Is attempting to complete 60 semester credits in one year suicide?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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<p>I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but the other topic we were discussing about CCC classes taken before finishing high school was also answered at [another</a> topic](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/uc-transfers/522072-90-units-transfer.html]another”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/uc-transfers/522072-90-units-transfer.html) in this forum, by an admissions representative from UC Davis. Here’s what he had to say:</p>

<p>Q: So does community courses taken in high school count? </p>

<p>A: If the courses are UC transferable then most likely they will be part of your unit count.</p>

<p>Well, that’s that. Looks like we are fine after all. As long as you apply as a transfer student after spending at the very least one full semester at a community college (which one has to do anyway) you are good to go, no matter when you took your (UC-transferable) community college courses. Thanks to everyone for their help!</p>

<p>With that being said and done… JamesGold, now that we are certain that transferring in one year is certainly ‘doable’, we can look at the pros and cons. The pros are that you will be able to transfer in one year. If you are intent on transferring out of community college as soon as possible, then you will be able to by taking 21-24 units a semester, like the case of Koreo’s friend. The cons? Well, for sure you will have a very busy semester! Lots of reading and assignments, trying to juggle around exam days, etc. If you’re not afraid of putting your social life on hold for a while, go for it. If not, I would suggest looking at the option of transferring in two years. It all depends on whether or not you are willing to put your social life largely on hold for the next year or so.</p>

<p>I’m doing the 2-year transfer route, but due to class cuts and cancellations, I have one class in the early morning and one class in the late evening 2 days out of the week. My first class starts at 10:35a and ends at noon, and my night class starts at 7p. So, I essentially have to be at school from around 10a to 10p, when my night class ends. I have a long break from 12p to 7p. You won’t have this problem, since you will probably have classes scheduled all day long, but you will have to get used to long school days. That’s another con. If you take a night class that ends at 10p and you have an early morning class the very next day, you probably will have to stay up late to complete your studying. </p>

<p>Bottom line is, it’s very difficult, but certainly not impossible. :)</p>

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<p>Thanks, Hiroshi. Another pro is saving a few thousand bucks on tuition. But now that I think about it, I don’t see much reason to transfer in one year. I don’t consider community college to be “hell”. I have quite a few friends that will be going with me as well. Why kill myself transferring in one year when I can carry on living my normal life in two and achieve the same result?</p>

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<p>JamesGold, I agree with you. Why rush and finish in one year at the risk of taking loads of classes and having a difficult time juggling all the different assignments/exams you’ll no doubt have in each one of your classes? I was in the same situation as you when I graduated high school. I had accumulated quite a few college units after taking college classes while still in high school, so after finishing high school, I certainly had the option of attending community college for one year, taking 20+ units for two semesters, and then transferring in one year. But I decided not to. Spending 2 years at a community college has been great for me. I’ve taken about 9-12 units a semester (as opposed to 21-24) and have been able to a better job of studying and completing my assignments. During my first official year of college, I was able to have a smooth transition from high school to college, and had a chance to work on and improve my study habits. </p>

<p>Taking 21-24 units may be okay in the beginning of the semester, but imagine when midterms or finals roll around! Or what about transfer application season? You’ll be filling out your college applications and personal statements your very first semester of college, while taking loads of classes. </p>

<p>In conclusion, it’s all up to you, JamesGold. It’s been successfully done before by many other members here, and there are many pros to transferring in one year. I’m sure you would be able to successfully do so as well. But, you will probably have to put your social life on hold and devote yourself to your studies for one full year. Let us know what you decide!</p>

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<p>What’s the rush?
Are you guys really in that much of a hurry to get out into this stellar job market right now? Your undergrad years SHOULD be some of the best years of your life and some of you are trying to knock a year off right out of the gate. I know it’s a community college but still, when else are you going to have this much freedom? Forgive me if I don’t see the point of going through hell for a year so you can have no work experience, no social life, and a year less of undergrad. Seems like a lose lose to me, but to each their own. </p>

<p>And one more point, I may be way off here, but isn’t part of the reason transfers are given priority over others because they are older, more mature and have had certain life experiences and responsibilities? It seems as though by revolving your life around your classes and studying you are completely missing the point. My advice is relax, take two years and get a job. Just my two cents…</p>

