Hi guys! So I recently graduated High School and decided to take the 2-year route to a BA. So I am attending LACC and I have some questions about transferring.
Are you suppose to have a more than one college when choosing transferring? (I'm only thinking of Pomona currently).
If I can't decide between a UC or a CS, do they have similar requirements such as GED to finish in cc?
When do you start to apply for transfer? (I heard your suppose to start a year early? how does that work?)
You don't HAVE to choose more than one, but it's recommended because you may not get into your first choice, but you may have gotten into back ups.
They some what have similar requirements, but not completly. Follow the IGETC for UC general ed, and the CSU one for their general ed (I cam't recall the name). An example of a difference would be for a UC you need a foreign language, CSU you need speech.
You apply for transfer in November. For example, you want to transfer fall 2016, then you would apply this coming November for the schools you choose. After fall semester you update the application with your grades or any other changes.
That depends on you, and your major :) Generally, it shouldn't be a hard process.
It is best to have more than one college. If you're aiming for Pomona (I'm guessing Cal Poly Pomona), think about other schools you might like to attend, those can be your safety schools. Research never hurts.
From my experience they have similar requirements. But that also depends on your major. assist.org is the best place to see transfer requirements to UCs and CSUs.
Starting a year first will definitely help you. Applications are usually due in the Fall. November for UCs, CSUs are around that time as well. There is a window that is usually around a month to submit applications. Sometimes they don't release personal statement prompts til around that time, but they are usually similar. I would recommend checking out past essay prompts and brainstorming essay idea or writing a few rough drafts.
The difficulty to transfer depends on your major. Most majors only require you to complete their general education requirements in community college, which in my opinion is easy, as long as you study and do your homework.
LACC fall semester started August 31st. I’m guessing you already applied to LACC and have a student ID number. If you haven’t I would suggest you do so very soon. Next you should take your placement tests before the 31st. Also scheduled an appointment with a counselor to figure out what classes you should be taking. Assist.org will give you a general idea of what classes you should be taking. Most transfer students only need to fulfill the IGETC. Look that up, its a list of General Education classes. Goodluck
I guess I have some more questions for the answers you guys gave.
So, I guess I should stick to CSUs so that I don't have to take the foreign language requirements. As for the foreign language, would I still need to take a language class in the future when I'm in a CSU to get my BS?
Since, I am going to aim for CSUs, I don't need to do essays right? Also, is the whole one year earlier a deadline for transfers only? Or do we still follow the regular admission applications like in High School which was like 3 months before summer. Or is this just a precaution and a first admit kind of thing? And for applying, I have to go through the CSU mentor again right?(I applied before but was denied)
I plan to major in Mechanical Engineering. I'm guessing there are more requirements than just the Breadth General Education for say CSU Poly Pomona? If so where would I be able to find the specific classes I would need to take? I just checked the assist.org and I can't seem to figure out which one is needed.
So far I’m getting a lot of things cleared up. And I plan to see the counselor and transfer office next week, I was just trying to clear any other questions I had because I heard that some counselors in lacc have a reputation of lieing to keep students in cc for some reason.
I’m unfamiliar with CSU transfer, only UC :\ But I believe you still need to apply a year in advance before you intend to transfer.
On the assist website the pre requisites are all the ones it lists, unless it says “OR” inbetween courses. If it says “OR” and it’s for example between stastistics and college algebra, from my understanding you can pick one or the other. But I would definently still ask a counselor about that, so I apologize if that is incorrect.
You shouldn’t decide to go to a CSU over a UC just because of a foreign language requirement. Mechanical Engineering is pretty competitive across the board.
You apply to many colleges. It’s good to have safety schools (places you can go as backups - generally you’ll be overqualified for these), reach schools (schools that you might not get into but you want to try anyway) and schools that are a good match.
There are general requirements for CSU’s and UC’s. If you have a certain GPA (3.4 or less, depending on the school) you can get guaranteed admission into your major at a UC (except Berkeley, LA and UCSD) via TAG.
