<p>^ Agreed, w/r/t counselors. I’ve had two counseling appointments in my time at CC, and in both instances I was given bad advice.</p>
<p>If you have any questions, OP, you should come ask us! We’re practically pros by now.</p>
<p>I hear Berkeley’s pretty rundown, so if that’s one of your main reasons for not liking Mesa, I don’t see how you’d feel great at Cal. Also, the parking is only a big deal if you get to the campus 10 minutes after class expecting to park right next to the main walkways. Anyone who get to class 10 minutes early can find parking, even in the first two weeks. </p>
<p>Mesa’s a nice school, and academically it’s really good. I like City College better. It’s extremely rundown and all sorts of people take classes there. I’m sure I’ve seen bums sitting in on classes.</p>
<p>umm UC Berkeley isn’t rundown. your community college must be pretty nice if you think UC Berkeley is run down. Maybe the surrounding area is rundown if you go into oakland but from my experience it was pretty nice there.</p>
<p>Not even… Mesa’s a mess with all the construction going on. I’ve just heard the Berkeley buildings are pretty beat up. But if you’ve been there, I’d rather take your word for it. </p>
<p>And to the original poster, you can also try Grossmont. I’ve never been there before, but give it a visit if you haven’t. Maybe you’ll like it better there.</p>
<p>I was in your position two years ago, and although CC has much to offer, there is no social life whatsoever. It depends really, where your life/financial situations are at. For me, it was more of a financial reason for attending CC, but you will have to forfeit your college experience. Hand in hand either direction is a good choice, however, I am one of many who regret missing out on the college experience.</p>
<p>@fearthewrath Yeah, I think it will grow on me. I think I will enjoy the laid back easy going atmosphere and really be able to study hard and excel.</p>
<p>@john2 That’s for sure my motivation. Like, no matter how many bad things I’m thinking about my next 2 years at CC, I can just think about me being at a UC. That’s the ultimate payoff.</p>
<p>@derpinitman I think all the partying and stuff at State would just be distracting and annoying. I wouldn’t get kicked out but I think I would just feel out of place. I would rather focus on my future.</p>
<p>@BouncingBoy Oh cool. Night classes and saturdays sound right for me. Less slacker atmosphere. That’s what I want to avoid. The people there for high school part 2 can be a little distracting hahaha. BTW, I’m planning on doing the IGETC and also I have been plugging in random major and UC school combinations on assist.org . Am I on the right track??</p>
<p>@briceies Hey Thanks!!! I am really glad to have found this site, loads and loads of information and experience. Spectacular.</p>
<p>@Salmos The fact that Berkeley is Berkeley is enough for me. I don’t care about aesthetics as much there, I’m just after the prestige. I will go take a look at Grossmont too. Do you know if its a good idea to take classes at Mesa and City? Is that even allowed?</p>
<p>@rDPurpleHaze I get what your saying. I’m sorry if I sound picky or whatever, because at first glance someone would be like of course go to SDSU!!! there’s a lot more to it though. It all is pretty even in the end, I suppose.</p>
<p>I don’t agree with any of the posters about community college. It is nothing like jail, nor is it miserable. Because of the circumstances, most community colleges have, in addition to kids like us who are transferring to UCs or other 4-year institutions: older people returning for degrees/personal enrichment; younger, advanced kids getting a few classes out of the way prior to university; parents; kids who didn’t graduate or had to drop out of high school under serious circumstances; international students who are saving a buck before university; california kids who are saving a buck before university; and many others. There are so many kids who attend community colleges because it’s cheaper and you <em>usually</em> get a more intimate classroom environment. Although funding is being cut drastically, classroom sizes are not swelling to the capacity you see at UCs. </p>
<p>AS LONG as you take charge of your own education and are assertive, you will do GREAT and get into a UC with absolutely no problems. Some people take issue with the fact that there are many things you have to do on your own at community colleges, and that counselors aren’t always the most helpful/knowledgeable – THIS IS A GOOD THING. This forces you to make yourself aware of the educational choices you’re making as well as where each decision will take you. Additionally, UCs LOVE community college transfers, because they are typically considered (I said <em>typically</em>) more well-rounded, aware, mature, and motivated than those students who attend university right out of high school. </p>
<p>Again, each case is different, but these are general rules. The thing that is so great about community college is that you get only – and exactly – what YOU choose to make of it.</p>
