Hello everyone,
I am a freshman at a csu but I would like to transfer to a cc second semester then eventually transfer to a uc. At the time, I did not really plan my college path so I ended up sticking to going to a csu near me instead of going to community college. Now however, I really think it is the best option for me. I wanted to know how long I would have to spend at a cc before being able to transfer to a uc since I am spending a semester at a csu. I am undeclared as of right now. I am trying to get a job on campus would I be able to say I worked at a csu in my uc application. Also, I tried using assist to see which classes are transferable but it did not have the option for my csu to a cc or uc. I am thinking only English 115 would be able to transfer over, does anyone know? I am taking 12 units this semester. If you guys could give me advice, or if anyone has been in this csu to cc to uc situation and has been successful in transferring please share your stories with me. Or even those who came from a cc to uc please share as well. It is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Assuming some of those courses are general ed-type courses, or your decided major doesn’t have a boatload of requirements (like STEM) you should be able to apply next fall 2016 for fall 2017 (meaning a year and a half at the CCC). You would transfer in as a junior.
Of course, as noted, part of that will be dependent on your major. Even if you need a couple of additional classes that the CSU didn’t cover, you could probably do them in the upcoming summer.
Most CSU courses transfer pretty smoothly to a UC assuming they are not off the grid type courses. What courses are they?
Re English, assuming it is English Comp, you stand a pretty good chance, but only a CCC advisor can tell you that.
One small item: if you wish to TAG one of the six UCs that offer it (TAG is guaranteed admission), you need to look at the TAG rules for each UC, as the rules vary. You need to have completed 30 semester units by end of next summer (2016) to apply to any TAG, but depending on campus, those 30 may be a mix of units from different types of colleges, or you may be able to add AP credit, or the 30 units must all be from a CCC. That last one could leave you in the cold because the 30 cannot include the CSU units. It’s just one UC with that rule, as I recall, but keep it in mind.
You sound kinda lost. The whole college thing will work best if you have a plan.
Which CSU do you attend now?
Why do you want to go to a UC?
Which one would you like to attend?
What would you like to study?
I’m not sure I’d categorize OP as lost. He just started his first semester a few weeks ago and has determined he’d rather go the CCC to UC route. It’s actually good that he knows so early on. And many ppl don’t have a major determined their first weeks in college, nor do they know what UC they want to attend. I think it’s an excellent plan if he wants to go to a UC and the sooner he makes the transition, the better. (Of course, maybe I’m misreading his post and it isn’t his first semester.) 
@NCalRent I am lost, that is why I made this post. The csu I attend tot is 15 minutes away from home. I would like to attend a UC for many reasons, some are personal which I would rather not discuss. The UC’S I have in mind are ucsb, uci, and ucla. I know each UC is different but I would like to attend the ones I listed bc I hear uci and ucla have really good medical program, which is something I am considering. I also want to go to gain a better college experience as well. So with that being said, I would like to study either nursing or accounting but I have not really made up my mind yet that is why I am undecided.
Well OK, then! 
@lindyk8 thank you! Yeah most people don’t know until later so I think it is good that I have a route I wanna approach. I am a she by the way haha.
You are targeting some very competitive programs and it is difficult to give you useful advice without knowing a lot more about you.
As hard as it is for many to believe - getting into a nursing program in CA has gotten ridiculously competitive. Even mid-tier CSUs like Sac and Sonoma require a 4+ GPA out of high school and admit very few transfers. Just imagine what it takes to get into UCLA or UCI (UCSB doesn’t really offer a Nursing degree) . If you really want to study nursing, the CSU you currently attend may be your best path into a program. Talk to an advisor on your campus, see what courses you need and understand their GPA threshold to declare it as your major
http://www.duels.ucsb.edu/academics/health/nursing
Accounting at UCI and UCLA (not offered at UCSB) are also very competitive for transfer (though less so than CSULB for Nursing). Neither is TAG eligible so, you’ll probably need a 3.7 GPA and some ECs to set yourself apart as an applicant. No small feat, even at a CC. Also note, accounting is now a 5 year (150 semester units) program = plan 3 years at the degree granting school.
Most CSUs have very good and very accessible accounting programs.
I think you owe it to yourself to look into what your current school has to offer, engage in the campus for a while, perhaps move into some student housing.
If you just can’t - and you are confident you can pull off a 3.7 GPA and navigate the transfer landmine without TAG, then finish out this semester where you are and make the move to your local CC. Be prepared to spend some extra time at a CC, have a fallback plan … you may even wind up back where you started.
