<p>^^ Couldn't have said it better myself. </p>
<p>I will add something to that though. UCM will still be worth nothing even in 2011 after it's accredited. It will need at least a good 10-20 years before it can be truly established, and even then I think it will be on par with the lower end UCs like Riverside and Santa Cruz.</p>
<p>The Community Colleges of the UCs...UCM. At least that's what UCM is considered at my high school..</p>
<p>I think we owe a big thank you to Detox, Premed4Life, and MORECOWBELL!!. Without them, most of us would be still stuck under the false guise that UCM has a lot offer. I'm not trying to degrade the school since reputation obviously comes with time (as do most things worth anything in life) but to restate what the current UCM students have said in a nutshell, UCM -> Transfer to Top Tier UC -> Top Tier UC Grad Program -> Living the good life. </p>
<p>So on behalf of myself and myself, Thank you guys for the information you've provided this forum.</p>
<p>And a special thank you to Cali Trumpet for being the realist most of us are reluctant to be on the internet. ;]</p>
<p>Before, You guys totally freak out with regards to transferring. May I suggest you go to the UCM website. Pull up alumni and read some of the grad profiles of recent graduates.</p>
<p>I'm glad I had the chance to help. I won't be back for a week or so due to finals but feel free to PM me with any questions you guys may have and I'll get back to you in a little while.</p>
<p>Good luck everyone!</p>
<p>fusionall : thanks I almost felt obligated to help everyone out and tell them what really goes down at UC merced. People are all too often hoodwinked by the tour guides here, and take their word as Law. "Small class sizes"....great but it doesnt matter if the student teacher ratio is 1:1, Im still not getting into my top grad school after working my a@@ off for a 3.8? Outragous. :(</p>
<p>Leviathan, no one's telling you getting into Harvard or Yale from Merced is IMPOSSIBLE, but it sure as hell isn't easy as you make it sound. Harvard and Yale Law and its other grad schools take many top undergrads from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, and schools of that caliber. What makes you think you can compete with those students when you probably couldn't compete with them at the high school level (did you apply and not get into HYPS?). As impossible as Harvard or Yale is to get into as an undergrad, Harvard/Yale Law is many times more difficult. </p>
<p>Law school admissions is largely based on GPA, LSAT scores, prestige of the undergraduate school, recommendations, and extracurricular activities. Unless your SAT score is really high, you're going to have a hard time with the LSAT, as it is MUCH harder than the SAT. I don't think a high GPA would be a big problem at Merced for a bright student, as Merced isn't necessarily filled with the brightest bulbs in the factory. However, a 3.9 from Merced is going to hold much less weight than a 3.5 from Yale or Princeton, and there will be less opportunities at newly established school like Merced compared to schools that have endowments the size of small countries. </p>
<p>It's great that you have aspirations to go to Harvard or Yale law, but you have to look at it realistically, or you're setting yourself up for disappointment. And judging from the grammatical errors in your writing (your vs. you're for one), you need to work on your English skills before even thinking about Yale Law.</p>
<p>I thank you all for telling me how difficult getting into Harvard/Yale Law is.</p>
<p>and to battleship2012:
Thank you for telling me that my grammar skills aren't perfect. I understand where YOU'RE coming from but, it doesn't mean that I can't go to those schools.</p>
<p>Why does everyone have an issue with me wanting to go to Harvard/Yale Law? Just to let you know, people want there to be peace amongst all the countries in the world but, just because they want it, doesn't mean it will happen. However it could. I know this, and I'm sure you do to. Therefore, just because I WANT to go to Harvard/Yale Law, doesn't mean it will happen. However it could. So chill. </p>
<p>If I want to reach for the stars, then I can, and so can anyone else.</p>
<p>So your point is 'I can do anything if I just put my mind to it?" </p>
<p>Let me ask you this... have you tried flying lately? It's rather hard actually. I would associate flying with getting into Harvard for most people, because no matter how hard you try and no matter how high your scores are, you still gotta be special to get admitted. That means getting published, being the son of a president/million dollar donor parents, curing cancer, etc. </p>