<p>@justinetruant Great advice. Good to know there will be people doing the UC thing (heck everyone on here is/did!). I want to have a social life there, but like you said I’ll get out of it exactly what I put in, wheter its studying, joining clubs, or planning my classes./requirements. I’m going to give it my all.</p>
<p>Maybe this doesn’t matter to you, but don’t let the stigma of a CC get you down from what you’re really trying to achieve – your dream school.</p>
<p>As a high school senior, I got into a couple privates and Cal States but I was really set on going to UCSD (love San Diego). I worked hard in CC to get a high gpa, and joined some clubs and orgs to get some involvement points under my belt (as well as socialize). I had an awesome experience at CC. I wanted to party a little, and so I met the right people to do that. I never let it bother me when people looked down upon me for going to a CC, because I know I am smart and that I’m just working towards a goal. When admissions rolled around 2 years later, I got into almost every school I applied to – including UCSD.</p>
<p>My word of advice is to go for the CC route, but MAKE ABSOLUTE CERTAIN that you’re going to excel in your classes there. For transfers, it’s all about GPA, so make sure its high; nowadays the competition at CCs is getting competitive and making sure you have a 3.5+ will keep you in good standing when you’re applying to competitive universities. I know a ton of people that were insistent on going to their dream school, went to CC, and did okay (3.0-3.1). That’s not enough nowadays even for some Cal States. Just work hard and keep your eye on the prize 
And be positive about your CC experience, it makes all the difference!</p>
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<p>Yeah you can do that. Whether it’s a good idea, that’s up to you. I’m taking classes at both schools because they both had classes I needed/wanted. I fell in love with City because of the diversity. If you don’t care for that though, there are other schools (b/c City is pretty ugly and the parking situation is even worse - I park next to the Balboa park lot and walk for 10 minutes).</p>
<p>@madddielove Yes! Congrats!!! THank you for your insight… That is exactly my plan. Nice to hear from someone who succeeded at pretty much thee same thing I’m planning on doing. You have given me hope Do you have any advice for getting that high gpa? And also if don’t know exactly what I want to major in, would it be best for me to just take as many classes as I can handle in addition to the IGETC?</p>
<p>Going to a CC is not bad or boring depending on where you go I suppose. The time of day you go to class will determine what type of CC student you will encounter. Younger (fresh off HS) during the day and older during the night for obvious reasons. Having been to a couple of CC campuses around San Diego I’ve come to love Mira Costa especially the San Elijo campus. The San Elijo campus is small, nice location, and I always found good parking. The Oceanside campus is bigger and has nicer renovated buildings. I found that MC instructors tend to use more online tools to track your grades, do homework and sometimes even exams. Mira Costa also has the highest rate of UC transfers in the area. A huge plus about going to MC is that they actually have Summer classes unlike San Diego CC’s that had to cancel or strictly limit their summer session (who knows if they’ll have one this year.) Miramar CC is 5 minutes away from me but I chose to continue at Mira Costa despite the distance.</p>
<p>Oh and counselors suck at pretty much every CC. Make sure every class you take is UC transferable and if you have to take remedial classes do them as pass or no pass (or credit or no credit) that way it won’t affect your GPA.</p>
<p>@SDVeee I’ve heard a lot of good things about MiraCosta. Too many tanks of gas for me unfortunately. But who knows… maybe I could take some classes there in the summer if I need to. Wherever I go I want to take some night classes they sound cool.</p>
<p>What do you mean by remedial courses? I’m definitely going to take all UC transferable courses, but like could I just take a bunch for pass/no pass classes and keep a high GPA?</p>
<p>I actually sort of enjoy letter grades better, I don’t know…</p>
<p>My family faced what is almost certainly a different situation but the same choices you are last summer when we were trying to decide whether my younger son should go to the local CCC and transfer to a UC later or enroll in Sacramento State University where he had also been accepted. He has mild Aspergers Syndrome and ADHD and even though he had SAT scores of Math 750 and CR of 690 he did not really fit in well at high school and his GPA was only 3.1 eliminating the chances of getting into a UC as a freshman. He really loves Physics and wanted to major in it and my initial thoughts were that CC was the better option since he had the potential to excell at a UC and Sacramento’s Physics Department is small and only offers a bachelors degree.</p>
