How are you doing?
Have you talked with someone?
Were you able to figure out how to deal with the waterpolo problem? Were the anime fans able to introduce you to Re-Main?
Has the food improved in quantity and quality?
Have you talked with the campus paper?
Did you start a CS learning group or study group?
Did you make friends?
I hope you’re okay.
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Hey there! It’s been a while, definitely a lot has happened
Main problems still persisted.
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Food never got better after multiple petitions and hundreds of complaints towards the school and the master chef. There is now an Instagram that highlights this awful food called @ucmdiningpavilionfoodreviews.
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I made it into the waterpolo team and thought maybe that would help me out. It was an interesting experience, but it was very unorganized, and lacked any type of leadership…
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Newspaper wouldn’t talk to me, and the students words are suppressed
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Education lacked severely, both of my CS teachers took weeks to respond to emails along with my TA’s. My discrete math TA refused to give us feedback for our hw and we still didn’t know our grade in the class 2 days before our final. The workload wasn’t bad, but half the time we had no idea how to do the homework because it didn’t make sense, and even the TA’s couldn’t solve it.
Overall, I had talked to other students I met and pretty much most teachers lacked a sense of urgency, and had little to no motivation to actually teach. -
I couldn’t handle the current dorm experience, it was extremely boring. I would try and get it out, but it was a ghost town, and the only events dorms ever had a was ‘anime night.’
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The gym, ugh it was about the same size as a high school classroom. Made it really hard to workout and extremely compact in there.
After all of this, I decided I would just transfer back home to CC. I wasn’t happy there and it wasted my money basically:(. Many students at UCM that I talked too have also transferred out or are planning to due to the same problems I had.
As for the CC situation, I had some very bad personal problems arise with my mom and so now I live with my father 90% of the time. He will let me stay with him until I transfer out, so that solves my original problem. I plan to transfer to SDSU where most of my friends are, I have gone down there about 5 times now and the campus and atmosphere there is amazing, I’ve shadowed a couple classes and the teachers students and everything are completely different in a better way than UCM. I am now working again and hanging out with my friends at CC and have had a lot more fun, we plan to travel to fiji this summer as well!
that’s it from me. No hate towards UCM, but the school was definitely not for me.
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Well I didn’t think I would ever post here again but I myself am in a situation once again 
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Since I have been at my CC my life has been a tornado.
Basically here is the update/ where we left off.
Background (Fall 2021-Summer 2022): 2021 fall I decided to go to UC Merced for Computer science. Didn’t like it and transferred back home to CC for spring 2022. Only half my credits transferred over from Merced which kind of screwed me over to start. Shortly after the start of the spring semester my brother passed away from an overdose and it crumbled me. I couldn’t do work and it was to late to drop classes. I also had to put down my own dog(15 years old) a week later. I got COVID a few weeks later which put me into my bed for over 2 weeks without being able to do school and I also missed my brothers funeral because of Covid. My mother at a young age she is, was just diagnosed with cataracts and has less than year before she goes blind and my father told me he wants to kill himself (my parents are separate - never married). All of this has put so much stress on me that my spring and summer classes I took I only got 1 class done out of the 7. I dropped some and others I couldn’t drop in time and at the time I didn’t care enough ab school to resolve it due to everything going on.
Now: I am now scrambling for credits to try and see if I can apply to schools for the entry of fall 2023 to be able to go to a university in southern CA (I live in riverside). All of my friends either already go to university’s or are going to be next fall. On my current path I’m 3-4 classes behind schedule and my counselors have told me there’s a 0% chance I can transfer next fall, which means I would need to wait to go to a university till fall of 2024.
I emailed all the schools I am interested in to see if they can make any exceptions, or anything I can do to still get in for the fall 2023, but in over a month I never got a response back even phone calls I placed.
Does anyone know any way I can get in touch easier with college counselors? I can’t be at home any longer. 2 more years alone here where all my friends are gone will put me in the grave.
I’m better mentally now and even completing certificates on the side for Computer Science. I will literally do whatever it takes to get in next fall.
Any help is appreciated. If I’m stuck, well then… Guess its all my fault anyways.
I’m sorry you’ve had so much strife. I am confused by this paragraph. It’s too early for Fall 2023. Your friends don’t factor into your issue. What can’t you transfer in Spring 2024 if you get caught up? Or why can’t you go to CC, do a great job, and transfer in as a spring admit for 2023? Was your GPA at UC Merced too low to be able to transfer?
