than a UC.</p>
<p>Also, what are your test scores?</p>
<p>CSU Long Beach has a Model United Nations program connected with their political science major. Not sure about the other CSUs. Here is a link:</p>
<p>[Model</a> United Nations](<a href=“http://www.csulb.edu/org/special/mun]Model”>http://www.csulb.edu/org/special/mun)</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies guys. I barely took my first SAT on Saturday. I think I did pretty good. I’m also interested in Political Science.</p>
<p>Freshman Year</p>
<p>English 9 1-C
Earth and Space 1-C
Algebra 1A-A
Latin 3-A</p>
<p>English 9 2-B
Earth and Space 2-B
Algebra 1B-B
Latin 4-A</p>
<p>Sophomore year</p>
<p>English 10 1 Honors-D(I made this up and got an A in regular English 10 1)
Biology 1-C
Geometry 1-A
AP Euro 1-B
Latin 5-A</p>
<p>English 10 2 Honors-A
Biology 2-B
Geometry 2-B
AP Euro 2-A
Latin 6-A</p>
<p>Junior year</p>
<p>American Lit Comp 1-A
Physics 1-C
Algebra 2A Honors-D(I didn’t make this up)
AP US History-B
Art1-A
Latin 7-A</p>
<p>American Lit Comp 2-B
Physics 2-C
Algebra 2B-C
AP US History-B
Art1-A
Latin 8-A</p>
<p>My Senior year schedule </p>
<p>College Prep English
Trigonometry/Statistics
AP Government
AP Psychology
AP Latin Vergil</p>
<p>I calculate a CSU GPA of about 3.3. a LOT will depend on your test scores. It’s too bad you don’t have them yet. CSUs look at just the Math and Reading portions. </p>
<p>If we guess an 1100/1600 on those, you are a good candidate for Chico probably Pomona, as well as less selective schools like Monterey, Sonoma Channel Island and Sac.</p>
<p>You are on the bubble for Fullerton Long Beach. </p>
<p>SDSU and SLO are out.</p>
<p>I mention Sac because, though not terribly competitive, they have the State Capital and all it’s support infrastructure. As a poly sci major, that should be pretty appealing. </p>
<p>Apply to 5-6 and see how you do.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I know very few people (officially none) who regret starting at CC. It saves money and its generally much less rushed and chaotic than being a university freshman.</p>
<p>UCLA is the most applied to university in the country (Maybe the world? I forget). There are people who do everything perfectly with a 4.0 transger GPA and still don’t get in, and there are people who get in sub-3.0. It basically depends on how bad your competition is that year. Don’t plan your life around one school.</p>