<p>The first problem cropped up with the CC plan when in a very non-transparant process he was assigned a registration time for the Fall senester of the last hour of the last day of registration and I was told that instead of making it up to him the Spring with an earlier registration time he would instead keep his relative position throughout his time at the CCC. Since Physics has a lot of prerequisites that have to be finished before transfer is possible and they involve courses that are in high demand it was obvious he would be at CC for more than two years. As I feared, all the courses he needed to take to transfer were filled at the CCC very early in the registration process. They basically told us you have to play the hand you are dealt and they could do nothing to get him into some classes. However since the Calculus and Physics classes he would have to take at Sacramento State were also filled well before he could register there I continued to believe the CC route was the best one.</p>
<p>There was the advantage of going to Sacramento State that he could live with our older son who was a Geology major in the condo near the campus that we purchased since it cost less than 5 years in the dorms would have. Since my younger son is socially awkward and often not able to cope well with certain situations, having his older brother there to keep an eye on him would be a benefit. Things really changed when the Physics Department at Sacramento State told us not to worry that all the Calculus and Physics clasess were full becuase they were anxious for him to attend Sac State and would take care of him. Sure enough, when he finally got to register at Sac State there were suddenly places for him in Calculus and Physics classes that had been closed for weeks.</p>
<p>At this point we realized that without somebody looking after him CC could be an educational dead end for him while he would be taken care of at Sac State. So he enrolled at Sacramento State and has been getting all A s and on his recent Calculus and Physics midterms for the Spring semester received the highest grade in the class for both. He will never get a BS from a UC but I think he has an excellent chance of getting a graduate degree in Physics from a UC, maybe even Berkeley. So, while it has many advantages, going to a CC might not always be the best choice. Do not rule out doing your undergraduate degree at SDSU, which is highly regarded, and see what they are willing to do to give you a better experience there.</p>
<p>What I meant by remedial classes is if you score low on either your English and or math assessment test it will affect which classes u can take. This test let’s you know which college level classes you are able to take. So let’s say that you scored low on the math test and to get to the college level math like calculus you have to take algebra 1 and or 2. Since those lower classes don’t transfer you don’t need a letter grade you just need to pass the class to get to the required class for your transfer. You cannot do pass or no pass for transferable and required classes such as the ones listed on the IGTC</p>
<p>@Lemaitre1 Oh, good to hear that things are looking up for him. I would love to do something like astrophysics, but I am heavily leaning towards a field more like psychology because the prerequisite classes aren’t that bad. I know how your son feels. Sorta. I’m a bit of an introverted person myself (I know this is nothing like aspergers or adhd) and I get a little uncomfortable in certain social situations. Anyway, I feel like SDSU is just too demanding socially, even though their psychology department is very very good. Everybody’s situation is different and for your son, I think your son is going to do great, especially at Sacramento State where he’ll get the specific care he needs. He will excel in physics. To me it sounds like he very well may be the next Isaac Newton.</p>
<p>@SDVeee Ahhhh, I see. Hopefully I won’t have to take too many of those classes. If I do, I will probably take them pass or no pass. The IGETC, on the other hand, is going to be letter grades and I’m going to study my butt off to get straight a’s.</p>
<p>@gettinthatfosho In the end you must make your own decisions. Just consider the fact that there is no turning back! I understand that you want a quality education and you are doing everything you can to achieve that. I envy you for having your mind set, and hope all plans go well for you. </p>
<p>Most UC’s require that you take classes for grades, with the exception of a few. If you plan to transfer in 2 years, be ready to work your butt off every semester/quarter. The way I finished IGETC and all major prereqs in 2 years was by taking advantage of short summer courses! Definitely start by taking at least 2 GE classes this summer to prepare yourself. I took 4 GE classes during the summer and found it to be reasonable. In order to maintain a competitive GPA, try altering easy/hard classes you take in a semester. (Ex. 2 difficult classes and 2 fairly easy classes.) The rest will be up to you, depending primarily on your study habits.</p>