Has anyone done a CSU to UC transfer?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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Current freshman at SDSU. I have 30 credits already (UC transferable), and I’m trying to transfer to a UC as a computer engineering major. Just wondering, has anyone had any experience with doing so? I’m a bit new to this, i tried out assist and found some of my classes are transferable. The main issue is that (obviously transfer from a CSU) as well as I won’t be able to submit grades since I’m on the semester system. Has anyone ever done this? What advice would you give? (Note: I am aware of gojng to a CC and the benefits of going there. However, I just want to see the options without it)

Thank you in advance

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Edited my original statement. 1 year UC transfers are tough and most successful transfers come from a community college with summer course work completed prior to applying.

This information is not from personal experience but was posted by a successful CSU to UC Transfer a few years ago.

Tips for CSU to UC transfers:

  1. Get informed and and make a plan.

Use assist and college confidential to get informed and go out to look for any answers you might have. From ASSIST you will get all the information you need for the prerequisites you need for your major. Look up the major prereqs for every school you are interested in transferring to. When you know all the information for which classes to take, make a plan. Plan out which classes you need to take each semester before you transfer and how you will reach those mandatory 60 semester units needed to transfer to a UC. This is probably the most important part of transferring. The faster you have a plan the faster you get to transfer and you will have a easier and clearer path. And look through all the threads on the website and get a sense of what you need to do and what it takes to get a UC.

  1. Don’t lose sight of the goal!

I know how hard it has been for me to keep my grades up and take enough classes to stay on track. So when you are striving to get As in those classes and you want to give up, don’t lose sight for what you are doing this for. CSU students probably have to do the most to transfer because the odds are against us. If you are not willing to put in the work and you do not have the heart then trying to transfer is not for you especially if you are a CSU student. If you do put it in the work, trust me it will be worth it.

  1. Applications have to be perfect.

When you are finally applying to those UCs, make sure they are perfect when you submit them. Call all the schools you are applying, talk to some counselors, going to workshops if you can… do everything to make sure they are perfect. And for your personal insight questions, start early and and get some expert advice on them. Every CSU has a writing center to my knowledge, go to them with your essays and have them go over it for you and they’ll help you. Talk to counselors because they know what schools are looking for in a good essay and what an applicant should write.

  1. Plan for the worst.

The truth is that CSU students have last priority for transferring to UCs right after 1st) CC and 2nd)UC students. Some of us will not get into the schools we want or might not get into any that we apply to and that is the sad truth. So make a plan for every outcome that is possible. You might go to a UC that you did not expect or you might have to stay where you are now.

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@Gumbymom i think this is a current freshman, and it sounds like he wants to transfer for the 2023-2024 year. I hope he clarifies this. If that is the case, he will not have all of his grades for freshman year…because he currently is IN his freshman year.

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If OP is a Freshman and planning to do a 1 Year transfer to a UC, then it will be more difficult from a CSU than from a CC due to priority. Usually 1 year UC transfers have a significant AP credit along with attending a CC during the summer so they can report some grades on their UC application.

@ClairGreen what is your reason for transferring since school has only been in session for a month?

Intended major is also important since major prep for some majors such as STEM have a very campus specific requirements and may not accept all AP/IB credit towards the major for transfer.

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@ClairGreen

Please clarify. Are you planning to transfer after your freshman year at a CSU? Or did I misunderstand that?

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Yes, he/she says they already have 30 units of transferable UC credit so they’ll be able to meet the 60 unit requirement in one more year at SDSU.

However I think it will be unlikely to transfer in one year to a computer engineering major due to the minimum preparation. The OP can look at the various UCs to see these. At UCLA for example they are found at https://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/hsseas-transfer-requirements/ and it’s going to be challenging to finish them with AP credit and one year at CSU. They go on to say

Applicants should complete all the required preparatory courses. Missing even one major prep course will likely result in a denial if the applicant pool is competitive.

