<p>Hi everyone. I'm attending UCSD, but I plan to leave and go back to community college. I've decided that attending college here for my pre-reqs is just too expensive. Because I'm paying for college on my dime, CC seems like the most financially feasible choice. However, I plan to transfer back to the UC system after finishing my lower division courses. This leads me to a few questions (1) Will my UCSD GPA be used when transferring back to the UCs? (2) More specifically, does UCB look at your UCSD GPA?</p>
<p>I ask this because my UCSD GPA is satisfactory. It took me a while to adjust to the college environment, and first quarter I received Cs. Second quarter I received Bs, and by the end of third quarter, I should have all As. If everything turns out well, I should have a 3.2~3.3 depending on whether I receive an A- in one of my courses. I'd like to attend UCB, not because of the prestige of the school, but because it is close to home. I can live at home and reduce the costs of college. If it makes a difference, I'm a Biochemistry and Economics (double major, but if I went to UCB I'd try and apply to HAAS). If I applied to UCB my UCSD GPA would be detrimental to my app since many applicants have 4.0 GPAs. So, is your UC GPA a factor? I've taken 2 Calculus courses/ Micro Econ/ Full year of Chem (no lab couldn't get in)/Some other not important GEs.</p>
<p>In this case, wouldn’t they average the uc gpa and the cc gpa?</p>
<p>Your GPA is determined from all prior colleges you have attended. Berkeley does holistic admissions, so they have some leeway and how they interpret your grades. They might be happy to see a rising GPA. But that’s just speculation on my part</p>
<p>More advice. If you want to go to Cal I suggest you decide you’re on the five-year plan. Meaning you’ll spent two years at the cc. Otherwise when you apply your overall GPA at the time of application is going to be the one from UCSD and you’ll probably be a deny right off the bat. Even if they wait to look at your grades, they only see four or five classes you take the first semester. You need to give them more evidence you’re a better student.</p>
<p>But this comes with a caveat. If you have a mix of two-year and four-year units some UC campuses cap the total number of units you can have and still apply. You’ll need to look into whether this applies at Cal. Said to say there is a possibility that you can’t earn enough units to show the people at Cal you’ve turned around and still be eligible to apply.</p>
<p>Okay I understand that my UCSD GPA does matter now; however, could anyone clarify the formula they use? Do they average your GPA or just look at it. Btw, I am planning on doing 5 years (two at CC). Couple questions. </p>
<p>(1) Assuming I come in a s a double major, would this be beneficial to my app (More classes= More As)? </p>
<p>(2) Do they only count the pre-reqs if I have more than 70 units (105 quarter units), or is there a different unit cap for double majors? </p>
<p>(3) On the quarter system, they have an A-B-C series for calculus classes. I have completed Calc 1 (with my AP credit), took Calc 2 and have taken a Calc 3 class, but the 3rd Calculus class was a 10 series Calc class (20 series is for Science and Engineering majors). So, for Biochemistry I must take the Science and Engineering course, which will be a duplication of credit for the Business major. Would they count the 10 series (not for Science & engineering majors) course or the one I receive from CC (science and Engineering Calc)? </p>
<p>Sorry for making this a bit long, and I know you guys probably don’t have all the answers, but any answers you do know of would be extremely helpful. I plan on talking to a CC counselor and a Cal counselor in the near future to resolve these issues.</p>
<p>They use any and all UC transferable coursework to calculate your GPA for admission. Any coursework taken at a UC is going to automatically be transferable and will be included with what UC transferable coursework you complete at a CCC to determine your GPA. In addition, because you’ve already completed coursework at a UC, you’ll start at Berkeley with the GPA you’ve left off with at UCSD. Your GPA will not reset when you start at another UC. </p>
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<li><p>As far as I know you can only apply as one major and then petition for double major status after you enroll. On the UC application Berkeley only allows you to select one major so I’m not sure how you’d apply as a double major. You may want to further look into that by asking a counselor at your local CC, UCSD, or UC Berkeley. If for some reason you can apply as a double major it should not help or hurt you in the application process. The only way it would help that having more units will allow you the possibility of raising your GPA higher than if you had just the units for one major. Also, if you want to complete the units for a double major before you transfer doing so may put you at even higher risk at passing the unit cap for some of the UC’s, so be aware of that.</p></li>
<li><p>All of your pre-reqs will be counted regardless of units. Once you’re enrolled you start with a maximum of 105 quarter units from a CC, but they’re not specific to any courses. If you’ve only taken courses at a CC you can only start with a max of 105. In your case you’d have 105 CC quarter units + however many four year (UCSD units) you had. That’s where you have to be careful not to go over the unit caps for the specific UC’s. Also, they don’t directly assign units to specific courses if you have over 105, it’s non-specific. They’ll review your transcript for all your courses and designate all prereqs you satisfy and then will just list that you have a cumulative 105 units from community college. There’s no risk at not getting credit for prereqs because again the units aren’t assigned for specific courses. </p></li>
<li><p>You’ll probably have to ask a Berkeley admission rep on that one. My guess is that they’d count both courses into your GPA, it doesn’t matter if you’re a double major or not. It’s whether or not the UC’s see the 10 series course as equivalent to the course you’d be taking at a community college. Again though all UC transferable coursework is going to contribute to your GPA regardless if you met the requirement already for your major. For example, let’s say you’re in a scenario where it lists that you need either course A OR course B to fulfill one of your major requirements. If you take course A and complete that requirement and then take course B, both courses will be counted in your GPA. All UC transferable courses will count unless they’re seen as a direct equivalent of a course you’ve already taken. As long as it’s not a repeat of a course you’ve already passed it will count in your GPA regardless of major requirements. </p></li>
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<p>Make sure you do follow up with a CC and Cal counselor as well. Good luck.</p>