@Bectell530 Also remember that you aren’t limited to just DVC in terms of classes. I’ve been concurrently going to City College of San Francisco and Napa Valley College as it affords me a wider variety of classes in terms of options, as well as scheduling and classes I can take online. Next year, I’ll be going to both of those as well as Solano. CCSF also doesn’t hurt considering their BAH was $3300 (based off school’s zip code, not where you live), but that was just an added perk.
You’d need to register obviously for the other schools, but it can be worthwhile for some of the easier classes, especially if you don’t mind the online environment. Again, just food for thought.
@lindyk8 It would be awesome if we both got in! Us alone would be ~2.5% of the entire transfer class, so it’s hard to be optimistic …. but I’m doing my best 
That’s a lot of driving @briank82 ! :-&
Napa Valley College doesn’t offer a 2-course business calculus sequence, and I still need a year of language. Will be doing math at Solano in the mornings and AMSL at CCSF in the evenings next fall and spring. Doing 19 units this semester, 12 in summer … and should slow down a little bit after fall, which I’m looking forward to 
A lot of my “commuting” is done via the inter web though, with online classes
Still, I’m stupidly busy. Can’t wait for this to be over!
Unless there are classes you are missing I don’t suggest wasting your gi bill on cc. It’s up to you what to do in the interim of applying again, I do suggest as others have said applying to cal states as well. Looking into private universities is also another option, just ensure it is a yellow ribbon school.
@briank82 How do they calculate your BAH if you’re attending multiple schools? I know the BAH for attending DVC is $2,769 and I’ve found places to rent in the $1,500 range. I’m more than willing to commute for that. Lol
Although you definitely have me thinking about graduate school as far as the GI Bill is concerned.
BAH is determined by the school that you take the most credits at since it is determined according to your full time/part time status.
@QueSeraSera04 @Bectell530 BAH is based off the zip code of your parent school, and you need to take at least one credit on campus at your parent school. You choose what school is your parent school.
I take 4 units (2 classes) in San Francisco at CCSF. One is a 1 unit lab on campus and the other is a 3 unit online class. The other 15 units I’m taking at Napa Valley College.
I commute one day a week for a simple 1 unit lab class. The other 3 units at CCSF online, and the remaining 15 units I do through Napa Valley College (9 on campus, the rest online).
The BAH of CCSF certainly was a factor in my decision of starting to go there ($3840 vs $1797), but the biggest reason was the breadth of options I have available to me at CCSF, and even more so, with being enrolled in all two. Next fall and spring, I’ll be enrolled in three.
I’m no expert here, but it sounds like the OP applied as an OOS candidate. Hopefully someone out there knows the answer, but is it possible for the OP to have applied as a CA resident? He graduated from a CA HS, then was stationed somewhere else in the military. Isn’t it possible for a veteran in such a case to apply to the UCs as a CA resident? I don’t know, but if it is then there may be additional grounds for an appeal.
As a side note, I would urge the OP to cast a wider net next time. The UCs carry a lot of prestige, but there are also very good EE programs at CSU schools such as Chico, Cal Poly SLO, etc.
@mikemac I couldn’t seem to find it (but I also didn’t search TOO hard … a lot going on), but I’m fairly certain a military member can move anywhere immediately following getting out of the military and pick up residency just about anywhere.
If I’m mistaken on that, they can at least move back to their home of record and maintain or pick up residency immediately.
To the best of my knowledge, he shouldn’t have been considered OOS.
@mikemac @briank82 No, I don’t believe I was considered an OOS applicant when I applied. I applied from Utah but from speaking with a few admissions officers I was still considered in state due to my military service and having graduated HS in CA. I did talk to one admissions officer that explained why I may not have been selected to transfer.
Essentially, the way it was explained to me was that CCC are given priority when applying as transfer students to a UC. Then UC to UC transfer students are next in line followed by OOS junior college transfers, and then finally OOS 4-year college students. I was in that 4th category having taken classes at a local Utah University. Each admissions officer I spoke with said my application was competitive (although I doubt they ever tell any student their application sucks) and to reapply again.
I did apply to Cal Poly SLO, but again I was not offered admission. I will certainly apply to a few more schools the next go around.
Although one counselor did have a strong argument to continue my education at the University of Utah and apply to my top choices at a graduate level. Unfortunately, I’m the kind of person who really digs in deep when I put my mind to something, so we’ll see. Haha.
I didn’t realize that was an option. If you can graduate 2 years from now then I would seriously explore this path. While it would be nice to come back home to CA, its even nicer to start working in your career field. You can go back and forth about whether the recruiting is as strong at Utah as it would be at Cal or another UC (probably not). But that doesn’t mean employers don’t interview on campus; call the Career Center and find out who visited this past academic year. One extra year in college means about $60K or more in lost income. Maybe even more than that if you end up in a software-related field with your degree instead of hardware.