I don’t have a vague feel for your aptitude, drive and capabilities so, i have no idea what’s viable path for you. It seems to me though, your smoothest path to either degree might be through your current school (particularly if your are at SDSU, CSULB, Northridge or Fullerton).
Good luck.
I completely agree with @NCalRent. That is spot-on advice.
Another thing to consider is that accounting and nursing are two fields where your undergrad institution has very little bearing on job prospects. (Talk to professionals in the field and they will say the same thing) Graduating from UCI in Nursing has an insignificant advantage over graduating from CSULB in nursing. Likewise UCSD accounting over SDSU accounting. Sometimes the CSUs actually has more practical courses than the UCs in these fields as well.
Edit: Consider that most nurses in the field right now come from an RN background rather than the newly standardized BSN so they don’t value undergrad “prestige” the same way that other occupations do.
@NCalRent @SDGoldenBear thank you both that was very good advice. I am exploring my campus more and learning more about it but if I do continue to feel this way then dropping out and transferring seems more likely. In high school I took about 6 AP classes, I did not pass most of them but I did get a feel of what the workload is like and I maintained good grades. I was able to achieve a 3.85 gpa and I balanced extracurricular activities such as cheer leading, piano, and volunteering at a day care. I am continuing to learn how to balance everything but I do feel that I will be able to achieve a gpa of 3.5-3.8 (hopefully). And I did read on uci’s website that they do have TAG.
UCSB has a major called Econ And Accounting which I hear is pretty good. They also have financial math. As far as nursing goes, only UCLA and UCI have it and it is very competitive and the courses I hear are harder then needed. They are obviously great and impressive programs though. CSUs are just as good if not better because you get more practical knowledge rather than all theoretical.if you know you want to leave though another good route is getting your RN at a CC and then transferring, which I think is the preferred way to transfer into nursing programs. I used to think I wanted to do nursing so I looked all this stuff up, but wasn’t sure do I decided against it so I can try out different things.
@UCSBlonde yeah i heard that the accounting major is good there and if I do decide to take on nursing it wouldn’t be at Santa Barbara. Like you, I am still unsure about what to pursue. Thank you for your insight!
The title of this thread is suppose to be csu to cc to uc transfer
I am pretty sure UCI’s TAG excludes business - which includes Accounting.
There is no Accounting major at UCI, just the minor, which is open to all majors
will I still be able to get financial aid from the cc I chose to attend to in my second semester?
I wouldn’t count on it at least initially. It’s likely you’ll have to pay all or a portion of the fees out of pocket and hope to get reimbursed at a later date.
Calgrant category financial aid especially would take a while to process as they would need verification from the CSU that you are not enrolled for the spring semester followed by verification from the CCC that you are enrolled before they can allocate, much less distribute, any financial aid.
The call state I am attending to no longer has a nursing program. At the time it didn’t really matter to me since I didn’t consider nursing but now I am considering it. What people do at the cal state is they major in kinesiology then go continue this into nursing somewhere else. So my question is would it be better to stay and major in kinesiology and continue into nursing somewhere else or go to a cc then uc and go straight into nursing. I am not sure yet, however, if I want to do nursing or accounting but if I pick accounting it would be good at a uc as well. Someone please help.
If you end up going for accounting, you probably will at some point want your certified public accountant (CPA) license.
Unfortunately, there are new, ongoing changes with the CPA requirements that will require you to take 150 semester hours to be eligible. While the 150 unit requirement currently not enforced in CA (and 3 other states), it will be soon…likely within the next year or two.
Source: https://www.thiswaytocpa.com/exam-licensure/cpa-exam-licensure-center/
Both the UCs and CSUs have yet to modify their academic plans to incorporate this new requirement and CPA hopefuls from both systems traditionally have to take extra courses in order to qualify.
Given this information it’s probably a better decision to stay at a CSU where unit limits are much more relaxed versus a UC where you would be required to take courses at an extension campus at an increased price.
The breakdown of the 150 units required are here: http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/applicants/tip_sheet.pdf
I believe, though not 100% sure, UCSB’s program is farthest along with meeting the 150 unit requirements but generally the CSUs will give you a better chance to meet the full 150 unit requirements.
I’d encourage you to stay where you are until you are eligible to transfer. Apply to a bunch of schools and see what happens.