I am from California. I was an extremely average high school student (3.4) GPA, so I knew that my chances of getting into the UCs that I wanted to go to (Cal and UCLA) were slim to none. I ended up going to Umass Amherst because it seemed like my best option at the time, and my mother didn’t want me to go to a community college (she felt that private school tuition would’ve been wasted if i ended up graduating just to go to a CC). But I’m only a few weeks in and already I don’t like it here, and the 50k loan I took out to pay OOS tuition definitely isn’t worth it (esp. because i’m undeclared and only taking gen eds).
Next semester, I plan on transferring to a California CC, and then I want to transfer to Cal my junior year. So, I was wondering which CC is best for transferring to UC Berkeley from, and what can I do to make sure I have a good chance at getting admitted as a transfer (probably into the Econ program)? For example, what GPA should I maintain to make myself highly competitive?
I’m from the Bay Area (Oakland), so I guess I’m wondering which CC’s specifically in that region will be best for me, especially considering their transfer rates to UCB, as I know that that’s the school I want to transfer to.
First big mistake: you took out $50,000 in loans for freshman year at UMass??? Or rather your parents took out most of those loans. You and your parents need to see a financial advisor.
it was a HUGE mistake! i’m gonna transfer next semester and drop the spring portion of the loan, so in reality, we’ll have to pay back about $20k. it’s still way too much but oh well, there really isn’t anything that can be done about it at this point. my mother actually wanted me to stay the entire year and seemed fine with the fact that she was wasting $50k, but i care about her way too much to voluntarily let her suffer in that sense. (I’m a freshman btw)
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major Look here to get an idea with what GPA that you need.
Make sure that you complete IGETC at your CCC. UCB does not accept partial IGETC. Talk to your advisor there about getting your UMass classes transferred over.
Complete all required and recommended classes for your major as listed on assist.org
Make sure you get major related ECs, preferably leadership. Write solid personal statements as well.
In terms of what CCC to go to, take advantage of the Peralta Colleges (Berkeley City, College of Alameda, Laney, and Merritt). They are all extremely high quality and you have a lot of flexibility. I only went to Berkeley City but the others are all great too and send a lot of students to UCB/UCLA. I believe the TAP honors program is offered at all as well, which gives you a boost for UCLA/UCB admission.