So I’ve just been rejected from UC Berkeley for the class of 2024 undergrad. It’s a bummer, but UC Berkeley has always been my dream school, and I’m not ready to give up so soon. I am very comfortable with the idea of transferring for in for my junior year, and I am already aware from previous threads that it’s really hard to do that when you’re an out-of-state student like me who will be attending a four year institution and not a community college. However, I have 2 full years to plan and transfer, so any advice at all about what I can do to boost my chances in these next few years and plan to the best of my abilities would be extremely appreciated! I know you have to make a really good case about why you’d like to transfer, and I hope to use my interest in Native American Studies to do that (I’d like to be a lawyer who works on reservations someday) and I’m planning on applying as a polo-sci major. Please donate some wisdom to a girl who wants to be a cal bear!!!
I am moving this discussion to the UC transfer forum where you will get more helpful information.
Thank you!
Ok one where are you going until you hope to transfer? Can you afford UC Berkley if they grant you the transfer, my guess is as a JR you would not get a lot of aid. Would going to another UC school help your chances?
@NJdad07090 @KathyrnJ: As an OOS applicant regardless of being a transfer, UCB will give little to no FA so expect to pay full fees which are currently at $65K/year.
OOS applicants need to make sure that their courses are UC transferable so you check the UCB website for transfer course requirements for your major and try to match your OOS university courses to the UCB courses.
OOS applicants also get low priority in the transfer hierarchy. Priority is given to in-state community college transfers followed by UC to UC and CSU to UC transfers, then in-state private universities followed by OOS.
@NJdad07090 I’ll most likely be attending either Purdue University or Colby College. In terms of tuition, I’m hoping to accumulate enough scholarship money to be able to attend if the tuition ends up being totally full price, but I’m willing to take out loans. I didn’t apply to any other UC schools besides Berkeley, so going to one isn’t a viable option for me, unfortunately.
@KathrynJ . . . would you be willing to come to California and attend a community college (cc)? According to the hierarchy that Gumbymom presented, this would be your best chance to get into Berkeley.
The problem with the cc’s is that they don’t have residences for their students. It’d be oos tuition at cc, but that’d be considerably cheaper than attending Colby or Purdue. I believe it’s in the $5,000/semester ballpark, whereas if you were a resident of CA, it’d be in the $500 per-semester range.
The next question would be, where would you attend cc? The best cc feeder to Berkeley is not Berkeley CC, too small, but De Anza or Diablo Valley.
The last question would be, could you gain CA resident status for cc and Berkeley? That’d be tough to answer; but I think it would depend on your showing independence from your parents.
Many people transfer to Berkeley from a 4-year, especially when it’s a non-impacted major, such as Native American Studies.
As expected, there are essentially no matching courses for this major at a CCC. So maybe if there’s anything related at your college, take one or two to show passion for the subject.
You can look at link below to see requirements. The CCC doesn’t matter. Try to get anything related. If there is nothing, don’t worry. There often isn’t.
http://assist.org
Put in any CCC and Berkeley and choose the major
Next, go here and try to match the English R1A and R1B courses. You need these or will not get in. First course should be completed before you apply to transfer. If none match at your college take online, finding one at cvc.edu.
https://admissions.berkeley.edu/transfer-courses-by-institution
Lastly, you need the equivalent basically of IGETC gen ed, especially since you have no major requirements. Go big or go home with the gen ed:
- The two English courses REQUIRED
- One math course REQUIRED: stats, precalc or calc
- At least ONE arts course (music appreciation, film, painting, photography, etc.)
- At least ONE humanities - this is harder to calculate. Any ethnic studies course usually works and most general philosophy types work.
- At least ONE, ideally two, social science courses (psych, sociology, Econ, poli sci, history, etc) history is where you can find possible native-am related. Also these subjects are good for pre-law.
- A physical and a life science (ideally both courses, one with lab)
- Gen ed for Berkeley’s college of letters and science REQUIRES an intermediate language course (by your final spring, I believe).
AP scores will give units, but cannot be used for gen ed at Berkeley’s L&S.
——
Now, if your major had requirements you could go less but as you have no major requirements I would aim to do these at the very least. If you need to dump one maybe life science - just make sure the other has a lab. You can also add another arts/humanities or social science if there’s room.
You can apply two years of high school language so hopefully can just get into intermediate at your college.
Finally, go here to see transfer stats for the major. Since you’re at Purdue I assume you can get good grades. ?
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
Also, Feeder schools are not important. If you go to a CCC any one can get you equally to Cal.
@ohm888 . . .Per your quotes:
I don’t think the stats from the following link support this.
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/admissions-residency-and-ethnicity
Here are the transfers to Berkeley in 2019 by Residence:
…CA CC…Other USA…Foreign…Total
Apps…16,184…2,685…184…19,053
Accep…4,075…206…20…4,301
Enroll…2,407…129…18…2,554
Just as a comparison, UCLA had the following:
…CA CC…Other USA…Foreign…Total
Apps…20,580…3,364…170…24,114
Accep…4,993…338…3…5,334
Enroll…3055…225… 2…2,554
The “Other USA” can be either a two-year or a four-year OOS. Their percentage of applications of the total is 16.6%. Their acceptance is lower also, 7.7% compared to 22.6% of all applicants.
