Hello!
I’m currently going into my senior year in high school, and my grades are less than perfect.
Before I start, I’ve been looking around here, and:
- Yes, I know how hard it is for OOS CC applicants to transfer.
- Yes, I know how expensive out of state tuition is, money is not a problem.
- No, I don’t dream of going to California for the ‘name’ or to ‘live the good life’. It’s for a very personal reason.
My freshman and most of my sophomore year, I didn’t have any motivation whatsoever, and my GPA is not enough to get into the top schools I want to get into. The two at the top are UC Berkeley and UCLA. Everything but my GPA is great. I have been on the Varsity golf team since sophomore year, I do Judo, I have over 200+ service hours, I lead a service group, and I’ve done a semester in Italy. Obviously, GPA > EC’s, and my GPA does not cut it. I was already considering going to CC to figure out what I want to do with my life all while getting my Gen Ed’s out of the way, so doing it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to me.
Obviously, in-state CC’s get more priority over out-of-state CC’s. I’m wondering the best path to make in order to go to UCB or UCLA. I looked into going to a local uni and transferring, but people have said it is a lot harder to transfer credits over from uni to uni. Then I looked into local CC’s --> UC, however OOS transfer students have a hard time getting in. I’ve looked at CCC’s, but there’s pro’s/con’s there too. None of which are a deal-breaker for me, too.
My main questions:
If I maintain a 4.0 GPA at my local CC, do EC’s/Honors/Service, how good of a chance do I have to get into UCB/UCLA?
If I move to Cali, and go to a CCC, would I be treated as any other CCC student in terms of acceptance? (Minus the OOS tuition)
I’m not looking for any lectures on OOS tuition or how Cali isn’t what it is on TV, I know that. I’d just like to know my best option for getting accepted as a transfer.
Also, I’m in Ohio if that helps any.
Yes your best option is starting at a CCC.
Thank you for including your first few points, since we can skip all that and get down to it.
Like Happy said, your overall best option is a CCC. However, some OOS CC students are accepted, so its not like your chances are zero coming from OOS.
What major are you considering? A major plus of the CCC system is a website called assist.org, which shows which classes are needed for the lower division requirement of the different majors at different schools. OOS CCs don’t have that, so people have to guess at what classes are equivalent.
If money isn’t a problem, I’d say CCC
I’m thinking of majoring in some type of engineering, probably mech, although I would be willing to switch to a different major in the same category that isn’t so competitive until I get to the actual uni. Also, is it possible to go to a local CC for the first year, then a CCC the second and still be treated as a CCC student in admissions?
Thanks for your responses.
I agree with the others that a CCC is your best bet if you can fund it financially. Your tuition residency status will not affect your admission chances and you will be on equal footing with other CCC applicants.
UCLA publishes the statistics of their transfer admits/applicants and generally Berkeley’s stats are only a tad bit (0.1-.0.2 GPA points) higher:
https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof14_mjr.htm
As you can see, outside of the uber selective majors, (i.e. Cal Haas, Cal EECS, UCLA Biz Econ, UCLA Communications, etc.) a 4.0 GPA and completion of all your major prerequisites are enough to get you into both UCLA and Cal as a CCC transfer. (ECs would further help your cause of course.)
Another added incentive of attending a CCC is a good portion of them have priority programs (UCLA TAP and UCSD ULink for instance) that may actually increase your chances of admission.
On the other hand, I don’t think the increase in chances are significant over an OOS CC if you are looking at the “uber” competitive majors, with some exceptions like Berkeley Haas which historically doesn’t accept OOS CC transfers.
Count on possibly a little longer than 2 years in CCC for completing engineering prereqs. Also UCLA TAP is only for majors in the College of Letters and Science, so doesn’t include HSSEAS majors.
Are you sure? I’ll need at least 60 credits to transfer as a junior, and according to this: http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/admissions/erkki-admissions-pages/hsseas-transfer-requirements
I’ll have to do a bit over 15 credits a semester, but that’s not a big deal.
Transfer requirements show 5 semesters of math and should be taken in order. Summer classes are a possibility, but not all classes are available. What level of math would you start at?