You apply the same way that you did in high school, it’s just a different application. You’ll apply during the Fall sophomore year generally, and then you’ll find out in the Spring.
It’s not too difficult to transfer - just make sure you complete the necessary requirements and do your best to get good grades. It’s a little more complicated than that, but yeah - it’s totally doable. Roughly a third of all students in the UC system are transfer students.
http://www.assist.org will tell you what courses you need to take to transfer to each CSU or UC in mechanical engineering. Typically, this includes several math and physics courses, among others.
Note that some UC engineering divisions do not accept IGETC for general education, though courses you take can apply to specific requirements, and engineering divisions often have no foreign language requirement.
Ya I also decided to go for CSU because of money problems. I have a brother who is going to a UC and it seems that my parents can’t afford for his 2nd year so his taking out loans already. So I think CSU is good choice as long as they have an Engineering program.
All classes you see on the left you need to take. If you don’t finish them at a community college you have to continue those lower division courses at a CSU. It’s recommended to do as many as you can at a community college as it’s cheaper and you can graduate sooner from CSU.
But for economics you need only one of those classes, I believe. For UC at least, they recommend getting classes found on assist out of the way first, and then general ed. I don’t know if CSU recommends the same, but just a suggestion.
@slydez some of the counselors at LACC aren’t the best. You should look into going the STEM academy. They have their own counselor who knows more about transferring to engineering schools. I am planning on doing chemical engineering so I joined STEM and the people there are helpful. One thing I know for sure for any engineering student is that you’ll need to take Chemistry 101 (maybe 102), Physics upto 102 or 103, and the calculus series.
Take as many of the major preparation courses as possible that have equivalents at your CC, in addition to IGETC or otherwise-specified general education.
You can also check to see if other CCs in your area have coverage of the courses that LACC does not cover.
@astrophilia I just went to the transfer office and got lots of help. They did tell me to do the major prep first then do the GE. They also told me that I would need to take all the things listed on the right and the GE to be admitted. Is this correct? Because that is a lot of classes. Or could I just take a few and do all the CSU GE? I don’t really want to stay for more than 2 years in CC.(Is it even possible to transfer in 2 years in my major?)
@ericeo Oh wow, I just checked it out and it looks quite interesting. How do I join this? Am I able to join for fall or do I wait for Spring?
@slydez You should be able to join for the fall, you just need a professor to sponsor you. You may even be able to join before that, you just need to talk to the STEM coordinators. I heard their funding was cut, so they may be a bit disorganized at the beginning of the semester.
As for transferring out in 2 years, you should be able to but you’re gonna have to work hard, but it also depends on what classes you are placed into. For example I was looking at the transfer requirements for Mechanical Engineering Cal Poly Pomona, and they require you to finish the Calculus series plus linear algebra and differential equations. That takes people about 4-5 semesters to finish, if they start from Calc. 1. It can be done faster if you take a course every summer or winter, but I only recommend taking easier GE classes during those short sessions. If you start from pre-calculus or trigonometry it will most likely take you closer to 3 years. From people I’ve met at LACC that are planning to transfer as an engineering major and they usually take more than 2 years. Did you already get the results of your placement tests? Or did you take AP Calculus or an AP science in high school?
I’m unsure for CSU if you NEED to have everything you saw on the right side of assist completed to be admitted. For a UC you don’t have to, but it’s strongly recommended, so I imagine the same thing applies for CSU. Either way, those classes need to be done, and it may be easier to get it out of the way while you are at community college, and it will be cheaper. It’s of course possible to transfer in two years, if you meet all the requirements needed for transfer. Can you transfer in two years with all the pre req done and general ed, I’m not sure. You could find yourself overwhelmed depending on how you’re able to schedule all those classes in two years.
@astrophilla Ya I was thinking the same of being overwhelmed with all the math classes. Guess I’ll see what I can do. Thank you.
