Had One Semester at SFSU, Now at CC, UCLA/UCSD unit cap?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Hi there,</p>

<p>Straight out of high school in '08, I had one semester at San Francisco State. I transferred to De Anza Community College, then to Mission Community College where I had nothing but course withdrawals, and now I am back at De Anza. My primary goal is to transfer to UCLA or UCSD as a Mechanical Engineering major.</p>

<p>I have heard that you can have an unlimited amount of CC units when transferring to a UC. I am concerned because I have one semester at SFSU, a 4-year university, and therefore setting the unit cap at 90 quarter units for UCLA and 105 quarter units for UCSD. Mechanical Engineering is a high-unit major and I'm afraid I'm going to exceed the caps at both my preferred schools. Am I doomed?</p>

<p>The situation at hand: </p>

<p>I've almost met all the minimum UC eligibiltity requirements:</p>

<p>English 1A and 1B done!
1 Arts & Humanities course done!
1 Social & Behavioral Sciences course done!</p>

<p>In Progress:</p>

<p>About to take Intermediate Algebra this Summer.
About to work on Chemistry and Physics this Fall so I can have my 4 courses from two different areas.</p>

<p>One last question: As mentioned, I am about to begin Chemistry and Physics soon. At De Anza, it's laid out like this:</p>

<p>Chemistry 10: Introductory Chem for Non-Science Major
Chemistry 50: Preparatory Chem for General Chemistry</p>

<p>Physics 10: Introductory Physics (Intermediate Algebra required)
Physics 50: Preparatory Physics (Pre-Calculus and Physics 10 advised)</p>

<p>Yes, I can do without Chem 10. I need to get into General Chem. But should I start with Physics 10? It IS UC-transferable and that is what I'm worried about. I've got that unit cap, remember? Physics 10 is ADVISED for Physics 50. Can I just jump right into Physics 50 once I finish Pre-Cal? I have got to be efficient as possible.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for reading and I apologize if this is a cumbersome post. I never thought I would sign up for College Confidential but I'm just really worried about this, so any help or input is very, very much appreciated.</p>

<p>--Dorothy</p>

2

<p>Not sure, but I went to Sf State for 2 years (4 semesters) and 52 units, then to a CC for 30 units (make sure you take critical thinking at your CC) and TAG’d to UCSD.</p>

3

<p>If your major is going to be Mechanical Engineering you are nowhere near transfering and I realize that if Intermediate Algebra is what you tested into you have no choice but to start there but I do not understand why you are taking Chemistry and Physics courses for non-majors. Those courses will not fulfill your major requirements.</p>

<p>You need to focus on getting your Math skills up as fast as possible because before you can transfer as an Engineering major you need to take Calculus I, Calculus II and Calculus III followed by a course in Linear Algebra and another course in Differential Equations. For Physics, you need to take three semesters of Calculus based Physics and have to complete Calculus I before you can take the first Physics class. You also need to take two semesters of Chemistry for Chemistry majors.</p>

4

<ol>
<li><p>You need to figure out how many UC transferable units you actually have from your 4yr. This number is what will determine if you are over the unit cap since you have MUCH more than 70 units to go at your CC. Additionally, I’m curious about what your current GPA is.</p></li>
<li><p>With all due respect, I would highly suggest looking into choosing a more realistic major. You don’t have any background in this area at all. If you are interested in this pathway, continue taking math and science courses and see what you are interested in later down the road (give or take about 2 years of community college work).</p></li>
<li><p>I would also highly suggest setting your sites on some easier UCs and not 2 of the top 3.</p></li>
</ol>

5

<p>Don’t worry about the unit cap. Unless you completed 60 semester units/90 quarter units at SFSU, you should be good. All the units you complete at the CCC will not matter. </p>

<p>…hope that makes sense. I had a friend who went to a private four year after high school, transferred to our nearby CCC and now is at UCLA. She completed only 24 semester units at the four year but completed over 50ish at the CCC.</p>

6

<p>Actually Rhee, it does depend on how many units the OP has at their 4 year because they will probably be needing much more than than 50 CC units to complete the prerequisites for their major ESPECIALLY if they plan on taking the intro classes.</p>

<p><strong><em>Who wants to C&P the transfer credit cap guidelines this time???</em></strong> I call not it.</p>

7

<p>^
In that regard it does count and the units that they have completed is important, but I meant it as if they had to be stressed out about being over the limit…which is not the case.</p>

8

<p>Below are the policies for UCLA and UCSD. The source document is at <a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/counselors/files/ETS10_TransferQA_final.pdf[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/counselors/files/ETS10_TransferQA_final.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>UCLA: With the exception of the School of Nursing (post-licensure), UCLA generally considers a student who has accumulated more than 86 transferable semester units (129 transferable quarter units) at a university to have exceeded maximum units allowable for admission. Such a student will not be admitted. For the College of Letters and Science, a student who completed 86 or fewer UC-transferable semester units (129 or fewer transferable quarter units) at a university then transferred to, and remained exclusively at, a community college does not exceed the maximum units allowable for admission purposes.</p>

<p>UCSD: UC San Diego considers a student with more than 90 transferable semester units (135 quarter units) from the combination of a two-year and a four-year institution to be in senior standing. UCSD sets a 90-semester-unit limit when a student has attended both a two-year and a four-year institution. UCSD will transfer a maximum of 70 UC transferable semester units from a community college.</p>

9

<p>You might want to call the Admissions Office at UCLA to check if the unit cap applies to Engineering transfers, as it will be impossible for you not to go over the 86 units. By the way, I started in intermediate algebra, as well. Here’s what you need to do, and it’s a long road:</p>

<p>Finish Intermediate Algebra this summer</p>

<p>In the fall, take:</p>

<p>Intro to Chemistry
Trigonometry
An engineering-transferrable Computer Science class (check prerequisites)</p>

<p>In the winter, take:</p>

<p>General Chemistry 1
Precalculus
Engineering Graphics / Design</p>

<p>In the spring, take:</p>

<p>Calculus 1
General Chemistry 2</p>

<p>Next summer, take:</p>

<p>Calculus 2</p>

<p>Next fall, take:</p>

<p>Calculus 3
General Physics 4A
(Statics, Circuits, or Materials, whichever is offered)
<em>Apply to UC/CSU during this quarter</em></p>

<p>Next winter, take:</p>

<p>Calculus 4
General Physics 4B
(Statics, Circuits, or Materials, whichever is offered)</p>

<p>Next spring, take:</p>

<p>Differential Equations
General Physics 4C
(Statics, Circuits, or Materials, whichever is offered)</p>

<p>Next summer, take:</p>

<p>Linear Algebra</p>

<p>After that, transfer.</p>

10

<p>I don’t think Physics 10 is necessary for 50. Just self study some concepts from Physics 10 if you can if you’re worried about it. Contact UCLA and UCSD about this. If you find out that the limit applies to you , theres always UC Irvine, which has no limit.</p>

11

<p>You should be aware that while Hesdjjim has done a good job of enumerating the classes you will need to take, his time frame for completing them is extremely optimistic. The CCCs have drastically cut back on the number and sections of courses they offer while the demand for courses such as Chemistry, Math and Physics has never been higher. Our local CCC did not even offer Calculus 2 this summer, just one section of Calculus 1 which was filled almost immediately by people with priority registration such as athletes. It will be all but impossible to get the classes you want when you want them. At our local CCC, you have to have been continuously enrolled for at least two years before you will have a registration priority date that would give you any hope of getting into General Chemistry I.</p>