ucla is closer to home, has a far better campus, doesn’t have an insane housing crisis like ucsb (and ucla now guarantees housing for 4 years), is much more highly regarded for my intended major and career, and has better internship opportunities for me in the LA area. it goes a lot further than just a simple ego boost. if i’d gotten into another uc that was more known for my major, i wouldn’t mind sticking with it; however, that’s not the case.
obviously, i’m not going to be within the top 1% of students at ucsb. there will always be plenty of people who are better than me, people who deserved to go to a better school, but for one reason or another, didn’t or couldn’t. but having the opportunity of making it to ucla by giving up the freshman year experience seems like a rather reasonable trade-off. that, and if @mikemac is right, i would be able to stay at ucla for 3 years after transferring rather than having to graduate after only 2 at la (i’m planning on speaking to someone at ucla soon to confirm this based on my current coursework).
What’s your intended major at ucla ?
I am asking since some majors are extremely hard (especially engineering) to transfer from CC in one year, even if you completed 12 APs in HS.
political science, which doesn’t have too many pre reqs and has a 40% acceptance rate for transfers. i’m considering econ as well, but this only has a 19% acceptance rate for transfers.
I thought SB economics is pretty good too.
If money savings are important and want to be in LA , then you can think about taking the CC route.
Also, UCSD economics is better than UCLA in ranking. That option will open up too with CC.
UCLA political science has 6 prerequisites, none of which can be fulfilled by your AP credit: Welcome to ASSIST
UCLA economics has 7 prerequisites, two of which (MATH 31A and 31B) can be fulfilled by your AP credit: Welcome to ASSIST
UCLA math economics has 11 prerequisites, two of which (MATH 31A and 31B) can be fulfilled by your AP credit: Welcome to ASSIST . This major may be better preparation for PhD study in economics than the regular economics major.
Transfers to UCs enter as juniors, and are supposed to be on a two year plan to graduate, though many take extra quarters or semesters beyond two academic years due to having to “catch up” on lower division courses not available at their CCs.
UCLA does have limits on units and number of quarters according https://caac.ucla.edu/policies/unit-maximum/ indicates that if you go beyond fall of your third year after transfer (i.e. seventh non-summer quarter after transfer), you are subject to a 216 unit limit. However, if many of your units are from AP credit, you may have more headroom than a typical transfer student, since AP credit is not counted against the 216 unit limit. When transferring in with 90 to 105 units, it should take five or six quarters to reach 180 units minimum to graduate; you then could have two more quarters of headroom, plus any additional headroom from not counting AP credit against the limit, to stay additional quarters.
there are 6 total pre-reqs for poli sci at ucla, but only the completion of 3 is officially required. at the community college that i would be coming from, only 4 are offered. i already took one of them in a previous year (at community college, so this would fulfill that course requirement), and i plan on taking the other 3 that are offered. the other 2 i can take at ucla.
as for econ, i’m not sure if i want to pursue that route yet. even though i did want to double major in it, ucla requires that transfer students who plan on majoring in econ apply to the school as an econ major; they aren’t able to switch into the major once at the university. while i could choose to do this and then double major in poli sci (ucla does allow transfer students to declare a poli sci major later on), it would decrease my chances of gaining admission to the school—i don’t know if it’s a risk i want to take.
Fair enough - but what you wrote which you referenced OOS, not ucsb. But ucsb has as talented kids as anywhere - well when not factoring in a test.
So for poli and Econ - frankly you can go anywhere. Not sure what you plan to do with it but I don’t buy UCLA is significantly better. Or even better. And I’d throw in many lesser rated flagships with that statement. Now I don’t know what you plan to do with the major but I’m guessing you can have the same outcomes from either - just as my nephew did at u of A and my daughter who chose a low ranked school is doing in Poli sci and IR - she busted tail and got a great internship this summer. Short of I banking or something like that, I’m not sure why UCLA would be more advantageous. Just my opinion …
Internship opportunities today - given indeed/LinkedIn - where you go to school is less relevant. Now if you mean a during school internship, that’s different - but today you can intern anywhere - from anywhere.
Listen if you want Ucla, I get it. It’s a personal call as to whether you try the transfer route - which has no guarantee.
To me, giving up one or two years of the four year experience is crazy. That’s an important social year. But that’s me.
Things like campus and distance to home - those are personal things - but ucsb is not far from Ucla. I’d hope you’d be at school, not home. I mean we are talking a couple hrs.
I wish you the best. I read your note differently than did others. And knowing your majors - well I see it far differently. Ucsb is wonderful.
I see great opprtunities, even in LA for internships, if you put in the effort - no different than Ucla. It’s up to the kid though - not the school.
