Community College to Caltech PhD

Transfer Students
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<p>I've looked around this forum and I haven't found anyone in a situation quite like mine:</p>

<p>2 years ago I was a freshman entering high school, like most people I didn't like school, after placing into mostly sophomore classes, I dozed through the year with a 3.5 GPA. I was utterly and completely bored out of my mind. Sophomore year came around and I couldn't take it any more, I took the California High School Proficiency Exam and registered at the local junior college, it's ranked #6 in the nation and has some amazing instructors, since it is the best funded community college it costs around $1000 per year, and I can get more than that in financial aide. Throughout the 2 years I was stuck in high school I taught myself front-end web development, motion graphics, visual effects, digital video post production, and some basic programming.
I've got the web development and design skills to earn around $85k, but I still want to continue going to school. I'm already enrolled in the top level Computer Science classes at the Junior College, meaning if I want to keep progressing then I need to transfer, here's where my post starts getting relevant to the forum.
I've looked around at the various universities with good CS departments, UC Berkeley would be fairly easy to get into since I'm a California resident, but I'd rather be at a smaller school with less cut-throat competition. Caltech would be my top pick, but I'm not sure how it handles transfers considering is intensive "Core" selection of required course.
I plan on attending 2 years of community college so that I can take all their CS classes and get as much GE out of the way as I can. By then end of this year I'll have around 30-40 units, depending how many CS courses I can take credit by exam. I plan on taking classes over the summer semester as well, so by the end of my 2 years I will have exhausted all the CS courses (around 45 units total,) and the GE (around 25-30 units.)
With 65+ units, is it still a wise idea to apply to transfer to Caltech for undergrad, or should I take the easy route and get my BS from UC Berkeley (which is by no means a shabby diploma to hang on the wall.)
I plan on going the whole 9 yards and getting a PhD, preferably from Caltech, which accepts mostly Caltech grads.
Does anyone have any suggestions, input, feedback, or comments?
Does anyone have know of someone else who skipped out of high school as early as I did (16) ? and if so, what did they go on to do?</p>

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<p>I have to say - WOW. This is indeed a unique story. </p>

<p>I would say go with UC Berkeley. I don’t think it will be “easy” to get into, but as a public school, they are very likely to be more generous with FA and your transfer credits because the school is equipped to handle a lot of CC transfers. That way you can get your BS out of the way at a very good college.</p>

<p>If at that point you still feel the need to earn your PhD, try for Caltech. At least this way you will have a tangible degree to put on your resume that you could use to make money and minimize debt before going for a grad degree, which you will be able to apply for a funded masters/PhD program.</p>

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<p>caltech only admits like 800 undergrads a year, which is much more difficult to get admitted into than something like berkeley. you also have to realize that caltech has only 35% of its class come from california (as opposed to 90 from berkeley). Caltech attracts some of the best and brightest minds in the U.S. and the world, and as a result, it’s very hard to get into.</p>

<p>it’s also a private institution so they don’t necessarily have any agreement with community colleges. They also might have their own requirements so even the G.E. classes you take at a CC might not even transfer there. It’s probably best to talk to a caltech counselor and see what they tell you. </p>

<p>i agree with the above post. If you can’t go to caltech try berks for undergrad and caltech from your PHD. Although imo, you shouldn’t rule out other great technology schools like Stanford.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the fast feedback, I think I’ll try for Caltech, and if I get accepted go there for undergrad, and if not go for Berkeley, which has a very high acceptance rate from CC transfers, and will probably accept most of the units I earn at the CC.
I think that Stanford would be nice, but less research focused and much larger, their campus is quite nice though, I competed in a few debate tournament there and got lost in their identical sets of marble column lined walkways…</p>