<p>Just walked out of my counselors office, feeling pretty terrible right now. </p>
<p>I need to get this out of my chest, need to talk about this, here's what I just found out...</p>
<p>Won't even be sniffing a Transfer to UCSD until Fall 2012. I have to apply a year ahead of time, and my Math 110 won't be completed until next Spring. Everything else in IGETC will be done by Spring, summer, if I spread it out a bit. </p>
<p>This wouldn't be an issue if I was 21 or 23, but damn guys, I'm 29 (went back to school late, obviously) been doing this for 3 years now, and I'm finding out that I need to stay at least another two years to enter UCSD during fall 2012. It just seems like an eternity from now, all because of this slip. It's as if the hits keep coming. I wasn't aware that UCSD only accepts applicants during the fall. </p>
<p>All my fault, just didn't realize, and it sucks. I almost feel like forgetting about UCSD, possiby forgetting about school, or transfering to another University in California. That's why i'm here, to ask of other options that might allow me in a little earlier that you guys might be aware of. Wish I would have found this place a few years...even months earlier. </p>
<p>I just don't want to be at UCSD until i'm 36, feeling completely out of place. Any comment appreciated, feeling pretty miserable right now...</p>
<p>Hey, I know I’m not 29 (23, actually) but I’ll be 24 when I enroll at UCSD, and I’ve had a brutal journey there filled with every possibly pothole imaginable. I would have been there last year but I got screwed by a terrible counselor who didn’t tell me about the math requirement needed to be completed by the fall rather that the spring. I graduated high school at 16, and then spent 6 years at a community college.</p>
<p>In between, I had every situation you could imagine thrown at me. Working a ton, family issues I wouldn’t wish upon anyone, deaths, etc. I grew up dirt poor, so I kinda got used to all that stuff, but looking back at it… it sucked, a lot, and hindered me from doing what so many of my peers got to experience. My high school graduating class is now either graduated or in grad school, while I’m just looking to start my 3rd year of “official” college. </p>
<p>Are our situations the same? No. You’re a bit older, sure, but trust me on this one: Don’t give up and allow yourself to give up on what you want. I was so close to giving up on UCSD myself, especially after what happened last year with admissions. I literally had the lease signed for my apartment at UCI and was on my way to drop it in the mailbox, but opted to turn back. I’d wanted to go to UCSD since I was a freshman in high school and ultimately, what’s another year?</p>
<p>My advice to you: Find a good CC counselor, follow the path you’re on PERFECTLY so that you can apply without issue for fall of 2012 at UCSD, then use your summers to catch up on the year you “missed.”</p>
<p>You only get one shot at your undergrad, and in the scheme of life, another year is nothing. I had identical feelings to what you’ve described but sticking with it will pay off. The truth is, UCSD is where I want to go, not UCI, and I only have one shot at my undergrad.</p>
<p>If you think about it… you’re only losing 1 year by transferring Fall 2012 as opposed to this year. Keep your head up, college isn’t supposed to be easy. Plus it’s a lot cheaper to attend CC than UC so spend the next year saving up some emergency funds.</p>
<p>What your major? If it’s something where you won’t need more math then you should consider taking Statistics at a UC Extension. I was in your situation and instead of taking a bunch of math classes I took Stats @ UCLA extension because it doesn’t require pre-reqs. It was super easy. I passed with a B+. Try to take Stats in the Spring =)</p>
<p>Just as an aside, anyone reading this please do not just follow counselors advice. Anything they tell you, make sure you can find it in writing. READ READ READ the catalog and all necessary program information. READ the catalog and policies for the school you are transferring to. I know they are there to help and you would like to think they know their job well enough to give good advice, but the fact is they are humans and make mistakes. It is your life so you really need to take the initiative to find out all the information that is pertinent to your own situation.</p>
<p>as previously mentioned, take anything a counselor says with a grain of salt because (from experience) they don’t give good advice. it’s usually a one sided conversation where you basically talk to your self, and all they say is “yes” or “no” or “what do you think?” </p>
<p>in regards to you having reservations of continuing school due to your age age: one of my room mates at ucla is 26 and i see a couple of 30+ year olds in a two of my classes. it’s never too late to go back to school. you’ve made it this far, and you’re so close to finally transferring. quitting now will only make you feel worse once you realize all the work you put in these years was for nothing</p>
<p>I graduated from college when I was 22 but then was commissioned as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer and spent the next 24 years all over the globe. When I was eligible to retire with a full pension at age 45 I decided I wanted to be a doctor and applied to 20 medical schools and was accepted only at Hahnemann School of Medicine in Philadelphia (Now Drexel University School of Medicine). I had hoped to be a doctor by the end of the 20th century but due to a number of international crisis I was called back to active duty with the U.S. Department of State in the middle of my third year clinical rotations and had to take a leave of abscence for a year from medical shool.</p>
<p>I did not graduate from medical school and receive my MD until I was 50 years old and then had to start residency as an intern which is hard enough to do when you are 28 and working 36 hour shifts. I have had my own medical practice for over six years now and just turned 60 this month. my wife and I have one son majoring in Geology at Sacramento State University and another son who is a senior in high school who hopes to major in Physics at UC Davis. </p>
