CC to UCLA

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

So I was rejected from UCLA, accepted into UCI, UCSD, and CSULB. UCLA was and is still my dream school however I’m very conflicted as to whether I should just go to one of the schools where I got into stated above or go to Community College and transfer to UCLA.

I got into UCI and UCSD for applied mathematics and CSULB for Mechanical Engineering. I now know that I want to major in Mechanical Engineering which is why I’m also considering CSULB.

Also, my mom has really been pushing me to go to CSULB straight out of high school instead of CC because I am part of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and receive my financial aid through that program and she is worried that with the elections coming up new legislators may remove that plan (Would that be possible or is my mom just being paranoid?).

So would it be worth it to transfer from CC to UCLA and risk possibly losing financial aid through DACA or go to CSULB?

Thank you!

2

Take the opportunity at Long Beach State. They clearly want you more than UC Los Angeles. Since you have basically declared for Mechanical Engineering, this sets up the fact that fate wants you to go to Long Beach State. UC Los Angeles does not have any kind of guaranteed transfer acceptance for community college students, even in California. They do give priority to those that are coming from a CCC though. You have great choices! Just relax. UC Los Angeles will still be there for graduate and professional school whereas Long Beach State won’t. If you change your mind about graduate or professional school, Long Beach State will put you in the workforce. UCs, whether or not we want to admit it, focus on research and their graduate/professional students. You will have an easier time, academically, at Long Beach State as well. It’s harder to get in something than to get out of something, and this applies with Long Beach State. Once you’re there, you are there…unless if you screw around or some coincidence happens.

I’ll be brutally honest, UC Los Angeles only attracts so many applicants because of it being a UC and participating in the Pac-12 with football. If this happened with Long Beach State, I almost guarantee that it would get a lot more applicants. Long Beach State also got 58,000 freshman applicants for fall 2015.

Go be that hero and show that prestige does not matter, you can do it. It’s UCLA’s loss! :slight_smile:

3

If you already got into UCSD for STEM major why bother going to UCLA? For STEM, it’s obviously Cal > UCSD > UCLA.

4

Out of high school, I didn’t get into UCLA either. It was also my dream school, but I was fortunate to be able to be accepted into some other UCs. I opted to go to CC first and I was accepted to UCLA, but here are my thoughts:

  1. It will take 2-3 years. Most CC students take 3 years to transfer.
  2. You might walk out of CC with an AA degree so you can work a "real" job while at the UC you transfer to.
  3. You save loads of many. LOADS.
  4. You lose any connections and network opportunities of being at a UC for the first few years. Not saying you won't make any later, though.
  5. It's an option for you to go to a UC you got into, and transfer to UCLA from there.

If you believe your finances are in order, I would go to one of the schools that admitted you. If you really want to go to UCLA, feel free to try and transfer there later on. Or go to grad school there, etc.

5

UCSD can be a good place to go, too.
As a CC student, I think CC is not that good if you can go to a decent school and don’t have any financial issue.