You’re young. It doesn’t matter if you graduate in four years or six. The officers are not answering your email because there is no exception and they are busy gearing up for the current application cycle.
I suggest you meet with a counselor at your local community college. Ask exactly what classes you need to complete before you transfer. Go to community college and complete those classes. Then transfer.
Keep the end goal in sight and stop focusing on what’s happening right now. If you simply can’t handle living at home any longer, get a full time job and move out. But that’s not what you want, is it? You said you’re okay mentally. So stick it out and you’ll be ok. FWIW, I attended CC in So Cal for three years before I transferred to a CSU. I got my degree and it serves me well to this day. You can do this.
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All of your credit from UCM should transfer to other UCs, but the courses may not necessarily count for subject credit.
How much credit have you completed at UCM and your community college?
So sorry to hear about your losses and the difficult situation with your parents.
Schools have specific minimum requirements that have to be met for transfer so exceptions will not be made if you cannot meet them.
Since you live in Riverside, UC Riverside accepts Winter and Spring transfers so if you cannot meet the Fall 2023 deadline, you can try for Winter 2024 or Spring 2024.
There are also several Cal States that accept Spring Transfers so you do not have to wait until Fall 2024 but apply for Spring 2024.
Spring admission campuses:
Cal State Long Beach
Cal State San Bernardino
Cal State Fullerton
Cal State Los Angeles
Hugs and wishing you the best of luck. CS is a highly marketable major so you do not have to go the a prestigious school for undergrad.
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I’m not familiar with the UC/CSU system but just wanted to send my support and condolences for your loses. I’m very sorry.
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I am so sorry to hear what happened to you. How devastating. It must have felt like a crushing burden, impossible to bear at time.
wrt your direct question:
What’s your GPA?
What classes have you completed (exactly - through HS DE/AP credit, UCM, or CC)?
What universities are your friends attending - is that where you want to go or would any university where you could attend work?
It’s not a race. It’s a marathon. Pacing yourself is of the utmost importance. You want the highest possible grades to best position yourself and have choices. Whether that’s Winter 2024, Spring 2024, or Fall 2024 doesn’t matter as long as you make it.
First, since you have IT/CS skills, can you find a part-time job that pays well enough to allow you to move out and live with friends since living at home drives you crazy (and/or makes you super sad)?
Next, can you make an appointment with a Transfer counselor at your CC and see what you need to complete to get into UC Riverside or a CSU - in terms of gen ed requirements, in terms of pre-reqs for your major, and in terms of GPA/grades?
Third, what’s your financial situation like?
Fourth, are you seeing a therapist (on campus perhaps) to help you emotionally and mentally? Or a religious leader/priest/pastor you trust? Do you have “fun”, positive outlets (a team you’re part of, for instance - I know that was a pb in Merced)?
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I have no idea how I ended up in this thread, nevertheless I do have a couple of thoughts for the OP:
I have two kids that had very high stats and graduated at the top of their class. They both got lots of acceptances. One started at Cal Poly and then transferred to University of WA. The other one started at UW. Both did well in college in their technical/healthcare degrees. This is all related to my point: BOTH of them tell me if they could do anything different, they would have started out at a Community College. To any extent the college name matters, its the one on your final diploma that matters.
A second thought: there is some research that says that students who take a gap year do significantly better in college, graduate faster, and are happier in their careers than those who don’t take a break from the education treadmill. It might be something to reconsider and approach your parents about–especially if finances are an issue since the best scholarship offers go to incoming freshman. You could use that year to beef up your CS related resume.
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I’m sorry for all you are going through…but most people do not go blind from cataracts. Are you sure this is what she has?
But to your question…I believe you will need to satisfy the requirements to transfer to a four year CA public. I don’t believe there are exceptions given.
Please…just take the time to get this all done. College will be there, but you really need to make sure you are feeling well enough to actually attend and do well.
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@LilFruch I am so sorry to hear about your overwhelming year.
Do as well as you can this semester given the circumstances. You need to start to set a track record of college level success while knocking out the requirements. There are many students taking different pathways to an undergrad degree. Take your time in researching your options to transfer and make sure you understand what will be accepted.
Maybe you can find an internship next summer that will help further fine tune your tech/CS interests. If the CC offers an Associates or certification in a computer science area of interest that completion can demonstrate your abilities.
Find someone you can talk to about your family, so you have an outlet to help you process all of those really tough parts of your life.