Hi guys. First time poster here, although I used to frequent a lot when I was in HS. Long story short, up until I finished 10th grade I was in really good academic standing (and in my community, very active in school and local community). Start of 11th grade I had some severe health issues that caused me to leave school and I got my GED my graduating year, which was 2014. (They say you really can’t plan for the future, hah, I’m living proof of that :P). I took a gap year, I worked in a law office and traveled, as well as kept up with a volunteer position I’ve had since 2010. I never took SATS or the ACT. I took the only AP available to 10th graders at the time, AP World History, and got a 4 on the exam.
Anyway, fast forward to now, I’m enrolling in Pierce college as an incoming freshman. I want to transfer out ASAP, and I realize the fastest transfer I could potentially do is USC, or any private school that would allow a one year transfer. But my dream school was always UCLA (I don’t have a major yet, but my intended career path is public relations). Since this is my first time in college and the IGETC is new to me, I have a few questions on how to make sure I’m in the best standing to transfer: does it necessarily matter what IGETC approved classes I take as long as they fulfill requirements? For example, my first semester I’m taking everything but math/english (My family is moving to CA, and where I currently am there isn’t a center that does testing, but my counselor said I can take the exam there and take those courses Spring or summer, need be). So IGETC section 51, Physical Science, if I take Geography 23 (Hazardous and Severe Weather), would that look better/worse/not matter compared to say, Chemistry 60 or a Physics class? I know I mentioned I didn’t have a specifics for my major yet but it isn’t going to be science or math (My strengths were foreign language and humanities in school) but regardless, I want to challenge my me but also reflect well when application time comes.
Sorry for the novel but I’d appreciate any and all advice. Thank you!
If your dream school is UCLA, then shoot for it (unless you’re absolutely committed to USC or getting out of CC in one year, but it doesn’t seem like it). If your major is definitely not going to be related to science or math (you may change your mind, social sciences are sort of similar to the humanities and you would probably find some of them interesting), then it won’t matter what sort of classes you will be taking to satisfy IGETC. Just make sure you are taking classes that are counted towards IGETC. Don’t take any courses that you aren’t interested in - you’re less likely to do well in them.
I took Geography to fulfill that requirement. Not much of a fan, and I honestly wish I did something like Physics, but it’s fine. Choose what you’re interested - it won’t matter if you won’t major in anything related to it.
Public Relations… Very few people have a set-in-stone career path at the beginning of college. Take courses in different disciplines that interest you. Maybe you should look into Communications, Sociology, Political Science, etc.? Those all seem relevant to what you’re interested in. Just flip through Pierce’s course catalog and see what you find interesting. Make sure you complete the foreign language requirement, it should tell you what you have to take on IGETC. You might also like Linguistics if you really enjoy foreign languages.
Oh, and do try to complete your necessary math/science courses ASAP.
You will need at least 60 semester units, or 90 quarter units, to be eligible to transfer to a UC. USC’s requirements are probably 30 units - I’m not really sure honestly, I know very little about transferring to privates.
I don’t have too much to contribute (I wasn’t a one-year transfer), but I do know that oftentimes private universities will require SAT or ACT scores for freshman/sophomore transfers, and if you’re a younger transfer, they will oftentimes count your high school GPA in their decision. If you do shoot for a private, be sure to talk to admissions at each private school to be sure that your courses will transfer. You can transfer to some private colleges in less than even a year–sometimes as early as the spring semester. If you want to wait it out for UCLA, that’s fine, too–I almost applied to some privates but wound up waiting until my sophomore year so that I could apply to UCs (wound up going to UCLA, coincidentally).
As for IGETC, as far as I’m aware, it doesn’t matter which classes you take so long as they’re IGETC-certified and meet the requirements. What matters way more than which IGETC classes you take are your major prep courses (check Assist.org for this). Like @goldencub said, it’s good to take GE classes in different areas–you might discover a new interest. You don’t have to declare a major right away (it’s good to be certain of what you’re interested in before you commit to it), but when you do, I’d recommend looking at the major pre-requisites on Assist. Some majors have lots of pre-reqs, and completing those classes matters a lot when applying to UCs (especially to UCLA or Berkeley).
