<p>Hi there,</p>
<p>I’m currently a second-year community college student and i’m fascinated by how similar we are on so many levels. I was a 3.98 weighted in high school with multiple APs and a 1950 SAT1. Our ECs are different but in terms of amount of hours we aren’t too dissimilar. I also applied in HS as a PoliSci major but am currently a History major. Hopefully my advice will be useful since our situations seem so similar.</p>
<p>When I was in your situation, I had a few somewhat passable but overall inadequate excuses that i considered using to appeal. I eventually decided not to appeal since I realized that I was just grasping at straws and didn’t feel that I had a true reason for them to change their mind about my entire admission decision. If you feel that way too I would suggest not appealing.
Furthermore, I think you are setting the bar too low with Irvine. In my experience, students in our range tend to dominate in CCC, giving them the opportunity for UCB, UCLA, or basically whatever else they want. If you are like me, you are probably surrounded by a bunch of geniuses in your AP classes who are off to UCB straight out of HS and don’t think you can compare yourself to them. In my opinion, college favors a different type of student. Whereas in HS, the math and science classes separate the creme from the mediocre, CCC puts good writers on a more even field since you don’t need to take more than a handful of math and science classes total depending on your major.</p>
<ul>
<li>What would be the easiest way to transfer from a Community college, Cal State or from UCR?</li>
</ul>
<p>CCC is by far the easiest way to transfer. CCC students are given more priority than UC or CSU transfers. With coming budget cuts across the state and the possibility of greater competition in admissions, this makes all the difference. Additionally, I have heard of people from places like UCR with 3.7s trying to transfer to UCB and getting rejected. While this is purely anecdotal evidence, it serves to illustrate how much more difficult it is to transfer up from a CSU or UC.
Also, people often underestimate the difficulty of the freshman year at a UC. A number of factors often cause people’s grades to be low enough to irreparably destroy their chances of transferring to UCB or UCLA. Grading based on bell curves, a relative lack of teacher support (some classes will have hundreds of students or be taught by TAs), being tempted into partying too much, not adjusting to college in time, a sudden change/absence of support groups, etc. can contribute to this.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>What steps would I need to take to ensure that I have the best chances possible in transferring into UCLA/CAL?
If you are going the CCC route, then the main priority is to get good grades in all required pre-req classes. Most colleges have “tricks” for getting this done. For some, it is joining the honors program to get priority registration. For others it is going to orientation or talking to counselors. You just need to figure out what the “tricks” are at your campus. Also, there are programs such as TAP and TAG that you should look into. These are discussed all over cc.
Note that when transferring from a CCC, only UCB, UCLA, and UCM look at anything besides grades and pre-req completion (UCD and UCSD might change that soon though). ECs and personal statements aren’t even read by anyone (currently) at any UC except these three. Even at UCB and UCLA, you can be admitted to your type of major basically on grades alone. ECs help, but not at the expense of your GPA. So in summation, the best way to ensure admission to UCB/UCLA from ccc is to get amazing grades, even if you do almost nothing else. If you do want to give yourself a leg up, join student government. It could benefit you in ways you would never imagine. If you want more info on that please pm me.</p></li>
<li><p>Does anyone know the strength of UCR and Cal State programs?
Can’t help you much on this one, but once again, I think you are aiming too low with UCR or Cal State (unless you want to be a teacher, nurse, voc tech, etc. for which the CSUs were mainly intended and created for)</p></li>
<li><p>How do you apply to community colleges?
Most CCCs are very simple to apply to. Just go on their website and look for the big “register here” button. You don’t need to provide much information and you could probably complete it in less than half an hour. No essays or anything required. If you are going to apply I recommend you do it ASAP and try to do any orientations or events they have. Many CCCs required things like transcripts, AP scores, and an assessment tests. The earlier you get this done, the better. I’d like to note that you could technically register while waiting for a response from an appeal. I don’t think it would cost you anything extra and would give you flexibility if you receive a positive response.</p></li>
<li><p>How do prereqs work?
Go to assist.org and look up the CCC you would be going to and the UC you have in mind. On the right hand column it will say all of the pre-req classes that are available for you to take at your CCC (this is super important). Additionally, try to google the IGETC agreement that your CCC has with the UCs. Most CCCs have similar IGETC agreements, but some CCCs have certain differences that make it worth checking out. As a PoliSci/History/English major, IGETC is not as important as major pre-reqs, but it should still be completed ASAP, especially since some of it will overlap with your pre-req classes and is useful in planning out your classes.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I’d like to note some of the negative things about CCC.
If you are truly bent on getting the “college experience,” don’t look to CCCs to give it to you. There are ways to meet interesting people who will become life-long friends, but you definitely have to be much more proactive to find these people.</p>
<p>The CCC budget situation is currently being debated in Sacramento. Tuition was recently raised for sure. The possibility of the so called “all cuts budget,” which would mean over a billion dollars in cuts and a massive (more than doubling) tuition increase is very much on the table and is looking more likely every day. This translates to widespread cutting of classes and adjunct (part-time) faculty. </p>
<p>[District</a> Budget Impact](<a href=“http://www.ccleague.net/district-budget-impact/]District”>http://www.ccleague.net/district-budget-impact/)</p>
<p>This link can help you figure out exactly how your CCC district might be affected (the “all-cuts budget” is the third option, June Tax Package Fails and Prop. 98 is Suspended). Either way, classes will be really tough to get your first semester or two. If you are very proactive, however, you can probably figure out the “tricks” at your CCC with enough time to be able to start getting most of the classes you need by your second semester or summer.</p>
<p>Lastly, I was wondering if you had a particular career in mind. If you say law i might explode from the coincidence.</p>