CCC to UC Transfer Students!

Transfer Students
1

<p>Has anyone gone to a California Community College, then transferred to a UC, then gone back to community college and transferred to another UC again? I went to community college and then tranfsered to UCI. I currently have senior standing there. I know that transferring to the top-tier UCs, like UC Berkeley (which is where I really want to go), is impossible to do if you have over 80 semester units. However, on their website it says that if you have over 80 transferrable semester units, and you go back to a CCC, and then apply to transfer to UC Berkeley, then you are not considered to have excess units and are eligible to apply. So I wanted to do that.</p>

<p>I'm currrently taking summer school at Berkeley, so I went to the admissions office and spoke to some people there. They said that because I went to a community college first, and then went to UCI, that even if I go back to a community college and apply to transfer to Berkeley I'll be ineligible. Somehow, having gone to UCI after community college makes me ineligible. If I'd gone straight to UCI and dropped out and gone to community college, that would be ok. I don't understand their reasoning, and I don't even believe them. It's not like I spoke to the director of admissions, and I've gotten misleading information from admissions officers before. I think they intentionally discourage people from applying. At first when I asked if there was any way for someone with a lot of units to transfer to Berkeley, they said there was no way. And then when I found out this information on their official website, they said, yeah, that applies to some students, but it doesn't apply to my situation. So I don't know what to believe anymore. So, has anyone gone to CC, then UC, then back to CC and back to UC again?</p>

2

<p>Out of curiousity, why in the world do u wanna go thru this?</p>

<p>Couple of suggestions... </p>

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<li></li>
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<p>This is from the 2005 Transfer FAQ on myBerkeleyApp site:</p>

<p>Q: If my total number of UC transferable units is over 80, am I eligible for admission?
A: Probably not. Unfortunately, most applicants with excess units are denied admission. </p>

<p>Exception: If all of your coursework has been or will be completed at one or more California community colleges, you are eligible for admission and the maximum transfer credit you can receive is 70 semester (105 quarter) units.</p>

<ol>
<li> If u have taken uppder devision classes, i don't think it's looking good... </li>
</ol>

<p>But apply anyways b/c i know stranger things have happened. Good luck</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the post. Yeah, stranger things have happened, and I would go ahead and apply and just hope for the best, but it's a risky move and I'd rather not do it unless I have some assurance that it might work. I'm not asking for anyone to advise on whether or not I should do this, but rather how I can do this. I have numerous reasons for wanting to stay at Berkeley, which I will not list here in the interest of time. I think I've talked about it in my other posts, if you're interested in know more about that. </p>

<p>Thanks, but I have already seen the website that you are referring to. In general, I am very familiar with the UC admissions process, having gone through it a couple times. What I am talking about is a very specific situation. If you refer to the following website you will see what I am talking about in reference to there being an exception to the excess units rule:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors_test/adminfo/transfer/advising/answers/applying.html#5%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors_test/adminfo/transfer/advising/answers/applying.html#5&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
The College of Letters and Science: A student who has accumulated more than 80 transferable semester units from a four-year institution is considered to have excess units and will not be admitted. A student who has completed 80 or fewer UC-transferable semester units at a four-year university and then transfers to a community college will not accrue excess units and will be considered for admission.

[/quote]

In any case, I'd really like to hear from those who have done this or know anyone who has, or if you have any other advice for me. Thanks. :)</p>

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<p>is it a risky move? You might lose 40 bucks and couple of hrs for the application process... but the rewards are great.</p>

5

<p>It is a risky move, because in order to do so I would have to drop out of UCI and attend a community college, and I would want to stay in Berkeley and attend Vista Community College here, because it's literally blocks away from the UC Berkeley campus and I can do concurrent enrollment (which means I can take one course at Cal each semester that I'm in community college, free of charge). And if, after all that, I don't get in, I would have to go back to UCI after having wasted 2 semesters here, and finish up a degree that I could have finished a year earlier. That's why it's a risky move. Which isn't to say that I won't take the risk; if there's a chance that it will work I want to try, so that I can at least know that I gave it my best shot. But I'm not the only person involved, I have to take my parents into consideration; I can't just go running off wherever I please, without any regard for them, especially if the whole endeavor ends up being a waste of time. That's why I'm asking around to see if anyone else has done this. :)</p>

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<p>blue, i know two people who transfered from UCSD to UCLA this year... One after one year, the other after two years....</p>

<p>I would just go to UCI and apply as a UCI student...</p>

<p>I would never go back to CC, i just hate CC lol.</p>

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<p>I don't get in, I would have to go back to UCI after having wasted 2 semesters here, and finish up a degree that I could have finished a year earlier.</p>

<p>How do you know UCI would take you back again? You'd have to reapply again, and you'd still be in the same boat of having too many units. It seems like the worst case senario would be not getting into a UC again.</p>

<p>Just out of curiosity, what do you have against finishing your degree in Irvine? If you're at senior standing, it seems like it would be better just to get the school done with.</p>