The transfer profile shows that the average admitted Mech E student had an average 118 to 123 quarter units (78-82 semester units).
It looks like at some CCCs, those 5 math courses can be done in 2 years.
Okay, I’ll definitely research which ones do. I’ve not seen anything, but is taking some online courses throughout my last year of high school an option?
Sure. Many students here are dual enrolled and complete CCC credits during high school.
Just make sure your online classes are UC transferable, and you’ll probably wan to take them through a CCC.
Re CC->CCC, yes, you will be considered a CCC transfer if you complete 30 CCC units and it is your last school of residence (that just means you can’t go CCC->CC).
Mech E is pretty competitive across the UCs, don’t stress about fitting all the requirements into 2 years if it will affect your grades.
When considering CCCs, use assist.org to see which CCCs have the most requirements available to take. It won’t help you at all if you come to California but the CCC you chose only has 2/10 prereqs.
Okay, thanks for your help guys!
Good luck! Please come back and let us know how its going!
@eagle21, As far as OOS CC → CCC → UC, it will all depend on the course transferability of the OOS CC, but the CSUs/UCs only have agreements with CCCs on what can transfer so it’s a large risk to attend an OOS CC which might be invalidated by the UCs.
Consider how stringent UCB and UCLA are with AP test scores and how 3’s are not usually considered passing. It’s very likely that they will evaluate OOS CC courses similarly which usually ends up where you have to take additional courses for partial/no credit just to meet their requirements. It’s also somewhat common for a CCC to declare a major prep course as “equivalent” only to be overruled at the UC level so it’s better to err on the side of caution when considering transferability.
Source: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/transfer/advising/transferring-credits/
Additionally, the definition of a “California community college transfer applicant” has two explicit requirements:
- Complete at least 30 semester (45 quarter) UC-transferable units at one or more California community colleges.
- Have attended, immediately before admission to a UC campus, a California community college (excluding summer sessions).
So if you are adamant on the OOS CC route, you would realistically need to spend one academic year at a CCC along with either the prior spring semester or summer session ensuring that you meet all the prerequisites and assessments for the UC transferable courses.
Source: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/transfer/advising/igetc/
I completely agree with @Happy2Help that you should plan to take 2-3 years at a CCC prior to transferring. It’s sometimes not a question of class difficulty but rather scheduling conflicts and limited availability that will hinder your ability to get all the necessary classes in less time. A lot of OOS and international students underestimate how crowded the CCC system is.
Lastly, UC-transferable hard science and math courses are usually not offered online because they require either a lab portion or have a physical class discussion requirement from state education standards. Additionally there are federal regulations that make it very hard (sometimes impossible) for OOS students to take online courses at a CCC.
Source: https://studentweb.sdccd.edu/docs/OnlineStatesNotPermitted.pdf
Edit: Sorry for any duplicate information; I didn’t refresh the page prior to posting.
As a parent, I’d still be interested in what you mean by “money is not a problem.” Is that what they told you? As long as you’ve done your due diligence with your parents, that they understand the financial commitment and schedule, and are comfortable with an average $50K-$75K+ for just your total CCC costs (tuition, housing, meals, etc) over 2-3 years, I would say yes, come to California. We can use the extra money to help fund our in-state students. I’d be happy to recommend some Los Angeles and Orange County CCCs.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/california-colleges/1802004-so-you-want-to-come-to-california-for-college-p1.html
Edit: This was not meant to be a “lecture” but a friendly statement for your parents.
I’d highly recommend SMC if you are looking at going to UCLA
@SDGoldenBear Thank you for the info, and luckily I’m in Ohio which is not on that list. I know the main courses aren’t to be taken online, but I’m talking about the smaller ones. Could I knock those out here at home in Ohio this year?
@Happy2Help I’ve talked with my parents, and they’re fine with paying as long as it’s a very good school and helps set up a bright future for myself. My father makes very good money, and originally wanted to send me to a private university which costs around $60k.
@luckie1367 Thanks for your recommendation, I’ll definitely research SMC some more.