CSU vs. Community College

<p>Okay, so I'm finding myself in a bit of a predicament...</p>

<p>I'm trying to decided whether to go to a community college first (Santa Monica College) and then transferring to a 4 year, or going to a csu (long beach) and also transferring after 2 years. </p>

<p>The only thing that is keeping me from going to csulb is that I'm afraid I may be hurting my chances of transferring (USC, NYU, UCLA). I also don't live very close to SMC, but I know they have some of the best transfer rates, or at least they do for UCLA. </p>

<p>are my chances to transferring to any of the above mentioned schools hurt by choosing csulb? </p>

<p>please, help: Thanks!</p>

<p>go to the CC closest to you. You can enroll at more than one CC without penalty. Figure out which courses youd like to take and where and you’re pretty much set.</p>

<p>Go to a CC, any CC. As long as your GPA is really solid, it just doesn’t matter. The reality is that the 4year schools are not scrutinizing <em>which</em> CC you went to. (It might be that SM has high transfer rates, but that is more likely to do with the economic factors than anything else… more affluent kids likely go to SM and more affluent kids are in a better position to actually transfer.)</p>

<p>CC students are given top priority for transfer. CSU students are not.</p>

<p>UCLA will be looking almost EXCLUSIVELY at your GPA from the CC. They will be blind to almost every other factor. (Be you have finished your pre-reqs). And they won’t care which CC you went to. UCLA posts transfer GPA stats for each major INDIVIDUALLY - so you can get a sense of what kind of GPA you need to stay competitive. Some majors one needs a 3.8+, other majors a 3.3 is likely enough.</p>

<p>So if I decide to go to CSULB, will it be impossible for me to transfer?
Btw, I appreciate all the input. Another school I was interested in transfer was BU, which does has a relatively high transfer rate.</p>

<p>yes it will be possible to transfer. just not as easy. but the difference isnt immense.
your chances arent hurt, but you will probably work harder to get A’s.</p>

<p>but regardless going to a CC is the smarter choice. its cheaper and SMC has one of the best transfer rates.</p>

<p>go to mtsac and i can help you haha.
SMC, PCC, MTSAC, OCC are great cc’s.</p>

<p>i applied to USC 2010 so im just waiting on their decision. post back with more Q’s if u have any
whats your major btw?</p>