<p>Hi everyone, I'm a senior in high school. My overall GPA is a 3.3 or 3.4 I think, which is why I didn't get in anywhere I really wanted. My junior year GPA was a 4.1, I just screwed up my first two years. I also scored a 2160 on my SAT. My choices are thus:</p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz for two years, try to do as much undergrad research and opportunities as I can, get a high GPA, transfer to Cal</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>Go to Santa Monica College, high GPA, continue my HS internship with Mattel in El Segundo, transfer to Cal</p>
<p>I know it's hard to transfer from a UC to a UC but I really do want to move out. UCSC has a lot more opportunities for undergrads and I could take advantage of that, as well as other students not working as hard/being hippies. CC would help, too.</p>
<p>I want to graduate from UC Berkeley, I want a Cal diploma! Which option will get me there??</p>
<p>(Oh and I'm not 100% on my major yet, probably something Linguistics/Writing/English/etc. related)</p>
<p>Oh and I should have about 40 AP credits when I start freshman year</p>
<p>The UC website states that Cal discourages UC inter campus transfer. If you want a Cal diploma, you’d be a fool to attend UCSC. its (much) cheaper to go to a CCC and your admissions chances would be higher.</p>
<p>Some students choose to go to a UC they don’t like with the intention of transferring out, only to not be able to. They end up either hating their four years there (not fun) or transferring to a CCC so they can transfer to the UC they like (such a hassle and waste of time).</p>
<p>If you like the location and overall school vibe of Santa Cruz, I think you should definitely go to – but only if you’re o.k. with the fact that you may not be able to transfer and end up getting your Bachelor’s from there. Like you said: you’d get to move out, you like the undergrad opportunities, and there is less competition.</p>
<p>On top of that, I would really suggest starting out at UCSC for undergrad if you plan on going to graduate school. You can apply to Berkeley for that, meaning that when your schooling is over you’d still end up with that degree from Cal!</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC Evo 3D using CC</p>
<p>UC-UC transfer for Cal is a big no no. If you find it absolutely necessary to graduate from UCB, then CCC is pretty much your only option. If you really wanted, maybe you could move up there and attend a CCC near Cal so that way you could still get the experience of living away from home now, rather than later.</p>
<p>On another note, if the only reason you want to attend Cal and have a “Cal diploma” is for prestige, I think you may be going for the wrong reason. If you haven’t seen UCSC, I highly recommend you do so before making your decisions. It is a BEAUTIFUL campus and has an excellent linguistics program, not something that I know UCB to be well known for. I feel that UCSC is a little gold mine that many people disregard merely because it doesn’t have the prestige of UCLA or UCB, but that’s just my two cents. Good luck!</p>
<p>Go to ccc it’s cheaper and as long as you work hard youll get into berkeley</p>
<p>you should do CCC. Move up to Berkeley and go to Berkeley City College. The departments there work hard to match the GE paths of Cal. It’s also a few blocks from the Cal campus and I have quite a few Cal students in my classes, which has been helpful in my transferring process. Also, a lot of my classmates want to go to Cal which has ensured that I’ll have lots of friends there already if I get accepted for Fall 2012. I was a little stressed about being a transfer student and acclimating to Cal, but being at a school where everyone is shooting for Cal, I’m not so worried about it anymore.</p>
<p>Yeah, I do really like UCSC but I feel like I won’t be up for the same grad schools/connections/jobs there and won’t have the same opportunities vs waiting and going to CC and then transferring to Cal or another bigger-name school. </p>
<p>Mind elaborating on how Santa Cruz is a “hidden gem”?</p>
<p>@UCSB- Fair enough, I understand that. Although, I think if you are truly dedicated on getting into your grad school of choice, your determination would most likely give that to you, regardless of where you complete your undergrad. I have heard through the grape vine that UCSC has got some great research and project opportunities, but I cannot verify this (yet) until I actually transfer there and find out!</p>
<p>As far as UCSC being a “hidden gem”, I merely refer to it as such because I feel that it has a lot of value that is often overlooked because it lacks the prestige of more renowned schools such as UCLA and UCB. Heck, I’ve seen it all over these CC forums where people slander UCSC because it is considered a lower tier “weed school”, but they have not actually done the research to see many of the accomplishments the school has made, the research that has been done, their top national programs in linguistics, game design, marine biology, etc. Not to mention, the school itself is nestled into a beautiful redwood forest that overlooks Monterey Bay and is consistently ranked one of the most beautiful college campuses.</p>
<p>Its difficult to elaborate further because I am a potential transfer student and do not currently live up there, but from the visits I have taken so far and the resources I have talked to, this is my current opinion of UCSC. When it comes down to it, if your school isn’t necessarily the most prestigious but has a nationally ranked program in your major of choice, it is bound to give you a competitive edge in the job market and employers are well aware of that. </p>
<p>I wish Kender was around to give you more thorough insight into UCSC, they’re actually a student and have many wonderful/insightful things to say about UCSC. If you are so inclined, you can always lurk the UCSC thread and find Liesel, they can tell you as well.</p>