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<p>I couldn’t have said it better myself, Bobsonolis! I agree. Spending two years at community college and also working part-time has been a great experience for me. If you transfer in one year, there’s no way you’ll be able to get a job and keep up with your studies at the same time.</p>

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<p>I think people get way too caught up in completing college as fast as they can. I got bit by the “I have to transfer ASAP because I am old and need to get this **** done!”</p>

<p>I went back to school when I was 28. I was taking Honors Classes, and I had no idea exactly what I wanted to do, or where I wanted to transfer too. I was killing myself trying to get it done as fast as possible though. I made myself ****ing crazy trying to do so much and work a job. It got to the point where I was still getting A’s, but I wasn’t really learning anything and doing the bare minimum to get those A’s. Not to mention I all of a sudden had NO social life after having a pretty robust one for years.</p>

<p>I took a variety of classes so I could find exactly what I wanted to do for a major. I took the time to research a TON of schools. I also took time to relax and stop trying to rush through CC. It took me this long to get back into school, I dont need to be rushing through it just because.</p>

<p>I now know what I want to major in (double major Hist/Poli Sci) and I am glad I took the time to figure it out. I am now dedicated to 3 years at CC. I just accepted that in order to get my Pre-Reqs for 2 majors done, my IGETC, and take advantage of serving in clubs/ec’s like Phi Theta Kappa and being able to work/enjoy life as well well worth it for me.</p>

<p>I will be applying to Berkeley/UCLA/UCSD/UCSB as a solid and prepared transfer candidate. The economy sucks right now, so I feel fine about being where I am. After being away from school for so long, I really feel like I am building a solid educational base that will lead me to succeed to much greater heights once I transfer to a UC. That to me is well worth the extra year.</p>

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<p>if u schedule right, then it’s not that bad taking 24 units like me. i’m at school on mondays from 9am-9:15pm. i have a 2 hour gap for my 3 classes, giving me enough time to do HW. on tuesdays im at school from 1pm-10pm. 2 hour gap again. but from wednesday-saturday i just have 1 class each day so it’s not that bad. yes, u go to school 6 days a wk…but once u get into berkeley, ucla etc…would that even matter?</p>

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<p>you know laker, the first time I heard you say that it was easy I kind of believed you. but the fact that you need to continually post about how easy just makes me think you are rationalizing it. I’m taking 19 units, granted I also have a full time job. It’s not easy, don’t mislead people.</p>

<p>kind of reminds me of the guys you see in class that get high grades all the time on tests and say they dont ever study, but then you see them in some dark corner of the library chewing on their nails.</p>

<p>and what school do you goto that allows you to take classes that are one day a week? I’ve looked over schedules at 4 schools, and none I have seen have that…</p>

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<p>i guess i have a different definition of “easy.” what i should have said was that it is “simple.” meaning all you have to do is go to school, pay attention, do the minimal work required to get an A, and that’s about it…i work 10-15 hours too at my school. i study maybe 1-2 hours outside of school. the 2 hr gaps is enough for me to do all my studying. i go to orange coast college. all my classes are once a wk besides one.</p>

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<p>“i guess i have a different definition of “easy.” what i should have said was that it is “simple.” meaning all you have to do is go to school, pay attention, do the minimal work required to get an A, and that’s about it…i work 10-15 hours too at my school. i study maybe 1-2 hours outside of school. the 2 hr gaps is enough for me to do all my studying. i go to orange coast college. all my classes are once a wk besides one.”</p>

<p>I saw you post in another thread where you study half an hour to an hour. I don’t mean to be rude but I know your type, exaggerations, rationalizations, and over compensations. Don’t tell everyone else 24 units is a cake walk when in fact it is not. It is a waste of time anyways, why goto school if you aren’t going to learn? The bare minimum required for an “A” is far from what you should be striving for. /endpreach</p>

<p>Others will see what you say, assume it is easy, get over burdoned, and drop a lot of classes or have their grades suffer.</p>

