<p>I currently attend a California Community College called Cuesta Community College. It is in central California. This is my first semester here, but it seems like for the last few years they have been fighting just to remain accredited. The way I see It is that getting good grades here is extremely easy, and I can learn as little or as much as my heart desires, it is really just hat I make of it. We still send many people to UCSB and a few other UC and tons of CSU's. I am shooting for UCB though and I have not heard personally if anyone here has actually gone (I could be wrong about this). I will have to be at a community college for 3 years so I am thinking of transferring to DVC or Santa Rosa Junior college to complete the rest of my Major requirements and GE. Is that a good idea or does it really matter which CCC I go to. We do have all the classes except one for the UCB major I want (all CCC lack this class and must be taken at UCB). So will it be better to stay here, save money, and focus on a 3.9+ GPA or move and go to a different community college where it may be much harder to maintain that sort of GPA (Again, it may be just as easy there)</p>
<p>You can see where transfers from your CC have gone, what CCs send the most kids to a given UC, and more at [California</a> Postsecondary Education Commission – Transfer Pathways](<a href=“http://www.cpec.ca.gov/OnLineData/TransferPathway.asp]California”>http://www.cpec.ca.gov/OnLineData/TransferPathway.asp)</p>
<p>Does it matter which CC? Its impossible to give a definitive answer true for all students in all circumstances at all CCs. </p>
<p>Generally if your school sends many kids to a given campus the odds are good the counselors at your school know and work with their counterparts at the other and understand what they look for a bit better. If they aren’t sending a bunch of kids to <em>any</em> UC then their guidance may be more appropriate for students with different goals.</p>
<p>Another factor is who you associate with. Peer effects are big. At some CCs the kids are gunning for UCs and its easy to find like-minded friends to study with and just hang with. If everyone you know scoffs and doing homework or trying to learn the material it is harder to fight the tide. There are a bunch of CCs that send 600+ kids per year to the UC system; there are also a bunch that send 50 or less. I know which one I’d like to attend. Cuesta, by the way, sends around 60-70 per year.</p>
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A few more comments. </p>
<p>You need to decide which is better for YOU. On finances, if you don’t “save money” does it just mean working a few more hours, asking your folks for some help, or going deeply into debt? And which are you willing to do?</p>
<p>As for GPA, there are several approaches to thinking about college. One is the “stamp your ticket” line of thought in which the classes don’t really matter, its just that piece of paper. In line with this thinking, easier is always better. Another approach is to expect to learn the material. The standards at a CC are not unreasonably high; we’re not talking about taking Feynman’s Freshman Physics class at Caltech (in case you don’t know the story, he compiled his notes into a text for the class, those notes are still used to this day as a resource by Physics PhD students). There is nothing they teach you that you can’t learn if you are willing to do the work, and if you learn it then the GPA takes care of itself. </p>
<p>So advice here can’t be universal; it goes back to that old maxim “know thyself”.</p>
<p>One thing worth pointing out is that for all the hours kids spend in grades 1-12, probably just about none were spent explaining actually HOW to study effectively. There are books about study skills; one I recommend is “What Smart Students Know”. There are also a bunch of links on the web, if you are interested. Here are 4 to get you started: </p>
<p>[Why</a> Students Think They Understand—When They Don’t](<a href=“http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/winter0304/willingham.cfm]Why”>Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Why Students Think They Understand—When They Don't) </p>
<p>[Practice</a> Makes Perfect—but Only If You Practice Beyond the Point of Perfection](<a href=“http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/spring2004/willingham.cfm]Practice”>Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Practice Makes Perfect—But Only If You Practice beyond the Point of Perfection)</p>
<p>[How</a> to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/11/14/how-to-ace-calculus-the-art-of-doing-well-in-technical-courses/]How”>How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses - Cal Newport)</p>
<p>[On</a> Becoming a Math Whiz: My Advice to a New MIT Student](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2011/04/28/on-becoming-a-math-whiz-my-advice-to-a-new-mit-student/]On”>On Becoming a Math Whiz: My Advice to a New MIT Student - Cal Newport)</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your advice, I will definitely take a look into the wed links and I just ordered the book because it did look very informative. As for how much it will hurt me financially, well I am currently 17 (18 in a month) and I pay for school all on my own. My parents help me in no way other than let me live at the house, I feed my self. Moving to one of these other places will mean I won’t be able to save pell grant and will probably have to work during school to make ends meet. What I am scared of is having the fact I am at cuesta college hurt me. There seems to be no one here motivated and everyone just likes to party. I would love to go to a school where people are motivated and have similar goals as my self. Now if I choose to move away, I have the choice between DVC which send the most students to Berkeley and just seem to have an amazing program, or Santa rosa Junior college, where I can split rent with my best friend who attends Sonoma State University up there in the same area. I can definitely see that cuesta is hurting me more than anything and I will not be able to stay motivated for the 3 years I need to be here. Now I just hope there is no problems with me having my first year here at cuesta college with transferring pre req courses to either of those 2 other CCC’s. Anyways, I appreciate it very much, thank you!</p>
<p>Both the schools you mentioned send hundreds of kids to the UC system each year. More from Diablo, but you can’t go wrong at either. I suggest visiting both if you haven’t already to walk around and make sure they are a fit.</p>
<p>Also since it is only November why can’t you start at one of those schools next semester?</p>
<p>One other thing; I’m by no means a FA expert but if you are saving your Pell grant this year then you will have assets you need to report next year, which may affect your FA award. You might want to check on the Financial Aid forum to be sure you understand the possible implications and your options.</p>
<p>Cuesta College is probably well matched course-wise for transferring to nearby Cal Poly SLO. Generally, CCs are most likely to copy courses at nearby UCs and CSUs than more distant ones. This might be especially relevant for rare courses, like Berkeley CS courses (hard to find, but Laney has CS 61A and Diablo Valley has CS 61C; both have CS 61B).</p>
<p>Use [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) to see which CCs have the courses that best cover the prerequisites for the campus and major that you are targeting.</p>
<p>From one of your other posts, it looks like you want to major in physics.</p>
<p>Oddly, Cuesta does not have a course equivalent to Berkeley Physics 7C. But that is the only missing course for transfer to Berkeley as a physics major.</p>
<p>You could stay at home for three semesters to save money, then do the last semester at a CC that has a course equivalent to Berkeley Physics 7C, such as Diablo Valley.</p>
<p>The only wrinkle is to check that the CC courses cover the topics in the same order as the Berkeley courses; in some CCs, you need to take the whole sequence at the same CC because the topics are covered in a different order.</p>
<p>For financial aid, check the net price calculator on the UC and CSU web sites. If your parents are genuinely low income, then you should get good financial aid UCs and the CSU that you can commute to from your parents’ (Cal Poly SLO). But if they are high income but are not able or willing to contribute to your education, you may have to delay until you are 24, married, veteran of the military, or otherwise financially independent for college financial aid purposes.</p>