UCLA meantime, had more applications from the Other USA cohort and more enrolled.
That’s a lot of work that Berkeley put into that nice second link you provided that tried to articulate what the equivalent English courses would be from the transfer-from institution. Why go through all that work, especially if it’s not going to bring in a decent number of transfers? And I don’t think it should be looked upon as being favorable, because it might encourage someone to transfer from any of the institutions listed, if they would know about it in sufficient time.
I’d agree with you in that the feeders would have a reputation that would draw more students from outside of the area, and would continue to feed the UCs at greater amounts. But there are some community colleges that are flat-out bad, and don’t have a lot of resources. So I believe it’s better to attend a cc that has a good reputation. That’s why Santa Monica College, besides it being a large cc, feeds about 15% of the transfers to UCLA.
I don’t mean to otherwise be critical of your post; it’s otherwise awesome, with incredible advice. But a California community college would be cheaper if the living situation is feasible for the OP. And I guess I have a little too much time on my hands. Hope everyone is safe and well.
^^^ One massive correction in my previous post #8: the “Other USA” Colleges is inclusive of California four-years, because the CA CC column, is obviously only the two-years. So the majority of the second column numbers are those who were transferring from other UCs, the CSUs, and also CA private universities. I’m sure the latter are not much. Then there will be a small handful that transfer from colleges in the other 49 within that column. I don’t know if Berkeley is looking to step that number up as manifested by their putting forward all that work in that link you provided.
And let me correct the following statement, and I’m sure there are other places that need correction: “Here are the transfers to Berkeley in 2019 by [Location (and Type) of College]:”
@KathrynJ - Where are you hoping those scholarship dollars will come from, I do not see UC giving it to a Jr year transfer, and I am surprised you were not looking into a school in the southwest based on your expected major/ job hopes.
The idea that you can get “scholarships” to pay for the 65k out of state cost seems extremely unlikely. Most outside scholarships are teeny tiny and many only apply to freshmen.
Stay where you are, get a high GPA, and move to California after graduation or apply to the law school at UC Berkeley.
You can’t borrow $130k. The maximum federal student loans are ~$27k over 4 years. Do you have any affordable schools on your list?
@firmament2x, this student wouldn’t be able to afford the rents in California if she attended a CCC. She can’t get loans on her own to pay those kinds of costs. Rents in the Bay Area are through the roof, that’s IF she could find a place. If she lived in another area of California, the pay, as a non-skilled worker/ non-degree worker, wouldn’t justify her costs of living.
Plus, gaining residency is a no go.
She would be coming to California for educational purposes so she is full fee at the CC and full fee at a UC-$65K per year. No viable scholarships for OOS transfers are available (assume, maybe $200 to $1K max).
AND, in order to become a resident, she would have to live in California for one year, pay high California taxes, have proof of income (W2’s) and filing taxes, that match her expenses without getting any financial support from anyone.
Plus she would not be able to go to any institution of higher learning, for one year.
Add to that, she intends to go to law school-assume more expensive dollars.
Sorry to be harsh, but you may be again rejected in Junior year. They just have too many strong applicants from CCC’s, and not enough space for those who want to attend.
I agree that maybe you should consider Berkeley for law school.
@“aunt bea” . . . great points as usual.
I thought she would be working to get residency and show independence from her parents. UC and the state has undoubtedly made it hard to gain residency to prevent students from flocking from other states into California, but there have to be some openings outside of the attending high school in CA, say, if she were to become a tax-paying citizen of CA. I wish her nothing but the best.
“I’ll most likely be attending either Purdue University or Colby College.”
These are great schools.
“I’m willing to take out loans.”
If you can afford Purdue or Colby without loans, there is no way that it is worth borrowing anything even remotely close to $65k (per year, or in total) to attend Berkeley. Berkeley is a great university. It is where I would have gone if I had decided to pursue my PhD (I had been accepted with full aid). However, it is not enough better than Purdue to justify any significant debt. Colby being a LAC is of course a different experience. However having watched one daughter doing very well at a small school I have become a big fan of small schools and Colby is one of the best.
I agree with another comment above that you should very seriously consider getting your bachelor’s at either Purdue or Colby, and then if you are looking to graduate school or law school in the future then consider Berkeley.
Purdue does offer some Native American focused courses and a minor in such:
http://catalog.purdue.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=10&poid=12888&returnto=13410
Colby does not appear to have much beyond two history courses (though some other courses may include Native American related content among other things):
https://www.colby.edu/catalogue/
@ucbalumnus i never said CCC and OOS were equal. However a lot of out of states transfer to Berkeley. I knew some when I was there and see it up here all the time year after year. One glaring reason people do not get in from OOS is because they did not fulfill the necessary requirements. If a person doesn’t want to leave their uni for a CCC (and Purdue is a tough jump to a CCC), a person can certainly apply. A high GPA, the requirements completed and a not too popular major can certainly lead to acceptance. So I stick by my assessment. That does not mean I know the outcome.
@KathrynJ don’t expect to find much scholarship $$.
Not sure what you are replying to, since my only comment was about the Native American focused course offerings at the other colleges the OP mentioned.