Best of luck in whatever you decide.
But you only get to go to college for four years once - so if you pass it by, you can’t get it back.
I wish you well.
This gets at my biggest worry with putting all eggs in the UCLA basket, OP. If you decide to go the CC transfer route and then you don’t get in…then what? Just be sure you know what you might feel and do in that scenario and are okay with it. They are both great schools. Wishing you the best.
i’ve thought about that too—i would definitely apply to other schools (berkeley, ucsd, irvine, and maybe davis as a safety). la is the dream school, but i’d be sure to stay realistic and keep other options open.
But is it worth giving up the 4 year experience ? The friends, the life, the late night adventures, etc ….and for poli sci / Econ?
I’m not sure why you would think the opportunities would be markedly different - and I’d add a lot of schools to that statement.
What is your end goal after school ?
I absolutely agree that the first year, at a 4-year college, is crucial, for social and developmental growth. Each new, raw, 18 year-old is learning together with other, new 18 year-olds how to be freshmen, together, at their new college. From your previous experience at your CC, you know that a CC runs the gamut of diverse ages and people. It will not be the same as a freshman at a 4 yr campus.
You will miss out that newness. As a transfer, you wont ever “get it back”. You will miss out on that whole experience that each of my kids, as well as, my former students, were able to experience as Frosh. If you were planning on rushing, it will very hard as a transfer. Things like: experience on campus, where you lived freshman year, who knows you, and who you know, which profs you had, etc., affects your social standing.
By Spring, the Freshman are looking at their fall sophomore housing options, as they’ve already selected prospective roommates for the Fall term.
I don’t wish to be cruel nor harsh but, I personally don’t think you will get in next Fall because you will only have 1 quarter/semester of recorded grades from the CC to submit. The UC’s want to see how a student performs outside of the protectiveness of the high school schedule. Some AP courses will only be for general credit. Each UC’s status, on courses previously taken during high school, may or may not count for transfer from the high school record, and from the CC record. The CC counselors will know how their former students faired in transfer success and CC coursework.
It does matter that you applied 1 year prior, and were waitlisted (basically a soft reject).
I agree that there is a limit on how many credits you can garner. During campus visits to the UC’s and CSUs, our son (recruited by UCLA) met with the Chair of the Engineering department who was describing the courses available. I half joked to my son that if he were to take all of the courses available, that he would be a “permanent” student.
That’s when the Chair (who knew that I was joking) stated that all of the California public universities received a mandate requiring that students be advised to graduate in a timely manner. Funding of indecisive, high-unit students was costing the State a lot of money. Any student going over the permitted amount, would no longer be subsidized by the California State budget and would be required to pay OOS fees. I knew this was true because my brother went over the limit and asked why his tuition and fees were suddenly ridiculously high, and they told him. Graduated the next semester.
We don’t know what the future holds and we don’t know if your efforts to get into UCLA will return a desired outcome, but what we do know is that you have to plan for other options.
I understand you are disappointed, and really wanted to attend a different school. I have a couple of suggestions. Please scroll back and read the posts by @Gumbymom so you will be very very familiar with how transfers are considered to UCLA. I’m sure she would be happy to answer any additional questions you might have.
Attend the four year UC to which you were accepted with a positive outlook…and intention to stay there. Get involved in what that school has to offer. If you still feel you want to transfer, then put in some transfer applications. You might be surprised that this college actually is terrific, and you actually like it.
Note…I said transfer applications…plural. UCLA plus some other very realistic options for acceptance, and affordability.
I hope you come back in a year and say you have discovered that your college where you are attending meets your needs very well…and you like it.
Do me a favor and reply to the thread when you find out. The excerpt from the UC policy appears to say AP credit doesn’t force anyone to graduate earlier due to having units from AP. But it would be nice to have confirmation from UC.
One way to ameliorate this is to take as many pre-major classes as possible first semester since UCLA will see those grades in the winter update. As a poli-sci major admissions may care more about how the student does in those pre-major classes then in general GE.
Also the OP mentioned that only 4 of the 6 pre-major classes are offered at their CC and that you only need to complete 3. It sounds like the OP lives in the greater LA area so there should be plenty of CCs around. They should check if other nearby CCs offer the missing two and take them if possible. Maybe this summer. Having all 6 and doing well in them bolsters their case.
You could also look into inter campus transfer. In that case you don’t give up your UCSB admission
What is the process for UC to UC transfer
The UC to UC transfer process is no different than the CC transfer other than there are no specific articulation agreements or a list of articulated courses between the UC’s that would fulfill another campus’s major requirements.
