Hi guys, i have some stressful concerns going through my mind that I hoped could be clarified on this thread.
After my junior year of high school in California, i had to leave the country almost immediately as my senior year started. My dad lives out of country and for almost a year he had been feeling extremely ill. But his situation became critical as he needed a transplant - so i had to leave everything to see him.
He’s better now and I came back to the states a few months ago. But i’ve moved to New Jersey now. And as i came back a few months ago, it was too late during the year to join school. My grades in high school were consistent A’s and B’s during freshmen and sophmore years, but my junior was a little catastrophic because of everything that was going on - so my grades crumbled. Keeping that in mind, i decided to take GED(tasc) instead of waiting for the next school year. (Although now i kind of regret doing that)
So i passed my GED with a 3.5 gpa and now i have enrolled into a Community college to progress my Business Administration courses and transfer into a very good (but realistic) university.
Now the reason i began this thread is to get some opinions from you guys as I dont know how big I can aim for my universities.
I have always admired enrolling into a UC as i still miss California. But is that a realistic goal? Will a UC consider me even if I maintain a gpa above 3.5 or is my GED not worthy? Should I take the SAT’s? And with all these hurdles, are my chances going into a UC even more crippled because of my out-of-state transfer?
Just to make things easier for you guys, here are some pointers:
About to start my first year of CC - US citizen - Business administration(finance) major - High School transcript not worthy.
I would really appreciate help on this. Thanks for taking the time to read this thread.
As a CC transfer I really don’t think high school counts for much at all. The application asked for where I went to high school and that was it; no grades or any specifics on the classes I took. I doubt a GED would hurt you at all and if anything your situation makes for a good personal statement. I think the major thing that’s going to hurt you is your out of state status. They heavily prioritize California CC transfers.
UC’s accept Junior level transfers with 60 semester/90 quarter units. Your HS GPA/test scores are not considered only what you have done at your CCC and having your GED is fine. As stated above ^ priority is given to in-state CCC transfers, but no reason why you cannot apply once you have completed the pre-req’s and major courses needed. If NJ is your home state, you will be paying OOS fees at the UC’s with no financial aid, so for 2 years after transfer, your costs will be around $55K+/year.
I would not only focus on California UC’s especially due to costs, but consider other schools that offer your major where you might have better FA for transfers.
Have you started the CCC yet? You might want to consider taking a Gap year, re-take or take the SAT/ACT and apply as a Freshman to some colleges that may fit your stats better. Freshman applicants get better aid than transfers. Again UC’s will still be full pay even as a Freshman.
Not many UC’s offer Business Administration. Irvine and Berkeley both do, I think. I know Berkeley takes basically zero applicants from out of state community colleges for their business program, which makes that kind of unrealistic.
There are some good CSU programs, Cal Poly SLO in particular.
UCR has a solid biz program as well. Others couch in under Econ but, the coursework is almost identical.
Once you have enrolled at a CC, you can’t transfer into any UC without 60 semester units. The will evaluate only your college level work. So, do your best and see where you stand in (gpa and unit wise) in a year. A 3.5 at the college level will open lots of doors as a transfer applicant.
That said, out of state tuition at CA public schools is as expensive as everyone says. IMHO, it is a silly waste of money.
Your residency situation is odd because you did most of your schooling in CA and didn’t really graduated from HS in another state. If you took the GED exam here, you might be a resident but, enrolling in a NJ CC may have undermined your claim as a Californian. You may be able to attend a CC in CA as a local… then transfer but, you need to do your own research on that. Every case is individually evaluated. I’d contact a CC near where you went to high school and see what they have to say.