How do you Transfer to a 4 Year?

<p>Hello...I did not get accepted into the universities I wanted so I have decided to transfer to a 4 year after attending a CC for 2 years (Santa Monica College). I am applying there right now but I was wondering what an AA degree was.
They ask a question about my goals and there aren't any choices that say "transfer to a 4 year" but there are choices for Transfer With AA degree and Without AA degree. </p>

<p>What kind of GPA should I strive for to attend a UC or a private like USC? </p>

<p>Santa Monica College a good school for transferring? I was also thinking about Cypress...</p>

<p>3.5+ for UC, or USC.
Santa Monica College has Transfer agreement programs with the UCs, I think it's called TAP. Basically with TAP, you pick a college, ie UCLA, and you sign an aggreement that says you will take a list of courses, achieve a certain gpa , and you'll be automatically accepted upon completion of TAP.
Beyond that you only need 30 units to transfer into USC, without your high school record to be taken into consideration, so essentially you can just go to SMC for one year and be at USC as a sophomore.</p>

<p>Really? How would you transfer to USC after 1 year of a CC? hmm
Is 3.5 hard to achieve in college? I mean a rating from 1-10</p>

<p>SMCC is a good choice for a CC; they lead (according to their website) in transfers to UCLA and USC. There is tons of info on their website, and when you start school in the fall you should be sure to visit the transfer center to find out more info.</p>

<p>Start with [url=<a href="http://www.smc.edu/apps/pub.asp?Q=606%5DUCLA%5B/url"&gt;http://www.smc.edu/apps/pub.asp?Q=606]UCLA[/url&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/p>

<p>Thanks!
I was wondering if I should go to UC Merced or SMCC....
If I go to Merced I am planning to transfer but I would like to gain some sort of college life experience and if I do not get to transfer I get to stay at a 4 year...
Someone on the UC Merced boards is transferring to UCLA from Merced I think after 1 year.</p>

<p>Its a hard decision to make. The transfer rate is higher from CC's to UCLA than from other 4-years including other UC's. This is by design; CC students are favored. Your odds are especially good if you successfully complete the TAP program at a CC that offers it; see UCLA</a> - Transfer Alliance Program</p>

<p>Merced has a guarantee program with some of the UCs but if you weren't offered it by UCLA you can't apply for it; see University</a> of California - Admissions</p>

<p>As for getting the college life experience, there are other options than Merced. One is to go to a CC that has a solid portion of the students living away from home. Santa Barbara CC is an example; most UCSB students live in Isla Vista right off campus, as do some of the SBCC students. There are even private dorms you can potentially live in. I have a more detailed post on this in the UCSB forum. You can look at the list of the TAP schools and perhaps find other CCs that offer a similar environment.</p>

<p>Ok...Well I think I might attend Santa Monica CC or the Santa Barbara one..
I was hoping transferring from UCM was similar from the CC's... I suppose the best way is to go to a CC?
I understand that I would need 3.5+ from CC to get into UCLA or USC. Is this extremely difficult as I understand?</p>

<p>If you look at a page from the TAP link I gave earlier you can see that the admit rate the past 2 years to UCLA for TAP people was 83% and 88%. <a href="http://www.ugeducation.ucla.edu/tap/adm_stats.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ugeducation.ucla.edu/tap/adm_stats.pdf&lt;/a> Compare that to UC xfers which have about a mid-40 percent rate, and even that is probably overstating it because some of those kids from Merced had guarantees.</p>

<p>I don't know how anyone on this board can answer how difficult it is. I suggest you go visit some CC's you are considering and talk to a counselor; ask them what percentage of their students have that GPA, etc. Given that you were UC-eligible you probably would be considered someone more likely than average to do it; after all, CC's have to admit everyone. But of course we have no way to predict what your study habits will be, whether you'll work hard in class or slack off, etc.</p>

<p>Your next step really should be to start talking with the staff at the CCs who run the TAP programs to find out more detail and advice. Good luck!</p>

<p>Thank you Mike!
I have one more question before making the plunge....
How do I apply for TAP? Do I go to the CC and follow the class guidelines?
My study habits are going to be "NO LIFER" until I get into UCLA or of that level.</p>

<p>
[quote]
How do I apply for TAP?

[/quote]
go to UCLA</a> Undergrad Admissions: Transfer Alliance Program select the CC's you are considering, click on the link. It will have the info you want or tell you who to contact. I can't tell you more than that because I don't have personal experience with the program, just know it exists.</p>

<p>As for your proposed study habits, perhaps a bit extreme ;) I mean sure, 1st semester, really crank until you know you're doing well. But there's a point of diminishing returns. You want to work hard enough to be sure to reach your goal, but life isn't the destination, its the journey. You can be sure that the kids at UCLA, while they work hard (most of them, anyway) take time to have fun too. Best of luck to you and everyone else who goes this path!</p>