<p>Hello I am new to the forum and I have a huge problem. I graduated high school about 2 months ago and since then I've been taking one English class at Rio Hondo College in Whittier California for which I received an A in. I live in Temple City California and the closest community college to my home is Pasadena City College but almost everyone that goes there knows that PCC is extremely overcrowded. At first I really wanted to go to PCC because of the pathways program that guarantees you your classes for the first year or semester I think. However I did not realize that this would be a great advantage and decided to go to Rio Hondo which is considerably farther from my house (about a 20-30 minute drive) because I did not think that it was nearly as crowded as PCC and that although it is quite a long drive I thought that I would be able to transfer out in 2 years. What I am asking is what are the chances that I will be able to transfer to a UC in two years because I checked many of the class schedules at Rio Hondo and saw that all the math classes and science classes were almost completely full and the waiting lists were packed. There are four community colleges nearby with PCC being the closest, Rio Hondo and Citrus College about 20 to 30 minutes away and East Los Angeles College being the farthest away from me. It sort of drives me nuts because I know that there were some people that really wanted to take English in the summer at Rio and they couldn't because there were many students that took their spots who didn't even bother to do the homework or even show up daily. I really wish I could go to PCC but it seems that everyone going to PCC is looking at the minimum of three years before they are able to transfer to a UC or other school. I'm willing to drive to Citrus and Rio and maybe even ELAC but gas prices are pretty high and I don't see them going down anytime soon. Ughh there's always going to be students in community college that just don't care or try to transfer and it ticks me off that they are taking the classes that I should be taking. What should I do? I mean, I am willing to cough up the gas money to go to Citrus and Rio at the same time and maybe even PCC and ELAC but it just seems that even if I do make the drive to all these schools that my chances of transferring in 2 years are slim to none. My actual dream school is Caltech because when I was in elementary school my sixth grade class took a field trip to Caltech and I read "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman" in my physics class of senior year but I'm pretty sure that transferring to Caltech is almost impossible for someone in my situation. I usually pass by Caltech when working with my father (yes I am a Mexican gardener, no I am not an illegal) and think to myself, "Wow, Feynman was actually here." Is this dream impossible? I really really want to transfer out in two years because I gave up the chance to go to a 4 year school because I wanted to go to community college to save myself a lot of money. Also, what are the downsides to having multiple transcripts? I am aiming for a Microbiology or Nuclear Engineering major. Please Help! Any and all help is appreciated. Thank you.</p>
<p>The personal information wasn’t needed but to be honest your chances of transferring to CalTech are very slim. A friend of mine (his name was Sam) was the only kid at our college to ever sit for the transfer exam and passed. He also 4.0’d every prerequisite class, but it took him three years to get out. For me and my friends it took three years to get out and they are now all off to UC Berkeley/UCLA. Many people I know had been there for four to five years before finally being able to leave. To be honest, take what you can manage and don’t sabotage your GPA. You are not going to be learning the necessary material however for CalTech. I would suggest getting Tom Apostol’s two volume texts but they are quite expensive. You will need to do all of that on your own as that is the course material. You will also need to look for outside resources to study for the physics portion of the exam. Any amount of preparation from a CC will not prepare you for these exams. FYI, Sam is at Stanford now. He was denied at CalTech.</p>
<p>Becoming an honors student if you can at one of your colleges (TAP) and you’ll get priority registration. But check the school to see if they offer it first. </p>
<p>I am a big lover of Feynman myself. I mistakenly picked up a book in the library my senior year that was titled “What do you care what other people think?” I enrolled as a physics major at my CC and I switched to mathematics after that. Why? Well, my physics classes were dull as hell. However, I am still going to minor in it and I am actually testing the waters as a math major to see if I would like to switch back to physics after this semester. Your dream is <em>possible</em> but you are going to have to be the very best. My high school superstar math genius friend who was taking classes with me (took Linear Algebra/Calc III with him) who got into all of the ivies, top LAC’s, UCB/UCLA, MIT/Stanford got wait-listed as a freshman to CalTech and then denied. He chose to go to MIT. Feynman went there. There was also a girl who had planned for 5 years to get into MIT as her ultimate dream goal at my college. I first stumbled upon her blog before I went to my CC and she spent 5-6 years at my college. She applied every year and was denied. She went to UCSD, though. Not bad!</p>
<p>I had the same feelings as you though starting out. I swear I could be talking to myself in the past, haha. However, do your homework about how you can get priority registration. I did have a tough time my very first semester getting classes because you are at the lowest priority with the amount of units you’ve got. However, I learned my lesson from being overly ambitious and loading up on honors classes and technical classes so I could rush to get out in two years and had a couple bad semesters. Then again, I wasn’t very motivated. Transferring to a UC is possible in two years but you must literally be prepared to have no social life as a friend of mine had. She took Calculus III, General Chem II, Biology II, Physics II this semester and worked harder than I ever did. She’s going to UC Berkeley as a Geology major. You gotta put in the time and not slack if it’s truly your goal to get out in two years.</p>
<p>hey, I too just graduated high school and I am going to attend PCC. I was able to get 14 units for the fall and all my classes fall under the IGETC for UC schools; they were all part of the scholars block at PCC so you have to be in the scholars program to get a lucky break most of the time. I feel like I am on track to transfer in two years while being able to maintain stellar grades, ECs, etc. So PCC is not too bad and it should be one of your options. I advise to go on your registration account- for whichever CC you attend- in the early morning to get the classes while people are still asleep. Good Luck!</p>
<p>It’s probably not going to happen in 2 years. Almost no one transfers in 2 years; expect to be there for at least 3.</p>
<p>Why not take classes at GCC too? I know some who take classes at both schools and they are only about 25 minutes away from each other. I know both are equally as crowded, but I would assume getting classes will be a little easier.</p>
<p>@mermaker: almost nobody? A lot of people transfer in two years. you just have to be prepared and diligent.</p>