CSU to UC

<p>So i'm currently a freshman at csuf and am trying to transfer into a UC for my sophmore year. I did not apply to the UCs i have now picked out so i assume i do need to have a minimum of 60 units done...which i can achieve by the end of next summer if i take classes at the csu im attending and a cc where i live. I don't know if im going about that correctly or if it would be likely for me to get accepted into the UCs i want. If i finish all the credits needed by the end of summer, can i start attending the UC in the fall that year?</p>

<p>UCs don’t care about how long you’ve been in college if you’re transferring. All that matters is how many units you have. You’re considered a junior if you meet the cutoff criteria in units, regardless of whether you did it in 1 semester or 10. So if you will have completed the units you need by the end of next summer, you could apply this fall and be a student on a UC campus next fall. </p>

<p>You should think carefully about what you’re planning, though. The UC schools are facing tight budgets and have got a lot more stringent on rules such as minimum progress and the maximum unit cap. What this means is that if you finished getting the 60 units by the end of next summer and enroll at a UC, you won’t be a sophomore to the UC system. You’ll be a junior and will have 2 years left in college. There is an exception if units come from AP credit, since those don’t count against the unit cap at the UCs; talk to a counselor or look on the web for more info.</p>

<p>Not only that, but the UC schools by law give preference in admission to CC transfer students. With the budget crisis they’ve actually accepted fewer frosh this year than last, and there’s talk of further cuts. One thing they’ve discussed is only accepting CC transfers, so if you stay at the CSU you’re running some risk of this happening.</p>

<p>But how will that work? When applying this fall for the UCs would i just put all the classes i’m planning on taking as in progress or will be taken? Do the UCs allow that?
I have taken plenty of AP classes back in high school but the only one that i had passed was psychology with a 4. That wouldn’t count for the 60 units that are a minimum? So then i would be a junior but still have two years regardless as my standing as a junior?</p>

<p>How likely is it that they’ll only be accepting cc transfers? I am really unhappy at my college and really want a UC far away. If i get rejected then i can just stay at my csu right?</p>

<p>Do you suggest doing the whole transfer thing at all?</p>

<p>It is extremely unlikely that you will be able to transfer into a UC your sophomore year. UCs give utmost priority to junior standing transfers. </p>

<p>I don’t think it is rational to worry about UCs not accepting 4 year transfers in the near future. This opportunity has been around for some time. I doubt we will even see much of an increase in difficulty among UC-UC or other 4 year transfers, since there are such a few number in the first place. </p>

<p>While at some point the UCs may have discussed accepting only CCC transfers or even no transfers whatsoever, the UCs talk about a lot of crazy stuff that they would never actually do. For example, shutting down UCSC, the 29th best public University in the nation. It is far more likely that there will be slight shifts of competitiveness over the years and a slight shift of more out of state students being accepted. </p>

<p>You can look around these boards and see that there are plenty of CSU-UC transfers or UC-UC transfers who have no problem transferring when they have the proper GPA. If you can attain a competitive GPA, you should be able to transfer if that is ultimately your goal.</p>

<p>

I’m not a UC counselor, so take my opinion with a grain of salt …</p>

<p>I don’t think its that likely that they accept only CC transfers. On the other hand, they did accept 3,000 fewer frosh this year systemwide and every indication is that they plan on accepting even fewer in the future. So what that means is that admissions, both xfer and frosh, is going to get more difficult. And my expectation is that they’ll tilt the xfer admissions to give more favor to CC xfers who can’t go any farther in their current school, as opposed to 4-year college xfers who can. So while there may not be a rule against accepting xfers from 4 year colleges, people trying to do so who would have been easily accepted in 2008 may be turned down.</p>

<p>My choice, if I was in your shoes, would be to do 1 of 2 things. Either leave the CSU campus and spend 2 years at a CC and then apply as a xfer student, or see the 4 years thru at a CSU campus (not necessarily the one you’re at if you don’t like it). I would avoid if I could a 3-year college career, which is what you’ll get if you achieve junior standing a year from now and xfer to a UC school.</p>

<p>As for how it works to xfer, on your app to the UC you list the courses you plan on completing by the time you enroll in the Fall of 2010. They will offer you a provisional acceptance; complete the courses with a specified GPA and you start at the UC in the fall, don’t and they will revoke your admission.</p>

<p>Wouldn’t i be considered a junior standing with 60 credits though? it would just happen to be my sophmore year.
As much as i have entertained the thought of leaving my CSU now to a CC to get all the credits there, my parents have a say and they would absolutely not let me do that. They think me wanting to transfer is ridiculous and want me to stay at the CSU i am at. They would not let me go to another CSU either, this is their way of watching over me and keeping an eye.
Is a three year college career not a good idea?</p>

<p>I just realized that some CSU classes are not transferable to a UC and as i was looking into the classes i am in now and if they’re transferable or not, i found out that they are indeed not transferable. I have math110 that santa monica has finite mathematics and is uc:csu credible, but at uc davis, its not accepted. Neither is the English 1 i had taken at santa monica college although it said it is csu:uc credible. It’s not accepted at uc davis. SO if all goes well and i get the classes i want, i would only have 54 credits by the end of next summer…just short of 6. Would it still be a bad idea to apply for fall admission? Wouldn’t the UCs look kindly at my application since i’ll be taking classes at a CSU <em>and</em> a CC?</p>