Well, it’s always competitive these days.

The next issue for the OP is the UCs will only have one college semester of grades since they’ll get the spring update. That compares to three semesters for those that xfer after two years at college.

From the OP’s posting history it looks like they were waitlisted at UCSD and perhaps still hope to attend as a xfer. I suggest calling the UCSD Engineering department since they are local and seeing if they can make an appointment to meet with a counselor or the undergrad dean to discuss their situation in person or on Zoom to see if it is possible to xfer and make sure they are taking the classes UCSD would want to see. I know someone years back who wanted to xfer from a CSU to UC and did this, bringing in the CSU catalog (these days it would be online).

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There is a guaranteed transfer program for UCSD called University Link through the local CC’s but for low income students. Here is the information link but not sure if this applies for your situation:
https://admissions.ucsd.edu/transfer/universitylink.html

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I’ve been thinking about this a bit more and since this is an advice forum, here’s my advice – don’t do it.

First off, if you are able to transfer in one year then since engineering is a pretty structured major you’ll start right away on some or all of the junior level courses listed at B.S. Computer Engineering | Computer Science . You’ll be competing for grades with kids who’ve spent two years taking some of the hardest classes for undergrads, you will have spent one. That extra year of practice means something.

I say “some” junior level courses because if there are sophomore level courses (I’m looking at the CSE and ECE classes in the link above) that you haven’t taken, you’ll have to take them which displaces junior classes. And because engineering programs are structured a dependency thread may run thru a 2nd year class which is required to take a 3rd year class which in turn are required for a 4th year class.

Third, UC prestige will make little difference in your future. Maybe for some majors, but engineering employers view colleges as pretty similar. They know the kids at any ABET approved engineering program are studying similar things. They’ll care about your grades in engineering and what internships you’ve had, but UCSD and SDSU kids are competing for the same jobs.

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I absolutely agree with @mikemac.

Additionally, the grass is not always greener especially For a school like UCSD.

I have former students that attended UCSD.
I also have a neighbor who is an admissions committee member.

My DH was an undergrad in EE and computer engineering. (He had attended a highly competitive high school.) This was, of course, years and years ago but a number of his credits in AP were not acceptable at UCSD for the major because they are “thread dependent”.

Those courses have to be taken in a linear direction, and no amount of credits, taken in high school, in “engineering” can substitute nor suffice for the actual courses/experience with the professors, grad assistants, and labs. Those engineering labs have to be completed on site. My former students report that it has become extremely competitive, both at UCSD and SDSU, to get into those majors and get those courses completed. The quarter system is very intense for students who aren’t accustomed to a quarter system, so there’s that.

Housing, at UCSD, is an issue, as it is at all the UC’s, but UCSD is constantly building and upgrading their dorms however the timelines may not coincide with the OPs timeline. It is a lot more expensive to find rentals near UCSD (La Jolla) than it is to go inland to San Diego State. Still expensive, because it is San Diego, but not as expensive as some of the most expensive real estate on the coast.

And on another note, my DH, who also graduated from Stanford, interviews candidates from all of these public and private universities in California.

He prefers to hire CSU grads because they appear to have better “hands-on” experiences and “they don’t need to be told twice” how to successfully design their product. They can run projects independently, and in teams/teamwork, based on their internship experiences.

It is helpful to know the theory behind some of the concepts, but these corporations are on contractual timelines, putting out products, and they want people who they know are reliable and can/will produce their products.
Edited to add: My DH has really tough questions for prospective candidates. One of the questions is a make or break: “Teach me something, from something you learned in your courses that you liked“. If a person BSs through the question, then he knows that the person isn’t quite ready for his company. He is fair to them and says “just something simple, like a term or something”.

The reason for this question is because when they’re meeting with their customers, the clients may need things to be “explained” in a simplified manner. My DH explains the reason for the question. He has gotten some really positive feedback for the way that he interviews, from the candidates themselves.