How easy is it to get accepted into a UC via TAG

If I am transferring from a Community College to a UC using the TAG programme, how easy would it be to get accepted (Computer Science major)? I’m somewhat confused because TAG is a guarantee, but I heard of people getting rejected from it even though they fulfilled the requirements. Also, if I have to choose between UC Davis and UC Irvine (Computer Science major), which should I TAG to so I have a higher chance of being accepted? Thanks!

Hey! Most of the time when someone does TAG and gets rejected, it is most likely due to not following TAG requirements (ie. Missing prerequisite, lower GPA than asked, etc.). As a result, if you end up not fulfilling TAG, your application will then be reviewed as a regular applicant and could potentially be rejected. In terms of UCD & UCI, both have great CS programs and it just comes down to which campus you could see yourself at more and TAG that campus and apply for the other as a regular transfer. I’m not a CS major but I know for a fact that CS at Davis is impacted and that if you get into the school as a different major and try to switch to CS, it’ll be hard. Definitely visit the campus and compare the two programs to see which campus you may like more and could potentially see yourself attending. Good luck!

Thanks for your reply! So what you’re saying is that many people apply for TAG even though they don’t have 3.4 GPA or above, which gets them rejected? Therefore, if I fulfill the TAG requirements, I am guaranteed admission, right? I have visited both campuses before and I think they’re both great and I wouldn’t mind going to either. I saw on the UCD website for the Computer Science major there are extra requirements to apply for TAG. However, when I look at UCI’s Computer Science major, there aren’t any additional requirements unlike UCD. Does this mean that if I apply for TAG through UCI’s Computer Science major, I would have a higher chance of getting accepted over UCD’s?

I am also a computer science major looking to transfer next year and I’ve compared all the UC’s together many times. It will be easier to TAG to UCI. Why? well for one UCI’s CS major does not require physics as its in its not in the school of engineering. Both UCI and UCD are great programs although I personally tried out physics and decided it wasn’t worth the insane amount of effort and study hours required to get a decent grade. To each their own but physics is basically a weed out course.

Other UC’s without a physics requirement for CS and related majors:
Berkeley: Computer Science
Los Angeles: Linguistics&Computer Science
San Diego: Mathematics & Computer Science
Santa Cruz: Computer Science B.A.

Good luck.

Does not happen. You fulfill the requirements you are guaranteed your admission.

Note that the requirements from some schools (such as Davis) include completing the classes you list on your TAG app. See https://www.ucdavis.edu/admissions/undergraduate/transfer/transfer-admission-guarantee/decisions So you put down you plan to take some class that isn’t required to satisfy TAG and you just wrote your own extra admission requirement. You’ll see stories here every year from kids that are dropping some extra class they took and now have to wait to see if Davis will rescind their TAG.

Word to the wise: they won’t rescind you for taking more than you promised, but it is a possibility if you take less.

There are 8 million stories in the Naked City (google for reference) and yeah these people who did everything right and got rejected from TAG did not do everything right.