@ericeo I didn’t take the placement for the math because i heard they excempt people with ap scores. So the counselor placed me in math 262 which is Calc 2 with my ap scores, even though I had a passing score of a 4 on my Ap Calc 2 test. Also, what do you mean by a professor sponsoring me? And do you happen to know if the website on the STEM academy website is updated? Because it is TBD on the coordinator. Oh and do you also happen to know about the Ralph Bunche Scholars program in lacc?
Also, do you guys have any recommendation on what classes are best to take at the same semester? Like ones that can connect to each subject.
How many classes are you trying to take a semester? Calculus, physics, chemistry, and engineering is going to be a lot of math. Unsure about what an economics class is like though. I usually take the classes I hate first to get them out of the way. Maybe take calculus II, something from the assist list, and an easy class from general ed? Or calculus II, physics 101, anx maybe economics or engineering. At a lot of community colleges you can take linear algebra and differential equations concurrently, if you’re able to do that at your school maybe wait until you have a semester to get them out of the way at the same time. Or split it up if you think you’re better off that way.
Also, at my community college at least, all those math classes and I think those physics classes qualifies for an AA in math and physics. You should look into that, just something to show for your efforts and look good on a resume.
@slydez Nice, jumping into Calc 2 gives you a really good start. I’m not too sure about STEM’s website but last year they came to our classes and talked about joining STEM. They also have an office so you can just walk in during fall semester and sign up. On the application they ask for a professor to sponsor you, but if it’s your first semester I’m sure they won’t be too strict about it. If you didn’t take AP Chem in highschool I would recommend taking Chem 60, its a fairly easy class and you’ll need it to take Chem 101. Unfortunately, last time I checked they don’t let you test into Chem 101. I think if you don’t want too tough of a schedule for the fall I would recommend something like Calc 2, Chem 60, and an elective class like art or history. Or if you’re ready to challenge yourself I would say go for Calc. 2, Chem 60, and Physics 101. I had a similar schedule last semester and I got an A and two Bs, cause I was really slacking off. So if you put in the time and effort I’m sure you can pull off all As.
As for the Scholars program: If you have great work ethics I’d join it. You get priority registration, you’re eligible for more scholarships, and it looks good on your resume. You classes do become harder. You take the same classes as everyone else, but in most classes your tests will be more challenging and you’ll have more homework. I would recommend finishing your first semester and then deciding if you’re gonna apply to the Scholars program. This way you have a better idea of what to expect from the difficulty of the classes, instead of jumping right into it. And one semester without the program won’t make much of a difference when applying to transfer.
Also the only classes so far that I’ve seen connect a bit are Calculus and Physics 101. But only briefly. Then again that also depends on the professors.
Since you got a head start on math, I think you have a good chance of transferring in two years. You may have to take a class or two in the summer/winter, but it very possible. As long as you pass your classes. One thing I’ve seen alot at LACC is people rushing to get out and taking more classes than normal, only to drop or fail a class.
@astrophilia I actually already signed up for 4 classes; Eng 101, Counsel 40,Math 262 (Calc2), and art 201. They’re all necessary classes and seems easy so that I can get a feel for college works. And it seems that I can take both linear algebra and differential equations next semester, if I pass my calc 2 class. So, those two classes go good with each other? If so, I’ll probably take em at the same semester. And for the AAs and ASs, are these degrees? How do these degrees work? Like do I just ask for them if I’m eligible?
@ericeo I can’t seem to find the office room…is it the STEM student center FH-304? As for the Chem 60, since you say its easy, do you think I should save it for winter semester(1month class)?
For the scholars program, one of the things Did you happen to join the scholars program? Because one of the things I’m interested in is the internship. Is it correct that they provide you an internship to join? Because I really want to join one for experience, since I wasn’t able to join one in High School. As for the increased difficulty, do you think its twice as hard as a normal class when in a Scholars program? Or is it just a little more effort to put?
For summer/winter do you think I should take a difficult class like lets say Physic 101 or Chem 101? Or should I save those 2 semester for GE classes?