<p>My HS is ridiculously competitive.
Freshman/Sophmore: 4.0
Junior Year: 3.0 GPA *Unweighted. I took a lot of hard classes/APs, specifically the most infamous math class at our school, and ended up getting a D first semester. Also, too much crap happened.</p>
<p>I have so many questions:
-Should I go to CC? (BUT If I do, my parents will KILL ME)
-Should I go to an okay-school where I could transfer easily? (Any reccomendations)
-Is it possible to transfer after one year at a college if I have a flawless senior andcollege freshman year?
-I really want to go to a school with a good accounting/business program (USC, Columbia, UPenn, UCBerkeley - lots of legacy, maybe Stanford). What do I have to do to get there???</p>
<p>well, what is your weighted gpa, getting a 3.0 in an AP meant getting a 5.0 at my hs
its still way too early to worry about transferring, trust me!!!
enjoy your senior year and be very active and find your niche, i cant stress this enough</p>
<p>A 3.0 is a drop, but it corresponds with a major increase in coursework complexity. So generally, I'd not be massively alarmed by it. Instead, for something like the D in math, you might want to request that your GC explain that it is a notoriously tough course that few students do well in. I would worry about having a strong senior year, and casting a wide net. Keep in mind that most schools have holistic admissions, and will thus look at things other than your GPA, which is still probably fine in cumulative terms. </p>
<p>Based on your new GPA and test scores, choose a safety or two, a few matches, and maybe a few reaches. Understand what each of those terms mean, and make sure the schools you pick are places you'd actually be happy at. That way, you need not worry about transferring. To even consider transferring, you should be unhappy at your school, and have a good idea of what it is that makes you want to look elsewhere, so that the places you apply to are a better fit. And no, prestige is not a good reason. Provided you pick a real safety that you like, there's no need even consider CC.</p>
<p>But to answer your question, even with an umimpressive senior year, you can still have some good (read: top 20) transfer options if you do indeed have a flawless first semester at a strong (read: top 50) university. I probably only had a 3.4/3.5 for senior year (in all AP classes), but got a 4.0 freshman year at college and was able to transfer from Case Western to WUSTL. So hard work will keep your options open even after you've matriculated somewhere freshman year.</p>
<p>I can't tell if you're a California resident, but if you attend a CC in California you can transfer to a UC in two years. I'd still suggest you apply to all the schools you want to go to from highschool. If you don't get in to the schools of your choice then look into transferring.</p>
<p>As for Berkeley (I can't say much for any of the other school's you've listed as I didn't apply to them), it's definitely possible to transfer. I managed to get in as a Junior (Almost all UC's will not accept sophmore transfers) and both my CC GPA and HS GPA were between 3.3-3.45.</p>
<p>Don't go to a CC just because it might (somehow) increase your chances to transfer. Apply to all the schools you mentioned, plus some safeties that you would enjoy. When decisions come out, choose your school based on the assumption you're going to stay there all four years, rather than on which one would optimize your transfer chances.</p>