Basically, I am taking academic enrichment classes at my local community college and getting general credits accounted for. I am also taking multiple APs throughout my high school career. By the time I graduate, I’ll have enough credits to complete all of my General Education requirements for both years of community college, all of which are transferable to a UC. I am hoping to major in Biology or Chemistry in grad, and would rather focus on it for two years than balance it with General Ed for four.
Since I will have this many credits, will I be able to skip two years of school at a UC or is there a maximum amount of credits that a high school student can apply, even if they’re on a college transcript?
UCs will take a maximum of 70 semester units or 105 quarter units of lower division transfer credit, although all courses taken count for subject credit. All community college courses are lower division (frosh/soph level) courses. So you would have at 3.3 semesters or 5 quarters of normal course loads to complete to reach the 120 semester units or 180 quarter units to graduate.
Subject credit may be the limiting factor if you courses are not chosen optimally to transfer for the lower division courses in your major. If you will be a biology or chemistry major, you will need the general and organic chemistry sequence. For either major, other lower division courses are needed before moving on to upper division courses.
Hello! Thank you so much.
I calculated my credits based on my major, subtracting which classes I will have to take anyway or will not transfer, and I ended with 67, give or take a few with human error. That’s based on AP credits if I do well, but I would get a good 30 with my community college classes. I looked into it and depending on the score, AP Bio and AP Chem credits can transfer to lower division courses and you can go straight into upper division courses if you do well enough. I’m planning on going into medical school so I still have to follow those requirements, and I am interested in science so I am planning on majoring in bio, chem, or physics. I just would like to get as many classes as I can out of the way.
If you fill out the IGETC form at admissions and transfer you will be admitted as a Junior at UC. That’s what I did after two years of community college. I still had to take an extra literature class once I was there for GE.