<p>I would love to be 24 again, in fact I would like to be 29 again. Even if I was 36 again I would still feel like I had my whole life in front of me. So Memyself and Grimes99, you may look around the campus and feel like you are old but you are still really very young and while I know you are disapointed now that it is taking you a couple of years longer than you had hoped to graduate from college you will find in time that it is only a brief delay in the grand scheme of things and will be worth it to attain your goals.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the replies, It helps. Well to answer one of the questions, my major is between Sociology and History, both of which, have all pre-major requirements completed.</p>
<p>SMCGuy, if I take stats in the spring, isn’t it just about the same as if I were to take Math 110 in the spring? Sorry, not following what you mean. I probably just can’t focus on your point at the moment. </p>
<p>I’m going to have to suck it up and just stay here for another 2 years. Maybe if I tell myself it’s only 3 semesters, it won’t sound as bad. lol</p>
<p>I live in North County by the way, so it’ll be a drive down there (UCSD), which is fine. I’m not done with school, but I have to be honest with you guys, I feel as if I run into one more bump/technicality I’m done. </p>
<p>I feel so embarrassed that I was raving about finally being just about done and transferring …to, well, not for another 2 years. Of course this happened to me, of course. </p>
<p>Thanks again everyone, I’ll try and stay positive though.</p>
<p>well maybe SMCguy thought you would have a fun time stats instead of calc. I mean you would have to take a method course, which is basically stats light anyways, so why not take the real one and when you are at UCSD, it is going to be a piece of cake.</p>
<p>but yeah, it is same as taking calc in spring.</p>
<p>Probably nero, not sure. Either way, I appreciate his input. </p>
<p>Lemaitre1, hadn’t caught your reply. Thanks, and when you put it all into perspective like that, it really does make me realize how young I still am. </p>
<p>Sure it still hurts that I missed out on College during my 20’s (sucks having to work at the same time, being a part time student) but as you say, it’s only a small part of your life, in the grand scheme of things. </p>
<p>Grimes, happy to hear that you’re moving on. It makes me genuinely happy when I see someone who has lived a similar fate, get the chance to move on from CC. Those 6 years you put in were an ultimate sacrifice. </p>
<p>By the way, outstanding forum members. So impressed.</p>
<p>@MeMyself: Stats and Math 110 both count toward fulfilling the IGETC math requirement, so you can choose either one. Supposedly, the psych stats class is the easiest (psych 163 I think or something, since I’m assuming you’re at Palomar.) And yes, you can take it in the spring or the fall. Just make sure you fulfill all math and English requirements by next fall at the latest. Everything else you can have done by spring, but those you need to do by fall (of 2011, for 2012 admission.) </p>
<p>What part of North County are you in? I’ve commuted to UCSD from San Marcos for a class and it’s not too bad.</p>
<p>Yea, I’m aware of the stats class. Hadn’t really thought about it (the easy math route) to be honest. Now that things have changed, I might make a switch. Not sure. </p>
<p>I’m located in Escondido. The commute isn’t ideal, but to attend UCSD, I’ll take it!</p>
<p>Just keep your head up and you’ll get through it.</p>
<p>I hit some road bumps this year and it sucked but I’m finally back on track. I had planned to go to UCSD this fall with my friends but for various reasons it wasn’t the right decision and I ended up staying home for this year. I had planned for 3 years to transfer this Fall but it just ended up not working out the way I needed it to and it really sucked. So yeah, things may not always work out as you planned but if you keep your head up and don’t let a set back get you down you should still be able to get to where you need to be in the end.</p>
<p>I completely sympathize with you. I am 30 and I will start at a UC when I am 31.</p>
<p>I had to do 3 years at CC. I didn’t want to, but I failed out of high school 10 years prior to retuning to school. Lucky for me, I tested into Honors English 101, but had to do some lower Math. I struggled and took a ton of classes, sometimes 18 units, trying to get my transfers in by the deadline for Fall 2010. I looked at the paper and realized I just couldn’t do it. I COULD but it would have been rushed, plus I still wasn’t sure of myself or felt I was ready for the UC yet. I swallowed my discontent and watched other classmates, who some were 10 years younger than me, apply and leave CC.</p>
<p>But I am so glad I stayed. It sucks being older and just wanting to get on with life, but I am so much more prepared for the UC now.I am sure and confident of my major and I have networked with so many incredible people in my potential field. I discovered more interests I did not know I had and my writing skills have improved immensely.</p>
<p>What I am trying to say is, this might be a blessing in disguise. Learn to read the catalog, learn to read your IGETC or whatever you need, learn to be your own counselor. Take classes you need and classes that interest you. Taking the pressure off to transfer as fast as you can will open up doors for you to develop as an even stronger student when you get to UCSD.</p>
<p>The way I see it is, I’d rather spend 3-4 years at CC where it is cheap and get prepared, and then just knock out the last 2 years on time at a UC where it is more expensive and you can just focus on your major and not worry about gen ed.
I go to SD City and Mesa, do you go to a North County CC?</p>
<p>Berkeley, looks like we’ll be starting UC at the same exact time. I’m 29, but I’ll be 30 next September, then as school starts and my enrollment begins for fall 2012, I turn 31. </p>
<p>It’s really the age that bums me out more then anything. I wish I would have come back earlier, or finished faster. </p>
<p>I’m currently enrolled at Palomar College fyi.</p>