<p>My 5 class course load is coming to fruition. I have 3 midterms in the next 3 days, 2 of those midterms will entail more studying then I have time available. Imagine when you have 5 of your 7 classes with midterms in the same week. I don’t care if you are the smartest person in the world, unless you dedicate every waking moment of your days to school and pick the easiest possible instructors, it just isn’t feasible. And lying to people on the forums about how much you study will only serve to make you feel bigger and them smaller for no good reason. Think about it, you study on your 2 hours gaps(I swear you said 3 hours before) and 1-2 hours away from school(you said half an hour to an hour before) and that’s before you have had any midterms… 4 hours a day to keep up with the bare minimum requirements of a class. </p>

<p>Meh, someone put a fork in me… I’m done.</p>

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<p>^^if you can’t handle 24 units, or even ur 19 units, no one really cares. community college isn’t that hard. if you can’t handle don’t try to say that it “just isn’t feasible.” you may think it’s impossible b/c ur not smart enough, or dedicated enough, but others like the OP, me, and other people in this thread actually enjoy taking on “challenges.” </p>

<p>the OP wants to finish in 1 year. and i was simply stating that it wasn’t as hard as it may seem. so if u can’t handle it, then good for you. don’t try to come on here and discourage smarter students to take on challenges. u think it’ll get easier at berkeley or ucla?</p>

<p>and did i say 1/2-1 hour before, instead of 1-2 hours? is there a big difference? if you are going to attack my credibility, say something that will ACTUALLY hurt my credibility. like u should of asked me what my low GPA was or something (4.0 btw)</p>

<p>here’s my schedule btw. u seem to care more about it than i do. i have 2 hour gaps and one 140 minute gap. so 2-3 hour gaps. u happy now?</p>

<p><a href=“http://i287.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/ll129/lakerforever24/schedule.jpg[/url]”>http://i287.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/ll129/lakerforever24/schedule.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I’m actually a junior in high school so I have some time to think about it. From the information I’ve gathered, it looks like transferring in two years is the better idea. Thank you everyone for your input.</p>

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<p>If you are still in HS why don’t you take some classes dual enrollment? Knock some GEs or english classes out of the way. This will either let you transfer in 1 year or make transferring in 2 years less stressful.</p>

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<p>Yes, I agree with Rpicton. If you’re still a junior, you still have 2 years until finishing high school graduation. So, you can take some community college classes while still in high school and complete some units before you graduate. That way, when you do graduate and start going to college, you might actually be able to transfer after just one year in community college without taking too many courses each semester since you’ll have already finished taking some of your GE courses before graduating.</p>

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<p>I agree with the two posts above me. You can take one next semester, then a couple during the summer, a couple more during your Senior year, and then a couple more during the summer. That’s already a whopping 21 units! (give or take a few). I wish I did that lol. With all that, you could take three semesters and then relax, or this is what I would do, take a few classes that you actually are INTERESTED in regardless of the fact if it’s transferable or not.</p>

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<p>I’m already taking a pretty heavy course load this school year (3 AP’s) and 4 AP’s next year. Adding classes on top of my fairly rigorous schedule might be overkill, but I could still take some classes during the summer from the local CC. Interesting thought…</p>

<p>If I took two classes this upcoming summer, and two the summer of my senior year, that could amount to anywhere from 12 to about 20 credits. I’ll stay on the conservative side and say I only complete 12. My AP credits (21) + my summer CC classes (12) = 33 credits, 27 shy of the 60 required. 27 credits is easily completed in one year at CC. </p>

<p>But this all relies on being able to take prerequisite classes for my major during the summer. Am I allowed to do that?</p>

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<p>It depends on what your major is, and if your major prerequisite courses don’t in turn have prerequisite courses. For instance, if one of your prereq courses is Calculus I, that course in turn has prerequisites. So it all depends on your major.</p>

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<p>I see. Good lord, why are the prerequisites for the economics major at UCLA so much more math intensive than any of the other UC’s? That’s unfair.</p>

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<p>^^ u should just do biz econ. a lil harder to get into, but not that much math. im not sure but does econ require calc 3? biz econ is only calc 2, and econ stuff, with acct stuff</p>

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<p>Yes, either way, you’ll need to either place into a very high math course at the community college when you take your placement test – or, if not, you need to complete the necessary prerequisites.</p>