CC route to UC (California Resident)

Transfer Students
1

Hey guys just going to start off with a basis on who I am.

I’m a fellow junior in high school that plans to enter community college (Mt Sac) once senior year is over. My GPA is not great (3.0-3.2) and my extracurriculars are small so most UCs are probably going to end up rejecting me. I do not want to enter UCR or any of the considered lower tiers of UC, I wish to be within the higher ones such as UCLA or UCB. I have nothing against any UCs just that it is part of my goal to get into UCB or UCLA. Here are some information on what classes i have taken and my thoughts on the AP exams.

Classes (Not sure which one gives me credit):

AP Calculus AB (probably going to get a 4/5)
AP US History (Hoping for a 3)
AP Chemistry (Praying for a 3, probably going to get a 2 or lower…)
AP Comp Sci (3-4)
AP Lang (3-5)
AP Euro (earned a 3)

I am not going to go into detail about my grades since I am already planning to take CC and transfer to UC. Again my weighted GPA is from the ranges (3.0 - 3.2) so I basically had awful grades with the AP credits boosting my GPA.

Goals: I wish to major in computer science or economics in the UCB or UCLA. Now comes the question how I would be able to reach them and what classes or programs I should take into consideration while my time in CC. I know I screwed up because I was a slacker, but now I know it will be different.

2

First thing, computer science at UCLA is pretty damn hard to get into. If you don’t finish all your pre-reqs with an amazing GPA in the 3.8+ range, they make it impossible because of how impacted a major it is. If you’re missing more than 1 major prep course, it’s bad. I wish they were more forigivng, but they’re brutal (only admitting like 30 out of 800 applicants). If Mt. Sac participates in the TAP program (my community college did not, for some reason), I suggest you look into it and complete the requirements. That way, you can at least have an alternate major as a backup (from my understanding, UCLA doesn’t even look at your alt major without TAP).

You should also look around on the UC Transfer thread :slight_smile: A lot of smart people there with a boatload of UC knowledge.

3

To get into a school like UCLA/UCB is one thing, surviving in them is another! You need to aim at schools which fit your abilities while you can have an enjoyable experience without an extreme hardship.