Enlisted in the US Air Force. I want to get into a UC Engineering program when I'm out. Need advice!

 So as the title says, I'm a US Airman and I want to become an engineer. I don't feel like I want to re-enlist or use a commissioning program. I am a year into a 4 year enlistment. I plan on serving my full enlistment so that I can get full active duty GI bill at 3 years.

 I'm a 22 yo male. After I graduated high school I decided I wanted to be a mechanical engineer. To save money my plan was to attend a CC(Riverside) and transfer. During my first two years of college my father died without life insurance, my grandfather killed himself, and my girlfriend of 3 years dumped me on my birthday. In between working two jobs and feeling almost suicidal I was in no position to do well, and my transcript reflects this. I have two W's from the semester my dad died, and I have a UC transfer GPA of 2.8 and 40 credits complete. I have taken math classes up to Calc B (integral calc) but I still need to take a math based physics and chemistry course. Is there any schools I can go to with Tuition Assistance where I can earn those credits and have it transfer? I don't see any way a UC would accept courses from online schools like AMU. I'm currently stationed at Hill AFB, Utah.

  I joined the military because I was miserable and wanted a way out. The Air Force has provided a way to get out of my living situation, get tuition money and support myself. I don't hate it, but I scored a 99 ASVAB and they have me doing a really easy brain-dead job. I want to do more. I don't want to be content. I've never been more motivated in my life. UC Berkeley is my dream school, but I know at this point it's unlikely. I just want some advice so I can form a game plan. Thank you, any help is appreciated! 

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major can give you an idea of what GPA ranges you need to bring your GPA up to for transfer admission to mechanical engineering at various UC campuses.

Another option is to continue at a California community college (where transfer credit is predetermined at http://www.assist.org ) after completing your service and then transfer. Course work taken at other schools will need to be evaluated individually, so you may not know if you get subject credit until after you make the enrollment decision.

Thank you, I figured I might just have to go back to RCC when I’m done. I was hoping to avoid that because it might be difficult to support myself and not waste my post 9-11 and I don’t want to be too old.

I guess I can use TA if I decide to stay in the reserves, and graduating at 30 isn’t much different than graduating at 28… I’m still going to see if there is ways I can earn credits now, but that’s definitely my fall back.

First of all, thank you for your service. You may not be happy about your current position, but I know that I appreciate your time in the defense of this country.

So, lets get to the point. You might be okay with that GPA for transfer. It might not be at Berkeley, but it could be UCR. It doesn’t matter because a UC degree is a degree that will make you employable.

Contact the Veteran Affairs office at the schools you would like to attend. Start with UCR. Send an email with your stats. The VA office is there to help students like you. Good Luck! Let us know how it goes.

Can’t you take classes on base or at Weber State? When I was in the Air Force in California I was able to take classes on base, at the nearby community college, and correspondence classes . (One thing that was frustrating was that I often had to drop classes because my work schedule would get changed halfway through the class.) All the classes transferred to the college I returned to when I left the military.

Weber has a bit of a shoddy reputation, it is regionally accredited though. I’ll look to see if their satellite provides engineering courses. The on base classes are for majors like business management

Thank you aunt bar, I’ll send an email.

I have to say, I’m not impressed with the schools I’m seeing at the Hill AFB education center. University of Phoenix, Ashford University, and DeVry? Who in the Pentagon got paid off to allow them onto Air Force bases?

When I was in the Air Force. we had classes on base offered by the University of Southern California, U of Maryland, Chapman, Chico State and the local community college. In other words, real universities.

Yeah… I thought the same thing. Hey, I really appreciate you actually trying to give good advice about my area. Thank you.

Thank you for your service USAF123. My son who just separated after 8 years was able to earn about 6 semesters of classes under his belt while enlisted. He originally went in EOD and then became an IT specialist working in Cybersecurity. He spent his last three years in DC. He is a physical guy and really hated that they placed him at a desk for 3 years but…he was heavily recruited by several area companies (Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, etc) and has secured a Systems Engineering position in the low 6 figures. His original intention was a degree in Business IT but he will now switch over to an engineering degree which his new company will pay for. Keep the faith !