<p>Anyways, it is ultimately your decision! Good luck finishing out high school strong and following your path to your future. Anywhere you end up I’m sure will be fine, just make sure the school is a good fit for your personality and social needs!</p>
<p>If you have 40 AP credits, you could easily transfer in 1 year. If you take all necessary classless (major pre-reqs and IGETC), and get a good GPA for Fall (and summer if you take classes), you should be fine. If you got a 4.0+ your junior year and a 2160 on your SAT, you’ll do well at a CC. If you really want to go to a higher tier UC, go this route. Even if you aren’t accepted for 1 year transfer, you’ll definitely get accepted after 2.</p>
<p>40 AP credits will give you a great advantage when looking to fill pre-requisite classes and gaining enough units to be eligible for transfer. CCC will be the cheapest route and it is all too often ill advised not to go to a UC if you plan on transferring to another UC.</p>
<p>However, I will advise as kingdomrosa48 does: do some more research on UCSC. I have toured the campus and it is absolutely stunning. We even saw a couple fawn doe (deer) walking not 15 feet from us in the middle of the day as they were munching on the ground like seeing people was an everday occurance to them.</p>
<p>They do have some great programs and have a smaller undergraduate population compared to other UCs, so they may have a slightly better student-professor interaction and other opportunities. Ask around on the UCSC subforum here and see what they can tell you.</p>
<p>If you end up finding out that you KNOW you don’t want to attend UCSC, then CC to UCB will be your best bet.</p>
<p>@mmsiphone
just a note about the cost of a CC vs. UC. this is not really about strategy for the main poster to get admitted to CAL. but it is worth noting for the record that in my case the CC was four thousand dollars a year MORE than attending a UC for all four years (in my case). if you qualify for financial aid then the UC schools have tons of aid that is not available via the CC. it would have been great to attend a UC for all four years, but it was important for me to spend two years in a CC just to create a high GPA. but i had to pay more for that.</p>
<p>Intercampus transfer is hard…especially to Berkeley.for the best chance of being admitted, go to a CCC. If you’re fine with the idea of getting rejected again and doing the rest of your undergrad at UCSC (which is a good school anyway), then go down that route. There’s nothing quite like the once-in-a-lifetime (mercifully) first year experience (the amazing, the bad, everything put together). So yeah, in your case, it seems like you’re dead set on getting into Berkeley. Go to a CCC (but try to avoid SMC).</p>
<p>^oceanpartier brings up a very good point about picking a good CC. it makes a big difference. our CC has great teachers and trecherous administrators that really can mess up your life, if you are not careful. </p>
<p>oh, and go to a CC close to UC Berkeley if you can. that does help chances a tiny bit from what i have heard. College of Marin is pretty good, or used to be. City College of SF is probably okay, but it seems a bit crowded. I would opt for College of Marin. The best CC is Santa Barbara City College by the way. ranked number one community college in California for good reason!</p>
<p>and of course you know about:
[Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org)</p>
<p>and yes! UC Santa Cruz is a very good school. my father knew one of the chiefs over there when they were new; Gregory Bateson. Bateson went to Cambrige (in England) and set up the school in the English system. Bateson was also head chancelor of all the UC schools at one time. UCSC is also located in a very beautiful natural setting with great mathematics and science teachers. i am a history major, and their history department is not great, so it is not right for me. but science majors seem to have a lot of options there.</p>
<p>Any idea what type of career you want to get into?</p>
<p>I am a parent of a UCLA student and my older daughter graduated from college a few years ago so I am very familiar with students getting in or not getting into the school they want. My older daughter had a friend who always dreamed of going to Cal. She really should have gotten in as she had everything needed to be accepted but sometimes it is just a crapshoot. She was admitted to UCSC. She went there, always knowing that she wanted to go to Cal and planed the whole time to transfer to Cal. She did her best, made herself a stellar applicant, transferred to Cal and graduated in 2009. She is now in Spain working on a grad degree in history.</p>
<p>I tell you this just so you know it is possible. Many people here have told you it is not possible. It is true that ccc students are the first priority in transferring but if you get a high gpa, do your research, and can have a strong argument for transferring to Cal you just might be successful. If you go to UCSC and get a high gpa and do some significant research or internships you will be in very good shape to transfer. Remember, you could go to SMC and do very well but still end up transferring to a UC other than Cal. There will never be a guarantee that you will get in to Cal.</p>
<p>I can’t really tell you what is the better option, UCSC or going to SMC for 2 years. You will save money at SMC and can explore options of majors a bit more freely but it won’t be the same college experience as UCSC. And you may end up loving UCSC. Might be a good idea to give UCSC a try, get great grades and if you are still unsure you can leave and go to SMC for a year then try transferring. Or keep the Cal dream alive and transfer after 2 years.</p>
<p>I really do love UCSC so if I don’t get accepted to Cal I won’t be heartbroken. I think I’ll try to transfer anyway – the worst they can say is no, right?</p>