I highly discourage a one year plan for your situation for four reasons:
Since you need two semesters of English to transfer and you don't have a testing center nearby, it would be very difficult to take all the required assessments and register the classes in time to add the IGETC 1A requirement for the Fall.
Most successful one year transfers have at least 20 semester units under their belt and for some majors it's recommended to have more than that for two reasons: it's very hard to fit in all the required courses in two semesters schedule-wise and despite the 60 semester unit minimum, most admits have much more than that. Admitted Comm majors last year had an average of 68 semester units.
Since you don't have a major set in stone, a one year plan discourages you from really exploring what you want and places unneeded pressure to get out fast without fine-tuning your interests. The one year transfer plan isn't financially sound if it can potentially cause you to stay longer than necessarily, whether by choice or not, at the university you eventually end up in--especially if your not granted in-state tuition since your coming from outside CA.
ALOT of people want to go into public relations and therefore all related fields are very selective. Since your aiming for UCLA and the requirements for TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee) are very similar, why not make use of it by staying the second year and completing the requirements?
@goldencub: Thank you for the advise. I want to be conscious of my GPA and my strengths/weaknesses, and while with science I was decent at, my low point was always math/anything math related (chemistry, physics), not only in terms of ability but general interest. So far I’m taking advantage of that (anthropology, philosophy, geography, etc, all classes that fill the IGETC and interest me). While I would love to learn another language in college, I just want to focus on getting the IGETC done (plus, I took the maximum three years my school had of my language, Latin, and had an A so it looks like I’m done there.)
@apocalypso I definitely plan on talking to admissions once I get to CA and get the move over with, just to clarify everything and make sure I have something set in stone. If I could ask you though, since you transferred after two years to UCLA vs doing a one year, looking back do you think that was the right choice? As I mentioned UCLA is my dream school (was in high school too) and while I also like USC/LMU/other private schools in CA I just feel that maybe in the grand scheme of things a one year transfer might be more beneficial to me in the long run? Or am I over thinking things?
@SDGoldenBear First, congrats on the one year transfer: it cannot be easy. You do have a point and I appreciate your point of view. While a one year transfer might give me more of the ‘college’ experience in the end, I think I’d rather not have the pressure and take time to think about a specific major.
Oh, well you don’t have to worry about taking a foreign language if you had 3 years in high school. You only need passing grades in 2 years. You’re fine there.
@sd1326 Ehh, I used to really want to transfer in a year (even less, if I could), and came very close to applying to some privates. In the end, I think that having the extra year was important. I’m sure that most of us would really like to get through CC as quickly as possible, but having my options open was important to me. Your goals will also likely shift in that year, although it isn’t necessary to stay an extra year. I am, however, definitely glad that I stayed–I wouldn’t have gotten into UCLA otherwise, and I’ve saved money (which feels pretty good when you’re looking at your loan amounts). Remember that if you transfer in the spring, you likely won’t be eligible for aid under FAFSA because you didn’t submit a FAFSA to USC last March.
Another thing to consider (aside from academics) is something someone else said in another thread: personal growth. What I wanted out of college and out of my life evolved during that second year at CC. Life happens. I think that if I had transferred earlier, I may have come to regret it because of the ways I’ve changed and matured as a person. If you’re 100% sure you want to go to a private, go ahead and apply, but I wasn’t 100% sure and I’m glad that I waited. In the grand scheme of things, an extra year isn’t a long time at all, and if you’re at all unsure about your goals, keeping your options open can be good. Waiting the second year is also a good option if your SAT/ACT scores and/or high school GPA aren’t competitive.
I agree with @apocalypso. I originally wanted to transfer in a year, and even had a major picked out, school, and the rest of my classes. But my first year I went through so much personal growth, and continued two to three years after. Along with personal events that’s changed things in my life, I went through so many different interests in school, changing my major literally hundreds of times, dropping some semesters. Anyway, I’m glad I didn’t transfer when I planned, I would have wasted so much money. Use this time to explore majors, learn about yourself, and don’t feel pressure to meet any expectations other than your own.