8

<p>UCI has a readmit policy for former UCI students, which, though it isn't guaranteed, isn't the same as the regular UC admissions. I think they will only reject people who do something drastic. I don't think going to a CC for a few quarters will hurt my chances of being readmitted. A lot of people do that for legitimate reasons, like financial issues.</p>

<p>I don't have anything against finishing my degree at UCI per se, I'm just very happy here at Berkeley right now, and I love my classes. They have two very specific majors here that UCI does not have: Political Economy of Industral Societies, which I was very interested in when I first applied, and Development Studies, which I have learned about in one of my classes here, that I am now really very interested in studying. I have studied more, gone to class more, and otherwise participated in my education more in the past 5 weeks being here at Berkeley than I did in the entire 9 months I was at UCI. I don't want to just get my schooling done with; I can see myself being in academia for a long time, and I certainly see myself going to graduate school. So getting the most out of my undergraduate education is very important to me. I don't want to view it as just a means to an end.</p>

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<p>If thats the case, why don't you finish at UCI and apply for grad. school at Berkeley. It would be terrible if you were denied admission to both UCI and Berkeley. That would definately put a damper on your career in academia.</p>

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<p>You've got to understand that hundreds of millions of students would love to get their foot into the door of CAL's admissions not to mention take courses at this top-tier university but many have to deal with what they've got. In other words, not all students attend their college of choice. CAL is no doubt a superior university in itself but dropping out of UCI during your senior year and paving a new path in hopes to attend CAL is the worst decision you could make at this point. Since academics interests you so much maybe you should consider becoming a teacher? I don't know but just don't take your intended action.</p>

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<p>I don't want to be a teacher right now, and I fail to see how that would solve my problem. I'm interesting in learning about new things myself, not about teaching others. There's a big difference. I'm not done learning yet. When I say I'm interesting in academia, I mean continuing on to graduate school, doing research and field work and learning hands on, publishing my findings, hopefully becoming a professor, or helping shape policy in a significant way. And I would like to attend law school at some point also. </p>

<p>In any case, I see your point. Dropping out of my senior year at UCI to attempt to attend Cal is kind of hopeless at this point. I won't do it if there's absolutely no shot of it working, but I've hear various stories of people getting in against the odds because they showed commitment and passion, and I hope to get in on those grounds. What I want to know now is if anyone else has been in the same situation as me, and if they were able to successfully transfer to the UC of their choice after going through everything I've just described. So, anyone out there?</p>

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<p>Bumpity bump bump.</p>

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<p>i don't see why you wouldn't finish up UCI and do your graduate studies at Berkeley.</p>

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<p>you have senior standing at UCI.. just finish UCI.</p>

<p>I dont thinkyour chances of getting into berkeley are that good anyways, and you would be risking too much. </p>

<p>You should have tried to get into berk to begin with .. but now that yoru in UCI just take what you have and aim for grad school.</p>

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<p>Getting into grad school at Berkeley is waaaay harder than getting in as an undergrad. It's equivalent to places like Harvard. As a matter of fact, they usually only want brilliant Harvard-undergrad caliber students applying.</p>

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<p>I understand your need to get the most out of your undergraduate career, but I believe at this point, you should strongly consider finishing you degree at UCI.</p>

<p>When I went to CalSo (summer orientation), I found that most people that transfer to UC Berkeley enter with junior standing, and have completed only about 60 units. Most of these people were from california community colleges, but there were some that were coming in from other UC's, and even a handful that hailed from different states and countries. But the main thing that these students had in common was that they would be Cal juniors once the fall semester started. I met one student who would have sophmore standing, only because she completed one year of community college, and considering the amount of AP units she has accuired in high school, this worked fine for her. I met no one that would be a senior once the school year began.</p>

<p>That said, perhaps there are students with senior standing that are granted admission. I'm not a mighty guru of admissions, so I have no idea. But because of the strict unit cap, I believe most of those who desire admission this late in the game do not have luck on their sides. You must remember that priority is given to community college transfers, hands down. Even those with junior standing at four-year universities will have to wait their turn. Your situation might cause you to be put on the back burner, and unfortunate as that may sound.</p>

<p>You're partly right about Berkeley being an amazing grad school that has pretty difficult admissions. I'm pretty sure it has more top graduate programs that any other university in the country. But I must say that Cal does not only look to Harvard grads when they are selecting their graduate students for the upcoming year. I personally know one student who graduated from a CSU and will be attending graduate school at Berkeley. You should just try to do your very best at your undergraduate university - GPA, test scores, reccomendations, EC's, volunteer work, and research jobs, are all heavily weighted. Where you went to school may go into consideration a little (reputation for the difficulty of coursework), but remember that you're going to a UC, a school in a very respected university system. </p>

<p>If I were you, I would stay put. If anything, having jumped around from CC to UC to CC to UC might damper your chances at top graduate schools. It might appear flightly on your part, and that would be a major downer because I am sure that is not the case. However, if this is what you really want to do...then I suppose you should follow your heart. Just recognize and understand that you could be setting yourself up for failure..</p>

<p>Good Luck with everything.</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>