<p>But you're right, if you want to reach for the stars... who's going to stop you?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Just to let you know, people want there to be peace amongst all the countries in the world but, just because they want it, doesn't mean it will happen. However it could.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>However, world peace will probably never be achieved. And your getting into Harvard/Yale Law school from UCM will probably be just as unlikely.</p>
<p>Who wants to go to Harvard/Yale anyway when they have over 34Billion in endowment money yet can't help out students with the cost of attendence?</p>
<p>Ouch, give the kid a break. Instead of telling him how difficult it is, let's suggest some possible ways he can have a chance at achieving his goal. I'm not saying this is the way you should do it personally but this is the path I'm setting up myself to follow for the time being. </p>
<p>Transfer out of UCM to another, more prestigious UC. Do good there and what reason would graduate programs have to deny you if you're qualified?</p>
<p>On your diploma, it doesn't say "UC Berkeley via UC Merced transfer". It just says UC Berkeley. </p>
<p>Focus on being an excellent undergrad first before we start looking at what's next...and as another member posted, suddenly the Ivys are in reach...just not from the valley. ;]</p>
<p>"Who wants to go to Harvard/Yale anyway when they have over 34Billion in endowment money yet can't help out students with the cost of attendence?"</p>
<p>Actually, harvard has eleminated tuition for lower income students >85k I think :rolleyes:</p>
<p>To Premed4Life: That's Stanford, mate. </p>
<p>DOH! haha thats right, stanford harvard...tomato potato...lol I stand corrected!</p>
<p>You stand corrected for the time being. It's only a matter of time before most of the other Ivys follow suit. I can see a lot of other schools having to do the same reduction as Stanford as most of the brightest yet least financially stable students would opt to go to Stanford based on this alone.</p>
<p>I agree fully with Terpdad. It's ridiculous that most other Ivys can't help their students out.</p>
<p>But I can also see another situation in which the other Ivy League schools retain their high tuition rates to prove that you are paying for "something" and you are getting your money's worth. I would like to dub this concept the "designer syndrome". At the end of the day, the shirt from Target functions in the same exact way as the shirt from Marc Jacobs, just a lot cheaper...but then again it's the thread of one's personality and determination that weaves their way into college and into higher paying jobs, not the thread on their back.</p>
<p>Hmm, thoughts anyone?</p>
<p>Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and quite a few other elite schools offer excellent financial aid to its students, especially to those most in need. Harvard, Yale, and Stanford recently announced new policies which make it possible for all students to graduate without loans.</p>
<p>Harvard alone earns over 700 mil in interest. You would think they could afford to reward their students. 4.0 tuition free, 3.5 and up 3/4's paid and so on. Alumni always contribute later based on their success.</p>
<p>Uhhhh you know when you guys transfer it still shows up on your transcript when applying to the top grad schools so a 4 yr at Berkeley/LA/SD still may look more impressive than a 2 yr merced transfer to 2 more years at another UC....</p>
<p>So your point is: We're screwed any way? </p>
<p>Right? Isn't that your point?
I don't think we're screwed but that's your point. </p>
<p>Don't you think we already know this...</p>
<p>To OoPurestOo: I highly doubt that. And even if it were true, 2 years at Merced + 2 years at Berkeley still looks more impressive than 4 years at Merced, not to mention the academic initiative you show in the act of transferring itself. Only determined students would consider transferring.</p>
<p>I don't know about your transcript but I know the final diploma makes no reference to transferring. It doesn't say "UC Berkeley via UC Merced". It simply says "UC Berkeley".</p>
<p>Also, I'd say we have the advantage in going to Merced and transferring, assuming that our cumulative GPAs would be higher than a person who went to Berkeley all 4 years. We enter junior year with a higher GPA than the native students (theoretically of course since we went to an easier institution) and thus improving our chances of getting into a decent graduate program. A higher GPA looks more impressive than a lower one, I'm assuming we all can agree to that, and we have an easier way of attaining it.</p>
<p>What are you going on about anyway? What does it matter to you?</p>
<p>Did you know going to Harvard looks more impressive than going to a UC? -_-</p>