<p>I'm currently a freshman in University of San Francisco. I've been thinking of transferring to UC Berkeley for my junior year. But I read that UCs give more priority to Community College students, rather than students from another universities.</p>
<p>So, I'm thinking of transferring to a community college for next semester (spring '08), and then try to transfer to UC Berkeley in my junior year. Is it worth the risk? The community colleges that I'm thinking of transferring to are City College of San Francisco and Berkeley City College. Are they good community colleges in regards to transfer rates to UCs?</p>
<p>Also, if I want to transfer to let's say, University of Pennsylvania, would they look down on me because I am from a community college? If yes, then does it mean that they will regard me more highly if I apply from another university (In other words, stay at USF)?</p>
<p>And, would these universities (UCB, USC, UPenn) all see me as a student who just want "an easy way in" because I transfer out of USF to a community college in order to get a transfer priority? What would they think of my move to community college?</p>
<p>If, by any chance, I get rejected by those universities that I want to transfer to, will I still be able to transfer back to USF?</p>
<p>Please help me guys.
I desperately need help on this matter.
What do you think I should do?</p>
<p>Yes, UCs statutorily give first priority to community college transfer students. At UC Berkeley, community college transfer application acceptance is 32.1%, while other transfer apps have an acceptance rate of just 13.6%. That still means it's a challenging admission.</p>
<p>The good news is that you'll almost certainly get into at least one UC you apply to - for example, Davis and Santa Barbara have California community college transfer admissions rates of around 75%, and Santa Cruz is at 70%.</p>
<p>Honestly, I don't really think it'll matter between CCSF and BCC. Go to whichever is most convenient for you.</p>
<p>I don't know about USC/UPenn, but at the UCs, I don't think anyone will see your application any differently than any other community college student. The thing about CC students is that they very often have non-traditional paths through higher education. Use the essays to explain your path - that you went to USF but decided it wasn't for you, so you decided to take some classes at a community college</p>
<p>One thing I've learned by being at a community college is, never assume your story is the strangest. Right above your app in the stack could be someone who flunked out of Harvard 10 years ago, but who has gone back to school and gotten their transfer stuff done at a community college and wants to go to Cal.</p>
<p>The transfer centers at California community colleges are extremely valuable resources - they'll help you through the process of completing your UC requirements to become eligible to transfer in as a junior.</p>
<p>do you think UCB gives preference to a certain community college?
I mean, why is there certain community college that has always had a high rate of transfers to UCs while some other don't?</p>
<p>diablo valley is too far from San Francisco. I don't wanna go there. Is Berkeley City College as good as Diablo Valley?
Does anyone know about this?</p>
<p>By the way, is there any rank on the best community colleges in California?</p>
<p>Some community colleges have more students who want to transfer to UCs, whereas others are in areas where the students are more focused on career and technical education. Some undoubtedly have more experienced Transfer Center people who have contacts and relationships with UC admissions officers.</p>
<p>As for "best community colleges," that's really a tough call and very much depends on your major. Because there's so many of them, they all have different programs in which they're strong and weak. There's no "ranking" for California community colleges.</p>
<p>For example, if you're a journalism student, the program at my alma mater, Contra Costa College, is one of the top 10 in the United States, consistently putting out the best community college student newspaper in Northern California. We also have great culinary arts and science departments. However, I wouldn't say we're particularly strong on business-type classes. If you're a business major, Diablo Valley has an excellent program.</p>
<p>Call the community colleges you're looking at and ask to speak to the Transfer Center. They can help you figure out what you're looking for.</p>
<p>CCSF is good, but it's HUGE - 100,000+ students huge. Biggest higher education institution in the state.</p>
<p>both schools are good, but see if you can get into their Honors program (if they have one). Honors grads from jucos do very well in acceptances to Cal and UCLA. USC also accepts quite a few juco transfers every year. Dunno about Penn.</p>
<p>So for this matter, whom should I ask?
Should I ask the counselors from Community College or from UCB?
I mean in the sense of whether it is OK to transfer out from USF to a community college and then go to UCB? Would they see it kind of strange because I "downgrade" to community college from a 4-year college?</p>
<p>San Francisco CC has a considerably larger array of available classes, which is something that you might take into consideration. Both schools have good instruction.
The advice to check in with the Transfer Center at which ever school you attend is very valuable. To qualify for a UC transfer, you must first fulfill their IGETSE requirements. Not all seemingly similar classes qualify, so you might inadvertently register for a non-qualifying course.
Also remember that you can only transfer to a UC as a junior, but most privates schools accept sophomore transfers. Is this something you want to do right away?</p>
<p>Private schools don't care at all if you've attended a CC. They just want to see that you've done well in your college classes. Most private schools have limited Merit Aid for incoming transfers, but as public institutions, the UC's offer very little, if any, merit aid to transfers and so you would pay full in-state tuition.
Federal aid would come into play, if you qualify, as well as any Cal grants, which you could potentially take with you.</p>
<p>I just came across another plan in mind. I have also been planning to go to grad school to get my MBA degree. After hearing that UCB has really challenging classes, I find it as one of the major obstacles of getting to the grad school at Berkeley, or other top grad schools in the nation.
Do you guys know any requirements for MBA schools? Do these schools pay attention to what university the applicants go to?
SO, if I am planning on going to grad school, should I just stay at USF or still try to go to UC Berkeley?</p>
<p>DON’T GO TO SAN FRANCISCO COMMUNITY COLLEGE!! You won’t be able to get any of your classes because budget cuts are big for San Francisco State, so everyone is just going to the community which is getting super packed. Also, the transportation sucks in San Fran, my sister had to leave her place like an hour and a half to take two buses to get there. NOT WORTH IT</p>