I am a senior in high school but I want to know more about transferring colleges.
My dream school has always been UC Berkeley. It is like a goal that I really want to achieve in life.
But I do not think that I can get into UCB with the gpa that I got in high school.
Currently, I am thinking of going to any UC or privates that accept me.
The question that I want to ask is
How hard is it to transfer to UCB from the universities that I am planning to go after high school?
Is preparing for transfer just like what I am doing right now as a high school senior?
First…why Berkeley?
Second…I would very strongly suggest you apply to colleges where you will do well, and have a gore at chance of acceptance as you are, and you like Then do everything you can to get involved. You might just find that you don’t actually want to transfer.
Third, what is you current career goal (which could change)? That likely can be pursued at many many colleges.
Fourth, you are a senior who already applied to colleges. Where did you apply?
Fifth, what is this GPA that you think will prevent you from getting accepted to Cal (which is not predictable for even the strongest students).
Sixth, there are many wonderful public universities in California. If you are a resident there (are you?).
And seventh…are these colleges you applied to all affordable for your family.
You know…you should matriculate at a college with the idea that you will stay there.
@Gumbymom can provide the stats for transfers to Cal.
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For UC transfers, priority is given to California community college transfers followed by UC to UC transfers then CSU to UC transfers, private CA University transfers and finally OOS transfers.
The UC’s publish the UC transfer GPA data by major yearly so you can determine target GPA’s for each campus and major. The current data is for 2021.
Is preparing for transfer just like what I am doing right now as a high school senior?
The best way to transfer to UCB is by attending a CC since they have course articulation agreements with the UC’s through assist.org. Each UC campus will have a list of required transfer courses that need to be completed prior to enrolling and they can vary from campus to campus. That is why assist.org is valuable for the CC transfer. The UC to UC/CSU to UC, private universities or OOS universities do not have such an articulation agreement so it can be difficult to align the correct courses for transfer.
You can use this link to determine which schools have a higher rate of transfer to UCB: Admissions by source school | University of California
I agree with @thumper1 that you can apply this year, see where you are offered admission and then embrace one of these schools. I would not go into any Undergrad program with the idea of transferring.
If you are unhappy with your choices then consider attending a CA CC and follow through with a transfer.
Prestige alone is not a great reason for transfer. There are so many wonderful colleges where a student can be successful as long as they are willing to take advantage of all the opportunities available to them.
If you answer the questions posed to you above, then posters can help you with some better suggestions.
For Fall 2022, UCB had a 28% admit rate for California resident transfers, 7% for OOS transfers and 22% for International transfers.
Best of luck and keep an open mind. A “dream school” is a school which actually wants you to attend and dreams can change.
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I have occasionally mentioned here on CC that when applying to graduate schools I was turned down by my “dream school”, went to my second choice, and LOVED IT! Years later I finally realized that my second choice had always been a significantly better fit for me.
It is usually a bad idea to have a “dream school”. There are a lot of very good universities out there. To a large extent university is a way to get you started on whatever you are going to do next in your life (like have a career), and many, many universities can help you do that.
I think that you goal should be to find a set of universities to apply to that have good programs in your intended major (or likely majors), that are a good fit for you, that you can get accepted to, and that are likely to be affordable. This might or (more likely) might not include UC Berkeley.
Also, if at some point in the future you do end up applying to some graduate programs, then UC Berkeley will still be there. It is very common and entirely normal for students to get their bachelor’s degree at one university and their master’s degree or other graduate degree at a different university.
@Gumbymom is as usual entirely correct that your chances of getting accepted to UCB as a transfer student would be higher if you attend a community college in California. However, there is still a very good chance that you will not get in at UCB. I agree that a better strategy is likely to be to look for other schools (possibly other Universities of California or CSUs if you are a California resident) where you are likely to get accepted out of high school and where you can spend a full four years.
UC Berkeley is a great university, but I am also wondering this exact same thing.
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First…why Berkeley?
: First of all I am a resident of California so I want to go to universities that are in CA, and I visited UCB one time and I loved it so much…
Third, what is you current career goal (which could change)? That likely can be pursued at many many colleges.
: I am planning to major in education and business to help my mother’s business (related to education).
Fourth, you are a senior who already applied to colleges. Where did you apply?
: I applied to mainly mid-tier colleges like Chapman, Pepperdine, UCD, etc. But also many safeties.
Fifth, what is this GPA that you think will prevent you from getting accepted to Cal (which is not predictable for even the strongest students).
My unweighted is 3.5 and weighted is 4.3. But since many colleges look at unweighted, I don’t think my weighted will help a lot.
Sixth, there are many wonderful public universities in California. If you are a resident there (are you?).
Yes
And seventh…are these colleges you applied to all affordable for your family.
UCs are the most affordable since I am a resident of CA but I also applied for financial aids for other private schools.
What is your UC GPA’s? GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub
List Unweighted, Capped Weighted and Fully Weighted
What specific UC’s did you apply since only 3 UC’s actually have Business schools? UC Berkeley, Irvine and Riverside.
Since you mentioned UC Davis, did you apply to Managerial Econ or Econ or something else? So is your plan to double major Education and Business? What exactly do you want to do in your Mother’s business?
What is your HS rigor like? AP’s/IB’s and/or Dual Enrollment
What is your college budget since you state you are looking for FA at the private schools?
Of the 3 schools you have mentioned: Chapman, Pepperdine and UCD, all we give you a great education and it is really up to you to avail yourself of all the resources available at each campus. What about any Cal states? Many are excellent for Education and Business programs.
What is about UCB that you loved so much?
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What is the difference between managerial Econ and business?
My mother runs an organization where she teaches a bunch of children math and more and more people are joining the academy so I want to help her teach the kids and manage the students.
Would business management be better in this case?
And I want to major in education because it is just my passion. I want to do something related to education in the future.
And also my UC UW gpa is 3.6 and UC capped gpa is 3.96.
I also was in the honor program in my high school and took mostly AP classes in junior / senior years.
From the UCD website:
Managerial economics is a dynamic degree that prepares students for a variety of careers in business and beyond. The major goes beyond the limits of traditional economics and business. Students gain a thorough grounding in economic theory and practical business applications. They cultivate skills in quantitative methods, problem-solving strategies, critical thinking and effective communication that lead to promising careers.
Managerial Econ or Econ are the closest majors to Business at UCD. Business is a broad field but based on your interests, an Education major with a possible minor or concentration with some Business type classes might be a option for you.
If Education is your top priority, most of the Cal states will offer you both an Education major and opportunities to take Business classes and a couple of the other UC’s.
Sure UCB is a wonderful school, but again it is up to you to take advantage of all the opportunities presented to you. The schools you have mentioned will also get to the same place with your hard work. I would go into this admission cycle with an open mind and see where you end up getting admitted and take it from there.
Below are the overall UC admit rates based on the capped weighted UC GPA but not major specific:
| Campus | 4.20+ | 3.80-4.19 | 3.40-3.79 | 3.00-3.39 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | 30% | 11% | 2% | 1% |
| Davis | 85% | 55% | 23% | 10% |
| Irvine | 60% | 31% | 14% | 1% |
| Los Angeles | 29% | 6% | 1% | 0% |
| Merced | 97% | 98% | 96% | 89% |
| Riverside | 97% | 92% | 62% | 23% |
| San Diego | 72% | 25% | 2% | 0% |
| Santa Barbara | 73% | 28% | 4% | 1% |
| Santa Cruz | 91% | 81% | 46% | 9% |
Best of luck and I am sure you will succeed at any university.