If a UC to UC transfer is a pathway you are interested in, then you need to determine the transfer requirements for the new UC campus and match those courses to your current UC course offerings. Assist.org can help but the website is designed for CC to UC and CSU transfers.
One thing you will want to get at you current UC is a Letter of Reciprocity for the GE requirements. If you get this letter and complete the GE’s at your current UC, then the new UC will accept all the credits.
Can this transfer be done after one year or do we have to wait for 2 years?
UC transfers require 60 semester or 90 quarter units which is normally around 2 years. It can be done in 1 year if you have a significant amount of Dual Enrollment and AP credit.
Also here is admit data: UC GPA Transfer by major and campus of 2022. The information is updated every year around January/February so 2023 data will be available in 2024.
1 year UC to UC transfer:
Is it difficult?
o Yes, transferring from CC to a UC or a UC to UC in one year is not easy and only works in very specific situations where a great number of AP credits are used or if the student has college units from CC courses taken during high school. AP credit refers to the college semester/quarter units obtained from passing AP scores.
Is it possible to transfer to a UC in one year with TAG?
o Yes, but it is much harder as there are additional requirements to obtain a TAG agreement since it guarantees your major as well. Only TAG if the student already has 20 semester credits. UCLA, UCB and UCSD do not participate in TAG and several campuses have excluded majors. Check the TAG matrix: University of California Counselors
Can I still transfer to a UC that doesn’t offer TAG in one year?
o Yes, a student can TAG into one UC campus that has a TAG agreement and still able to send a regular application to any other campus. For example, a student can TAG with UC Santa Barbara but still send a regular application to UCSD, UCLA, and UCD.
What if I have none/very little AP credit and haven’t taken any college courses (less than 10 semester units worth)?
o It is not recommended students with none/very little college units attempt to transfer in one year. Even with summer courses, a student would still have to complete 40-50 semester units within two semesters. This would equate to 5-8 college courses a semester. Not only would classes be hard to get into, but the scheduling of the classes may making preforming in these classes very difficult.
Do I need to declare a major?
o Yes, as with all transfer students. Upon admission as a transfer student, the student is expected to complete their remaining lower division work and start of their major’s upper division courses. However, it is also not recommended that students with engineering and impacted majors transfer in a year due to the competitiveness and amount of required courses needed prior to transfer.
How do I know what major preparatory classes are required?
o Use www.assist.org. ASSIST is going to be the most vital tool in this process and will used throughout this guide. ASSIST allows a student to enter their CC, the UC they want to transfer to, and major they want to complete so that a list of the required courses FROM the CC, as well as additional courses the student can complete is given. Some campuses may not require major preparatory classes towards majors, but the student should still complete as much as they can.
So then how does this whole process work exactly?
o The larger goal is obtaining junior-level status in one year. Junior-level status doesn’t necessarily mean a student’s third year in college. It just means that a student has (1) completed at least 60 semester/90 quarter of UC transferable credit, (2) have at least a 2.4 GPA on said coursework, and (3) has completed IGETC (general education courses) all by the end of the spring prior to transfer. The trick is that AP credit and college courses in high school courses can add up to the 60 semester/90 quarter. Once junior-level status is obtained, a CC student is eligible to go to a UC.
You can check the UC Transfer GPA by major and campus to determine if you will meet the GPA requirements here: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/transfers-major
One Year Transfer without TAG:
- Calculate your current amount of UC semester/quarter credits
Add up all of your current UC semester/quarter credits from passed AP scores and college courses taken during high school.
To find AP Score to UC credit equivalents, look at your CC’s AP credit chart
- Choose a major offered at a UC(s) and search it on www.assist.org
This is, of course what you’re working for
Enter in your major and your intended CC to see what courses you need to complete.
If there are no major preparatory courses required, still complete as many as possible. The completion of IGETC is still required for some majors.
- Plan out your summer, fall, and spring courses
Remember you must have 60 semester (90 quarter) units, the completion of IGETC if needed, and as many courses towards your major as possible prior to transfer.
Since you’re not getting a TAG, you don’t need 30 semester (45 quarter) units by the end of the summer before you apply, but still take a couple courses so your fall/spring course load won’t be so heavy
Some courses towards your major can also towards finishing IGETC or the 7 course GE pattern. Sitting down and planning this out with a CC counselor is a great way to plan a solid schedule.
Pay very close attention to your registration dates each semester since classes fill up very quickly.
- Apply to your UCs before the end of November
Don’t miss this date and plan your personal statements!
You’re also going to have to list all of your classes you’re planning to take and the ones in progress
- Complete TAU in January
TAU stands for Transfer Academic Update. In January, you must update your application with your fall grades and declare spring classes in progress
- Keep up your GPA!