<p>I'm an active duty Marine and student at Palomar College, located in San Diego county. I'm entertaining a transfer to Berkeley upon fulfilling the 60 credit requirement. I'm out of the military in less than a year, at which point I'll have approximately 30 credits and the ability to relocate to a CCC of my choice to finish the remaining 30. I'm seeking input on the quality and reputation of specific schools in the CCC system, and how those factors play into the transfer admissions process.</p>
<p>Does UCB give preference to a school (or group of schools) based on geography? There's obviously nothing codified in the transfer literature, but what's the trend?</p>
<p>More importantly, what CCCs have a reputation for academics? Please don't say "none of them." I'm not expecting to split the atom; I'm just looking for a institution that's relatively well-organized with an engaged professor corps. I can't seem to find a list of schools ranked objectively, and I'm not even sure what criteria would make that list objective. Therefore, personal experiences are welcome, as is the always nebulous general consensus.</p>
<p>I'll probably apply as either a Legal Studies or Rhetoric major, with the eventual goal at Berkeley being a double major or major/minor in either combination. Long-term goal is a top 20 law school. I know those majors aren't impacted (or even particularly popular) so I'm not overly concerned about being admitted. I don't want to turn this into a "chance" thread, but here are my stats:</p>
<p>GPA: 4.0 - though I only have 15 credits at this point. I'm sure it's a common sentiment, but I intend on keeping it.
ECs: 5+ years active duty Marine Corps, Iraq vet, extensive global travel with State Department guarding embassies, volunteer work
Other: crappy childhood/high school dropout (wah wah, I know), good relationships with professors, legitimate interest in major(s)</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your time and opinions.</p>
<p>from what i heard, berk takes alloottt more kids from berkeley city college than any other cc.(somebody correct me if im wrong) but de anza, WHERE I GO :] is pretty well known for sending kids off to top schools.
but seriously, if you get that 4.0, it wont matter one bit where you went for cc</p>
<p>UCB does not give preference to a school, or a group of schools, based on geography. As long as the community college is in California, it’s fair game. Admissions is based solely on your individual efforts (GPA, EC’s, etc.). A 4.0GPA at what students may consider a competitive community college is looked at the same as a 4.0GPA from an “easy” one. </p>
<p>I’ve only attended one community college (ARC), so I’m not really able to answer your question about reputable CCC’s. However, I think that you will find that every community college is pretty much the same because each school has their share of easy/difficult and good/bad professors. Most students use RateMyProfessors.com to look up the quality and difficulty of certain professors, and base their selections in regards to those ratings. </p>
<p>There are certain colleges known for their high transfer rates such as SBCC to UCSB, but personally I think transfer rates from colleges are irrelevant. </p>
<p>The only difference you might find is the quality of the campus. I attend American River College where the environment can be described as musty, the buildings outdated, but of course it doesn’t affect my academic efforts.</p>
<p>Okay Senator Claghorn wise cracker even though I’m a cajun yankee not southerner. CCC’s use a CSU and UC transfer rate numbers that they market to prospective students. It’s more of a numbers game that isn’t fully accurate since local taxes also play into the equation so should be taken as a guideline. The schools in the top 5 do tend to be in the range of 25+ thousand students such as SMC, De Anza, SBCC, DVC, and OCC. They are some of the main feeder colleges to CSU’s and UC’s within eCach districts service area. It doesn’t matter where you go to a CCC in relation to what UC you want to go unless want to set up a TAG within the extensions of the service area. There are all kinds of other factors that flux including the state working towards enforcing uniformity standards related to equivalent course completion and transfer balanced between the intra-departmental autonomy and creative control of the curriculum.</p>
<p>The best program I know in the SF Bay Area related to what you want to do and transfer to Cal is Foothill College’s Law and Society (Pre-Law) Degree. They also have an excellent speech Communication(and philosophy too) departments geared towards rhetoric and law. Foothill College’s program is very appealing to Cal plus the campus has won awards for its Japanese Architecture design and aesthetics. The program is actually quite simple laid out on the quarter system with all the core classes you need as long as you take 50% or more there. You would enjoy a year there as that is about how long it would take to adjust to the bay area.</p>
<p>ore Courses: (22 units)
BUSI 18 Business Law I (5 Units)
PHIL 2 Introduction to Social & Political Philosophy (4 Units)
POLI 2 Comparative Government & Politics (4 Units)
or POLI 2H Honors Comparative Government & Politics (4 Units)
SOC 1 Introduction to Sociology (5 Units)
SOC 15 Law & Society (4 Units)</p>
<p>Support Courses: (9 units)
PHIL 8 Ethics (5 Units)
POLI 1 Political Science: Introduction to American Government & Politics (5 Units)
POLI 15 International Relations/World Politics (4 Units)
or POLI 15H Honors International Relations/World Politics (4 Units)
SOC 40 Aspects of Marriage & Family (4 Units)
BUSI 19 Business Law II (4 Units)</p>
<p>Elective Courses: (4* units units)
BUSI 53 Survey of International Business (4 Units)
ECON 1A Principles of Macroeconomics (5 Units)
or ECON 1B Principles of Microeconomics (5 Units)
ECON 25 Introduction to the Global Economy (4 Units)
HIST 4A History of Western Civilization to 800 AD (4 Units)</p>
<p>*Students may also use courses listed under “Support Courses” for electives.</p>
<p>Wow, great answer kmazza. That school looks fantastic, and I doubt I would have looked into it otherwise. I’m not sure I have enough time to complete the AA, but the campus and classes are enough to entice me into calling them for further information. Thanks a ton.</p>
<p>As you can see, Berkeley gets the largest percentage of its transfers from schools in the Bay area, however that’s not necessarily indicative of UCB giving more credence to those schools, as it could simply be a case of a higher percentage of students from that area applying for the convenience of staying local.</p>
<p>There are a number of schools recognized as “Honors Transfer Council” members. Each has an established honors program, which is more or less what I had in mind when posting this thread (I just didn’t know it yet.) De Anza, ARC, and Foothill are all members. Participating in an honors program gets you brownie points in Berkeley’s comprehensive review, and (hopefully) allows you to enjoy your pre-transfer academic experience more than you would otherwise. I guess we’ll see :)</p>