@mikemac I suppose I should clarify. I would still have to apply to the University of Utah. I would essentially be in the same boat as I am now with the UCs and CSUs, the only difference being that courses I’ve taken at my college might transfer a little more seamlessly due to articulation agreements between campuses. Not to mention the move would be a little easier seeing as I only live about 45 min from that campus.
But I’ll be honest. I’m not looking for the easy way here. I’ve had my mind set on UCB for a long time. The only thing the counselors really couldn’t give me a good answer on was whether it would be worth my while to attend a CCC and attempt to transfer again. I’m not sure if I only need 30 credits from a CCC to be considered a community college transfer or a continuous year in the system prior to applying. They made it sound like I needed both which would set me back farther than I’m willing to go. As it stands, I have 14 credits completed at a CCC prior to joining the military, so if all I need is 16 more that’s doable in one semester.
And there’s no easy way to UCB.
A year in a CCC will be incredibly beneficial for getting that GPA higher and finding ways to be involved on campus, in the community, an internship, etc.
The veteran thing helps in a million different ways, so find ways to use that as much as possible.
The struggle is real and I totally understand it haha.
@briank82 Hey where do you recommend looking for internship opportunities? Up until this point, being active duty and all, it’s really been a back burner issue for me but now that I’m separating I really want to take full advantage of it.
I am not affiliated with UC, let me make that clear, but I’ve always understood that the rules regarding units (need to have 60 units to be a transfer student, who is a CCC student, etc.) all are based on the units you have at the end of your time at a CC, not what you need in order to submit an app in November for the following Fall. The exception is TAG which clearly says there are qualifications to even submit a TAG app. So to my reading you would qualify as a CCC transfer as long as you complete 16 more units at a CCC before entering UC in Fall 2016. I’m a bit surprised the counselors didn’t tell you this, or maybe there’s some catch I’m not aware of.
Because you applied to UC I figured you had junior standing, which also means you would have been eligible to apply to the University of Utah for entry this Fall. Its technically not too late; according to http://admissions.utah.edu/apply/undergraduate/transfer/ the deadline was April 1st (just 3 weeks ago) and if you pay a $30 late fee you could still apply. Of course you’d have to check if there was any point in applying; maybe they’ve given out all their EE xfer spaces already and even if you apply there is no chance of being admitted.
It sounds like going to Cal means an awful lot to you, and nobody has the standing to tell you not to try for it. The choice is entirely up to the person, it is their life, but I hope it is a decision made as the best choice once the alternatives are known.
@Bectell530 I honestly have no clue about engineering internships. I’d first start by finding engineering firms that have any sort of veteran connection … was the owner a veteran? Have they publicized that they hire veterans? Etc. Reach out to places like that and say you’re interested in an internship.
There are so many angles that your veteran status will come into play but a lot of times you’ll have to be creative with it. In short though, many people love having veterans on or around their team for a multitude of reasons … and you just gotta find the connection.
I’m a business major so unfortunately I can’t be too much help in the world of engineering, but just try and get creative with it.
Best thing to do is work and go to school part time.
There are lots of resources out there. Email or call an acquaintance of mine named Russell here: veteranstransitionsupport org
Based in SoCal but he will help you work up a plan and get your resume done via email and phone calls. He’s a really great guy.
So I’ve been calling the admissions offices for several UCs and I’m now convinced that mistakes were made on my applications when they reviewed it.
I called UCSD and the main reason I wasn’t admitted was due to a missing C++ course (which I took). I told the adviser on the phone that I had taken it, but she was adamant the mistake wasn’t on their part as she’s telling me I still need a C++ course. The course description doesn’t explicitly say C++ but that’s all that it was, which is where I believe the confusion is coming from. I told her this but I still apparently can’t appeal this.
Calling UCLA, a similar mistake was made. They misinterpreted my physics courses as missing the labs based on the course description, but I called them and e-mailed the course descriptions as well as the syllabus showing that I did in fact take the labs. I will be appealing that, however, I’m sure that it’s easier to be admitted as a traditional transfer than to have the campus overturn a decision after the fact.
UCB wouldn’t review my application so no help there.
I’m not sure attending a CCC at this point would be beneficial if they are going to misinterpret my coursework from Utah wrong whenever I go to apply in the future.
Man. That sucks.
Have you spoken with someone in the Veterans dept for the school(s)? Maybe they can be an ally and get something to happen from the inside, rather than you being an outsider trying to plead your case like thousands of others?
That’s lame if it just comes down to things not being evaluated correctly.
Going through the veterans dept might not help, but could depending on how willing to help their team is (which can vary greatly from school to school).
I spoke with the UCLA veterans department. The lady I spoke with, who had a ton of good information seeing as how she was a transfer student and a vet, didn’t think they could do anything as far as the academic portion was concerned. She was going to look into it further though. At this point, I’m contacting every person who could have touched my application because it definitely sounds like courses I completed were not evaluated properly.