Hi, I will be attending my local community college this fall of 2020. I am currently deciding on which classes I need to take but I have so many questions on what are the appropriate classes I need to transfer to a UC’s.
- Should I complete my IGETC classes my first year or it really doesn’t matter?
- Are IGETC classes the same as GE classes, so if I finish my IGETC classes I don’t need GE classes?
- For my major, the transfer pathway courses are Microeconomics, Macroeconomics,Single variable calculus (one-year sequence), Statistics, Introduction to business (including finance), Financial accounting, Managerial accounting. Does it mean that I have to complete all of these following courses at community college to qualify for transfer or I can still complete these at my 4 year college?
Thanks, any feedback will help!
If you complete IGETC at your community college before transfer to a UC or CSU, then CSUs and most UCs will consider that as fulfilling most or all lower division general education requirements (a few campuses or majors do not, such as UCB business or engineering). If you do not complete IGETC before transfer, or you transfer to a program that does not accept IGETC, then courses taken can fulfill some general education requirements on a course-by-course basis. Courses that fulfill IGETC categories can also fulfill requirements for your major.
Note that IGETC for CSU requires an oral communication course, while IGETC for UC requires some foreign language.
In most cases, it is preferable to prioritize major preparation courses (to the extent that they are available) over completing IGETC if you cannot schedule your courses to complete both while at community college. However, some courses must be completed before transfer, such as the https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/transfer-requirements/preparing-to-transfer/basic-requirements.html for UCs and https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/transfer/Pages/upper-division-transfer.aspx for CSUs.
You can check http://www.assist.org for course articulation by major (although some UCs and CSUs may not have the by major listings for the latest academic year; check previous academic years but verify on the UC or CSU department web site to check if the requirements have changed).
There is a UC Transfers section of these forums, with some FAQ threads stuck at the top that you should read.
And I recently just checked that my major is not part of UCI’s Tag program. So can I choose my major as undeclared, then transfer and choose my designated major at the 4 year college?
If the major is one of the more competitive ones for transfer admission, it may be very difficult to change into after transferring. If you want to know more, contact the department with your question.